Planning Your Event

Things to Remember

• Allow enough time for planning: It is best to have 4-10 months to organize your event.
• Determine your message and your audience: Have you thought of a theme or emphasis that you would like to use? Who would be interested in this theme?
• Planning committee: Which areas of your event will require a coordinator? Identify these areas and find people to volunteer for them. For example: registration and information, site logistics, exhibitors, sponsors, publicity, and evaluation of the fair.
• Don't schedule your event on the same day as another event. Your audience will then have to choose which one to attend which may decrease your attendance.
• Choose a place that your target audience can get to easily.
• Find volunteers. There are many options for finding volunteers. Schools, student groups, community service organizations, church groups, senior citizens centers, and advocacy groups are good places to try. Your volunteers will be very valuable in helping with your event. They can direct attendees, assist exhibitors, staff some of the booths, hang posters, etc.

Who Should You Invite To Your Event?

• Consider whom you would like at your event. Make sure that they fit in with the theme of your event but finding a good balance and having variety is a good idea. Also, remember to not put competing exhibitors near each other.
• Who in your community would be a good exhibitor? Health professionals, health departments, community groups, libraries, police and fire departments, school PTA's, and YMCAs, are good organizations to contact to see if they have information for you.
• Contact national organizations, they may be able to provide you with materials to give out. Why Do I Need a Sponsor and How Do I Get One?
• Sponsors are a great way to get financial support, materials, equipment, and services. A few examples are: community groups, businesses, labor groups, and business leaders. Let them know about your event, what you plan on doing, and how they can help you out. For example a local printing company may be able to provide free printing for your flyers and posters.
• Can local businesses provide free give-aways? This can be great advertisement for their business as well as bring people to your event. They can also help by promoting your event to their customers.
• Be sure to remember to recognize your sponsors. Public recognition is a great way to thank your supporters. How Should You Publicize Your Event?
• Prepare a press release for local newspapers and talk to local radio stations.
• Talk to local companies to see if they will advertise for you. Many companies have internal newsletters which are a good way of spreading the word.
• Design and distribute flyers and posters that inform the community about who is putting the event on, what the event is, when the event will take place, and where they should go if they want to attend. Flyers can be placed in stores, libraries, banks, restaurants, childcare centers, clinics, hospitals, and churches (remember to always get permission before you post your flyer). You can also talk to with local schools to see if they would be willing to hand them out to kids to give to their parents.
• Press Conference: This can be a very beneficial way of promoting your event. Make a list of the media you would like to contact (news channels and newspapers), develop a media alert and send out to the media 2-3 days before you want the press conference. When you send this out make sure to contact the assignment editor or the health reporter. After you have sent out the alert, follow-up to see who will be attending. Develop a press kit to give out at the conference. The press kit should include a fact sheet, general information about the event, etc. At the press conference makes sure you have scheduled speakers and visuals. You can talk about why the event will be so good for the community, set up part of the event for them to take pictures of, etc.

Selecting the Perfect Location for Your Event

• Select a site that will be large enough for all of your exhibitors and attendees. The area should be able to accommodate more participants than you expect. A basis to go off of is a one-day fair for 500 people requires an area of at least 2,500 square feet.
• Plan for parking. Make sure there is enough to accommodate more people than you expect.
• Prepare a layout of the event. Ask the exhibitors how much space they would like and develop a floor plan. Allow enough room in the floor plan for traffic flow and to prevent backups and long lines. Also consider restrooms and wheelchair access.
• Do you need a permit? Check with your local municipal office to see whether any sanitary, sign, structural, food service, or other permits are needed.
• Have a checklist. A checklist will help you to remember the many things that you have to do and when. Make a list of everything you'll need on site: electrical equipment, tables, chairs, easels, VCR, audio-visual equipment, pencils, pens, paper, etc. and everything that you need to do.
• Set up a registration area. Prepare a map of the exhibits for attendees. You may also include nametags, list of activities and entertainment, bags, a list of sponsors, evaluation of the fair, etc. If you choose to have door prizes at your event, have the participants register at the registration booth.
• Post directions. Avoid confusion for attendees and exhibitors by posting signs or arrows directing people to the booths, parking, registration, restrooms, etc.
• Allow time for setup and breakdown of the exhibits. Leaving the exhibitors a couple of hours to set up their booths is a good idea. Find out ahead of time who will be responsible for cleaning up their site.

Evaluation

• The evaluation is a very important tool for planning future events. After your event talk to the planning committee, exhibitors, and others who were involved about their perceptions of the day(s). During the event you can have attendees fill out a brief survey about what they liked and disliked about the fair. This is a good way of registering for the door prizes as well as well as determining how many people attended your event.
• Be sure to remember to thank everyone that helped you in the process. Sending a simple thank-you note is a great way to do this.

Information provided by: American Academy of Pediatrics