Organization Keeps Stress at Bay

We did a street fair recently where they were anticipating 50,000 people.  I noticed one of the main organizers was relaxing with his family an hour before the event was supposed to start.  I commented that everything must be going well if he was able to get in some "chill time" before the event even started.  He said things were going smoothly and showed me a detailed diagram they had put together showing the vendor layout and flow of the event.  He and his team spent many hours working on the details ahead of time, and clearly it was paying off.

There were a few big takeaways:

1. Make sure that you've got a detailed plan of how you want your event to go.  This will help you think about everything that needs to happen on the day of, so you won't be scrambling to find something if you think of it 30 minutes before your event.  Be sure to clearly communicate appropriate elements of your plan to your vendors prior to the event.  What you share should include the time frames they can arrive (staggering is good), where they need to go (their spot plus how they enter/exit).  
2. For your event rentals, you should have a clear list of all the items that should go in each area along with a diagram of how you want things set up.  One client from another recent fair had chalked out where they wanted each canopy - this made set-up a snap.  
3. Be sure to have a point person for questions and direction - if you're on a tight time frame, you don't want any of your crews waiting around to get questions answers or guidance.  If you have a big event with multiple areas, have a point person for each area (e.g., main stage, kid's venue, food court, etc.).  They can get to know what needs to happen and facilitate everything as it happens.  
4. Have good communication between areas, ideally with radios.  If something comes up, you can use the radio vs. wasting time trying to track down the people you need to talk to. 
5. Leave ample time for the unexpected.  It always pays to start early... you can never anticipate all the things that could go wrong.  If you only allow enough time for things to go perfectly and they don't, at a minimum, you're sure to get at least a few new gray hairs... or worse, your event could start late. 

 What was our role?  Party Production Rentals was the primary equipment rental company, providing the canopies, staging, seating, tables with linen and umbrellas and more.  Our part was done ahead of schedule (again allow ample time!), which our client greatly appreciated.