Event planning 101-Or How Sausage Is Made

[Spinster]

One of the great challenges in our hobby is preserving the collective 'Lessons Learned' in various aspects of event planning.

Event planning tends to burn up our best and brightest, or at least lead them to the determination that an extended vacation from the hobby would be A Good Thing.

As we move into the 150th cycle, many folks are trying their hands at event planning, be it for small local events, or large anniversary events. Some have experience, some do not. Some folks think its easier than it is, some already know how hard and unpredictable such can be.

For all events, there are basic points. Something can and will go wrong in every one of them, even when you've done a stellar job of nailing it down. Even when you have it nailed, you must be prepared with plan B, C, D, E, ......X, Y, Z........A1, A2, A3.......


Part of finding the answers is asking the right questions. Lets ask those questions.......

(1) Land
A well known wag said Its the Land, Stupid .

If you don't have the land for your event, of the right type, with the right permissions for use, with the right access, drainage, topography, forest, and pasture, and of adequate size for the particular piece of history you wish to depict, then everything else is moot. A corellary to land is insurance, to protect the landowner, as well as to protect you as an organizer. You may get land for free, for a percentage of the spectator gate, or for a set sum. Whatever your arrangement, it needs to be in writing, with specifics set down as to who is responsible for what, how crops or livestock will be managed, digging for firepits or works, fences, post event cleanup, and when required payments are due.

(2)Water
What's the water situation at your land?

Is there a well on the property? What's the rate of flow? Are you going to pump it dry the first time you fill a water tank? Did you remember to shock and sanitize that water tank? What about the smaller containers? Did you leave anything sitting in the sun too long?

You say the local fire department is bringing in water in their tanker truck? Is that tank capable of potable water? Who is going to sanitize it, and when? Who is going to refill all the water buffalos on site, on what schedule, and how will he know when they are running low? How far is it to the fill source and what's the turn time for a water run?

You say you are using natural water sources and iodine tablets? Have you fully informed all your participants, and aided those with shellfish allergy, Type II diabetes, and others with medication conflicts with iodine to find some other way to deal with the water issue?

You say you have city water on your site, close by and at adequate pressure? How deep are the lines? Is someone going to puncture them with a tent stake or fire iron? How are you getting that fixed? What are you doing for water in the meantime? You say you are running a hose from a nearby building to a stand with a splitter on it to fill canteens? Did you sanitize that hose? Is it clean enough for drinking water, or has it been gathering mold and spiders in your garden shed for the last couple of years?

(3) Wood
Got deadfall? Is there enough? Does your intended participant know how to drag up their own wood and deal with it? Are you providing firewood? In what form? Is it too big to burn? Does it need splitting? Have you told your participants to bring proper equipment to do so? Do you have an issue system in place to mitigate wood hoarding and folks who floor their tent with a half a cord? Can the weather turn unseasonably cold and you really don't have enough wood? Where are you getting more?

(4) Sanitation
How are you dealing with human waste? Are your numbers small enough and your event mobile enough that the only real need is a shovel and good manners? Have you cleared that with the landowner? Will a military officer designate a 'sinks' area for each night's camp? Are you digging latrines?

Are you renting portalets? How many? How often will they be serviced? Where are you placing them? Are you going to try to conceal them behind a tree line or by some other method? Have you looked at the service schedule in relation to any planned military action? Who in your organization will be the 'go to' when a whole row of them got missed, there is no paper in them, and its the row right beside the 'family camp'?


Now, those are just a few questions that go into an event--long before we ever get to scenario planning, or who the commanders are, or how parking is handled, or.............how you are going to pay for all this?


So, what are the good event planning questions that you know? And how did you answer them?

[desotobob]

Why, Ms. Lawson, could this have anything to do with Friday last? You ask all the right questions, and I hope we as a reenacting communiity can get some answers.
Saturday was a GOOD day, and many questions were answered. Even when you think the answers are all there, some new questions will arise.
For example, What do you do when the best laid plans of men and Generals go awry? Well, you go to those who have gone before, and you go to those whose integrity is un-impeachable and you gather around you those who can be trusted. And then, a small miracle will occur. As we progress into the 150's, we must trust one another and gather from our strengths into one cohesive group. Then we can achieve the events we want to put on and provide an experience that will make the Reenacting community say "Oh My!". This weekend has resulted in what I believe is a true blessing. And Dover will be at 34 degrees 56 minutes 51.05 seconds North and 89 degrees 15 minutes 48.28 seconds West. I trust you and your father had a good weekend.

