Festival & Event Planning

Transcription

1 Festival & Event Planning Developing a Festival EVENT DEVELOPMENT SERIES Module Two Event Planning Manual 2008 Gary McWilliams

2 Festivals Big and Small! Over 18 years ago I was asked what I knew about art festivals. I told the person who asked that I worked for the founder of a large Wildlife Art Festival and was fairly familiar how that festival worked, plus I knew most of the artists who participated. The gentleman then asked me (jokingly?) to move to to his hometown to help him start an art festival. I (jokingly?) said If you can find a place for my wife and me to live, I might consider it. About a week later the gentleman called to say he had found us the perfect place to live. He had called my bluff! My wife and I had been casually looking to move, but not quite that soon. As a matter of fact we were just about to embark on a two month cross country driving tour to promote art products and programs to National Parks, Museums, Zoos, and Wildlife Associations. We traveled to the town anyway and fell in love with the home and the town, itself. We lease the residence, put our furniture in storage, packed our van and headed west. It was a fantastic trip, but it was time to come home to our new life. As soon as we had moved in, we made an appointment to discuss our festival ideas to the town s manager of parks and recreation. The manager was excited about the idea and agreed to talk to the town s Mayor and a few town councilors. Everyone agreed that it was a great idea and that we should come back once we had firmed up our plans. After several evening meetings, we developed in initial festival plan and budget. Our idea was to take it to the local Lions Club and convince them to back the project. After much discussion and a lot of questions, the Lions and the Lioness Club agree, not only to financially back the festival but to become deeply involved in its planning and implementation. The hard work and devotion of those festival pioneers was awe inspiring. Without them the festival would never have become a reality. This Developing a Festival handbook is dedicated to all these wonderful and talented people! 2

3 Planning I was watching a well know wildlife artist work on a very detailed painting of a song bird. He was painting it upside down! I asked him how he could paint like that. He told me it was all in the planning. He researched his subject thoroughly, pre-planned the design and the rest, he said, was just like painting by numbers. Easy for him to say, but hopefully you get the point. Developing a festival is just like painting a great piece of art it s all in the planning. 1. Overall Festival Meetings The number of people involved in the development and planning of your festival will depend on its size and scope. The larger your festival, the more people you will likely need to make it work. Organization will be the key to managing your workforce and making your festival a success. Regular, structured meetings are absolutely necessary. While thought out agendas and accurate minutes are a must. These along with a comprehensive follow-up system will all help you ad your key managers maintain control over the planning process. (see Appendix N Meeting Sample Agenda & Appendix O Meeting Sample Minutes) 2. Finalizing General Details (Location, Dates & Timing, Insurance, etc.) Now that the festival is in the planning stage, all key elements have to be finalized and contracts signed where necessary. Make sure everything is in place before proceeding too far. Here is a list elements to consider. (see Appendix P Finalization Checklist) 3. Festival Programs Finalizing your festival s program should be one of your first priorities. Your whole festival revolves around festival events and activities. If you are having specialized and/or unique activities, you need to firm them up quickly. You don t want to have to change your program halfway through the planning stage. The more complex your festival s events and activities are; the more time and effort needed to make them run smoothly and efficiently. 3

4 4. Overall Festival Plan of Action The most important stage in festival planning is the creation of a comprehensive realistic Plan of Action and Budget (see Appendix Q Plan of Action Checklist and Appendix R Budget Checklist). These two processes give you the foundation for holding a successful festival. The more effort you put into these, the easier the festival becomes to organize and the less chance of unforeseen problems. Include a Critical Path Chart (see Appendix S Critical Path Chart Sample) with the Plan of Action. This will help keep your key managers on target in completing the tasks set out in the action plan. 5. Financial Controls As mentioned in the development stage, it is important to put solid financial controls in place right from the beginning. At this stage you will start to make financial commitments for both income and expense. You will now be dealing with a number of committee members who will want (need) to spend money. You need to be able to manage all this activity without losing control or your sanity. Here is a checklist to help you. (see Appendix T Financial Control Checklist) 6. Formation of Sub Committees You have you plans and budget in place. Now it s time to divide your festival up into manageable sections (committees). The type and number of committees will, again, depend on the size and scope of your festival. (see Appendix U Possible Sub- Committees) 7. Co-ordination of Sub Committees and Activities Like with the financial controls, you will need to be a committee/manpower control plan into place. The larger the festival, the more critical this step will be. With so much taking place, it will be easy for people to step over one another or to duplicate efforts. Your key management team must be in full agreement during the planning stages so that everything proceeds smoothly and efficiently. When people are at odds, costly mistakes happen. (see Appendix V Manpower Coordination Checklist) 4

