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 – Required Elements
This could be the next step in your event development or it could be your last step! I have placed this section here because I believe that you need all the "Required Elements" in place before you make your final plans.
1. What Community Support is Available?
In order to hold any event, there must be community support. Support not only includes manpower, but it also includes political support, town staff support, business support (especially retail) and community resident support. In previous sections I have outlined these area in depth, but I can't emphasis enough that you will need all of these support "elements" to hold a successful 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)
7. Are There Any Groups That Could Adversely Affect Your Event? – Perhaps the most obvious group that could affect your event are your local politicians. If you are not offering something that the majority wants and you hope to use town property or services, you will likely reach a “dead-end” before you begin! Knowing this is a good policy to pass your plans by some of the councilors before you present your formal proposal! There are other groups that need to be considered very carefully, Here are a few of them:

RESIDENTS – If you plan on holding your event in a residential area, you must consider the residents. Believe it or not the residents might object to your event! Their objections could range anywhere from noise to traffic to vandalism. Don’t under estimate the power of this group. If they band together they can become very formable opponents. It’s best to get them on your side right from the start. Find out what their objections are and find out ways to eliminate or minimize the objections. If you can get some of them on your committee or offer free tickets or other incentives that might also help.

DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES – If your event is going to be held in the downtown area or near it, you will want to consult with the local business group. The merchants will want to have their say. They will be very protective of their business area. If they think your event is going to interfere with their business or their customers, you can expect a fight on your hands. Remember, your event is only there once a year, they are there all year round. As with the residents, it’s best to get them on your side right from the start. Being up front with them and asking for their suggestions will go a long way in bringing them to your side. Make sure them there is something in your plans that will benefit them. Also like the residents, try to get some of the merchants on your committee.

TOWN STAFF – This is a very powerful group. Even though you might have the politicians on your side, the town staff controls the services! If your event is going to be held on a weekend (most are) then it is likely that many of the staff will be asked to work on their time off. If they don’t like your event or think it’s not worthwhile, they may throw up any number of roadblocks to hurt your event, enough that it could cripple your ideas and your event. You need you consult with them from the beginning; show them just how much your event will enhance their town.

OTHER GROUPS – There are any number of other groups that could affect you plans, groups such as churches, service clubs and other self interest groups. Look at the Olympic Torch Run as an example. The Run experienced all types of opposition (poverty groups, aboriginal, etc). They were able to by-pass most of the challenges by thinking and planning ahead. I believe that the key is to think through your event thoroughly and then be positive about what you are trying to accomplish. Most important of all you must be open to others concerns and ideas and then find a way to minimize any and all objections. No matter how good and noble your intensions may be, there will always be someone ready to criticize your plans. Take it in stride and move forward positively.
(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)
6. Are There Any Conflicting Events? – This is an important question because the success of your event will likely be defined in terms of the number of visitors to your event and how much they spend! If there is a conflicting event, it could drastically affect your numbers, visitors and revenue. “Conflicting events” don’t necessarily mean conflicting dates or locations. They could also include types of participants and visitors. For example, suppose you are planning on holding a major art show on a particular date, but there is another one being held some distance away. Because they don’t conflict location wise, your might think it’s okay to go ahead with the event. This could be a fatal error in judgment because you might not be able to attract the best artists, artists who would attract visitors. Conflicting art shows would likely split the visitor base and both events might suffer, especially if yours is the newer event. Many groups have associations which help organizers coordinate dates, participants and marketing. If this is the case for your event, contacting the appropriate association may save a lot of grief! The internet is a great way to search for these associations. On the other side of the coin are events that may initially seem to be in conflict with your event. However, they may be complimentary to your event. Research will help determine this. When this happens, cooperation is the name of the game! By cooperating with one another you can play on each others strengths! You might event find that together you can offer a lot more and even draw more people to your event! If you really find that you can work together, you might even be able to reduce your costs in areas such as advertising, transportation, parking and security (etc). Being aware of what is happening around you can work to your advantage in many ways!
(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)
5. Is This Event In Keeping With Why You Are Holding It? – Why are you holding this event? Is it because you want to promote your community? Is it because you want to promote your organization or cause? Or, is it because your want to raise money, celebrate a special occasion, etc? Whatever your “why” is, it really doesn’t matter as long as it fits with your group or your community. However, once you have set your “why”, it is important that you stay true to it! Too many festivals and events forget why they are holding their event when they start planning the minute details. They lose sight of their original purpose. This can lead to all kinds of challenges, especially if it’s a new event! Both event visitors and volunteers will become confused. They won’t understand why you are holding the event. They will not understand its purpose. Because of this confusion your event will likely start to fall apart! You may get past the first year, but future years will be doubtful! Make sure when you are planning your event that you keep your focus on the “why” and stay true to it! It may be after a few years of holding the event that the “why” will need to be changed. It is always a good policy to review your purpose at the beginning of each year. Confirm or redefine that “purpose” and then start your planning process and then make sure all your “stakeholders” are aware of what your “purpose” is. With this knowledge everyone involved will be able to help you and your committee reach your goals and objectives.
(To be continued)