Event Development (continued)

“The following is a continuation of my Event Development Series. Several months ago I started the series with the first section, “Initial Development”. The second section is entitled “Research and Preliminary Planning”. Now that you and your team have decided to proceed with the event, it’s time to get serious! As suggested previously, any thoughts and idea are more then welcome!"

Research and Preliminary Planning
You’ve determined that you “financially” want to proceed with your festival or event and you and your committee have completed plenty of “research”. Now it’s time to start your “Preliminary Planning”.

Preliminary Planning – Considerations (Continued)
2. HOW MUCH TO CHARGE? – There are two conflicting questions to consider when determining how much to charge. The first is “How do I make my festival or event profitable or, at least break even?" The second is “What will people pay to visit my festival or event?" The first question will really be determined by how well you plan and manage your event. If you “research” your event thoroughly and then “plan” it properly, the question should take care of itself. To answer the second question you need to know the demographics of the people you are trying to attract. If you are trying to attract young families with small children, you are not going to be able to charge as much as if you are attracting older established families. Another contributing factor to the amount you can charge is geographic area. Some areas are more influential than others. What you are offering is another factor. The more you offer visitors, the more you should be able to charge. This factor is, of course, tempered by the first two considerations. Finding the proper balance is always a challenge. One way of offering more but charging less is through sponsorships. If you can find companies or individuals to sponsor some or all of your events/attractions, you should be able to minimize or eliminate your entrance fees. This could go a long way to attracting more visitors. However, if this is a new event, I would caution you to go easy. More new events fail because they become overly optimistic. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in “thinking big”. It’s just that I think you should be aware of what the “downsides” are and be willing and “able” to accept any negative consequences should the worst happen. My biggest concern with any event, new or established, is that they give value for dollars charged. Someone once told me that you should always “promise less but give more”. I believe that this is the key to holding a successful festival or event.
(To be continued)

Event Development (continued)

“The following is a continuation of my Event Development Series. Several months ago I started the series with the first section, “Initial Development”. The second section is entitled “Research and Preliminary Planning”. Now that you and your team have decided to proceed with the event, it’s time to get serious! As suggested previously, any thoughts and idea are more then welcome!"

Research and Preliminary Planning
You’ve determined that you “financially” want to proceed with your festival or event and you and your committee have completed plenty of “research”. Now it’s time to start your “Preliminary Planning”.

Preliminary Planning - Considerations (continued)
1.TYPE OF EVENT (Continued) – Unique themes or event niches could be another way to choose the type of event you want to hold. However, committees should consider how their community and its residents will receive the event. Here is what I mean by this.
Canadian Redneck Games – The Canadian Redneck Games, held in the Town of Minto (Harriston) are wildly successful. They are successful here because the residents of the town have embraced them. Another community’s residents might not be as enthusiastic about the theme and the event would likely not get off the ground.
Beaches Jazz Festival – The Beaches area in Toronto is a very trendy area with a lot of younger middleclass residents. Most love good music and don’t mind crowds. Most weekends in the Beaches the streets and parks are jammed with both residents and visitors. It’s all very exciting. That’s one of the reasons that the Beaches Jazz Festival is so successful! The Festival has become a giant party with great music and the area is perfect for this type of event.
Collingwood Elvis Festival – The original festival committee must have realized popularity of Elvis Presley when they decided to hold the Elvis Festival in Collingwood. Elvis has bridged the generation gap and so has the Elvis Festival. With Collingwood being a tourist destination, mainly in the winter months for skiing, it has plenty of bars, restaurants and accommodations. The town needed a great summer event. The Elvis tribute artists were a perfect way to attract people to the area and to compliment local businesses. The Festival attracts thousands of Elvis enthusiasts all wanting to be entertained, feed and in some cases, housed.
(To be continued)

Event Development (continued)

“The following is a continuation of my Event Development Series. Several months ago I started the series with the first section, “Initial Development”. The second section is entitled “Research and Preliminary Planning”. Now that you and your team have decided to proceed with the event, it’s time to get serious! As suggested previously, any thoughts and idea are more then welcome!"