[mexwarbob]

I think a good question to ask is how my timeline is going to work. If I am putting event A on a certain anniversary date; then how far in advance do I need to plan to meet that date.
For example, If I do not access to a pot of money such as GAC has, how do I raise the money to make deposits for or prepay for certain services.
If I am counting on reenactor fees to make a certain percentange how far out do I need to advertise. Most units usually set their schedule at a meeting in January. I know reenactors who have to bid on their vacation times at work so they like as much warning as they can get.

Bob Gregory
79th NY Co A

[GrumpyDave]

Bob-two years...MINIMUM.

-How will I handle a personal, medical or weather related emergency?
-Will I follow the historical record? What will I need to accomplish this?
-What is the goal of the event?
-How many participants will I need to make the event a success?
-Is there a march route? How much work will it need? How will accomplish this?
-Who will my support staff be?
-Who will my "Officer" and "NCO" staff be?
-How will I feed the masses?
-Will I need any special permissions to complete said feeding according to the historical record?
-Will the participants need any special equipment?
-Who will handle registrations?
-Will I need insurance? How much? Who will post the bond?


There's a list around somewhere and....


It's ponderous....

[plankmaker]

Permits are often overlooked and can bite you squarely. The Health Department, Fire and EMS may also have a say. Traffic control and parking can also result in headaches. Different local gubments also may see it as a way to get their hand in the till. Once you get the landowner on board, it is a good idea to contact local officials to see their spin on an event.

[Spinster]

-Who will my support staff be?


..

Now there's a fine example.

And its follow up---How many times will I have to recruit AGAIN for this role?

For the recent In The Van, ( small numbers, but 7 days and moving each day in broken terrain, with no human water sources) I recruited 6 support staff, and another team member rustled up two. That's eight, right? And, for various reasons I needed to have at least one female support staff.

Boots on the ground---one and a half men. One full time support, one that came and left and came again, and one event injury that could drive but not lift.

Wow. Every person who dropped out had a perfectly good acceptable reason and a great big apology. Not a wuss-out in the bunch. We had everything from motorcycle wrecks to a guy on the table with his chest cracked open.

For every essential slot in your event plan, you'll need two folks in mind to fill that slot. Maybe three. And then you'll use somebody unexpected in the job.

Be sure you explain that job fully to the last guy who is actually doing it.

That's another good reason to have your full event plan in writing, with all job descriptions. (Thanks Pete!!) It helps to focus the mind and find the holes.

[billwatson2]

Five-paragraph field orders seem to embrace most of these details, with the exception of Pete's job/role descriptions. We don't need to embrace it literally, in the details, but the concepts behind the organization -- situation, mission, execution, support, command and (communications) --pretty much work for anything. I used it to successfully create new sections for a newspaper, for instance. Once the over-arching document is done, each of the five elements can be supplemented with as much detail as anyone needs, right down to where to buy the best adapters to fit on a stock tank to maximize flow.

[Bill_Cross]

It's funny how often these kinds of posts go up, as if we've just discovered that you need land, water, sanitation and wood.

I think Mrs. Lawson has hit the proverbial nail squarely on its proverbial head, and I have enormous respect for her as a person and an event organizer. Would we had a dozen Terri Lawsons working behind the scenes. That's the real problem: a lack of numbers. To have 200, 500, a thousand participants, you need a proportional number of folks doing the behind-the-scenes stuff (what got the incorrect nickname of "Kabuki" from the Japanese stage form, when the correct term is "Noh" that uses people in black who make the action happen). And most fellers (and ladies) coming into the hobby want to "play" and not "work."

[PMB1861]

It's funny how often these kinds of posts go up, as if we've just discovered that you need land, water, sanitation and wood.

Bill, you forgot food and more importantly leadership. Luckily Terre, ROB and Gerry didn't.

In my opinion, these posts come up repeatedly because I've never seen more than a cursory exploration of the subject in writing, a failing of this hobby.

Since my name was kindly mentioned, I want to add it was my pleasure to play a supporting role at In The Van. I could fill a couple of pages of stuff I learned just in the planning and execution of ITV, someday I hope I will. But for now, this is the number one thing in my head...

You need a plan.

It can be imperfect, incomplete, but you need to have a clear idea what you are trying to accomplish, what you are going to need to do it, and a basic outline of when it is going to be done.

Once you get on the ground, that plan is going to change. If you did your planning well enough it should only change a small amount and in unimportant and undisruptive ways.

