Over Zealous Websites

Sometimes web designers and festival organizers create websites that overstate what is actually being offered. All festival and event organizers want people to come to their event. Your website, of course, needs to be interesting and exciting enough to attract people to first read it and then to motivate them to come to your event. I believe, however, that overstating what you are offering will ultimately become a negative.

Here’s an example of what I mean. One particular weekend we were looking for a festival to visit, so I went onto the Internet to do some research. I looked at a number of sites and finally found one that looked interesting. It sounded like a great festival with lots of really interesting activities scheduled. The website was very detailed as to what was being offered. We decided to go to it. The problem was, that when we got there, the reality didn’t match what was advertised on the website. You might say, “What does that matter, it got you to come to the festival”. That may be true, but don’t you want your visitors to come back year after year? Don’t you want them to tell their friends and family about how great your festival was and that they should attend? It’s not that we wouldn’t have visited this festival, we likely would have, but the sour taste that was left from our disappointment meant that we wouldn’t recommend the festival to our friends and we certainly wouldn’t go back to it. If we felt like this, wouldn’t others?

Yes, as I said before, it is very important to an interesting attention grabbing website, but it must be factual and not overstated. You definitely want to draw people to your event, but not under false pretenses. If you have special plans for your festival, great and by all means state them on your website. But, and this is a big but, make sure your special plans happen! If you find, as you get closer to your event that you can’t meet your plans, revise your website the match what is actually going to happen. Remember the old sales adages, “It’s easier to keep a satisfied customer than it is to find a new one” and, “Every dissatisfied customer will tell at least 10 of their friends”.

Be wise, deliver what you promise!

Troubled Websites

A few weeks ago I was thinking about an event we wanted to visit. I decided to go to their website to get more information. The opening page was fine and I was able to get to the menu page easily. From there on in it was an ordeal! The menu page needed to be activated to use the controls just to get into the sub-pages. The menu icons moved. So, even with the controls activated, you had to time your cursor perfectly to catch the selected icon just right before the page would open. If you happened to miss (which I did frequently) you had to start all over again. Once a sub-page was open, it had some kind gimmick to get to the information and, to make matters worse, they were all different. One of the pages had floating bubble that had to be captured with the cursor before the information could be accessed. The bubbles moved quickly so they were difficult to get to and click on. I am sure the web designers had a lot of fun designing this site. It was an expensive site and I am sure it had all the latest bells and whistles, but from my point of view it was just down right frustrating and annoying. I spoke to a computer savvy friend of mine about it and he suggested that the site had been design for kids because it seems to have incorporated some of the challenges that can now be found computer games. That may be well and good and perhaps the kids who visited the site loved it, but it’s not the kids who drive to these events and it’s not the kids who make the make the final decision on where to go and what to see. It’s the parents, and they don’t usually play these computer games. Yes, to be sure, some of them do, but the majority doesn’t. Most parents just want to get the information they need easily, with a minimum of hassles, so that they can make an informed decision. Interesting websites are important because you want to catch the readers’ attention. Being too cute is definitely a negative! My suggestion to festival organizers is to make your website interesting but simple and user (adult) friendly. And, as an added thought, make sure your site has a way for readers to contact you. There is nothing more frustrating than to have a question or comment about a festivals or an event and not to be able to reach someone. Include a contact page that has telephone numbers and e-mail address. The whole idea for having a website is to inform those who want to attend your festival or event. If you make it difficult they just won’t bother.

The Beauty of a Website (Part Two)

Fortunately the office was open, so I decided to go in and ask where the festival was being held. I came back to the car with a long face, “It’s been cancelled!” were my first words as I got back into the car. Then I told Gary that the tourism girl had told me that we weren’t the only ones looking for the festival. Approximately 50 other people had made the same enquiry. That meant that over 50 people had driven to town and had left very disappointed. They were upset not only with the festival organizers, but with the town in general. How many of these people would think twice about coming back to that town to attend a festival, any festival. How many other people did they tell their missing festival story to? It’s like a rippling effect! Everyone involved, organizers and town officials alike were tarred with the same brush. No-one looked good. The solution was very simple update or delete the website. If the organizers wouldn’t or didn’t make the change, the town or its tourism department should have. The tourism department should be aware of all festival and events happening in their town and know who to contact when problems arise. If this had happened in this case, a simple website update, 50 plus people would not have traveled 100’s of unnecessary kilometers. Updating your festival’s website is not only “good business”, it is a common sense courtesy to your customers and patrons. Make sure you give your webmaster the information he/she needs to update the site and then make sure the webmaster makes the changes immediately! There are no excuses for an out-of-date festival website.

