“Developing a Festival” (Appendix “B” – Events and Activities)

 The events and activities you plan will affect both the quality and draw of your festival. Here are a few considerations:

€    Do the events and activities you are considering compliment the theme of your festival?

€    Do you have enough manpower available to plan and implement each activity?

€    Are the costs in line when you consider your return both in terms of dollars and time?

€    Are your planned activities unique enough to interest attendees?

€    Will the planned activities be accepted by your town and its residents? (e.g. a rock concert)

€    Have you given yourselves enough time to plan and implement your activities properly?

€    Are you going to have the same activities as other festivals in your area?

€    If the event you are planning is dependent upon other people (contractor), have you investigated them thoroughly and are they reliable?

€    If your event involves vendors, will you be able to attract enough to make your event successful and are you going to attract high quality vendors?

€    Will you location be able to handle to type of events you are planning? 

“Developing a Festival” (Appendixes "A" - Determining Size and Scope)

 The following should be considered when determining the size and scope of your festival:

€    How many attendees could you draw to your festival?

€    Where would these attendees come from?

€    Is there a location that could handle this number of attendees and is it available at the time you need it?

€    Can your town handle that number of attendees?

€    What restrictions could your town impose to limit the number of attendees?

€    What is the demand for your type of festival?

€    Are there other nearby festivals taking place close to your planned dates?

€    Is there enough parking?

€    If you are planning to include vendors in your festival, will they come?

€    Are you planning enough interesting activities to interest attendees and vendors?

€    Does your group have enough manpower to handle a festival of this size?

“Developing a Festival” (Appendixes)

 

Festival Development

Appendix “A” – Determining Size and Scope

Appendix “B” – Events and Activities

Appendix “C” – Dates and Timing

Appendix “D “ – Preliminary Plan Checklist

Appendix “E” – Financial Control Checklist

Appendix “F” – Preliminary Budget Checklist

Appendix “G” – Event Insurance Summary

Appendix “H” – Key Management Summary

Appendix “I” – Committee Structure Checklist

Appendix “J” – Manpower Checklist

Appendix “K” – Sponsorship Program Checklist

Appendix “L” – Benefactor Program Checklist

Appendix “M” – Preliminary Presentation Outline

Event Development... Continued

 

16.    Sponsors and Benefactors

Depending on the size and scope of your festival, you may want to consider both a sponsor and a benefactor program. The sponsorship program is aimed directly at corporation (businesses) that would benefit form a connection with your festival. The benefits could include both enhanced corporate image and/or increased sales. This concept can be applied to local, regional, provincial and national corporations. Who you approach will depend on the size and scope of your festival. The benefactor program, which very few festivals employ, is a great concept to attract individuals and smaller businesses to contribute and participate in your festival. The key to both programs is to “GIVE THEM THEIR MONIES WORTH”.  Many festivals approach corporations and individuals with hat in hand, asking for what amounts to a donation. They tell the potential contributor that they need X dollars to buy a “widget” and would the corporation give them all or part of the money to help them out. There is usually very little discussion on what the corporation or individual will receive in return. So, to be a “good corporate citizen”, they give the minimum they can get away with or wore, give nothing at all. Corporations’ and individual’s donation “pots” are normally very low and very divided. Most want to donate to as many deserving causes as possible. However, by appealing to them on a value received basis, the amount of money available is much larger and easier to obtain. Sponsorship and benefactor programs will help you find more money to underwrite and expand your festival. If approached properly, these programs can be a win… win for everyone!

17.    Preliminary Approval

The moment of truth has arrived! You have the basics of your festival. You know what you are holding. Why you are holding it. Who you are holding it for. When and where it is to be held and how you are going to get the job done. Now you have to sell it to your group and get their approval.

Event Development... Continued

15.   Imaging

Once you have finalized both your festival’s name and its theme, you may want to like at your imaging. If you planned to hold a unique or significant festival, the image you portray could affect the festival itself. Plus, if you plan it correctly, could mean extra income. For example, if your festival was called “The Big Bear” Festival and the theme was to hold a world Teddy Bear Exhibition and Contest, you might create a giant Teddy Bear caricature that is used in all your advertising and promotional material. If the caricature has been designed specifically for your festival and is uniquely yours, your will want to protect it though copyrights and trademarks. You will also want to register your festival’s name legally. I would recommend talking with a local lawyer about these considerations. Also with imagining, the caricature you have created could be made into licensed products or you could produce some yourselves and sell them at the festival. I believe that the biggest considerations when deciding on how to proceed is “what are the risk’s and “what are the rewards”. 

Development... continued

 14.   Website

Early development of a festival website is important. This is the most inexpensive way of getting your festival’s message out. Most communities have website designers who are willing to donate their time to help you set up your site. Most website designers are not copywriters, so you will have to develop and write your own text. If you do have a site, it is extremely important to keep it up to date. Nothing turns off potential attendees than an out-of-date website. The hosting of your website is another issue. Again, many communities have hosting companies will to donate their hosting services. If this is not available to your festival, there are several hosting plans available, some very inexpensive, but limited in scope. It’s worthwhile to do a little research in the beginning to determine your best hosting route. Work closely with your designer, he/she should be able to point you in the right direction. One word of caution, before you finalize your event name, check to see if that name is an available domain name.  For example, if you choose the name “Apple Festival”, you may find that that name is not available. However, if you put your town’s name in front of “Apple Festival”, it’s likely the name will be available. To search domain names, log onto www.internic.ca, type in the name you want to register and it will tell whether or not it’s available. There are many dot variations that you can use, but the most appropriate for a Canadian festival would be.ca. However, it is your committees choose on the final domain name. It’s best to have your hosting company register you domain name.

Development... continued

 

12.   Manpower Needs

Once you have your chairs in place, you to get them to determine their individual manpower needs. Consideration should be given to both the planning and implementations stages. Over estimating is not a bad thing. Time and circumstances come into play and volunteers may drop out of the committee for any number of reasons. Being aware of this and taking steps to minimize the effect of drop outs will make the chair’s life a lot easier. Strategic manpower planning will also help you evaluate the viability of the festival, as planned. It may show you that you need to modify your festival ideas to accommodate manpower realities.

13.   Event Naming

I believe that the naming of your festival is an important part of the development process. Your name will both attract attendees and give them an idea of what the festival is all about. The name indicates your theme. Make sure when developing your festival activities that they reflect both the festival’s name and theme. If you don’t, you will have a lot of very unhappy attendees.