That is a little bit of "40 Second" Boyd, Clauzewitz and Yoda mixed together poorly by me. Please forgive my presumption...

[Spinster]

It's funny how often these kinds of posts go up, as if we've just discovered that you need land, water, sanitation and wood.

."

Bill,

Here's the real rub. For the last decade or so, I've been trying to extract knowledge from folks who know.

I do little bitty events in this time period, of the sort that can be handled with deadfall, clorox, jerry cans, and a shovel. Used to be, I did big honkin' Girl Scout events, but that was a long time ago, when regs were such that we dug latrines, burned drug up wood and charcoal, and the National Guard was hauling in water for us, instead of deployed half a world away.

Getting folks to actually reduce their rules of thumb to writing is like pulling teeth------from an ox, with no sedation.

How many people will one portalet really service, pumped once a day? pumped twice? Does this vary with the temperature? How do you allow for spectator portalets vs soldiers only portalets? Do you put extras near the civilian camps? How about the ratio of handicapped/(hoopskirt:p) units, for those gals who have not yet learned how to manage period clothing in a small space?

Wood useage? Well, are you just throwing it out there, or are you going to use a quartermaster system? How much per man per day at what temperature range? How do you handle civilian camps, where every Martha and Mary has to have her very own fire to cook her special plum duff, but only a third of them can actually build and manage a fire, never mind keep up a fire watch? How do we limit and manage those fires in an area where children are present? How do we teach that wood was a scarce resource to be managed properly in the period, rather than a 19th century television set, to be piled high and set to the glass-melting stage for no particular reason?

Water? When did Papa quit hollaring at us to turn off the water? He still does at my house (even if now he just points soundlessly at the dripping faucet), but you can't tell it by the way most folks open a tap on a buffalo and leave it going. Or a one man canteen detail that wastes as much water on the ground as gets in the canteens---someone to fill and someone to pass and cork is such a simple concept. Ever brought up a bucket of water for men and seen some fool sink his canteen, greasy cover and all, into that bucket to fill it? I know you have--it happens too often.


Our lack of shared knowledge means that we reinvent the wheel over and over and over again.


Oh, and while I'm still working on the larger document, my primary 'lesson learned for In The Van is : Make sure to recruit more than one commissary officer, don't take on the job yourself when its too late to replace the drop out, and don't feed men strange food or give them a strange method to obtain food when they are otherwise under stress, even if that food and method is perfectly correct, documented, and should work. It ain't gonna.

[PMB1861]

Missus Lawson,

1 portajohn for every 20 people cleaned daily... 1 for every 10 if they are cleaned every other day... I learned that in one of my past jobs. Same place I learned how to over-estimate water requirements.

You bring up a very good point. Different participant and spectator expectations will require different solutions to the same problem.

I like deadfall... but I'm planning an event that requires transport of firewood over water. Luckily I don't need to move porta-johns.

[Bill_Cross]

Bill,
Here's the real rub. For the last decade or so, I've been trying to extract knowledge from folks who know.
Terri, you didn't call me. While I don't pretend to be an expert, I have worked on some of the more-successful events of the past decade here in the East, both large and small (by EBUFU/Campaigner standards). I'd be glad to talk to anyone who wants. That's not a knock on you, we just didn't know each other. But now that you have my phone number, call me when you have questions. If I don't know the answer, I'll see about getting it.

Our lack of shared knowledge means that we reinvent the wheel over and over and over again.
I agree, which is why this is a good topic, and I hope I did not give you the impression that I'm #$%@ing on your post. Just the opposite. But the problem, I think, comes from the element Peter calls me out on for omitting: leadership.

The hobby since I got into it (and before, at least based on my elders' accounts) is divided into "us" and "them," and you don't mix. So instead of looking for help from those who've done it before, we don't want to admit we don't know or bring in folks we don't know.

Then there are the usual internecine wars. I remember Charles Heath having a meltdown at "Recon 2" because the bread loaves came delivered in white gutta percha (i.e., clear plastic) wrappers. There simply wasn't time to remove them at the brigade commissary level, but the wrappers were off at the company level when the bread was delivered (in a horse-drawn wagon, BTW) and into the campfires in a jot. So it was no "bougher" on anyone's period experience, other than for a few moments, if the boys even noticed (or cared). Yet Don Hubbard, who had done a TON of work to get the victuals for that event, vowed he would never work with Charles again. Who could blame him?

