diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/Api/EventsController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/Api/EventsController.php
index 7582824b..3b2d23f4 100644
--- a/app/Http/Controllers/Api/EventsController.php
+++ b/app/Http/Controllers/Api/EventsController.php
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@
 use App\Models\Entity;
 use App\Models\Event;
 use App\Models\EventResponse;
-use App\Models\EventReview;
 use App\Models\EventType;
 use App\Models\Follow;
 use App\Models\OccurrenceDay;
@@ -158,6 +157,8 @@ public function index(
         $events = $query->visible($this->user)
             ->with('visibility', 'venue')
             ->paginate($listResultSet->getLimit());
+        
+        // how do I create an event response DTO that includes everything I want
 
         return response()->json(new EventCollection($events));
     }
diff --git a/app/Http/Resources/EventResource.php b/app/Http/Resources/EventResource.php
index 6c04ada8..4341a824 100644
--- a/app/Http/Resources/EventResource.php
+++ b/app/Http/Resources/EventResource.php
@@ -47,7 +47,9 @@ public function toArray($request)
             'created_by' => $this->created_by,
             'updated_by' => $this->updated_by,
             'created_at' => $this->created_at,
-            'updated_at' => $this->updated_at
+            'updated_at' => $this->updated_at,
+            'primary_photo' => $this->getPrimaryPhotoPath(),
+            'primary_photo_thumbnail' => $this->getPrimaryPhotoThumbnailPath(),
         ];
     }
 }
diff --git a/app/Models/Event.php b/app/Models/Event.php
index 430d6cd4..270b9d42 100644
--- a/app/Models/Event.php
+++ b/app/Models/Event.php
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 use App\Filters\QueryFilter;
 use Carbon\Carbon;
 use DateTime;
+use Storage;
 use Illuminate\Contracts\Pagination\LengthAwarePaginator;
 use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Builder;
 use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Factories\HasFactory;
@@ -990,4 +991,28 @@ public function getInstagramFormat(): ?string
        return $format;
     }
 
+
+    // returns the actual path to the primary photo
+    public function getPrimaryPhotoPath(): ?string
+    {
+        $photo = $this->getPrimaryPhoto();
+
+        if ($photo) {
+            return Storage::disk('external')->url($photo->getStoragePath());
+        }                    
+
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    // returns the actual path to the thumbnail
+    public function getPrimaryPhotoThumbnailPath(): ?string
+    {
+        $photo = $this->getPrimaryPhoto();
+
+        if ($photo) {
+            return Storage::disk('external')->url($photo->getStorageThumbnail());
+        }                    
+
+        return null;
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/Models/Photo.php b/app/Models/Photo.php
index 38af5366..2d2664af 100644
--- a/app/Models/Photo.php
+++ b/app/Models/Photo.php
@@ -156,11 +156,11 @@ protected function saveAs(string $name): Photo
     }
 
 
-    public function makeThumbnail(): Photo
+    public function makeThumbnail(?int $size = 200): Photo
     {
         // builds an image given the path of the file on the external disk, then creates a version
         $image = Image::make(Storage::disk('external')->url($this->path))
-            ->fit(200)
+            ->fit($size)
             ->save('storage/'.$this->thumbnail);
 
         $saved_image_uri = $image->basePath();
diff --git a/docs/api_notes.md b/docs/api_notes.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..32f8e793
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/api_notes.md
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+# API Notes
+
+## Filtering Lists
+You can apply filters to routes using the following:
+
+
+- To filter by a specific field, use the field name as the key and the value as the value.
+  - Example: `GET /api/events?filters[name]=Event Name`
+- To order by a specific field, use the field name as the key and the value as the value.
+  - Example: `GET /api/events?sort=model.property&direction=asc`
\ No newline at end of file