Gary's Blog

Evaluating an Event

2012-03-06T12:09:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in previous Blogs, one of the ways Judi and I occupy our time on the long trips home from a visited event, is to complete an informal evaluation of the event. This series will explore some of the events aspects that we discuss.

Curb Appeal

How an event looks and feels is very important! It not only enhances the visitor experience, but encourages people to both come back and to tell their friends. As I mentioned under Advertising and Promotion, “Word of Mouth” is the best kind of advertising!

Out-Of-Town Visitors (Continued)

Visitor Shuttle Bus - If your event is going to attract a lot of overnight guests, setting up a shuttle service between accommodations and an event grounds is a good idea.
Communications Plan - As an out-of-town visitor to most events, Judi and I are often frustrated that there is no way to communicate with event organizers on the day(s) of the event. I feel that all events should have an “active Event Telephone Number” that can be called and will be answered during an event. The number should be well published on the event’s website. The number could be an organizers cell phone or home phone. If a business number is not available or a cell phone is used, it should always be on full charge and have no “dead zones”. At the very least, well identified staff, volunteers should have a “walkie-talkie” communications system, so at least communications can be relayed throughout the event from visitors and vendors/performers alike.
Visitor Coupons - The way to a visitor’s heart is “Free stuff” or at least a good “savings”! Offering visitors “local business” savings coupons, are a great way of adding value while helping out the local economy. A word of caution, however, the “coupons” should have good perceived value, offering “junk coupons” will only disappoint visitors.

As out-of-town visitors, when we evaluate an event, especially those promoting themselves to “outsiders”, we take all of these areas into consideration. This, along with “directional” and “informational” signage are top priority.

(To Be Continued)

Evaluating an Event

2012-02-28T08:39:00.000-05:00

Curb Appeal

Out-Of-Town Visitors

This final section in “Curb Appeal” is only necessary if an event is hoping to attract out-of-town visitors. The Ontario Government has set up a number of Regional Tourism Organizations (RTO’s) throughout Ontario. One of their main mandates is to promote overnight tourism to their Regions. This includes the co-ordination of events, attractions, restaurants and accommodations. If an event is looking to obtain support from their Region, they will have to include provisions for out-of-town visitors. Here are some ideas that might help attract out-of-towners.

Area Visitor Packages – Event organizers should be aware of existing Regional Visitor Packages and include them in their marketing. They should also make sure they are included in Regional Marketing (other are attractions).
Tour Groups – Most tour group businesses are looking for interesting events to take their customers to. If you want to attract these types of visitors, you have to plan for them. For example, most groups come via bus. You’ll need plenty of parking for the buses. It would be good to have a staff member on hand to greet the tours and to assist them with information and services. Many tours are for older visitors or foreign visitors. Anything an event can do to accommodate these visiting groups will go a long way to attracting them. Considering services such as accommodations, meals, activities, and, even shipping services. This last service is especially of benefit to vendors selling larger items that aren’t easily transported on buses. Working with a courier service could pay big dividends to visitors, vendors and the festival/event.

(To Be Continued)

Evaluating an Event

2012-02-21T08:00:00.003-05:00

Curb Appeal

Admission Fee

It’s always hard to know how much to charge for an event. It’s even harder to evaluate. Costs are normally a result of several factors. The hard costs to run an event (activities, rent, fencing, etc.) The amount of external income received (grants, vendor fees, sponsorships, etc.) And the reason for holding the event (profit, charity, non-profit, etc.) When I evaluate an event's pricing, I try to take these influences into consideration, but I think I look more at the value of the experience. If an event charges nothing but also offers a poor visitor experience, then the “visitor experience” is low and the "value" is low. Conversely, an event can charge a lot, but give exceptional “visitor experience”, in that case the value is high and therefore visitors will feel they have received good value for dollars spent. Likely, somewhere in the middle is where most events would like to be, “good value for money/time spent”. My philosophy is “promise a reasonable amount, but give a lot more than what is expected”!