An interesting aside is that Charles later became something of a fixture in the logistics portion of events, but I digress. Was he trying to push Don out so he could be Mr. Logistics? When Don passed away, it subsequently took three guys to fill his shoes.

My point, and I have one, is that leadership in this hobby is so fragmented and localized that folks won't make use of the collective knowledge that's out there. People know how many users per potty, or how much wood you need for the weekend. I can call Bill Rodman anytime if I need those numbers, since he's run or led a ton of events over the years. Streamer events you say? So? A portalet's a portalet, campaigners might #$%@ more here on the forums, but we don't do it more than mainstreamers in the field, LOL.

... and don't feed men strange food or give them a strange method to obtain food when they are otherwise under stress, even if that food and method is perfectly correct, documented, and should work. It ain't gonna.

Yes, the raw spuds at McDowell 2001 ended up dumped in the crick or thrown at us by the "Town Boys."

It would be nice if someone with the time and energy would put together a Columbia Rifles Research Compendium on organizing and planning events. In this day of desktop publishing, PDF files and Paypal, I'm sure there's a way to gather the information and then make it available at a reasonable price to the hobbies.

But I've been wrong before, and I'm sure someone will tell me I am now. ;)

[Spinster]

Well Bill, that's just it.

Its bad enough that I call strange men on the telephone down here in the Deep South. :p Culturally, I can get away with that because all folks ever see is a filthy old woman in a worn out dress with graying hair and a jaw of tobacco or something resembling it. My Jeebus, now I'm suppossed to call strange men on the telephone that live over the Big Scary Mountains? What will this do to my lucrative period employment as respectable chaperone, matchmaker, and busybody?

Somebody's wife is gonna cut me one of these days, just on general principal, even if I am older than dirt and three, okay two, axe handles wide.

Especially since a major commander recently outed me at a meeting with a dropped jaw and a "Good Lord, after all these years, nobody told me you were pretty and younger than I am" .

My organizing skills and connections are planted in the solid umbrella organization mainstream of the old North-South Alliance. Still, being Deep South, we've always held ourselves separately from the military structure, and for years I knew no one other than those I answered to directly.

The internet has changed that--because I'd end up on copied email lists, with some not realizing I'm not a military man. I get some interesting "extra, non-hobby" mail from time to time, and the delete button is always handy.

But, inattention to detail does get to me---I had my own ChawlsFit around mid-night a few weeks ago, and unloaded a wagon with plastic wrapped sacks of potatos that were not on my supply listing, nor part of the documented issue goods. I still don't know where they came from, but got that plastic out of there before the wagons rolled. I can't stand waste in foods--and when the army threw some away a day later, you can bet I was diving at them as I went down the road, filling my petticoat, as I was a refugee without ration for that trip. It was interesting what I did get to eat.......

Each of us has our blind spots though--while I painted and labeled cases of canned goods, I did not cull the fact that the modern cans were incorrectly sized and shaped. I wished we could have used more of the small barrels we had for water, than the burlap covered jerry cans, but they did not work so well.

I'll agree that part of the problem in publishing this stuff is an 'us v. them' sort of thing. And part of it has to do with a variety of folks playing fast and loose with intellectual property over the years--or simply not understanding the issues involved in intellectual property.

I think y'all ought to talk with Bill Watson about getting some of this stuff collated and published though. Like Gerry Barker's Thoughts on Spys and Scouts, I think it would be a stealth best-seller.

Peter: Lump Hardwood Charcoal, 40 pound sacks in contractor bags in burlap, and you might want to borry my little stove and pipe for heat and the braziers the Pretties have for cooking. And the bellows and blow tubes. Just Sayin'

[Bill_Cross]

Mrs. Lawson, you should know that I've been married so long she doesn't CARE any longer when a strange woman calls. ;)

I would like to see all the wisdom of the hobby collected, since some of it will perish as the members age out. Schools the the officer are a nice way to help avoid that, but the hobby is so much more than drill.

[flattop32355]

Running the military aspects of an event, be it cph, mainstream or farbfest, is a totally different animal from planning and running the event itself. The former is much neater and, I believe, straight forward than the latter. The former can mostly ignore the latter, barring major snafu's. The latter cannot ignore the former.

The "Us vs Them" of event planning extends far beyond the
traditional "separate hobbies" mentality. It also extends its fingers between umbrella organizations and into their components, at all "accuracy" levels, as well. Some of that is territorialism, some mere personality conflict at the upper levels, and some is simple, benign thoughtlessness as to making available lessons learned by those who have done it for those who are insane enough to want to try doing it.

