By Isaac Rubens
In order to plan an event, you need to establish dates and alternate dates, budgeting, choosing and reserving venue location, obtaining permits and coordinating transportation and parking, along with event registration procedures and systems.
Some other tasks of event planning, depending on your type of event, may include interior design, choosing rooms, tables and chair design, contracting electric and lighting crews, audio/visual, etc.
For an outdoor event, security, parking, portable toilets, emergency and health professionals and clean up and sanitation are all things to plan for.
Event Planning Tools
There are event planning companies that provide meeting and event planning solutions, as well as online software tools that include multiple sub-programs like email blasts, invitations and reminders, and online help tips and suggestions as you go along the process.
If you are doing it on your own, there are some very important event planning tools you will need to help you, such as guideline sheets and checklists, forms such as Registration Forms, Budget Analysis Worksheets, Safety Guideline Checklists, Meeting Space Calculators and Meeting Supply Lists, etc.
Event Budgeting
In order to keep organized and prevent you from going over budget, use a spreadsheet with categories like Projected Expenses, Actual Expenses, Notes, etc. Track venue rental costs, catering costs, decoration and design expenses, transportation charges, etc.
Event Venues
Take a checklist with you so no important details are forgotten. Get phone numbers of venue management staff to communicate details for any reason. When selecting a venue, get familiar with the management team so they can help you determine if the venue meets your event's needs.
Event Design
Speak to venue managers to learn what options exist to help resolve possible design difficulties. If there is room in your budget to hire a design company, they are expert at coordinating design with event theme and guest needs.
If you are doing it yourself, and trying to make it on a smaller scale, then ask yourself if your event will be ceremonial or laid-back. Whether it's lighting, audio/video, or invitation printing, you need to know how thrifty you need to be. Many venues have ready-to-go props, lighting and podiums available since they host of all sorts of meetings and events often.
Event Supplies
Once you decide what type of event you want to make, this will determine what sort of supplies you will need. If it will be of a festive nature, you'll need a compressed air tank and some balloons, maybe rope, tape or cable, some paper towels, etc.
If you are having a business meeting, then pens, pads, bottled water and a white board maybe in order. If it's a party you're throwing, then gifts, party favors, food, drink and napkins would be on your list.
Event Catering
If you are throwing a fully catered event, taking the dietary requirements of your guests into consideration is a priority. There may be religious requirements such as Halal, Kosher, etc. Perhaps medical needs must be provided for those with Diabetic or Vegan diets, etc.
If your event will last more than two hours, you should have a variety of snacks available. If meals are in your plan, then make sure to have low-fat and vegetarian foods available.
Make sure your budget can afford the quantity and quality of food you are providing.
Some venues will have in-house caterers that can help out with all or some services like tables and chairs, decorations and waiting staff, even if they don't accommodate the desired menus.
If all you had in mind was a short meeting, have at least coffee and water available.
Event Registration
There are companies which provide these services online and onsite as well as software you can use to do it yourself. Important factors to consider when mapping out your registration process are: will it be online/offline, free or fee based, onsite automated or manual registration, how will tracking in/out traffic be done, etc.
Event Lighting
Depending on what type of event you are having will determine what type of lighting, power requirements and ease of access you will need. Once the type of event you have chosen is determined, you would make an accurate layout plan that complies with local ordinances.
You may want to light any areas that people usually take note of, such as floral arrangements or bar areas. Be careful to place ample lighting, setting a warm glow in which people and food can be seen.
A room can be altered by adding different colors on the walls and ceiling. Spot lighting and color effects can be added to emphasize performers and speakers on stage areas.
On a dance floor, adequate lighting allows the guests to feel like an important part of the event. Most likely, your event will have some sort of video projection.
In the future, lighting fixtures that double as video projections will become the norm. Lighting, landscaping, or decorating the exterior of the facility can have a dramatic affect on arriving and departing guests.
