Top Ten Festival Challenges (Part Two)

Over the past few years I have visited about 150 Ontario festivals and events. Although I have found them have been interesting and enjoyable to visit, I have also seen many challenges. In this article I will describe the second 5 of the Top Ten Challenges I have experienced.
6. FACILITIES – One of the greatest challenges festival organizers face is designing the layout of their festival grounds and building. Basically the festival is “stuck” with what is there! This might be okay, but it might also be disastrous, especially if the grounds and buildings are in poor shape. This is where careful initial planning comes into play! First impressions (curb-side appeal) can mean the difference between success and failure. Even really bad grounds and buildings can be made acceptable with a little imagination. Old and poorly maintained buildings can be brought to life with colour and decorative displays. Oddly shaped grounds can be made useful by careful placement of events and activities. One of the best uses of grounds was by the Mississauga Waterfront Festival. This festival takes place in Port Credit’s rambling Memorial Park. By carefully placing activities and events, they created a natural “flow” that allowed festival visitors to take in the entire event. Toronto’s Royal Winter Fair uses the Exhibition buildings very effectively. The fair takes place in both new and old buildings. By careful planning of events, organizers have made, what could have been a maze, an exciting journey of discovery!
7. WEATHER PLAN – No-one can control the weather, but an effective “weather plan” can, at least, minimize the affects. Even “indoor” events can be affected by poor weather (snow, freezing rain, hurricanes, etc)! Making alternative weather plans helps in two ways. Firstly it tells your volunteers what will happen in case of disastrous weather, a plan to follow. And, secondly it tells your potential visitors what you plan to do if the weather turns bad. One of the most important aspects of any weather plan is communications, both to your volunteers and to your visitors. If an event is going to be cancelled or postponed, you have to let people know. “Letting people know” can easily be accomplished through your website. First by publishing your weather policy and then by providing a contact telephone number should a cancellation or postponement take place. A “Postponement or cancellation notice” could also be placed on your website. When serious thunder storms threatened the opening night outdoor play of the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival, they had an alternative plan and location in place. Even though the weather looked fine when they made the decision, experience told them not to take a chance on the weather forecasts for the area. They made the decision in plenty of time and then let festival visitors know of the location change.
8. PROGRAM GUIDES – I like festivals and events that produce a nice informative program guide. To me it shows that it is a well planned event and that they care about their visitors. I also like informative program guides because they provide me the information I need to enjoy the event. I don’t believe that guides need to be overly ornate to serve its purpose. Like websites, content is “king”! Here are some of the components that I think are necessary to make a guide effective.
 A site map should be included showing the location of all events and activities and all important facilities, washrooms, information booth(s), first aid station(s), ATM’s, disabled parking, shuttle bus stops and designated food areas.
 Activities and descriptions should be included along with times.
 Contact information should be given with telephone numbers that can be used during the event
 Finally, a list of event sponsors
I am sure that more could be added, but this a start. If cost is prohibiting an event from producing a program guide, festival organizers should contact the local newspaper to see if they would be interested in publishing the guide. If you give them the advertising rights, they will likely produce the guide for free and in some cases they may even pay for those advertising rights. Another inexpensive way of producing a program guide is to make it part of your website. If you go this route, make sure that the program is not too long, that it is in the “PDF” format and that it can be printed in “black and white”. One of the best festival program guides I have seen is produced for the Cobourg Waterfront Festival by one of the local newspapers. The newspaper pays, through sponsorship, for the right to publish the guide.
9. FOOD – Food is an important component of most festivals and events. It used to be that “good old fashion” comfort food was totally acceptable, foods like hot dogs, hamburgers, French fries, sno-cones and candy floss. While these are still the “norm”, times are changing and many visitors are demanding more nutritious foods. A number of festivals and events have responded to these demands and are offering a greater variety of nutritious meals. Families are not only becoming “health” conscious, but with the economy as it is, they are looking for better food value. Some families have stopped buying food at festival all together, opting to eat at home before going to the event or bring a picnic lunch to eat at the event. Festivals and events that recognize these trends and respond to them will benefit from the changes in the long run. Here are some ideas to think about.
 Try grouping food vendors together and offer a greater variety of “comfort” and “health foods”.
 Provide a “picnic” area for visitors who bring their own food. Make sure you advertise this service on your website and in your advertising.
 Screen food vendors thoroughly, make sure that they meet the food standards that have been set, both in quality of food and food value. It’s your event, so you make the rules!
 Providing a family friendly environment will pay huge dividends.
One of the best events we have visited for food was the Winona Peach Festival. All food vendors are local charities and organizations. The food is home made, nutritious and delicious. The vendors are all located in the same food area and there is plenty of variety to choose from. In the centre of the food area is a covered picnic area!
10. THEME – In order to attract visitors to their event, most festivals develop a “theme”. The “theme” dictates how the event is organized, what attractions are offered and how it is promoted. It identifies the uniqueness of the event. That is why it is important to choose the theme carefully, making sure that it makes sense for you and your community. You likely would not want to hold a “rock concert” in a retirement community! Once a “theme” has been set, every effort should be made to keep to the spirit of the theme. This includes activities, ground set-up and marketing. Having a great theme without enthusiastically promoting it is like having a “birthday cake without candles, all show and no glow”! The Canadian Redneck Games in Minto is a great example using and promoting a theme to its maximum. The amount of press and awards that this event has received is amazing and a true testament to its "catchy" theme!