I would guarantee that any cookbook on how to "do" an event, written by any one person, will be pounded upon by others as omitting some items and adding unneeded ones. Similarly, any done by committee will be equally pounced upon by non-authors for similar reasons.

And, yet, to do so would have great value, especially in multiple forms, for the folks this hobby needs to take up the mantle of organizer in future years after the present crop of fools have moved on or out.

Some lessons must necessarily be learned individually, as each event and region will have specific needs different from others. But the bulk of knowledge needed is common, and can be codified in simple format.

I don't know thing one about putting on an event. No, I'll take that back...I know that you need people who know how to put on an event to put one on.

It would be good if that information could be assembled, piece by piece if necessary, and collated into a coherent whole.

[billwatson2]

If everyone who has done an event writes down everything they think matters and ships it to me, yes, we can produce an updatable-at-no-cost-and-available-for-free edocument viewable on any computer, or available at minimal cost in print, without much effort. It could be a series of essays reflecting individual's approaches with a set of axioms at the end. Or whatever. A lot of emailing back and forth, but what the heck.

I think, though, that in addition to all the things laid out so far, there are some wide-ranging differences in philosophical approach among those few who actually step into the ring with the bull (or the cat herd) and try to organize events. Those differences reflect leadership styles. Working with Trip Corbin is different from working with Chris Anders is different from working with Terre Lawson is different from working with Bill Rodman is different from working with Dave Pridgeon is different from working the Tim O'Neill is different from working with Jari Villanueva. No right or wrong in it, just varying ideas on things like the right balance between doing all the details yourself or merely checking trusted helpers to see the details are all working out, plus a lot of variation in how much pre-event pitching and hands-on schmoozing should be done. Still it would make a good read for a very small niche of people, which is why Amazon made it possible to do things like this for next to nothing in cost.

[TheQM]

I've seen my name mentioned a couple of times in this thread. I don't pretend to be an expert, but here are a few things I've learned from helping to put on events. First and foremost. The large majority of reenactors are consumers, not a producers. This is one area where we truly have common ground. At almost every event, there will be a small group of dedicated individuals who basically do everything involved with putting on the event. Everybody else shows up Friday evening expecting to be entertained and then gets on the forums to complain when things don't go right. That's just the way it is. If you are going to get involved with putting on events, get used to it.

Second, no two events are the same. What works for one event won't automatically work for another. Here are some examples:

Level of authenticity? (This has a huge impact on logistics.)
Will there be a ration issue? How authentic?
Is this event a one & done, or an annual affair?
Will there be spectators?
Public or private land?
Will there be movement or static camps?
Is there water on site?
Will there be cavalry and/or artillery?
Number of reenactors expected?
Number of spectators expected?
Will there be civilain participants?
Are public officials working for, or against you?
Will there be sutlers? How many?
What time of the year is the event held?
Is paved parking available, or are you using a field to park cars?
Is the event a battle scenario, living history, or a little of both?
Are there good, bad, or no roads into the event site?

I could go on and on, but I think I've made my point.

Third, "Murphy" attends every event. Things are going to go wrong and you can be sure the "consumers" will point out those deficiencies in detail. The bigger the event, the greater the opportunity for bad things to happen. More people to visit the hospital, more cars in the parking lots, more officers to screw up scenarios. More participants who don't have the same vision for the event you do. That five percent, who figure the rules apply to everybody but them, also grows in proportion to the size of the event.

[billwatson2]

Bill Rodman had a thought that at many events, most people are consumers. I realized then that at most of the events I've been attending for at least 10 years, participants were more like investors, not consumers. I think the consumer paradigm is more in evident on the East Coast, where we've had years of events that treat us just like consumers. I also think it's time for everyone to wake up: This is not like going to a movie theater to be entertained. Success very much depends on everyone's mindset switching over to "part of why I'm here is to make this a success for everyone else." It's like a force multiplier in a board game.

[hanktrent]

Success very much depends on everyone's mindset switching over to "part of why I'm here is to make this a success for everyone else." It's like a force multiplier in a board game.

Y'know, I whole-heartedly agree with that. Even when I'm not doing much of anything to invest rather than consume, I still try to do a little and greatly appreciate what others do.

But there's a down-side that I've struggled with a few times. Most of the time, I feel like I can figure out what an event wants.