After all is said and done, the event planning job has been done well when all the pieces to the puzzle flow seamlessly together. Equipment and supplies arrive on time and in place, people are safely and soundly delivered to appropriate destinations, and everyone got what they came for. It seems overwhelming, but successful evens happen on a daily basis, and you can do it too!
Everything you need to know about Event Planning and Management, including ideas for marketing your events, can be found at: Event Management.
Get all of your logo-imprinted merchandise for promoting and marketing your event at: Promotional Products.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Isaac_Rubens
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
A Planning Guide For Successful School Carnivals
By Christine Harrell
Carnivals are one of the most popular fundraising events that schools hold. The difference between a "blah" carnival and a wildly successful one is often a matter of proper organization. Winning events involve more than setting up a couple of inflatable rentals and ordering pizza. Marketing and recruiting in particular are critical if you want the carnival to meet your fundraising goals.
Creating the Plan:
Carnivals involve a lot people and activity, so it's easy for everyone to get confused about their roles. It is important to have a clear strategy so that everyone involved knows what to do.
Start by creating committees that are responsible for different events and duties. A large event can easily have half a dozen or more separate groups of people, each focusing on a particular part of the carnival. Separate teams would handle food, facilities, ticket sales, advertising, recruiting volunteers, and so on. There also needs to be a coordinating committee that oversees all the others.
Come up with a unifying theme for the event. A theme makes the event more fun and can make planning easier. Popular themes could be 50s Sock Hop, Alien Invasion, Renaissance Fair, and lots of others. Before committing to the date, check out what other activities are planned in the community. You'd hate to end up competing against a popular city festival or, worse yet, another school.
Recruit Vendors and Volunteers:
Some schools provide their own carnival food while others get refreshments from a third-party vendor. When it comes to games and activities, rental agencies are the best way to go.
Inflatable rentals are an inexpensive way to add exciting and entertaining diversions for the guests. Adults and kids alike have fun with inflatable rentals and they are much safer than some other carnival activities. There are lots of options from traditional inflatable slides to sumo wrestling and human bowling. After all, what's a carnival without games?
Don't forget to recruit plenty of volunteers. A good rule of thumb is to get twice the number of people you think you'll need. You can expect at least a quarter of them to be no-shows and you'd much rather have too many than too few.
Think About Next Year:
School fund raisers aren't a one-time thing and it is never too early to start planning for the next one. Soon after you've held your carnival, evaluate the event from numerous angles. What went right? What went wrong and how can you prevent the same problems? What food didn't seem popular and which of the inflatable rentals had the most activity?
One of the most important and yet most overlooked steps in event planning is expressing thanks. Make sure to show your gratitude to the volunteers, sponsors, and donors or you will find them reluctant to help in the future. They are the backbone of your fund raiser, so be sure to let them know that.
Author is a freelance copywriter. For more information on inflatable rentals in California, please visit http://www.allforfunrentals.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christine_Harrell
Carnivals are one of the most popular fundraising events that schools hold. The difference between a "blah" carnival and a wildly successful one is often a matter of proper organization. Winning events involve more than setting up a couple of inflatable rentals and ordering pizza. Marketing and recruiting in particular are critical if you want the carnival to meet your fundraising goals.
Creating the Plan:
Carnivals involve a lot people and activity, so it's easy for everyone to get confused about their roles. It is important to have a clear strategy so that everyone involved knows what to do.
Start by creating committees that are responsible for different events and duties. A large event can easily have half a dozen or more separate groups of people, each focusing on a particular part of the carnival. Separate teams would handle food, facilities, ticket sales, advertising, recruiting volunteers, and so on. There also needs to be a coordinating committee that oversees all the others.
Come up with a unifying theme for the event. A theme makes the event more fun and can make planning easier. Popular themes could be 50s Sock Hop, Alien Invasion, Renaissance Fair, and lots of others. Before committing to the date, check out what other activities are planned in the community. You'd hate to end up competing against a popular city festival or, worse yet, another school.
