So... You have an idea for an event...
. It might be anything from a very small fun day in your local community to a huge event for many thousands of people, like a folk, rock or reggae Festival or a major literary event.
It might be something that you have been wanting to do for quite a while or a completely new idea. Maybe you attended something like it on holiday and thought, that would go down well in my home town. Perhaps you have a favourite band, someone in the family with a huge talent you would like to showcase, or a group of craftspeople who want to show and sell their stuff.
Whatever it is, music, theatre, sports, carnivals, poetry, comedy, anything at all, we can help. Between us we have years and years of experience and we are very keen to share it. But before contacting us, please make full use of the information and guidance provided here.
To begin we suggest you work at answering the following questions. These are designed to help you be clear about what you want to do and how to go about achieving your goal.
What is the goal?
Is your main aim to make some money for a charity or indeed yourself?
Or is it to create an event which will be fun, satisfying, socially and culturally rewarding? Or both?
Thinking about this will allow you to think about the scale and feasibility of the event and who your audience will be.
Who is your audience?
Deciding on who your target audience is will help guide your decision as to appropriate venues, event content, timing/scheduling, catering choices. Are you aiming at a high-end or formal audience who might for example attend an Opera, or a casual family audience. It may well be that you are aiming at some of the most deprived and poorest people in the community. Another possibility is that you are aiming at a specific demography, for example an ethnic community or a special interest group, i.e. Railway modelling group of basket-weave enthusiasts.
This will help you understand your audience’s expectations and work towards satisfying them. It can also provide some idea of how much they might be willing to spend to attend the event and/or how much they might spend or donate at the event. It will also shape the way in which the event is publicised and marketed.
How much is the event going to cost and how are these costs to be met?
It will take a lot of work to begin to answer these questions and a more detailed section on this subject is provided further on. But at this stage it can be helpful to decide on the sources of funding that you will be pursuing, because if you are going to be seeking funding from a government body such as eastern arts, or from commercial sponsorship then you are going to have to sell your event to them in the form of a proposal long before the actual event takes place.
When is the event to take place?
When setting a date, consider what else is on which might clash with and restrict your event. Research as much as you possibly can about what else is on that day, or whether there are other social, cultural or political events on at or about at that time. You can find this out by reading the local paper, asking the visitor information Centre which has a what’s on guide on their website (link) and researching as much as possible on the web.
If you know which venue you want to use, the first step is obviously to ask the venue management whether the date you want is available. But before booking it
allow plenty of planning time. It will take longer than you think to set up an event.
Allow a minimum of 2 months for casual social events, such as dances etc, but for everything else, 3-5 months is minimum.
What resources do you have?
- Do you already have a group of people who are ready, willing and able to help you organize?
- Are there contacts within your membership who have experience in event planning, fundraising skills or technical ability that you can use?
- Is there an identifiable group of people such as a youth club, a community organisation, or a special interest club who can facilitate key event needs, giving you an advantage or headstart?
- Do you already have a venue?
- Are there organizations willing to provide venues or a built-in audience?
- Do you have a stock of equipment and materials you can use?
Do you need a planning committee?
For any sizeable event you will almost certainly need a planning committee. The size of event will determine size of committee needed.
The Lead or Chair has responsibility for big picture planning, management and troubleshooting. He might be called anything between Chairman to Artistic Director.Hopwever this is a huge job, so try to find people prpared to take on some of the more mechanical tasks such as record-keeping and task management. These persons should report to lead/chair.
Assign subcommittee chairs/lead point people for major activity/responsibility categories such as:
Sponsorship and Fundraising
Management, administrative and legal issues, licences, permits, road closures,
Performers and artistes liaison, Programming and artistic direction
Infrastructure such as communication, tents, stages, lights, barriers, printing and so on
Marketing and publicity, press releases, posters, fliers, ticket sales, media relations
Catering and merchandising operations, Stalls and concessions.
Site logistics, layout planning, construction, cleaning and clearing
Volunteer coordination, stewards, marshals, ushers etc.
Documentation, photographers, video record, vox-pops.
It is very important that you have enough support team members in order to avoid burnout. Build in back-up support for subcommittee leads and set up a regular process for reporting progress or roadblocks (meetings, conference calls, emails).
Make sure everyone knos what is going on! Communicate all assignments and keep entire team fully informed of everything releveant to them at all times.
keep an eye on everything! You must constantly evaluate progress and anticipate potential pitfalls so that problems do not throw the event off track.
Recognize that you are working with a volunteer team, but maintain accountability for responsibilities.
Do not assume that because you have told someone something that they have taken it on board - put it in writing!
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