5 8. Sub Committee Job Descriptions Each committee will need a hierarchy and its member will need to know what is expected of them. Now is the time to develop specific job descriptions for each position. (see Appendix W Job Description Checklist) 9. Sub Committee Action Plans Each sub committee should prepare its own Action Plan, Budget and Critical Path. The format should be similar to the overall plan and budget and should reflect the actions and figures detailed in the overall plan. (see Appendixes Q, R & S ) 10. Contingency Planning Contingency planning is an important part of your overall festival planning. Who knows what problems could arise. Taking all or as many eventualities in to consideration is just common sense. Problems will occur during both the planning and implementation phases of your festival. How you handle each problem (opportunity) will affect your festival s final success (or failure). All problems should be considered and alternative plans should ready. Unplanned circumstances can easily come about. Weather, manpower, strikes, war, fire, etc can all happen. Have an alternate date available. Make sure you have more manpower available than you actually need. Have a cancellation strategy in place in case the event has to cancelled or postponed. These all seem simple and obvious, but considering them before the event could save a lot of embarrassment later on. One last word, if you do need to cancel your festival, make sure you have a plan to notify potential attendees that it has been cancelled. Place an ad in your local newspaper; take out radio and/or TV ads and place a notice on your website. There is nothing worse then traveling for several hours to attend a festival only to find that it has been cancelled. 5

6 Developing an Festival Appendixes Festival Planning Appendix N Meeting Sample Agenda Appendix O Meeting Sample Minutes Appendix P Finalization Checklist Appendix Q Plan of Action Checklist Appendix R Budget Checklist Appendix S Critical Path Chart Sample Appendix T Financial Control Checklist Appendix U Possible Sub-Committees Appendix V Manpower Coordination Checklist Appendix W Job Description Checklist 6

7 Appendix N Meeting Sample Agenda Event Name Meeting Agenda Location: Date: Start Time: End Time: 1. Welcome 2. Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting 3. Correspondence 4. Treasure s Report Outstanding Invoices Budget Review 1. Old Business A B C 2. Committee Reports A B C 3. New Business A B C 4. Adjournment 7

8 Appendix O Meeting Sample Minutes Event Name Meeting Minutes Location: Date: Start Time: End Time: 1. Meeting Started: (Time) 2. Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting (Approved or changed and approved) 3. Correspondence (Tabled) 4. Treasure s Report Outstanding Invoices (Approved) Budget Review (Reviewed and approved) 5. Old Business (Normally arising from previous minutes) A B C 6. Committee Reports (Best in they are received prior to meeting and in written form) (Reviewed and approved) a. A b. B c. C 7. New Business (New business tabled and discussed; motions introduced when necessary and voted on) A B C 8. Adjournment (Time) 8

9 Appendix P Finalization Checklist A finalization checklist should be prepared and completed before moving on. You want to make sure you have all the key elements in place. Here are a few ideas to start you off: Is there a firm contract in place for the use and rental of your festival location? Are you sure there are no conflicting festivals and events nearby? Will your town and its residents support your festival? Are all your committee members ready to work and are in it for the long haul? Do you have sufficient start up funding in place? Is your financial control system in place? Do you have a strong key management team in place? Do you have a detailed written description of what the final festival will look like? Are you sure you will have enough manpower for the actual festival? Are you sure your festival idea and theme will attract enough attendees to make your festival a success? Has festival insurance been arranged? 9