Recruit Vendors and Volunteers:
Some schools provide their own carnival food while others get refreshments from a third-party vendor. When it comes to games and activities, rental agencies are the best way to go.
Inflatable rentals are an inexpensive way to add exciting and entertaining diversions for the guests. Adults and kids alike have fun with inflatable rentals and they are much safer than some other carnival activities. There are lots of options from traditional inflatable slides to sumo wrestling and human bowling. After all, what's a carnival without games?
Don't forget to recruit plenty of volunteers. A good rule of thumb is to get twice the number of people you think you'll need. You can expect at least a quarter of them to be no-shows and you'd much rather have too many than too few.
Think About Next Year:
School fund raisers aren't a one-time thing and it is never too early to start planning for the next one. Soon after you've held your carnival, evaluate the event from numerous angles. What went right? What went wrong and how can you prevent the same problems? What food didn't seem popular and which of the inflatable rentals had the most activity?
One of the most important and yet most overlooked steps in event planning is expressing thanks. Make sure to show your gratitude to the volunteers, sponsors, and donors or you will find them reluctant to help in the future. They are the backbone of your fund raiser, so be sure to let them know that.
Author is a freelance copywriter. For more information on inflatable rentals in California, please visit http://www.allforfunrentals.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christine_Harrell
Punk Robbers At The Fair
By Sam Staffen
When I broke into the games in the carnival things were certainly different. And I only started working games back during the end of the 1989 season. That was not that long ago. Through the years many of us carnies have raised a family. And for the most part the carnival has been good to those who have stuck and stayed and made it pay. Getting paid seems to be getting harder and harder and sometimes nearly impossible.
So when I am sitting in these events which still have thousands in attendance and it sometimes seems impossible to get a dollar or two, it gives me much time to think. Why am I not getting money at this spot when I did three years ago? How did this happen? Most people would say it is the economy. Others would say it is the overall image of carnies. But in my experience and from my polling of the actual customers I have come to find it is mainly do to a practice that was forbidden when I broke in.
When I broke in it was regularly known that nobody working games would beat a handicap, pregnant woman, or a child out of any significant amount of money. You were supposed cut them loose after the original game was done. Whether it be two dollars or five dollars. Cut them loose. If you were caught working any of these three types of people you were lucky if you did not get an whooping and then ran off that midway by the other games people.
Due to rules changes at most major events the games are ran to be less aggressive on the players. The Carnival owner no longer want the games workers to do some of the things they have been allowed to do in the past. These rules were intended to make the carnival a more user friendly environment. They were instituted, for the most part, by people that have no experience in the games. They are the law makers because they are event committee members or an owner of rides. They certainly were trying to make it better but may have failed.
What has happened is that the old school carnies began finding other professions and many have went to the old school shows still traveling around playing lesser celebrations. What this means is that many of the game concession owners have had to hire what we call green help. Because the old school guys are less apt to be seen, because of the rules changes, at these large events, the green help has less opportunity to learn what they are actually doing. Possibly no one was around to tell them do not beat pregnant women, handicaps, and kids. But nowadays the kids are certainly targeted at the least.
Recently in the Winchester Virginia Apple Blossom Festival a couple old school carnies were talking about all the punk robbers that have infiltrated the amusement industry. They agreed that the tub game they were working was slow this year because of the punk robbers who had worked it at this very good festival the past couple of years. They had this idea because several kids had told them they lost all their money last year in that game. Just as they were getting into the conversation a young man walks up with his girlfriend. The kid would not throw a ball but stated he had been beaten a long time ago. The one old school carnie then asked the young man how old are you. He replied 20 years old. The carnie then asked what is a long time ago, maybe two or three years. The kid inferred much longer and restated a long long time ago. Theses two veteran carnies began to laugh emphatically because this meant he was beaten out of all his money at a very young age. He had been a victim of a punk robber. Carnies used to tell the kid he had to bring back mom and dad to play for the big prizes.