(To Be Continued)

Evaluating an Event

2012-02-14T10:38:00.000-05:00

Curb Appeal (Continued)

Event Staff

Event Staff, paid and volunteer, can set the whole tone of a visitor’s experience. Unfriendly or none responsive staff are like putting a “DO NOT ENTER” sign up. I believe that the first encounter should be extremely positive. Here are some thoughts:

Knowledge – ALL Staff should be completely trained on how to greet and interact with event visitors. Organizers should not “assume” that their volunteers know how to do this. It may seem simplistic, but it’s a process that is often missed by organizers. Also, staff should be knowledgeable on all aspects of the event. If it’s a really large event, staff should know who and how to contact the people who are experts in their area. There should always be a backup person to answer questions. Illness and accidents happen, so having backup is important.
Communications is also important. ALL Staff should be able to communicate with one another. There is nothing more embarrassing and frustrating for both staff (volunteers) and visitors, if communications are not immediately available!
Identification – Event Staff, especially those expected to interact with visitors should be easily identified. A minimum of event hats and or T-shirts should be worn. Name Badges are also a good idea. Anything you can do to make visitors feel welcome, will be a benefit to your event. The same as instructing staff how to greet visitors. This is a small courtesy, but one that is often missed but goes a long way to enhancing the “visitor experience”!
Information Booth – Where possible, events should set up at least one information booth. It should be well marked and close to the event's main entrance. The booth should contain well informed staff, lots of event literature, and area information. As I have mentioned previously, excellent communication devices are a must! It’s a good idea to include a “lost and found” at the information booth. Finally, having a well trained and organized staff that are easily identifiable and can communicate well with one another is one of the most important aspects of a well run event.

(To Be Continued)

Evaluating an Event

2012-02-07T08:41:00.000-05:00

Curb Appeal

Signage

I have to admit, signage is my biggest “pet peeve”! As I have mentioned many times, it is easy to solve and can even earn, an event, extra money. The challenge is that most events are “local” and organized by “local people”! They know where the event is located! They know how to get there! The people in their town know where the event is located, so signage is either forgotten or is deemed unimportant. This is fine if the event is only trying to attract local people. This is NOT fine if you want out-of-town people to visit the event. Here is where the FRUSTRATION factor comes into play. If visitors can’t find your event, they become frustrated. If they become frustrated they won’t enjoy the event. If they don’t enjoy the event, they won’t come back and they won’t tell others or, if they do, it will be all negative. Putting up proper signage just makes sense! It’s inexpensive. If printed properly the signs can be used many times. They can earn the event extra money just by selling local businesses space on the signs. There signs that I am referring to are “directional” signs. The other type of signage, “information” signs, is also important. Telling visitors to an event where things are located makes the visitor experience just that more enjoyable. Adding things like “event timetables” and “washroom locations” and “recycle/garbage” signs and selling local businesses space on the signs, is beneficial for all.

(To Be Continued)

Evaluating an Event

2012-01-31T11:05:00.002-05:00

Curb Appeal

Traffic Control

As mentioned above, traffic control in Toronto is always a challenge, but smaller communities should also be aware of the pitfalls of poor traffic control. In the event that I worked on, traffic, in the early years, became a challenge due to the success of the event. We solved both the traffic and parking by offering offsite parking and a shuttle bus. Parking won’t likely be ever perfect, but this solution certainly helped a lot! As an aside, we were able to let local youth groups man the offsite parking. They charged a nominal amount and earned extra money for themselves. Again, a win-win solution!

