This will always be an issue with events as the time will never work for everyone, yet people will still want to participate. I couldn't make the event since I worked 8 hours till 10:30pm PST (it was busy as where I worked till closing) and by the time I got home I was too tired to log on and see where things had got. I did leave my gifts I got for others with zero though the day before - even though pretty last minute as I didn't get my work shift till less than 24hrs before hand.
Dunno about other people but I was pretty close to not handing my gifts over to some one to pass out for the event just because of not knowing that day would become busy for me. :\
As I said, Secret Odins might have missed the event due to a variety of factors, some of them definitively valid (like yours).
PS: I can't believe I didn't took a screenshot of Michaelleli for my album! It was the perfect chance!