| Planned Events for 2006 |
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I'll distinguish here between two kinds of complementary events - firstly the arena events and the stalls surrounding them. Secondly events leading up to The Feast itself.
Arena events are mentioned in Chapter 3 and a list of possible stalls is given in the appendix, chapter 11.
But how do you organise the site to fit in the different demands of stall holders?
Firstly you must have a site plan and the will to adapt it in the light of circumstances. The site plan will in effect record all the decisions made between stall holders and organisers showing how much space they have been given, where they are in relation to other stalls and what equipment if any you have committed yourselves to give them. All this will relate to the nature of the site itself and so will show relevant landmarks, trees, access points, organisers' counting house, stores etc. From this,
- people should be able to dig the pit for the roast,
- police, firemen and councillors will be able to see how you've conformed to Health and Safety regulations
- the marquee will have room to be put up
- all stallholders will see they have room for equipment, water and power points or generators if agreed
- classic car exhibitors and pony rides will know they have access and space to move
- the jugglers and entertainers will have sufficient space for their acts
Our stalls are prefabricated timber constructions made and designed by one of our group.
This
helps us by unifying the appearance of the stalls to some extent but more
so by allowing equal standard space for each stall. Of course some will
need more but it's a good start for calculations and can help avoid the
occasional battles for space between neighbouring stall holders.
The stalls will usually face the central arena and if there are more stalls than can fit in a single ring, then walkways can be marked out joining the main arena to other arenas or to access points. Measurements are dependent on local conditions, but start off considering the space needed for your arena events (a carriage pulled by six Clydesdales will need more room than six Scottish country dancers, but the latter will need a stage and an audience which is much closer). Then add perhaps 8 feet for the minimum stall width and access plus another 8 feet behind for sitting and storage. Any additional requests for space must be made at an early stage. Walkways should be wide enough to take an ambulance or fire engine with generous room to spare.
We have a non-commercial policy on stalls, where local participation is more important than money making.
The site manager is responsible for drawing up the plan, meeting people's needs such as power, water, space, storage; marking out the plan on the site itself (early enough to cope with the earliest work - the pit dug days in advance, the marquee and the fencing delivered unexpectedly early) and being on site to solve unexpected problems and queries as they arise (and they do arise....)
Marking out and roping off requires stakes, rope in great quantities, striped tape and names or numbers matching the site plan. We erect the stalls in advance and a simple label on the stall guides people to their pitch.
Car parking should of course be separate and positioned with safety in mind on the principle that people and cars don't mix. This too needs marking out clearly and signs and marshals prepared to guide people to spaces or to alternative sites when everything is full. A local community event should encourage people to come on foot, but you would be wise to anticipate parking problems and use cones to prevent parking where it will inconvenience local people. Local police should at least be informed, at best be asked to help. A large event will need their help.
Unless you have a huge barn, tents or marquees are essential. A bare tent is a rather dull affair. High class events often use linings - thin blue and white striped wall fabric and they will wrap this covering around tent poles too. At a marquee used for a wedding, flowers pour out of vases at every corner to give a softer impression.
You
may be content with the bare look and be more concerned with what goes
on in the space, but if there is an interested organiser, there is great
potential for maximum effect with minimum effort in converting your marquee
to a barn for a dance, a highland hall for a Ceilidh or a pleasant summer
sitting area for the Feast. For the record, we hire our great marquee
from Simpers
of Cambridge who also supply our chairs and tables. They put it up
and take it down - all we have to do is to fill it!
Use flowers wherever available - you could hold a flower competition with small prizes to encourage local people to bring in their displays, and rather than clump them together on a stage or table, spread them around the marquee to give atmosphere. The Ceilidh could benefit from tartan patterns - various car rugs and look out for tartan wallpaper or wrapping paper as cheap coverings for tables and tent poles. Beware of using hay bales for an agricultural effect at dances - they will probably contravene fire regulations in tents and wooden barns - though sacking (sadly less available in these plastic days) and a perhaps a few stooks of corn should be OK.
Lighting
can be the biggest single effect for evening events. It will probably
be worth looking in detail at your lighting setup if you are to hold a
couple of evening events and if possible arrange spots for the stage and
dimmer lighting for the floor. If you're having difficulty in lighting
anything at all because of limited power points and overstretched extension
cables, consider circuit breakers and fuses to guard against overloading
the circuit, generators (if they can be placed far enough away to be non-intrusive
as they can be noisy) and small coloured lights as used outdoors at Christmas.
These usually use lower wattage than house bulbs.
Covering
plugs and sockets in plastic during rain storms may be better than nothing
but proper weather protected sockets could prevent blackout, fires or
serious electric shocks. This is a serious matter in a marquee where power
comes from a distant building and where even damp conditions can produce
short-circuits or make equipment unexpectedly live.
You may be lucky enough to have an effective power source, but if you have any doubts about having so many plugs off a small number of sockets and if your trailing extension leads seem to go on forever via handfuls of adaptors, get the system checked by a qualified electrician.
Syd of course just kept on regardless.
He had two standard sockets and off them he ran all the lighting for a 40 foot marquee, the bar, the band's electrical sound system, a fridge and lights around the outside of the tent. As the audience collected and the band began, all the lights and power went off. This was a blessing in disguise, as the electrician who was finally called, too late to save the audience and and too late to stop the band packing up and going home, said that if the central fuses hadn't blown the lighting circuit could have caught fire and spread to the marquee.
It was Syd who claimed to invented the "cheap alternative to the electric plug" by sticking bare wires into the socket using matchsticks. Kids, please don't do this at home ...
Another
aspect of the "ambience" of your event is background music.
Often a band will bring their own music to fill the interval between sessions,
but if the audience arrives early it is helpful to have music already
playing.
Similarly for many other events suitable music playing unobtrusively can add to the atmosphere. Don't get carried away by playing supermarket tapes, but do take a tip from them - appropriate pleasant music played quietly in the background generates a good-natured feeling. A sound system or public address system with several speakers will always be more effective than a single cassette recorder, which will call attention to itself.
Above you see The
RedEye Blues band who gave us great entertainment in 2002 and below,
the Savoy Jazz Band (2004) showing also the position of the low stage
at the end of the marquee and the soft background and overhead lights.
Our reason for having other events leading up to The Feast is that they provide publicity for the Feast itself, they create an atmosphere of expectation so that you aren't simply having a day in isolation, and most importantly you are spreading the cost of the marquee and other equipment over more than one event.
This last was our main reason, when we realised that a large marquee was our greatest insurance against disaster but we then had to raise funds more broadly in order not to rely entirely on a single event.
So
it was that we had a week's festival, with a Jazz evening, a Blues evening,
a Ceilidh (Gaelic folk evening) and a Fashion Show leading up to the day
of the Feast. A bar, a stage and lighting were available for all events
and each event took its share of paying back the capital cost of the marquee.
We have also backed up the Fashion Show (which appeals mainly to ladies) with a family Treasure Hunt round the village. The Hunt started just before the Fashion Show and finished at about the same time so while mum and the girls watched pretty frocks, dad and the boys charged off looking for clues. Then while we marked the results (picture right) the Hunters could have a reviving drink as the Fashion Show finished.
As Festival Events proceeded we were able to keep a track of our success or failure and order more or less stock accordingly. Each event tended to attract a different clientele with different preferences so the whole community was catered for.
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Warning Just make sure you have enough helpers to take the strain: a whole week's work culminating in The Feast is a great deal of pressure on a few organisers. If it's all for the Community it helps if the whole community is involved! |
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