(To Be Continued)

Evaluating An Event

2012-01-24T09:41:00.000-05:00

Curb Appeal

Parking

Another frustrating area for Judi and me, is parking or lack of it. Imagine driving 100+ kilometers to an event and then have to drive another several kilometers just to find a parking spot. I remember driving to an event in Toronto, one Saturday, to visit an exciting music event. I drove to the event through Toronto traffic (2 hours of travel), only to discover that there was no parking available! I’m not talking “not available” close to the event, I’m talking “not available” within many miles from the event and, there were no shuttle buses. I turned around and drove home! Nota great experience! To make it worse for the event, I have told this story to many people, warning them not to attempt visiting the event. The fix would have been fairly simple. Arrange for offsite parking and shuttle buses, and then advertise the offsite parking as a great service. By doing this, everyone would have won - the festival, the visitors to the festival and the potential bus sponsors. Also, the bottleneck that this event caused on the major Toronto roads, was incredible. So, not only was I disappointed and frustrated, just imagine how Toronto road travelers felt!

(To Be Continued)

Evaluating An Event

2012-01-17T09:30:00.000-05:00

Curb Appeal

Location

The location of an event is very important. Not only for the purpose of holding an event, but also that it is easy to locate! I can’t tell you how many times Judi and I have driven into a community only to become frustrated because we couldn’t find where the event was being held! Additionally, the look or curbside appeal is also important. You know the old saying “First Looks Are Important”! This applies to people, homes and festivals/events. You always want to “Put your best foot forward”. These sayings may be old, but they have become part of our vocabulary for a reason, they work!

(To Be Continued)

Evaluating An Event

2012-01-10T09:21:00.000-05:00

Event Promotion

Obviously one of the important pre-event activities is event promotion. Where possible, Judi and I try to look at each event’s promotional efforts.

Advertising and Promotion (Part Six)

Eventually the organizing group decided that they wanted a separate a Program Guide. They approached the local newspaper to see if they wanted to produce it for us. They did, and made a proposal. Their offer, essentially, was to produce a multipage glossy magazine that would contain all of our event's information. They, in turn, could sell ads in the Guide. In doing this, we received a sum of money, the production of our Program Guide and a number of extra copies to hand out. In addition, the Guide was sent out with their newspaper, thus giving us fabulous media coverage. Over the years the Guide has been very successful and the amount of revenue to the event has increased. The advantages of this arrangement, for us, was have a professionally produced Program Guide, exceptional distribution of the Guide, sponsorship money and a way of getting our message out, at no cost to the event! The advantage for the newspaper were that they were able to earn extra revenue through ad sales in the Guide, they were also able to increase their visibility in the community, they became the “official” newspaper of the event and they had the “honour” of supporting the successful community event. All-in-all a winning combination for everyone!

(To Be Continued)

Evaluating An Event

2012-01-03T09:17:00.000-05:00

Event Promotion

Obviously one of the important pre-event activities is event promotion. Where possible, Judi and I try to look at each event’s promotional efforts.

Advertising and Promotion (Part Five)

The final method of advertising and promotion that I would like to discuss is the Festival/Event Program Guide. This can take many forms, from a simple one page flyer to a full colour magazine. During our travels, we have seen both kinds. Usually, the bigger the event, the more elaborate the Program Guide. These Guides normally evolve as an event grows and becomes more prosperous. Here’s an example. On an event that I worked on, our first Guide was part of a newspaper … the local newspaper just took our list of events and then re-printed them in their newspaper. Fortunately the event was very successful in its first year, so we had no problem convincing the paper to expand its coverage on our event. As the event continued, the paper, seeing its success, wanted to become a sponsor and to give us sponsorship dollars. They recognized that our event earned them extra income, because they were able to sell ads around event coverage.

(To Be Continued)

Evaluating An Event

2011-12-27T21:28:00.000-05:00

Event Promotion

Obviously one of the important pre-event activities is event promotion. Where possible, Judi and I try to look at each event’s promotional efforts.

Advertising and Promotion (Part Four)

Here are some ideas:

News Releases – sending out News Releases containing information about your event to various media outlets. If the information contained in the News Release is important enough, the news outlets will post your information.
Signage – Placing signs prior to your event will let people know when and what your event will be offering, when it will be taking place and where. The cost of the signs can be offset by allowing businesses to sponsor the signs.
Event Calendars - There are a number of media outlets, including internet websites that offer event calendars to their readers. This is usually a free service and all you need to do is submit your information to them.
Search Engines - There are a number of specialized search engines that could also be helpful. Again, normally these are free services and all you need to do is submit your information to them. Ontario Visited offers all of these services, including News Pages, Event Calendars and Event Search Engine listings at no cost.