Punk robbing has been a major discussion recently amongst long time game workers. The governing bodies making these rules changes should at least have to get the opinion of an experienced game operator. In every other field companies are required to consult a field professional. In the carnival they do not seemed to be required to consult anybody. Which means the rules and regulations changes are derived from people who are ignorant to what actually happens behind the counters. Many old school carnies realize these regulators are just that ignorant.
I created the web site http://uscarnys.com/ The web site was first published for use on the internet on February 4, 2008. Already USCarnys.com boasts arguably the best free listing of bonafide fairs and festivals on the internet. USCarnys.com has 48 pages of fairs and festivals which you can find all the pages on the home page in a drop down menu. There is a merchandise page with several vendors, a carnivals page with nearly 80 links to different carnivals web sites, a contact page, an employment page, and the home page to go with the 48 pages of fairs and festivals listings. You will find this site truly informative and a very helpful tool for anyone who does anything in the outdoor amusements. Come check out USCarnys.com now!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sam_Staffen
When I broke into the games in the carnival things were certainly different. And I only started working games back during the end of the 1989 season. That was not that long ago. Through the years many of us carnies have raised a family. And for the most part the carnival has been good to those who have stuck and stayed and made it pay. Getting paid seems to be getting harder and harder and sometimes nearly impossible.
So when I am sitting in these events which still have thousands in attendance and it sometimes seems impossible to get a dollar or two, it gives me much time to think. Why am I not getting money at this spot when I did three years ago? How did this happen? Most people would say it is the economy. Others would say it is the overall image of carnies. But in my experience and from my polling of the actual customers I have come to find it is mainly do to a practice that was forbidden when I broke in.
When I broke in it was regularly known that nobody working games would beat a handicap, pregnant woman, or a child out of any significant amount of money. You were supposed cut them loose after the original game was done. Whether it be two dollars or five dollars. Cut them loose. If you were caught working any of these three types of people you were lucky if you did not get an whooping and then ran off that midway by the other games people.
Due to rules changes at most major events the games are ran to be less aggressive on the players. The Carnival owner no longer want the games workers to do some of the things they have been allowed to do in the past. These rules were intended to make the carnival a more user friendly environment. They were instituted, for the most part, by people that have no experience in the games. They are the law makers because they are event committee members or an owner of rides. They certainly were trying to make it better but may have failed.
What has happened is that the old school carnies began finding other professions and many have went to the old school shows still traveling around playing lesser celebrations. What this means is that many of the game concession owners have had to hire what we call green help. Because the old school guys are less apt to be seen, because of the rules changes, at these large events, the green help has less opportunity to learn what they are actually doing. Possibly no one was around to tell them do not beat pregnant women, handicaps, and kids. But nowadays the kids are certainly targeted at the least.
Recently in the Winchester Virginia Apple Blossom Festival a couple old school carnies were talking about all the punk robbers that have infiltrated the amusement industry. They agreed that the tub game they were working was slow this year because of the punk robbers who had worked it at this very good festival the past couple of years. They had this idea because several kids had told them they lost all their money last year in that game. Just as they were getting into the conversation a young man walks up with his girlfriend. The kid would not throw a ball but stated he had been beaten a long time ago. The one old school carnie then asked the young man how old are you. He replied 20 years old. The carnie then asked what is a long time ago, maybe two or three years. The kid inferred much longer and restated a long long time ago. Theses two veteran carnies began to laugh emphatically because this meant he was beaten out of all his money at a very young age. He had been a victim of a punk robber. Carnies used to tell the kid he had to bring back mom and dad to play for the big prizes.
Punk robbing has been a major discussion recently amongst long time game workers. The governing bodies making these rules changes should at least have to get the opinion of an experienced game operator. In every other field companies are required to consult a field professional. In the carnival they do not seemed to be required to consult anybody. Which means the rules and regulations changes are derived from people who are ignorant to what actually happens behind the counters. Many old school carnies realize these regulators are just that ignorant.
