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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. 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 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.