With all of these services, event organizers just need to take the initiative and send the information out in a timely manner. Sending information out a few days prior to the event taking place is not acceptable and will provide little to no benefit for your event. We hope that the above will “start your creative juices”! You and your organization can think of many other ways of promoting your event. Best wishes for success!

(To Be Continued)

Evaluating An Event

2011-12-20T21:26:00.000-05:00

Event Promotion

Obviously one of the important pre-event activities is event promotion. Where possible, Judi and I try to look at each event’s promotional efforts.

Advertising and Promotion (Part Three)

In addition to optimizing your website to get maximum traffic to it, another method of getting people to your website is through “Google Ad Words”. The purchase of Google Ad Words can bring your website to the attention of internet visits through specific “key” words(key words are the words that are used by internet users who are searching for specific subjects or events). An example of a key word or key word phrase could be Ajax Festivals. Your website designer could help you in this area to define the words and phrases. There are other places that you could purchase an Ad, such as, Banner Advertising on one of our Festivals Visited websites. We attract approximately 400,000+ event web visitors per year. All of the above forms of advertising and promotion will cost your events something. There are however, other ways to promote your event that wont cost you anything.

(To Be Continued)

Evaluating An Event

2011-12-13T21:23:00.000-05:00

Event Promotion

Obviously one of the important pre-event activities is event promotion. Where possible, Judi and I try to look at each event’s promotional efforts.

Advertising and Promotion (Part Two)

As mentioned in my previous article, there are all types of ways to promote your event. As I’ve said, “word-of-mouth” is the best and most long lasting. However, all events, especially new or changed events, need to use other forms of advertizing and promotion. I think the biggest thing that you have to consider is who your Target Market is! If you are only targeting local visitors, that’s one thing. But if you want to draw people from further distances, your marketing plans need to be more comprehensive. Let’s take a look at some examples.

For a smaller local event where you are mainly interested in attracting local people, you might try taking out an Ad in your local newspapers or local radio stations. Flyers in shops and elsewhere can also get your message out.

For larger events, where you want to attract visitors from outside your area, you might want to advertize in targeted newspapers and radio stations. Or, you might consider advertizing on Regional television stations. Magazines could also be useful for getting your message out. However, one of the least understood, but most effective ways of getting your message out to a large population, is Internet Advertizing! There are a number of ways of going about this, but all of the ways entail your event having an effective and functional Website!

(To Be Continued)

Evaluating An Event

2011-12-06T21:08:00.000-05:00

Event Promotion

Obviously one of the important pre-event activities is event promotion. Where possible, Judi and I try to look at each event’s promotional efforts.

Advertising and Promotion (Part One)

There are lots of ways to promote your Festival or Event … Newspaper Ads, Radio Ads, Television Ads, Internet Advertizing, etc. However, to me, the ultimate way to advertize and promote your event is through “Word-of-Mouth”recommendations! This means that your event must live up to its reputation. Reputation can mean anything from what you did last year to how you promote this year’s event. I think one major mistake that many Festivals/Events make when they advertize is “over selling”.Of course, it’s important to put your best foot forward, but if you “over sell” people, then the future of your event can be in jeopardy. Judi and I know this from experience, as we have visited events that sounded great, but did not deliver! An example of this was an event we visited last year that had an interesting website and a professionally produced glossy brochure. However, when we visited the event it had none of the gist that had been promised in their advertizing. I must say that we were very disappointed in the event and wonder if the event will live to see another day.
(To Be Continued)

Evaluating a Festival/Event

2011-11-29T15:51:00.001-05:00

Gary McWilliams
aka "The Festival Nomad"
Co-Owner of Ontario Visited

As I mentioned in my previous Blog, one of the ways Judi and I occupy our time on the long trips home from a visited event, is to complete an informal evaluation of the event. This series will explore some of the events aspects that we discuss.