The Beauty of a Website (Part One)

A website can be the best boon to a festival or event or it can be its worst nightmare. Websites are designed to communicate with readers of the website. If the site isn’t up to date or has incorrect information, the ramifications can be very serious. Take for example “the Festival that wasn’t there”. When we search for festivals we might want to visit, we go to their website. I am sure that we are not alone in doing this. We had found this particular festival in the “Festival & Events in Ontario” Guide. It looked like a great festival to visit. We hadn’t been to that region or to that kind of event, so it was a perfect festival to consider. I checked out their website and it still looked like a good festival to attend, so we put it on our “to visit” schedule. The day before our visit, I re-checked the website to see if there were any changes. Everything seemed okay. The website was the same as the first time I had looked at it. I always print off a copy of the website for reference during our visits. It was going to be a 4 hour trip, so we got up early so that we could have enough time to visit the festival properly. It was a beautiful sunny day, so we took our time traveling, enjoying the sunshine and the picturesque scenery. All was well, or at least we thought, as we drove into the town where the festival was taking place. We drove into the downtown area looking for festival signs along the way. There were none! We decided to drive around the town looking for the festival. We couldn’t find it! Finally, out of desperation we drove back to the downtown area and found the local tourism office.

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"SCOOP" McWilliams here ... Gary & I wanted to thank you for joining with us this past year! 

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"Agritainment" ~ Behind the Scenes ~ Milton Fall Fair ~ Interview & YOUTUBE VIDEO ~ Great Photos & Music!

“THE INSIDE SCOOP” ~ YouTube Video, Photographs, Music & More!

Interview with President of the Halton Agricultural Society, Vincenzo Carito and Penny Patterson, Homecraft President 

... Milton ... "Home of the “Milton Fall Fair”.

Join us in this great insightful interview with Vincenzo and colleagues ... or CATCH our Ontario Festivals Visited YouTube Video at this LINK.

Full of fun photographs, music and great "content" from "Behind the Scenes with the Milton Fall Fair"!

MILTON FALL FAIR ~ HALTON AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY

Presented by Judi “Scoop” McWilliams

Ontario Festivals Visited

Penny Patterson & Vincenzo Carito
Halton Agricultural Society
Milton Fall Fair

“Agritainment”

This edition of “THE INSIDE SCOOP” we talked with President of the Halton Agricultural Society, Vincenzo Carito and Penny Patterson, Homecraft President, and great insights from Jodi Passmore. 

They shared with us, that the “Ultimate goal of the Milton Agricultural Society is based around education and awareness surrounding agriculture”.

Although the Fair provides entertainment, they also want to bring back a “Taste of the Heritage” and preserve the “History” and “Legacies” for years to come.

Their goal is to not only create awareness of where family’s food comes from, but what life was like decades ago.

Educational aspects are tied in with the entertainment at the Milton Fall Fair.

“Scoop McWilliams” states that … “It is important to stay true to the core of agriculture! It is “Our past & Our future!”

Milton is close to the Greater Toronto Area and the Halton Agricultural Society feels it is important to keep “City Folks” aware and in touch about the agriculture that is so vital, and so close to the city.

The Milton Fall Fair is smaller than other “Fall Fairs” in the Province (not the smallest by far, as the Festival Nomad and I have experienced). Vince says it has a “more intimate feeling” where you can get closer and experience on a personal level.

You can get more time with the agricultural industry both from the “farmers” to “producers” in the area.

This Milton Fall Fair offers a little more “hands on experience”.

WHERE VOLUNTEERS COME FROM … 

Halton Agricultural Society ~ Milton Fall Fair

Penny and Vince share with “THE INSIDE SCOOP” that most of their Volunteer’s typically are the family, friends, kids of families and their friends who are involved in agricultural in the area.

