Live Sound & Production

[W. M. Hellinger]

Originally Posted by dennis a

I "presume" he joined the festival committee to help score the sound gig for himself.

Yes, that's correct... kind-of.

The festival was actually my idea. I'm donating the stage production as well as hiring the headliner act... which I believe is key to getting this event off the ground, otherwise it's likely there's no-way it would happen... at least the first year anyway.

Most or possibly all of the vending (primarily food and beverages) will be under the auspices of the festival committee... proceeds to go to our worthy cause (playground equipment fund or similar).

Our town is really small, <150 population... and shrinking (the town is currently approx. 1/5th the population it was approx. 50 years ago). We're hoping the town festival will (in-part) attract some out of towners (from the big city) to attend and plant the seed in their mind that Farmington might be a really nice place to call home (which it is), as well as reinstill in the current residents minds that Farmington is a nice place to stay (which it is).

[abzurd]

Looking at Farmington on a map are you trying to get a headliner with enough pull to get folks from Spokane? I'm just not seeing much population around otherwise. 2 things I'd do before investing too much into things would be:

1 - Do some research on other festivals and civic events in some nearby small towns and see what they usually draw for a crowd. If you can't find any or have had several "come and go" over the years, that's a red flag. I'm assuming you may have already done that as part of the justification for the event.

2 - Make darn sure nobody else in the region is having a festival, fair, etc on the days of your event as you'll need all the draw you can get.

OFF TOPIC ALERT - BTW Mark, I just placed an order this morning. My only non EWI purchase for cables in the last 8 years was a 25 ft 4 channel XLR patch snake from Seismic Audio. I bought last June so it didn't even make a year and 2 channels have failed.

[Pro Sound Guy]

Put the beer by the music

[soul-x]

Originally Posted by W. M. Hellinger

...proceeds...

Hopefully the committee is prepared for the real possibility that there may be none of these.

[Craigv]

Originally Posted by Pro Sound Guy

Put the beer by the music

[/THREAD]


:rofl:

[agedhorse]

Originally Posted by abzurd

OFF TOPIC ALERT - BTW Mark, I just placed an order this morning. My only non EWI purchase for cables in the last 8 years was a 25 ft 4 channel XLR patch snake from Seismic Audio. I bought last June so it didn't even make a year and 2 channels have failed.

Off topic additional information... act came through with one of their TRS patch snakes... not very old at all and the sleeves were coming loose from the housings, the strain reliefs were not properly assembled and the whole thing stunk like a POS. Wasted my time troubleshooting some problems.

[agedhorse]

I think for a rural community festival like this, there might be a lot more mileage with free admission and a place where folks can donate some money, pitch pocket change etc. It's a by the community for the community event and in effect it's more like a giant backyard BBQ or block party rather than a public festival. I would strive to keep it laid back, relaxed atmosphere and fun enough that it happens again the next year.

[abzurd]

Originally Posted by Pro Sound Guy

Put the beer by the music

You would actually think this would be a no brainer, but I've seen the mistake made (beer on other side of event). I really hate it too when we do weddings and there is either a bar outside or in another room. Kills the whole vibe as all the guys want to do it hang out by the bar, wherever it is.

[Axisplayer]

Porta john close enough to stage for emergencies. Nothing quite like that urge to go and the facility is on the other side of the event.....how long do I have until they finish this song/set/show?

[lifeloverwg]

So Mark, are you doing this for the sake of the children?

We play two very small town festivals regularly. Both take place in Torrey, Utah and both took a while to get going, but both survive by drawing attendance from the Salt Lake City population which is a 4 hour drive away. Torrey Utah does have the advantage of being right next to a National Park though and being just plain stunningly beautiful. It also has a higher amount of motels and accommodations available than your average town with a population of 170.
In the end, both of these festivals have survived because they each have an individual in the community that is committed to having them take place and they put a lot more work into them then they get back in direct monetary gain. However they both have interests in other business ventures in the community, so they probably benefit some from that as well. My main impression though is that they both do it because it makes their community a better place to live. And for the children.....

[LewnWorx]

Since there probably won't be radios for everyone, figure out logical groups (ticketing/parking, artist support/production, security, etc). Assign these channels in advance, then for the staff's lanyards on the back print the person in charge of each group and the assigned radio channel for the group. That way any staff can find somebody with a radio and know how to reach somebody to handle the problems as they arise.

Assign a spare golf cart to production for gofer duties. Trust me, that will be the busiest cart of the event.

Make sure the artists are clear as to where to enter, where to park, and who the contact people are when they arrive. Assign a greeter with a radio at the entrance point, as stuff will invariably come up.

Maps on grounds with the 'you are here" box on em.

Coolers with water for staff at strategic locations, and someone assigned to restock them.

Easy ups behind the stage for bands to tune, change strings, etc.

Most of the other stuff has been mentioned. Good luck. They're a huge PITA to manage. Even the smaller festies I work typically take weeks of planning by upwards of 20 folks to pull off successfully.

[BillESC]

My Rotary Club has put on the Bay Seafood Festival the last 21 years and it has grown a bit. The next one is September 7th. and we will sell 2000 tickets at $ 55.00 each.This is an all you can eat and drink festival with two bands.

