tangent4ronpaul
02-12-2008, 03:23 PM
Joel Cawthorn wrote this last year, granted - for smaller events...
-n
Hey all, I was asked by someone to give them a list of bullet points
for Dos & Don's for event planning. This is pretty rough and Ill
refine it more later but here goes:
Event Planning 101
*Don't be afraid to Hire a Cop:
Remember the cop works for you, he wont be working for the city arresting people but is an authority figure there to keep fights from occurring, weapons being
brought in, (they are better than hiring bouncers) cost:$100-$200 for about 6/8 hrs. Also this probably doesn't apply for you, but a hired cop will keep
outside nosy cops from coming into your event and busting things up.
*Don't pay for anything up front except paying to print flyers or travel arrangements for talent, or concessions to be sold.
*Base the budget of the event off the minimum of people your sure you can get to attend.
*Get your acts Finalized to go on the Flyers and Printed ASAP
*Organize a Street Team to get your flyers out to the best spots for the types of people your attracting to the event. And they can be volunteers working the Event too.
*Plan for enough lighting in the evening, but keep it Ambient.
*If its outdoors, have a plan B indoor location in advance. ESP in Texas!
*Outdoors is often the best for acoustics and a good sound.
*Indoors make sure your venue handles loud music well. (Bad acoustics are more annoying than enjoyable, no matter who the band is.)
*Make sure you hire sound technicians to bring in the speakers, and setup proper sound checking, and levels. (Often these guys are way cheaper than you'd think and you can often get a Superb system with the guys running it the whole time and brought out and setup by them, for about $500-$700.00
*Often the sound system you can hire yourself is way better than any included in clubs/bars. Don't deal with theirs. They are not well setup for live bands usually which will totally be distorted by the power/volume of the band.
*Outdoors with no Electricity. Rent a Generator, pretty cheap about $200 last i can remember.
*Make sure venue can handle the Electricity of a Live Band, if not - Generator.
*Outdoors Think about big circus tents if your gonna run into the evening,and the venue doesn't have any lighting. Again tents help contain a lot of light. Good for putting over Vendor Tables too. The people that rent this come out setup the tent for ya, then come back and take it down the next day. Can't remember the cost, I think around $300, don't worry about it unless you have to.
*Get someone to run your own Concessions. Money from that will in most cases be far more than the ticket sales. Use a SAMs card, buy bottled water, and other drinks. (and/or hire some place to bring out syrup/soda fountains.)
*Check local parks. Yes there's an office for them. They have
grandstands in most parks that are available to reserve for free for public events but you can't charge money for these since the park is open to everyone. But you can plan great free parties/festivals in the park if you call them in advance. This is a great outlet for Djs too. Setup a sound system, make flyers, and promote them as Ron Paul Free Dance Parties. Ive been part of a lot of these!
*Mark people who come in. Plastic armbands cheaply purchased on line for this. Its for people coming and going to their cars, etc. So ya know who already paid. (Lotta people lose their tickets)
***MOST IMPORTANT - Don't trust Anyone alone taking the money at the front. Pick up that money frequently, and try to work out a solid way to compare Receipts to the Amounts you pick up.
I never worked with handling Alcohol at all so I don't know anything about arranging that. Depending on the Venue they may already be setup with a bar
and Concessions. Remember that they will make their money off of that, so consider that when considering cost for renting the Venue.
Ok I may think of some more later to add to this, but this is the most important stuff. Oh when your looking for acts, you can also see if some acts you'd like to get are on a tour passing through your city. You might be able to get them while they are there.
Hope this helps you plan some Ron Paul events.
-Joel
-n
Hey all, I was asked by someone to give them a list of bullet points
for Dos & Don's for event planning. This is pretty rough and Ill
refine it more later but here goes:
Event Planning 101
*Don't be afraid to Hire a Cop:
Remember the cop works for you, he wont be working for the city arresting people but is an authority figure there to keep fights from occurring, weapons being
brought in, (they are better than hiring bouncers) cost:$100-$200 for about 6/8 hrs. Also this probably doesn't apply for you, but a hired cop will keep
outside nosy cops from coming into your event and busting things up.
*Don't pay for anything up front except paying to print flyers or travel arrangements for talent, or concessions to be sold.
*Base the budget of the event off the minimum of people your sure you can get to attend.
*Get your acts Finalized to go on the Flyers and Printed ASAP
*Organize a Street Team to get your flyers out to the best spots for the types of people your attracting to the event. And they can be volunteers working the Event too.
*Plan for enough lighting in the evening, but keep it Ambient.
*If its outdoors, have a plan B indoor location in advance. ESP in Texas!
*Outdoors is often the best for acoustics and a good sound.
*Indoors make sure your venue handles loud music well. (Bad acoustics are more annoying than enjoyable, no matter who the band is.)
*Make sure you hire sound technicians to bring in the speakers, and setup proper sound checking, and levels. (Often these guys are way cheaper than you'd think and you can often get a Superb system with the guys running it the whole time and brought out and setup by them, for about $500-$700.00
*Often the sound system you can hire yourself is way better than any included in clubs/bars. Don't deal with theirs. They are not well setup for live bands usually which will totally be distorted by the power/volume of the band.
*Outdoors with no Electricity. Rent a Generator, pretty cheap about $200 last i can remember.
*Make sure venue can handle the Electricity of a Live Band, if not - Generator.
*Outdoors Think about big circus tents if your gonna run into the evening,and the venue doesn't have any lighting. Again tents help contain a lot of light. Good for putting over Vendor Tables too. The people that rent this come out setup the tent for ya, then come back and take it down the next day. Can't remember the cost, I think around $300, don't worry about it unless you have to.
*Get someone to run your own Concessions. Money from that will in most cases be far more than the ticket sales. Use a SAMs card, buy bottled water, and other drinks. (and/or hire some place to bring out syrup/soda fountains.)
*Check local parks. Yes there's an office for them. They have
grandstands in most parks that are available to reserve for free for public events but you can't charge money for these since the park is open to everyone. But you can plan great free parties/festivals in the park if you call them in advance. This is a great outlet for Djs too. Setup a sound system, make flyers, and promote them as Ron Paul Free Dance Parties. Ive been part of a lot of these!
*Mark people who come in. Plastic armbands cheaply purchased on line for this. Its for people coming and going to their cars, etc. So ya know who already paid. (Lotta people lose their tickets)
***MOST IMPORTANT - Don't trust Anyone alone taking the money at the front. Pick up that money frequently, and try to work out a solid way to compare Receipts to the Amounts you pick up.
I never worked with handling Alcohol at all so I don't know anything about arranging that. Depending on the Venue they may already be setup with a bar
and Concessions. Remember that they will make their money off of that, so consider that when considering cost for renting the Venue.
Ok I may think of some more later to add to this, but this is the most important stuff. Oh when your looking for acts, you can also see if some acts you'd like to get are on a tour passing through your city. You might be able to get them while they are there.
Hope this helps you plan some Ron Paul events.
-Joel