I created the web site http://uscarnys.com/ The web site was first published for use on the internet on February 4, 2008. Already USCarnys.com boasts arguably the best free listing of bonafide fairs and festivals on the internet. USCarnys.com has 48 pages of fairs and festivals which you can find all the pages on the home page in a drop down menu. There is a merchandise page with several vendors, a carnivals page with nearly 80 links to different carnivals web sites, a contact page, an employment page, and the home page to go with the 48 pages of fairs and festivals listings. You will find this site truly informative and a very helpful tool for anyone who does anything in the outdoor amusements. Come check out USCarnys.com now!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sam_Staffen
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Cheap Inflatable Water Slides on Sale! Top Three Popular Inflatable Water Slides
By Elena Colic
Do you have any idea how long the summer can be if your kids are bored? A very long summer....But it does not have to be thanks to the very cheap inflatable water slides you can find online. As a parent I found the inflatable water toys the best toy ever developed since it is fun, they get exercise and they can last you a long time. So here I am going to give you an overview of the top three popular inflatable water slides.
The smaller inflatable water slides are very cheap. One of the popular one's is the Banzai 18' Long Inflatable Water slide since it is often priced under $200. This slides can inflate in less than 2 minutes and it can hold up to 100 lb. It also has the continuous airflow blower motor with a new no tip blower design. One of the best benefits is that it has the bottom landing pad. Since the set up is very easy and quick, parents and kids love it.
The second popular Banzai product is the Double Drop Fall and that one is prices below $400. Sometimes you can find it as low as $240. This slide is huge. It is 18.5' long slide. With this slide you can slide down the two steep drops. This water slide can also be inflated in less than 2 minutes with the included blower.
The third choice is the Banzai Speed Splitter racing inflatable water slide is one of the more expensive once. But these are very large as well and range close to $500. but sometimes you can find them at cheap prices. This one is also blower-powered water slide. It is a great addition to the backyard fun and it is made of PVC construction. This one also features front landing pad for added safety.
Something to consider is that most inflatable water slides are made for children 3 ages and up. and some water slides are made for children 5 and up. It is very important for you to check the appropriate age limit, before you purchase any of these slides.
Keep in mind that if you are shopping online, you can find a lot of cheap inflatable water slides on sale
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elena_Colic
Do you have any idea how long the summer can be if your kids are bored? A very long summer....But it does not have to be thanks to the very cheap inflatable water slides you can find online. As a parent I found the inflatable water toys the best toy ever developed since it is fun, they get exercise and they can last you a long time. So here I am going to give you an overview of the top three popular inflatable water slides.
The smaller inflatable water slides are very cheap. One of the popular one's is the Banzai 18' Long Inflatable Water slide since it is often priced under $200. This slides can inflate in less than 2 minutes and it can hold up to 100 lb. It also has the continuous airflow blower motor with a new no tip blower design. One of the best benefits is that it has the bottom landing pad. Since the set up is very easy and quick, parents and kids love it.
The second popular Banzai product is the Double Drop Fall and that one is prices below $400. Sometimes you can find it as low as $240. This slide is huge. It is 18.5' long slide. With this slide you can slide down the two steep drops. This water slide can also be inflated in less than 2 minutes with the included blower.
The third choice is the Banzai Speed Splitter racing inflatable water slide is one of the more expensive once. But these are very large as well and range close to $500. but sometimes you can find them at cheap prices. This one is also blower-powered water slide. It is a great addition to the backyard fun and it is made of PVC construction. This one also features front landing pad for added safety.
Something to consider is that most inflatable water slides are made for children 3 ages and up. and some water slides are made for children 5 and up. It is very important for you to check the appropriate age limit, before you purchase any of these slides.
Keep in mind that if you are shopping online, you can find a lot of cheap inflatable water slides on sale
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elena_Colic
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