Event Promotion
Obviously one of the important pre-event activities is event promotion. Where possible, Judi and I try to look at each event’s promotional efforts.

Websites (Part Two)

The best websites are simple. Search Engines rate websites based on such things as relevant up-to-date content, opening speed and “back links”. They also want a website to be “optimized”. There are plenty of articles about all of the above, but here are a few ideas to consider. The first is “Relevant Content” - that is, up-to-date (current) content! It means that your website needs to contain information pertinent to your event. The information must also be accurate. I think one of my biggest "pet peeves" is when contact information is not included. There is nothing more frustrating to have a question about an event and not being able to contact someone to ask it. The same goes for event day contacting. I know many people who decide not to attend an event because they can’t get information on event day! Putting contact information is so simple. If you are running a public event, let the public contact you! “Opening Speed” is how quickly your website opens. Search Engines don’t like slow opening websites and most website visitors don’t either. Things like "large photos" and "flash" can really slow your website down! Visitors get frustrated and in some cases don’t wait for the website to open. (remember, we all are accustomed to instant gratification!) “Back Links” are other websites linking to your website. It’s important to remember that not all “Back Links” are desirable. The best kind are ones that are relative to your event. Finally, “Search Engine Optimization (SEO)”, is what helps bring your website to the top of the list on Search Engine pages for your event or your type of event.

As I mentioned in the beginning of this article, you want people to find your website. You can spend thousands of dollars on a website and it can be the most beautiful ever, but, if people can’t find you, it’s money wasted!

Evaluating a Festival/Event

2011-11-22T15:43:00.000-05:00

Gary McWilliams
aka "The Festival Nomad"
Co-Owner of Ontario Visited

As I mentioned in my previous Blog, one of the ways Judi and I occupy our time on the long trips home from a visited event, is to complete an informal evaluation of the event. This series will explore some of the events aspects that we discuss.

Event Promotion
Obviously one of the important pre-event activities is event promotion. Where possible, Judi and I try to look at each event’s promotional efforts.

Websites (Part One)
In today’s day and age, it’s hard to imagine an event not having some sort of internet presence. I know that this happens, especially with small local events, but now a-days, not very often. That being said, Judi and I always head to the internet, and to Google, to research an event we plan on visiting. Believe me, over the years, we have seem all types of websites – good, bad and downright ugly! A website is an event’s chance to “shine”, to attract people to their event, so it’s important that a website be attractive, informative and accurate! However, most important of all, it has to be able to be found! This has to be the number one priority! A lot of organizers, who are not familiar with the internet, believe that all they have to do is to create a website and people will automatically find them. I know that I did when we started our first website! Unfortunately it’s not as simple as that. Like any good project or good organization, it’s all in the planning and the details. In developing a successful website, there are certain rules. My best advice is to contact a competent, reliable web designer and then work with them to create the best website possible. Judi and I use Web World Strategies. They always give us great advice and help us out when we are in a bind!
(To Be Continued)

Evaluating a Festival/Event

2011-11-15T13:54:00.003-05:00

Gary McWilliams
aka "The Festival Nomad"
Co-Owner of Ontario Visited

Although Judi and I don’t formally evaluate festivals and events when we visit them, we do have our “opinions”. To lessen the tedium of long distance travel, we developed an “Festival/Event Evaluation” form that we could discuss on the long journey back from an event. These “Evaluations” also help us to write our "post visit articles" that we publish on our websites. The information that we write on our Evaluation Form is for our own records and we don't normally share these notes with anyone, including event organizers. I do, however, use some of the ideas gained from these evaluations in my Blog articles. I use the information without naming individual events. Occasionally event organizers ask for my opinions about their event and I am happy to tell them Judi's and my thoughts, "good and bad". We always try to be constructive. I have now written over 200 Gary’s Blog Articles, and now, with my Developing a Festival/Event Series completed, I wanted to find another topic that would be helpful to readers of my Blog. With this in mind, I thought I would share Judi’s and my "Evaluation Form" and some our "after event" discussions.

