A community is all about people. A community event is about pulling people together and celebrating, as a community. However, planning a small community event can be stressful and very time-consuming. This can lead to some heated discussions, debates and even fall outs.
In this blog post we share our steps to planning a small community event with as minimal stress as possible. It’s a good idea to have an ‘outsider’ like a professional event planner on your team. This way any conflict can be avoided, and you have someone to lead your community group without bias. This is a service that our professional community event planners can offer.
Here are our steps to planning a small community event:
- Get Your Team
Your team doesn’t need to be big, but it does need to be reliable. Planning a community event on your own can be overwhelming, no matter the size. But when you have a huge team planning the event it can be just as tricky. Strike a balance with the right amount of people in your team and make sure everyone has their own role within the event planning group.
- Think Goals
Think about the goals and outcomes of your community event. Are you putting on the event to raise money for something in the community like a church roof, day out for the elderly or a playpark? Perhaps the event is being organised to showcase local talent? Maybe you just want an event that brings the community together. Based on the goals of the event, you can then create the theme to give your event the right feel.
- Secure The Location
When it comes to a public community event, there is a lot to consider. While you want the event to take place in the community, you need to be careful about the venue you choose. If it is a public place like a park or village green, you will need permission from the council. This can take time for approval, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time. If you need local roads for parking or to close a road for a street party vibe, this will need to be approved by the local council too.
- Attendee Registration
A lot of community event planners run the community party for free. Therefore, they don’t think they need to get people to sign up. But how will you know how many people are coming? It’s a good idea to have a registration page somewhere, even if it is on your website, Facebook or Eventbrite for example. This way you can keep an eye on numbers. That information can then be passed onto caterers, entertainers and other suppliers at the event too, so they are prepared.
- Risk Assessment Completion
Whatever size event you are putting on, you need to consider health and safety. Your location needs to have enough exits for the amount of people attending. You need to be aware of trip hazards and ensure these are safe for everyone. Keep an eye on the weather forecast in the run up to the event too. This way you can ensure you are prepared for extremely hot weather, rain or strong winds. Here at Elite Events ECL we work closely with health and safety consultants so we can organise the risk assessment for you.
These are just the early steps of planning an event for your community. There is a lot more involved, but these steps will get you started safely. Community events play a vital role in celebrating the local community and bringing people together. If you need help planning an event for your local community, call our event planners now.