Research and Preliminary Planning
You’ve determined that you “financially” want to proceed with your festival or event and you and your committee have completed plenty of “research”. Now it’s time to start your “Preliminary Planning”.

Preliminary Planning - Considerations
1. TYPE OF EVENT – When your considering the type of event you want to hold, or its theme, consideration should not only be given to the surrounding area but to the actual area itself. You need to hold an event that is going to have the greatest appeal possible and your area just might hold the “key”. I believe that most communities have some outstanding feature or fact that would be of interest to others. Here are some examples of what I mean:
Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest – There is a large German population located here and holding an Oktoberfest celebration just made sense. Now thousands of people from all over the world enjoy this wonderful event. The area and its people held the “key” to the type of event that would be held and would be successful.
Kleinburg Binder Twine Festival – The original celebrations “began in the late 1800’s when farmers came to the community to buy twine to bind their sheaves of wheat together”. Somewhere along the way the tradition became lost. Then in 1967, Canada’s centennial year, the centennial committee revived the idea of the festival. It has now become one of central Ontario’s best fall events.
Smiths Falls Canal, Railway and Chocolate Festival – Until recently Hershey Chocolate played a big part in the lives of the citizens of Smiths Falls. So much so that they developed a festival featuring “chocolate”, the Chocolate and Railway Festival. Unfortunately Hershey’s decided to leave the area and left the festival committee with some hard choices to make. Rather than give the festival up, the committee looked to see what other attractions were in the area. The obvious choice was the Rideau Canal. They started last year by renaming the event, the Canal, Railway and Chocolate Festival and placing a greater emphasis on events near and on the canal. This year the transition will continue. My point with this example is to show that even when one attraction disappears another will arise to take its place. Smiths Falls continues to attract people from all over eastern Ontario.
(To be continued)

Event Development (continued)

“The following is a continuation of my Event Development Series. Several months ago I started the series with the first section, “Initial Development”. The second section is entitled “Research and Preliminary Planning”. Now that you and your team have decided to proceed with the event, it’s time to get serious! As suggested previously, any thoughts and idea are more then welcome!"

Research and Preliminary Planning

Research (Continued)
7. LOCAL EVENTS – Another great research source is other local and regional event organizers. They have already gone through the development and thought process, so they can tell you where the pitfalls lie and where the help is. Remember, however, that their experience is related to their own event, so you have to take their information and put it into the context of your own event. Depending on the type of event you are holding, other organizers can tell you their experiences with suppliers, trades and services that they have used (or not used). They can also tell you about activities that they have tried and what their success was. I think most event organizers would be willing to share information with others. In this regard, I would strongly recommend membership in the industry’s voice, Festivals and Events Ontario (FEO). This is an excellent resource organization plus they have an informative annual conference that is usually held at the end of February.

8. CALENDARS OF EVENTS – One of the elements you should definitely research is what other festivals and events are being held in your region. Too many similar events can saturate a market and lessen the chance of success. The same is true for too many events happening in the same region during the same time frame. When starting a new event you want to have as much on your side as possible! Here are a few calendars that you can search, Ontario Travel, FEO and Ontario Festivals Visited. (Note: The Ontario Festivals Visited search engine is in the process of being upgraded. You can check their website for details and timing)


9. LOCAL SUPPLIERS – This is an area that needs careful attention. Local suppliers, if approached in a professional way, can make or break an event. Local suppliers and businesses carry a great deal of weight in their community. Many are members of a service club or two and the local Chamber of Commerce. If you can get a number on your side, they can influence other business and local politicians. They can also be a great source of information about the pulse of the community. This is important when deciding what type of event you want hold. Many suppliers are not only willing to give their advice, but will be willing to become involved. Here are a few examples of what I mean. I know of one committee that wanted to build booths for their vendors. The cost of the building materials was going to be too expensive, so they approached a local building materials supplier who donated the use of lumber and sheeting. Without this generous supplier the event might not have been successful. This company also donated money. All they wanted in return was some recognition for their contribution. There are many such examples, so make sure you contact your local businesses and get them on your side!
(To be continued)