Where To Start

The old saying "Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail" was never so true than for an event.

Rome wasn't built in a day and neither is a festival. It also wasn't built by one person. That’s where the committees and volunteers come in.

You have to start somewhere so why not the local government; city, town, and/or county. The local chamber, cvb or tourism board and civic organizations need to have the opportunity to be involved.

Everyone needs to be on the bandwagon. Everyone that is, that has a genuine interest and shares the same goals has dedication and commitment. A variety of talents and skills from the community will equal a successful festival or event.

It is a good idea to first have a meeting of anyone interested in seeing the event put on. This does not need to be only those that would help, but anyone that cares enough to express their ideas. This meeting is more for generating interest in and getting ideas of what, where and when. This is the first opportunity to get some talk going about the event.

Publicize this meeting the best you can. Local newspapers and radio, chamber newsletters and personal phone calls will all help. At the meeting you will need to get everyone's name, phone and email address. This will allow you to have a base of interested people when it comes time to forming the organization and getting future volunteers. Don't ignore this. There is nothing worse than somebody letting you know they are interested and then never hearing back from an event.

At this meeting give an overview of Why a Festival or Event, Potential Themes and when. Get some feedback and open the floor for ideas. These are the ideas that will make your event successful.

Be prepared to announce when and where your second meeting will be for the purpose of nailing down the theme, date and the name of the event. You may not get there in only one more meeting but it will set the direction and a purpose. Ask for volunteers that will help with the next meeting.

And then Communicate. You can start on the right foot by keeping everyone informed. It does not matter if they are involved in a decision, but let them know about it. This keeps the interest up and sure helps when it is time to form committees and get volunteers.