Top Ten Festival Challenges (Part Two)

 Over the years, I have visited about 250 Ontario festivals and events. Although I have found them have been interesting and enjoyable to visit, I have also seen many challenges.  In this article I will describe 5 of the Top Ten Challenges I have experienced.

8. PROGRAM GUIDES – I like festivals and events that produce a nice informative program guide. To me it shows that it is a well-planned event and that they care about their visitors. I also like informative program guides because they provide me the information, I need to enjoy the event. I don’t believe that guides need to be overly ornate to serve its purpose. Like websites, content is “king”! Here are some of the components that I think are necessary to make a guide effective.

Ø  A site map should be included showing the location of all events and activities and all important facilities, washrooms, information booth(s), first aid station(s), ATM’s, disabled parking, shuttle bus stops and designated food areas.

Ø  Activities and descriptions should be included along with times.

Ø  Contact information should be given with telephone numbers that can be used during the event

Ø  Finally, a list of event sponsors

I am sure that more could be added, but this a start. If cost is prohibiting an event from producing a program guide, festival organizers should contact the local newspaper to see if they would be interested in publishing the guide. If you give them the advertising rights, they will likely produce the guide for free and in some cases they may even pay for those advertising rights. Another inexpensive way of producing a program guide is to make it part of your website. If you go this route, make sure that the program is not too long, that it is in the “PDF” format and that it can be printed in “black and white”. One of the best festival program guides I have seen is produced for the Cobourg Waterfront Festival by one of the local newspapers. The newspaper pays, through sponsorship, for the right to publish the guide.

Top Ten Festival Challenges (Part Two)

 Over the years, I have visited about 250 Ontario festivals and events. Although I have found them have been interesting and enjoyable to visit, I have also seen many challenges.  In this article I will describe 5 of the Top Ten Challenges I have experienced. 

7. WEATHER PLAN – No-one can control the weather, but an effective “weather plan” can, at least, minimize the affects. Even “indoor” events can be affected by poor weather (snow, freezing rain, hurricanes, etc)! Making alternative weather plans helps in two ways. Firstly, it tells your volunteers what will happen in case of disastrous weather, a plan to follow. And, secondly it tells your potential visitors what you plan to do if the weather turns bad. One of the most important aspects of any weather plan is communications, both to your volunteers and to your visitors. If an event is going to be cancelled or postponed, you have to let people know. “Letting people know” can easily be accomplished through your website. First by publishing your weather policy and then by providing a contact telephone number should a cancellation or postponement take place. A “Postponement or cancellation notice” could also be placed on your website. When serious thunder storms threatened the opening night outdoor play of the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival, they had an alternative plan and location in place. Even though the weather looked fine when they made the decision, experience told them not to take a chance on the weather forecasts for the area. They made the decision in plenty of time and then let festival visitors know of the location change.

Top Ten Festival Challenges (Part Two)

 Over the years, I have visited about 250 Ontario festivals and events. Although I have found them have been interesting and enjoyable to visit, I have also seen many challenges.  In this article I will describe 5 of the Top Ten Challenges I have experienced.

6. FACILITIES – One of the greatest challenges festival organizers faces is designing the layout of their festival grounds and building. Basically, the festival is “stuck” with what is there! This might be okay, but it might also be disastrous, especially if the grounds and buildings are in poor shape. This is where careful initial planning comes into play! First impressions (curb-side appeal) can mean the difference between success and failure. Even really bad grounds and buildings can be made acceptable with a little imagination. Old and poorly maintained buildings can be brought to life with colour and decorative displays. Oddly shaped grounds can be made useful by careful placement of events and activities. One of the best uses of grounds was by the Mississauga Waterfront Festival. This festival takes place in Port Credit’s rambling Memorial Park. By carefully placing activities and events, they created a natural “flow” that allowed festival visitors to take in the entire event. Toronto’s Royal Winter Fair uses the Exhibition buildings very effectively. The fair takes place in both new and old buildings. By careful planning of events, organizers have made, what could have been a maze, an exciting journey of discovery!

Top Ten Festival Challenges (Part One)

 Over the years, we have visited over 200 Ontario festivals and events. Although I have found them have been interesting and enjoyable to visit, I have also seen many challenges.  In this article I will describe 5 of the Top Ten Challenges I have experienced.

