How to Plan a Festival People Will Remember
Social life is such an important part of our lives, and the most memorable events are the experiences we share with all of our friends. That’s what makes organising a great festival so popular and one of the best ways to celebrate and bring a community together. If your city or region needs to bring people together or better attract a tourists to visit, creating a festival around a cultural theme, famous person or historical event can give your town the exposure it needs.
Festival Hire is here to help you plan a festival people will be talking about for years to come.
1. Envision Your Festival
Begin by imagining your event.
What kind of festival is it? Is it one which celebrates the primary leisure activity in your area like a surfing? Take a look at the Byron Bay Surf Festival if you want a great example.
Is it a food festival which celebrates the food in your state like the Gold Coast Food, Wine and Music Festival? Will there be a lot of concerts like the Canberra International Music Festival? Or is it a themed one like the Art, Not Apart Festivel, the Ignite Film Festival or the Tablelands Folk Festival?
After determining the focus of the event, you will need to find the perfect grounds for it. You will need to apply for permits, do the scouting and plan how you will get funding. When you have an idea for all these things, think about what your festival will look like in the long term and how it could grow in 5, 10 or 20 years from now.
2. Think Organisation
Before you set out in planning the finer details of the festival itself, you will need to think about the organisation which will be responsible for running the event. Is it a not-for-profit organisation which will send proposals to foundations and corporations in your area for funding? Or is it a company which will get funding by raising capital, selling sponsorship packages to local and regional companies?
3. Build the Team
When you have ideas on how to go about securing funding, it is time to get the people who will help you run your festival. If you have enough funding, perhaps you can get an events management company to help you plan and staff the festival for you. Otherwise, you will need to campaign for volunteers. Just plan around your target profit margin and how you can make holding the event sustainable so you can hold the next one.
4. Reaching Out to Partners
Of course, you and your team will be hard-pressed with the preparations if you go at it alone. You have to reach out to providers who can help you to manage the entertainment, set up staging, build up the tents and fete stalls, make the food, handle ticketing, etc. There are a lot of enterprises out there to help you get your festival up and running. You will also have to reach out to vendors and talents you would like to participate in your festival as well.
5. Create and Man Your Marketing Channels
Once you have all the participants lined up, you will need to start making buzz for your event. Figure out the best marketing channels. Think about websites, social media accounts, paid advertisements in radio, television or newspapers. When you’ve identified the best ways to promote the event, get volunteers to help you update these channels with material at regular intervals. With a consistent marketing message and a bit of elbow grease, you can generate a lot of interest prior to the launch of your event.
6. Ready, Set, Party
Prepare for some chaos and madness on the day itself. Expect to wear a lot hats and troubleshoot some issues that crop up here and there. But most of all, don’t forget to have fun. That’s what festivals are truly all about.
If you’re thinking about setting up a festival and you need a partner who will ensure its success, there’s no better festival partner than Festival Hire. Festival Hire has more than 20 years experience in setting up events like school fetes, fundraisers, fashion shows, and music festivals. We can set up marquees, hygiene systems, power, electrical and lighting for your event. Festival Hire will power your festivities and keep the party going!