We have divided the "Evaluation Form" into 5 sections:
1. Event Promotion - This includes a look at the event's website, their advertising and promotion material, any radio or television ads they might run and their program guide.
2. Arriving at an Event - Here we evaluate finding the event's location, parking availability, traffic control (where needed), signage, event entry staff and provisions for out-of-town visitors.
3. Site Layout - Evaluating the event's site includes its set up, accessibility of facilities, layout, weather proofing, crowd control, vendors, attractions, quality of food offered, operating times, garbage, first aid and child care (where needed)
4. Event Theme - Here we ask ourselves two questions, "Does the event have a theme?" and "Is it appropriate?".
5. Final Thoughts - After we go through our evaluation, we ask ourselves if its an event that we would like to return to and why.

"Evaluating U" begins next week!

Developing a Festival/Event

2011-11-08T13:36:00.001-05:00

For over 20 years I have been involved in some way with the planning and organization of festivals and events. My festival and event travels have taken me throughout Ontario and to many parts of the United States. During the past 4 years my wife and I have visited and examined almost 200 Ontario events. The following series, Developing a Festival/Event, is based on these experiences and observations. With festivals and events the backbone of our communities, I hope to help committee organizers in their quest to produce the best product possible. The full 4 part series can be purchased (manuals, workbooks, sample forms and PowerPoint presentations) by logging onto Festival and Event Planning.

Festival/Event Wrap-Up (Part Five)

8. Participant Follow-up
It is always a good idea to follow-up with your festival participants as soon after the festival as possible. The follow-up should be in the form of a personal letter and, if possible, then with a telephone call. For larger festivals this may not be practical, but even random phone calls would be helpful. Your object in following up is to find out how what they thought of the festival and if they are coming back next year (that is if you want them to come back).

9. Sponsor Follow-up
Sponsors follow-up is the final piece of the puzzle. If you want your festival sponsors to participate again and hopefully increase their sponsorship, this is a must do. The sooner you can follow up the better. You want to catch them while the memories of the festival are fresh. Make sure to see them in person and be prepared.

Developing a Festival/Event

2011-11-01T08:48:00.001-04:00

For over 20 years I have been involved in some way with the planning and organization of festivals and events. My festival and event travels have taken me throughout Ontario and to many parts of the United States. During the past 4 years my wife and I have visited and examined almost 200 Ontario events. The following series, Developing a Festival/Event, is based on these experiences and observations. With festivals and events the backbone of our communities, I hope to help committee organizers in their quest to produce the best product possible. The full 4 part series can be purchased (manuals, workbooks, sample forms and PowerPoint presentations) by logging onto Festival and Event Planning.

Festival/Event Wrap-Up (Part Four)

6. Final Festival Report
Here is where you and your Board of Directors can shine. Preparing a comprehensive final report will make you and your Board look good and it will help future committees in their quest to hold the “perfect” festival. Who knows, if your festival is really successful, your report may even be used to help the festival win an award.

7. Wrap Up Meeting
The final stage of your festival should be a Board of Directors wrap up meeting. How elaborate you make it depends on you and your team. If you are going to have a get together that costs money, you may want to put an amount in your budget that covers some or all of the costs. During the meeting you can table your final report and financial statement. You can also discuss other ideas about next year’s festival. The business part of the meeting should be held at the beginning with fun and congratulations later.
(To Be Continued)

Developing a Festival/Event

2011-10-25T16:38:00.002-04:00

For over 20 years I have been involved in some way with the planning and organization of festivals and events. My festival and event travels have taken me throughout Ontario and to many parts of the United States. During the past 4 years my wife and I have visited and examined almost 200 Ontario events. The following series, Developing a Festival/Event, is based on these experiences and observations. With festivals and events the backbone of our communities, I hope to help committee organizers in their quest to produce the best product possible. The full 4 part series can be purchased (manuals, workbooks, sample forms and PowerPoint presentations) by logging onto Festival and Event Planning.