THE CHALLENGE…

The Volunteer Base is changing as the generations are getting older.

They share with us that one of their toughest challenges is to get Youth Involved.

Vince himself started volunteering in high school, after a school friend invited him to come along.

As age gaps and careers blossom, so does the core of the volunteer base.

Once people are involved through their own participation, such as animals, crafts, they usually stick around.

It’s getting them involved initially that is the challenge.

GETTING HOOKED ~ BECOMING A “LIFER”

Once they take that step … they generally “get hooked “become as Vince says “a lifer”!

He goes on to share … “lives have not gotten busier than they were, per se, but our lives have changed, becoming complex, making it difficult for volunteers to make the meetings, do all the paperwork and more”.

Society today … A DIFFERENT KIND OF BUSY …

Life today is a “different kind of busy” prohibiting people from making a large commitment from being an Executive Director, Boards member or key role.

Vince has been President for 2 years now, being on the board for 11 years. A lot of fun, great rewards, but there is a bit of a time commitment, which can be the difficult part.

Being in such a Key Role is not what is always needed.

MANY ROLES at the FAIR …

Volunteers are needs for many aspects to host the Milton Fall Fair.

From set-up to tear down, to helping manage some of the actual events within the Fair. There is a lot that goes on “behind the scenes”.

THERE IS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE! …

Halton Agricultural Society ~ Milton Fall Fair

Vince shares … “I truly believes there is something for everyone”!

It’s a matter of getting people to find what they like there! What is their interests?

Volunteering is part of the organizers responsibility to help find a “great fit” that the volunteer enjoys.

MORE FUN THAN WORK!

Vince says it’s important to not only “utilize their help (volunteers) but make it enjoyable at the same time”!

You want them to want to come back. “You have to make it as much enjoyable, if not more, then there is labour. You want to keep the Volunteers and appreciate them!”

MILTON FAIR GROUNDS ~ “THE HEART OF MILTON!”…

The Milton Fairgrounds are “The Heart of Milton” ~ “The Milton Fall Fair jams a lot Heart into the Fair”!

There’s is a lot of content in their Fair, a lot of Education, especially for the schools … and there is a lot of large amount of entertainment. Some people just want to come out for the shows, but actually, there’s so much more they could enjoy while at the Fairgrounds!

PLANNING FAR AHEAD …

We weren’t surprised when both Penny and Vince share that they plan the Fair a year in advance, if not further.

They plan their marketing and promotions and programming far in advance, so if there is a problem, say something needs to be cut out, or even added in, there would be time to manage it all. From the promotions, to entries or prize monies.

Youth Volunteers … Outside of 40 hours requirements; How to engage youth?

Vince and I had a long chat about some ideas how to Engage Youth.

We talked about a perhaps holding a Competition during the Fair through Social Media. Vince says even that would require a Volunteer to coordinate.

 “Scoop McWilliams” shares … it wouldn’t it be nice if some of the youth brought their friends along.

If you asked a high school youth to Volunteer, the student might reply … “I don’t want to Volunteer at a Fair”, but, if you invited them to participate with Social Media such as “Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest”, they might be more inclined to get involved.

We need to offer our Youth something they are interested in!

Perhaps a Photo competition. Prizes given out on the final day of the Fair.

Offer Photograph Competition in all kinds of Different Categories.

Ideas seem to be endless … but starting the conversation on “Engaging Youth” would be a good start.

One way to ensure “quality control of Social Media” (nothing negative, rude, etc.) is to have the Students “Mentor” with a Senior Agricultural Society member. Together they can learn, grow and succeed!

ATTACHED TO YOUR DEVICE … HAVE FUN AND SHARE! …

As we continue to talk, Vince says people are so attached their phones and devices, that Engaging Youth through Social Media could be a great way to bring a little more promotion to the Fair.

Participation throughout Friday and Saturday, taking the shots and sharing, then Sunday, bring the family, parents, and grandparents to see if they “WON”!

A Choice ~ MILTON FALL FAIR ~ WEEKEND PASSES!