5. PARKING – If you have ever visited a festival or event that has impossible parking, you will know just how frustrating a situation that can be! I can remember driving to Toronto to attend an event only to find that there were zero parking available and no alternative shuttle parking sites. I turned around and went home, vowing never to return! I was only one person, but many others did the same as me? Obviously on-site parking is preferable where possible, but if it’s not possible or there are too few parking spaces, off-site parking should be a must. This includes providing a “shuttle service” where the distance is too far to walk. Organizers should take into consideration the disabled and elderly when determining their parking needs. Special parking spots or handicapped shuttle should be considered. Several of the events that we have visited have used off-duty school bused for their shuttle service. Some have even added advertising to the buses to offset costs. Many it easy to reach your event just makes good business sense! The Rockton World’s Fair has one of the best on-site parking facilities. They use a field that is just adjacent to the fair grounds. Kempenfest in Barrie uses several off-site parking areas. Their shuttle buses are frequent and convenient.

(Part Two Next)

Top Ten Festival Challenges (Part One)

 Over the years, we have visited over 200 Ontario festivals and events. Although I have found them have been interesting and enjoyable to visit, I have also seen many challenges.  In this article I will describe 5 of the Top Ten Challenges I have experienced.

4. WASHROOM FACILITIES – Having clean and accessible washroom facilities is an absolute must! I am always surprised when I see an event where organizers have decided to “hide” their facilities! This happens far too often! It is as though they are trying to ignore the fact that everyone needs to use these facilities at some time. If they are worried about the look, they should pay more attention to what facilities they order and who they order them from. Washroom facilities don’t have to look unpleasant. The other concern is keeping them clean and well stocked. This not only includes toilet paper but soap and water as well. It’s not a good enough excuse to say that they were used more often than anticipated! Having event staff check them regularly should be a given. Many of the greatest tourist attractions of the world consider washroom management their number one priority. I believe that festival organizers have a responsibility to provide the best washroom facilities possible! Welland’s IlluminAqua provides convenient portable washrooms beside their new amphitheatre. These facilities are both clean and convenient.

Top Ten Festival Challenges (Part One)

Over the years, we have visited over 200 Ontario festivals and events. Although I have found them have been interesting and enjoyable to visit, I have also seen many challenges.  In this article I will describe 5 of the Top Ten Challenges I have experienced.

 3. COST VERSUS VALUE – With today’s economy, providing great value has become very important! Giving more then what is expected or promised will help attract a lot of event visitors! Having a reasonable “gate fee” has now become a necessary reality. Although having a “free gate” can work in a festivals favour, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee success or visitors! Festival visitors are becoming more and more sophisticated and are expecting and demanding more from the events they visit. To reach maximum potential, organizers have to give careful attention to what they are offering. Organizers should concentrate on quality rather than quantity. One of the best paid admission events that we have visited is the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE). The CNE provide wonderful entertainment for the whole family at a very reasonable cost. As for a “free gate” event, you can’t beat the Burlington Sound of Music Festival. This Festival provides several free concerts stages throughout the downtown area.

Top Ten Festival Challenges (Part One)

 Over the years, we have visited over 200 Ontario festivals and events. Although I have found them have been interesting and enjoyable to visit, I have also seen many challenges.  In this article I will describe 5 of the Top Ten Challenges I have experienced.

2. WEBSITES – Websites are becoming an integral part of festival and event marketing. If a website is constructed properly it can attract 100’s of new festival visitors. Conversely a poorly designed website can deter people from visiting an event, so it makes good sense to design and maintain a great website! Here are a few tips.

Ø  Properly designed so that it attracts and is friendly towards the major search engines – Google, Yahoo and Bing (MSN)

Ø  Interesting and informative content that is attractive to website visitors and easy to navigate. The objective should be to engage the visitor so that they will stay and read the event’s message and then, ultimately visit the event.

Ø  Provide sufficient festival/event information including location(s), dates, times, activities, site map and contact information (contact name, e-mail address, mailing address and telephone numbers, especially during the event)

Note: Don’t make your website too fancy! Not everyone knows how to navigate complicated websites. This can be a real turn-off.

One of the best event websites I have visited recently was the one for the Norwood Fall Fair. It was easy to use and contained great event informative information.