Organizing An Event In Your Park

By Author: AKM
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Are you preparing to host an event in your parks in Atlanta for events? This step-by-step guide will ensure that you don't overlook anything.

Park events bring our neighborhoods to life. Park events not only create a great neighborhood atmosphere and bring people together outside, but they also help people become more engaged and invested in their city parks.

This guide will walk you through the steps required to host an event in the park and will inspire you with the possibilities.

Decide on the event, the timing, theme and objectives
Will your event involve a spring cleaning? A parade of pumpkins? What about a movie night? In most cases, the timing will be influenced by the event. Begin with the event concept, and other important decisions regarding equipment and promotion requirements will most likely follow.

Set initial goals for the number of people you want to attract and the types of people you believe will be interested in your event. When marketing an event to seniors, you may approach promotion very differently than when marketing an event to youth.

Once you've decided on the ...
... event, date, and theme, communicate with your parks department early on to let them know what you're planning so they can get involved. It is best to give at least 8 weeks' notice.

Plan and divide responsibilities
For your event, you should form a small working group. Your working group can decide on the key event milestones, work plan, and responsibilities. Consider breaking up the group into major areas of responsibility such as marketing, permits, logistics, volunteer coordination, clean up, and so on.

Consider how you can diversify your working group so that it reflects the diverse interests of the community. You could invite local artists, members of a local environmental organization, municipal police, and members of local ethnic community groups to join your committee for larger events. Enlisting local business groups, the Chamber of Commerce, and local businesses is another good idea because they have a different perspective that may add a new dimension to your event. Consider inviting your neighbors, local dog walkers, parents, youth, seniors, and people with the skills you'll need to make your event a success for smaller events.

You can encourage more people to join the group by doing the following:
* Working group meetings should be advertised to the local community through community centers and social media.
* Making certain that working group meetings are held at a convenient time and location for everyone to attend.
* Creating a list of tasks that can be assigned to community members who are unable to attend working group meetings.

Following each meeting, send a status update to the community members outlining the meeting notes and any assigned tasks to follow up on. Encourage working group members to enlist the help of their neighbors and friends as planning or day-of volunteers.

Remember to thank volunteers for their efforts in making the park event a success.

Permits and insurance
When planning an event in a park, make sure you have the necessary park permits and insurance. Municipal permitting policies differ. If you're bringing more than 25 people together, you may need a permit and insurance in some municipalities.

Consult your local municipality to determine what permits and insurance are required, as well as what is and is not permitted in your park. Food and live amplified music frequently necessitate more complex permits.

Park permits can take 6 weeks to 4 months to obtain, so plan ahead.

Create the budget
There are numerous costs that can be incurred when organizing an event. When creating your budget, keep the following in mind:

* Permits and insurance
* Printing promotional materials
* Equipment for the day (AV, tent, table and chairs, etc.)
* Photography
* Decorations
* Sound equipment
* Food for volunteers

When creating your budget for park events in Atlanta, try not to overestimate your costs because there will almost certainly be unexpected expenses.

Define how you’ll promote the event
Consider the following questions when developing a promotional strategy for your event:

* Who do you want to reach out to? Consider who those people are and where they are most likely to come across your promotional materials.
* How much money do you have available for printing and/or design?
* Do you want to try to get local newspapers or radio stations to cover your event?
* How can you best utilize digital media such as websites and social networks?
* What event listings in local newspapers and online platforms could you use to publicize your event?

Make sure you send out your publicity materials well in advance, as some publications have long lead times and you'll most likely be out of luck if you wait too long.

When promoting your event, keep the following channels in mind:

1. Local schools
2. High density apartment buildings or condominium towers
3. Local cafés and businesses
4. Community centres
5. Libraries
6. Community Facebook pages

Plan the event in detail
Make sure you consider all aspects of the event from start to finish. Take a look at the following:

1. How will volunteers and equipment get to the park?
2. When are you going to set everything up?
3. Is there enough parking? Is it necessary to provide attendees with parking or transportation information?
4. Is wayfinding signage required in the park?
5. Where should visitors go when they arrive?
6. Are there any announcements made during the event? If so, when will it happen?
7. What is your rain/snow strategy?
8. What are your plans for cleaning up after the event?
9. Is first aid available on-site? What is the plan in the event that someone is hurt or injured?
10. What are your plans for collecting event attendees' email addresses so you can stay in touch after the event?

Follow up and thank volunteers
Park events are a lot of work, and having a large number of volunteers can mean the difference between fun and drudgery. Getting together fosters unity. Choose a restaurant, a community center, or someone's home for a quick thank-you party for volunteers and members of the organizing committee. Recognizing and celebrating volunteers' contributions will encourage them to return in future years. And, besides, everyone needs to decompress—it's time to tell everyone what happened!