Halton Agricultural Society ~ Milton Fall Fair

Penny and Vince shared with me today there is a Weekend Pass available at the Milton Fall Fair. You can visit at your leisure. This will be great for people to experience different events all weekend long, come and go as they please.

Share YOUR EXPERIENCE at the Milton Fall Fair …

LEGACY! …. YOUR LEGACY! …

“THE INSIDE SCOOP” talks with Vince, who shares with us today, that one of the most gratifying experiences at the Fair are the people that you get to meet!

KEEP GOOD THINGS GOING … IT’S NOT JUST THE FAIR … IT’S ALSO THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY …

Vince says the people are really “one of a kind”, devoted to hard work and keeping good things going”.

Vince thinks that not only is it the Fair itself that is special, but the people involved in the community!

It takes an entire community, youth and volunteers to keep our “Fairs” alive!

LEGACY THROUGH GENERATIONS …

Halton Agricultural Society ~ Milton Fall Fair

Vince shares his experience with us … “It’s an honour to walk the Fair hallway to see the Past Presidents and the Legacy throughout the generations”. All the family names go so far back.

Vince is the first of his family involved and hopes that for many generations to come, he too can “pass the torch” and the Legacy will go on!

Many generations are the make-up of the Milton Fall Fair, Halton Agricultural Society.

Tradition or legacy, Fairs offer you the opportunity to establish a traditional legacy and keep them alive.

Scoop McWilliams tells Vince in response to his statement … “you wonder in life, where’s your mark, how am I different, what’s my legacy going to be? …It sounds like Vince found a nice niche and hopefully it will continue.

Scoop goes on to say … “There is a satisfaction and feeling in life that you helped, and contributed, and hopefully helped make something successful”.

YOU CAN BE A PART OF IT … YOUR LEGACY …

Vince shares … “It is a wonderful feeling to see how many other generations have been involved and you can be a part of it!”

We welcome you to check out the Milton Fall Fair ~ Halton Agricultural Society website to learn about the Fair and more! (Check out the Milton Fall Fair, and all the activities at the Fairgrounds, at LINK (http://www.miltonfair.com/).

Check out Ontario Festivals Visited YouTube Video of this Interview at LINK

Milton Fall Fair ~ Halton Agricultural Society Fairgrounds

Get connected! Become Involved in Your Future!

“Respecting the Past while Embracing the Future!” ~ “Without our Past … we have nothing!” ~ History is the Original Recycler”!

We are concluding our Interview here with Jodie Easson, representing the Caledonia Agricultural Society in this fabulous, fun, interesting, educational (“Agri-cational”), entertaining Interview with “THE INSIDE SCOOP”.

Judi "Scoop" McWilliams ~ Ontario Visited
Great Interview with
Jodie Easson ~ Caledonia Agricultural Society ~ More than just a FAIR!

There is a lot of “SCOOP”, and Gary and I are excited to present this “INSIDE SCOOP” Blog via VIDEO. We had a sunny fabulous day to shot the Video at Collingwood ~ Blue Mountain Village. Jodie and her daughter had come the area for a dance competition (her daughter that is), and Jodie was able to carve in some time to share her insights, knowledge, and great sense of humour with us all.

We hope you enjoy this 7 Part Series of “THE INSIDE SCOOP” with Caledonia Agricultural Society ~ Great information for any Festival, Event, Organization, and Associations! Lots to learn!

PART 7 ~ “Respecting the Past while Embracing the Future!” ~ “Without our Past … we have nothing!” ~ History is the Original Recycler”!

You are welcome to check out the Caledonia Agricultural Society website for all their events and activities at the Fairgrounds. Check out at http://caledoniafair.ca/PHP/cashome.php.

You can also check out our Ontario Festivals Visited You Tube Channel for ongoing Videos: Tours of Ontario’s adventures and discoveries! Check out at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz-JADna-sRdu9NQi18rymw.

Finally, have fun with our weekly “Oh Canada Eh! Game” ~ online interactive video with questions about Canada leading up to our 150^th Sesquicentennial in 2017! Enjoy! Please see at http://ontariofestivalsvisited.ca/oh-canada-eh-the-game.html.