Festival/Event Wrap-Up (Part Three)

3. Post Event Volunteer Questionnaire
A Volunteer Questionnaire is a good tool to help you plan next year’s festival and to gauge volunteer satisfaction. If your volunteers and happy, it likely means that you planned it well and that it was a successful event. If they are not happy, this the way to fins out why and what you have to change next year. As I Have said in the past, volunteers are the backbone of your festival. Without them you have no festival.

4. Final Accounting
You owe it to yourself, your festival board, your volunteers and your community to be financial responsible by keeping accurate, detailed and professional financial records. Too often festival managers have shoddy incomplete records. This is a reflection on you and your integrity. Make sure conscientious financial volunteers are put in place and that the Board imposes safeguards to insure financial integrity. At the end of the festival a comprehensive final financial report should be prepared and table. It should be completely open to all committee members and the community at large. Some will disagree with me, but I believe complete transparency is the best policy. It you have done a complete honest job, you have nothing to fear.
(To Be Continued)

Developing a Festival/Event

2011-10-18T15:10:00.001-04:00

For over 20 years I have been involved in some way with the planning and organization of festivals and events. My festival and event travels have taken me throughout Ontario and to many parts of the United States. During the past 4 years my wife and I have visited and examined almost 200 Ontario events. The following series, Developing a Festival/Event, is based on these experiences and observations. With festivals and events the backbone of our communities, I hope to help committee organizers in their quest to produce the best product possible. The full 4 part series can be purchased (manuals, workbooks, sample forms and PowerPoint presentations) by logging onto Festival and Event Planning.

Festival/Event Wrap-Up (Part Two)

2. Post Event On-site Evaluation
As you are preparing to take down and during the actual take down it is good to talk to your volunteer about the festival. Ask them what they felt was good or bad. Ask them if they heard any comments from either festival participants or attendees. Doing this while the festival is still fresh on everyone’s minds, could give you some great insights for next year’s festival. Improving each year has to be one of your main goals.

3. Post Event Participant Questionnaire
Preparing a post event questionnaire for festival participants is a good way to better your festival while including your festival participants as a part of the festival family. They will appreciate your wanting their input and they will want to come back to your festival, even if they have a bad year. As a side benefit, they will tell their contemporaries about your festival and how you care. This will result in signing more and better quality festival participants.
(To Be Continued)

Developing a Festival/Event

2011-10-11T08:22:00.001-04:00

For over 20 years I have been involved in some way with the planning and organization of festivals and events. My festival and event travels have taken me throughout Ontario and to many parts of the United States. During the past 4 years my wife and I have visited and examined almost 200 Ontario events. The following series, Developing a Festival/Event, is based on these experiences and observations. With festivals and events the backbone of our communities, I hope to help committee organizers in their quest to produce the best product possible. The full 4 part series can be purchased (manuals, workbooks, sample forms and PowerPoint presentations) by logging onto Festival and Event Planning.

Festival/Event Wrap-Up (Part One)

Your event is now over and everyone is tired. How and when you take down and wrap up is different for every event. Here are two points to consider. Plan your take down as well as you did your festival. Because everyone is tired, you will want to make take down as easy and stress free as possible. Secondly, wrap up is important. Don’t let down in this area. Make sure your wrap up is closed to the event so that memories are fresh.

1. Take Down
The festival is over and it’s time to take everything down. This is where your detailed “take down” plan will help ease the “after the festival blues”. I believe organizing the take down process is as important as setting up the festival. By now everyone has worked very hard to make the festival a big success. The volunteers are tired. By being really organized, you will make this final task much easer on your volunteers. Remember, you will need them next year.
(To Be Continued)

Developing a Festival/Event

2011-10-04T09:49:00.003-04:00

For over 20 years I have been involved in some way with the planning and organization of festivals and events. My festival and event travels have taken me throughout Ontario and to many parts of the United States. During the past 4 years my wife and I have visited and examined almost 200 Ontario events. The following series, Developing a Festival/Event, is based on these experiences and observations. With festivals and events the backbone of our communities, I hope to help committee organizers in their quest to produce the best product possible. The full 4 part series can be purchased (manuals, workbooks, sample forms and PowerPoint presentations) by logging onto Festival and Event Planning.