[W. M. Hellinger]

Originally Posted by abzurd

Looking at Farmington on a map are you trying to get a headliner with enough pull to get folks from Spokane? I'm just not seeing much population around otherwise.

Thank you. This is what I was hoping for:

1) Questioning any and everything that I think I have in place, and:
2) Bring to my attention those details that I haven't thought of.

In answer to your two questions above:

1) The headliner I've hired is arguably one of the top 3 party bands/festival draw acts between the Cascades and Rockies. Absolute ringers (I figure anything worth doing is generally worth doing right.)

2) Pulling from the Spokane metro area: That's somewhat "easy". Our town's location and anbience is one of those places that those urbanites seem to look forward to driving "to" rather than away from... if any reason is seeming apparent to drive (or ride) here beyond "it's just another day"... and even at that: "it's just another day"... we get quite a bit of foot traffic through the town... problem is, they generally go "through the town". We're hoping we can give those urbanites a reason to actually stop here and take it in.

Originally Posted by abzurd

2 things I'd do before investing too much into things would be:

1 - Do some research on other festivals and civic events in some nearby small towns and see what they usually draw for a crowd. If you can't find any or have had several "come and go" over the years, that's a red flag. I'm assuming you may have already done that as part of the justification for the event.

2 - Make darn sure nobody else in the region is having a festival, fair, etc on the days of your event as you'll need all the draw you can get.

Town festivals seemingly do very well in this area. I've been working local town festivals for most of the past 30+ years... and my perspective from stage or behind a mix console suggested to me that "why wouldn't every town in this area do this?" Hence, that part of my inspiration for kicking off a similar festival in my home town. Why not throw a party where a lot of folks come and enjoy themselves, and those putting up the bucks to make it happen generally get their nut back, and some (or a lot) extra is generated and is generally donated to a good/very needing cause... and generally goes a long ways in these small communities? Why not?

Originally Posted by abzurd

2 - Make darn sure nobody else in the region is having a festival, fair, etc on the days of your event as you'll need all the draw you can get.

It's a dead weekend in the regional area... I checked... which was part of the reason why the lightblub went off in my head to spearhead this idea: Why not? Nobody else in the area has anything going on, and it's historically one of the most perfect weekends (weather wise) of the whole year. Why not?

[W. M. Hellinger]

Originally Posted by lifeloverwg

So Mark, are you doing this for the sake of the children?

Truthfully? No. I'm doing it because I’m a human, and I believe that humans are one of the few critters on the face of this planet that were made to dance... and I'm just doing my part as a member of my species.

But... Our town's playground equipment is "pretty bleak. I figure if we can dance some to some good tunes, throw some horseshoes, enjoy some beverages, and carnival food... and generate some profits to put into the kitty to do it again next year, and gift off whatever extra that may come in from our endeavors to buy the supplies to slap a new coat of wood preservative on the playground equipment... I don't see a down side.

[lifeloverwg]

Originally Posted by W. M. Hellinger

Truthfully? No. I'm doing it because I’m a human, and I believe that humans are one of the few critters on the face of this planet that were made to dance... and I'm just doing my part as a member of my species.

But... Our town's playground equipment is "pretty bleak. I figure if we can dance some to some good tunes, throw some horseshoes, enjoy some beverages, and carnival food... and generate some profits to put into the kitty to do it again next year, and gift off whatever extra that may come in from our endeavors to buy the supplies to slap a new coat of wood preservative on the playground equipment... I don't see a down side.

Those are excellent reasons. With you pushing it it expect it to be a big success.

Good luck, Winston.

[W. M. Hellinger]

Originally Posted by lifeloverwg

My main impression though is that they both do it because it makes their community a better place to live. And for the children.....

My thoughts exactly. And it is for the children as much as the adults. I dearly want to show the local young-uns that "we adults" can include the young-uns and can have fun, and we don't always have to go out of the area to do so... and there's nothing but nothing in "this" for meth-heads (which is a problem in this area).

[BillESC]

1. Make sure you have insurance in place.

2. How to you plan to advertise to Spokane, other out laying areas?

[W. M. Hellinger]

Originally Posted by BillESC

1. Make sure you have insurance in place.

Yes, apparently this sort of activity is covered under the town's general umbrella policy (probably because "all" the local small towns in the region do similar events... and we're fixing to do that which everyone else seemingly does)... that coverage is scheduled for fine print reading at the next committee meeting.

Originally Posted by BillESC

How to you plan to advertise to Spokane, other out laying areas?

We don't beyond *word of mouth and the local PSA advertising*. Just *that* we're concerned could attract more attendees than we can comfortably accomodate. We'll see after the first year if we need to ratchet *that* up a notch or otherwise.

[abzurd]

I'll be in your neck of the woods, relatively speaking, the weekend prior. The wife and I are going Glacier the 10th - 16th. A scant 5 hours from Kalispell

[dennis a]

Originally Posted by W. M. Hellinger

Yes, apparently this sort of activity is covered under the town's general umbrella policy (probably because "all" the local small towns in the region do similar events... and we're fixing to do that which everyone else seemingly does)... that coverage is scheduled for fine print reading at the next committee meeting..

The fine print I would be looking for specifically...does the sale of alcohol affect the coverage?