Replace this line:
$featuredPosts->query('showposts=5&cat=8');
with
$featuredPosts->query(array('showposts' =>5, 'cat' =>8,'post_type' => array('post','events')));
Replace this line:
$featuredPosts->query('showposts=5&cat=8');
with
$featuredPosts->query(array('showposts' =>5, 'cat' =>8,'post_type' => array('post','events')));