diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index ec3d3664bdc..b866f638954 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ If you'd like to edit a specific devopsdays event site (and/or contribute code),
 1. Have the ability to run Hugo. This can be done locally or through
    Docker.
 1. [Fork](https://help.github.com/articles/fork-a-repo/) this repo and clone a copy locally.
+1. Check out the available [utility scripts](./utilities/README.md) to help organize your event.
 
 #### Run Hugo with Docker (Recommended)
 
diff --git a/utilities/add_new_event.sh b/utilities/add_new_event.sh
index ca9b2a323a4..f92e9f29562 100755
--- a/utilities/add_new_event.sh
+++ b/utilities/add_new_event.sh
@@ -36,6 +36,13 @@ twitter=$(echo $twitter | sed 's/@//')
 # We use the term event_slug in the hugo files too
 event_slug=$year-$city_slug
 
+# Check if the event directory already exists
+if [ -d "../content/events/$event_slug" ]; then
+  echo "The event content directory already exists:"
+  echo "./content/events/$event_slug"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
 # Update the redirection for a previous year of this event to the desired year
 if grep -q "^/$city_slug" "../static/_redirects";
 then
@@ -46,6 +53,13 @@ else
   echo "/$city_slug/*            /events/$event_slug/:splat           302" >> "../static/_redirects"
 fi
 
+# Check if the event directory already exists
+if [ -d "../data/events/$year/$city_slug" ]; then
+  echo "The event data directory already exists:"
+  echo "./data/events/$year/$city_slug"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
 # Create data directory for the event
 mkdir -p ../data/events/$year/$city_slug
 # Create default event datafile