Festival/Event Management (Part Nine)

17. Beginning of the Day Meetings
I believe of key festival volunteer a meeting before each day begins is a good policy. Discussing what needs to be done and when, plus analyzing the previous day will help make things run smoother and make sure everyone is on the same page.

18. End of the Day Meetings
Similarly, an end of the day meetings can help festival organizers discuss the day’s events and challenges. Correction and changes can be made, if necessary, over night. With day well done, positive energy can be transferred to all committee members.

19. End of the Day Walk Through
As with the grounds and washroom patrols, I feel that a site walk through at the end of each day by key organizers is needed. Here the grounds should be checked; facilities inspected and security in place. If you owned a business, you would naturally do this, so why not your facility? Walking the grounds with your fellow organizers will give you time to talk candidly about the festival and what needs changing.
(Next Week - Festival and Event Wrap-Up)

Developing a Festival/Event

2011-09-27T09:51:00.001-04:00

For over 20 years I have been involved in some way with the planning and organization of festivals and events. My festival and event travels have taken me throughout Ontario and to many parts of the United States. During the past 4 years my wife and I have visited and examined almost 200 Ontario events. The following series, Developing a Festival/Event, is based on these experiences and observations. With festivals and events the backbone of our communities, I hope to help committee organizers in their quest to produce the best product possible. The full 4 part series can be purchased (manuals, workbooks, sample forms and PowerPoint presentations) by logging onto Festival and Event Planning.

Festival/Event Management (Part Eight)

15. Festival Program
If you have had a festival program produced, and you should have, make sure you have plenty of copies available at the festival. Leaving them locked up in some forgotten room is counterproductive and wasteful. They should be distributed about the various entry points of the festival and handed out to attendees. One person should be responsible for the programs and know who has what and be able to re-distribute if necessary.

16. Washroom and Ground Patrol Plan
The condition of the festival’s grounds and washroom facilities are a reflection of the festival and its organizers. Even if you have contracted maintenance of the grounds or washrooms, it is still important that someone from the festival committee take responsibility for regularly inspection both. Having dirty washrooms, under stocked washrooms, full trash cans and garbage cluttered grounds will turn attendees off. They will spend less and won’t appreciate the other work done by the committee. Clean grounds and washrooms will go a long way ensuring the success of you festival.
(To Be Continued)

Developing a Festival/Event

2011-09-20T10:18:00.000-04:00

For over 20 years I have been involved in some way with the planning and organization of festivals and events. My festival and event travels have taken me throughout Ontario and to many parts of the United States. During the past 4 years my wife and I have visited and examined almost 200 Ontario events. The following series, Developing a Festival/Event, is based on these experiences and observations. With festivals and events the backbone of our communities, I hope to help committee organizers in their quest to produce the best product possible. The full 4 part series can be purchased (manuals, workbooks, sample forms and PowerPoint presentations) by logging onto Festival and Event Planning.

Festival/Event Management (Part Seven)

13. Volunteer and Festival Participant Centre
Many festivals set up an area where volunteers and festival participants can go to relax and get away from the crowd. The centre normally includes beverages and snack food. Some centres include a separate space with cots. This is particularly useful for shows with long hours. Anything you can do to make your volunteers and participant comfortable will go a long way to getting them to come back to future festivals. Remember these are the people that make or break festivals.

14. Security Program
A security program should be planned and put into action before the festival begins. Day and night manpower schedules should be prepared and all security personnel should a clear picture of what is expected of them. This should include their authority; when they are working and what area they are covering. This would apply to both in-house security and contracted security.
(To Be Continued)