10 Appendix Q Plan of Action Checklist To plan a successful event you need to prepare a detailed plan of action. This allows all team members to know exactly what the plans are and when they need to be accomplished. Preparing a detailed plan will keep everyone one the same page. Here are some items that should be included in your plan: Committees need to determined and chairs appointed Committee Members need to be found and duties assigned Date needs to be decided upon and firmed once facility booked Number of attendees needs to be estimated Locations (facilities) need to be investigated then approved facility needs to be booked A site plan needs to be developed Admission prices needs to be determined and approved by committee The timing of the festival needs to be determined (night or day event; duration of event; etc) The theme of the festival needs to be decided upon and approved. This needs to happen now so that the program (events and activities) can be developed Advertising and promotion plans have to be developed and executed A plan to obtain sponsorship dollars needs to be prepared and executed Website domain name needs to be decided on and registered Website needs to be developed and hosted Benefactor Program needs to be developed and marketed Budget need to be prepared and approved Tour packages needed to be developed and marketed Vendors to be contacted and confirmed Contracts need to be prepared and executed 10

11 Appendix R Budget Checklist The following checklist outlines the main revenue and expense categories: Revenue: Admission sales Sponsorship revenue Benefactor revenue Government grants Vendor revenue Donations Advertising revenue Expense: Location rental Printing charges (event tickets, posters, etc) Advertising costs Building materials Washroom Security Transportation (Shuttle/People mover) Sound system rental Fencing Entertainment Food and refreshments for volunteers Garbage pick-up Extra event help Wrap-up meeting 11

12 Appendix S Critical Path Chart Sample Task Name Duration Start Finish Fixing Date of Festival 4d Mon 2/26/07 Thu 3/1/07 Estimate number of attendees 4d Mon 2/26/07 Thu 3/1/07 Find and book location 8d Mon 2/26/07 Wed 3/7/07 Determine admission prices 10d Mon 2/26/07 Fri 3/9/07 Determine festival duration 10d Mon 2/26/07 Fri 3/9/07 Determine festival theme 10d Mon 2/26/07 Fri 3/9/07 Determine festival program 14d Mon 2/26/07 Thu 3/15/07 Book vendors 14d Mon 2/26/07 Thu 3/15/07 Create advert/promo plan 21d Mon 2/26/07 Mon 3/26/07 Register website 21d Mon 2/26/07 Mon 3/26/07 Develop website 30d Mon 2/26/07 Fri 4/6/07 Sponsorship plan 45d Mon 2/26/07 Fri 4/27/07 Benefactor program 60d Mon 2/26/07 Fri 5/18/07 Special considerations 60d Mon 2/26/07 Fri 5/18/07 Hold event 61d Mon 2/26/07 Mon 5/21/07

13 Appendix T Financial Control Checklist Putting financial control in place early will set the financial tone during the entire process. Even if your festival is not developed as a money making event, fiscal responsibility is always a good policy. Here are some thoughts: Develop a workable computerized accounting system as soon as possible Work with an accountant to develop a professional Chary of Accounts Develop financial guidelines that are easy to understand and easy to follow Make sure all requests for money are in writing Have all section committees make one person responsible for committee finances Make sure all revenues and payments are recorded immediately Make sure there are receipts for all expenses Prepare a working budget early, monitor it weekly and follow it, with approved adjustments, as necessary Develop a simple reporting system both for committees to report their finances and for the finance committee to report to the Board of Directors Appoint an audit committee right at the start Do not make financial exceptions. Once you have your policies in place and agreed on by everyone, stick to them with no exceptions

14 Appendix U Possible Sub-Committees Here is a list of possible sub-committees: Finance Administration Site and facilities Procurement Marketing and media Internet Sponsorship and donations Benefactor program Volunteers and manpower Events and activities Vendors Legal and contracts Security and transportation Town liaison Community relations Amenities 14

15 Appendix V Manpower Coordination Checklist Keeping track of what manpower is needed and what manpower is available during an event is an important task. Being able to coordinate the movement of manpower during a festival, especially in times of an emergency, is essential. Here are some considerations: Have all section committees prepare a list of all their volunteers, their functions and their schedule during the event Have each section committee chair list all non-essential volunteers that could be made available for other tasks, if necessary Prepare a master manpower chart that shows each section committee and their volunteers Develop an emergency manpower contingency plan Make sure there is a good communication system in place for the festival During the festival, set up a communications centre and make sure it is manned at all times during festival hours plus an hour or so before and after Have a response procedure in place for the festival 15

16 Appendix W Job Description Checklist Having simple job descriptions for specific tasks allows chairs to move volunteers in and out of jobs easy. The following items should be included in each job description: A description of the task or job required A time schedule Who volunteer reports to Where the volunteer should report initially Where the volunteer reports when finished Reporting process (if necessary) 16