Event Calendar – working with blocks

I am asking for help with the back-end of the free version of the Events Calendar plugin. I have tried in numerous ways but my emails seem to be going nowhere so I am hoping to find some fellow users of this generally awesome plugin that may be of help.

I am on the latest version of WordPress and the latest version of Events Calendar. I am not yet using their revamped design though, because I want to first solve the issues I have.

Basically they all have to do with working with blocks. It has not even been two months since I launched a new website on the above address. It is the first time I did a project like this. I love the Events Calendar mostly because it offers an import feature for comma separated files. This minimizes my manual input and makes it work for me.

Since I am so new in website building, the Gutenberg block was already in place from the start. However, I never really saw it in the EC. Today, I changed the settings so that I can work with blocks. Looks good. Except for one thing and I am not sure why this is happening.

In the backend AND on the event details page is a grey ‘block’ that contains a summary of event details and it does not look like I have any influence over it. The grey block shows with a black hat icon and the word: Classic. There is no way that I have been able to find to change this. So I am not sure it is supposed to show up.

I hardly ever create events manually. I usually import the information and then fill the Excerpt box and add a featured image. But… when I look at the result, and IF I spot an error in e.g. the organiser name, I cannot change it.

I can change time, date and description but not the other stuff. I would like to know where they grey block comes from and if others have it too.

Today I changed the description classic box to a ‘block’. And when I was browsing older events, I noticed the grey box and that there was a weird couple of characters in the organiser name. I thought that these might be unintended ascii codes that I had overlooked. When I clicked on the organiser name, it vanished. And now I have a series of older event that, in the back end, look incomplete. All I can see it the title and the description.

However, on the website, on the published page, all details are there.

I am puzzled. Is there anybody who can help me?

I have found it impossible to get formal support because I am using the free version. And frankly, I find this a bit baffling and disappointing. I do not need the features in Pro and besides, my organisation does not have the financial means to subscribe to the plugin. I feel that if you offer a product for free, it should at least do (and get support) for basic functionality.

If it was not for the import functionality (that I have not found in other events plugins) I would use something else. But apart from lacking support and this block/classic behaviour I am pretty happy with what it does.

So I’d be really grateful for some basic help – it might be that I am just overlooking the obvious.

Appreciate your input and feedback and if the Helpdesk of the plugin is reading this: please help.

Thanks!

The page I need help with: [log in to see the link]