But there have been a few times over the years where I thought I "got it," but apparently I didn't. When I'd suggest what I could contribute, that seemed minor and easy and straightforward and supported by the historical record to me, it would be met with hesitance and concern and the obvious signals of "we're trying to be nice but it would be easier if you didn't do that, please?" So I backed off.

So I'd say there's a caveat: Investors only help events if they're investing what the event wants. If they're not, then from the event's point of view, participants are better off just lying low and being consumers.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@gmail.com

[Bill_Cross]

Hank, I think you're running into the "us vs. them" paradigm.

Bill Watson describes a desideratum that many of us strive for: events where folks invest their time and effort into recreating a more-historical experience. Bill Rodman is being, as always, a smart, practical realist, and he is looking at the real world. He reminds me of the shepherd who when the other shepherds went running off the Bethlehem asked "what about our sheep?" ;)

The key, I think, is to understand your attendee and sort our their expectations. Sometimes we the organizers have a particular "vision" for the event, but fail to communicate that vision to the "consumers/investors." I have seen both men (and you) at a surprisingly wide spectrum of events (McDowell vs. Andersburg, for example), and I would be hard-pressed to come up with a formula for predicting that. Bill R, on the other hand, has often said he's never been to an event where he didn't have fun.

But before setting up yet another point of difference between members of our various hobbies and further cutting us off from commonality, I would emphasize that, even among the "investor" crowd, there are still basic expectations like safety. When unmet, those failed expectations result in squawking. Just look at the fallout from "Bummers" as an example of an event where everyone except those who lived close-by put in a helluva large investment of time, money and effort. A large number of investors felt cheated by poor planning and faulty execution, enough that some left mid-event while others complained on the various fora afterward. I hope the organizers of "Bummers" will not feel I'm singling them out, either, as there have been other events with spotty safety records from what I have been told or experienced first-hand on both sides of the CPH/Mainstream dividing line. "Bummers" was, however, an earnest and ambitious attempt to promulgate a high level of "investment" by the attendees, including raising money for preservation torches (which promptly burned out a few moments after being lit, LOL).

So bottom line (to use terminology appropriate to Bill W's analogy): you must know who your attendee will be and see that his or her expectations are met.

And with Mr. Murphy practicing his law at every event I've ever attended, Bill R's advice to have back-ups and contingencies is sage advice indeed.

[flattop32355]

Though the analogy has flaws, I am reminded of those who attend church to be entertained (hear a good sermon, meet friends, etc.) with those who attend to actually worship.

Some of that occurs within our hobby. (Yes, singular. I know, we all have our own outlook on the subject. That is mine.) It would be nice if everyone who attended would put some of their effort into making the event better for the other folks at the event, but we all know that won't happen.

Best that can be hoped for is to transmit realistic expectations beforehand, then do one's best to meet those expectations. Personally, I have no problem if some aren't met due to unexpected adversity, particularly if it leads to other tidbits being experienced due to the same causes.

There's nothing wrong with being a consumer of the hobby's products. Just remember that the experience will be enhanced by also contributing to that product with more than just your butt in the seats.

[Spinster]

It would be nice if everyone who attended would put some of their effort into making the event better for the other folks at the event, but we all know that won't happen.

.


MMMMMmmmm welllll.......and sometimes------Bernie, The Moostache was working over the weekend on the thankyous for In The Van, as there are several print articles in process, and he wanted to make mention of special efforts.

As he was reading back to me on the phone, I started giggling. Then I explained who all he had just left out. There was some unique material culture that just appeared here and there throughout the event. Some I knew where it came from, some I'm clueless. But it was amazing what folks with that sort of investment in time, funds, and risk will haul in and throw into the mix, items that had to be time consuming to make, only to be expended quickly.

That dyed in the wool Federal may have to use the old southern expression: I Thank All Y'all

I'm not sure where the tipping point is where people 'buy in' with more than just showing up. It may be the days on the ground, the nature of the adventure, or the leadership.


And Mr. Cross--I'm going to take mild offense here--and I'm the sort who gets over such and moves on, as its not important in the grand scheme of things. BUT I consider myself 'local' to the Bummers event--and I'll define "close by" as being someone who could get in there at a decent hour on a Friday evening.

On a given weekend I could bundle MyDaddy up, haul him to my Aunt's, and be at the site in a couple of hours, having made a fried chicken run on the way. I came into the event late, less than six months out, but made two work weekends, and the Pretty Girls showed up for more. It was just a small effort at feeding the men who spent many weekends building those cabins.

Then, one of the local boys handed me a money purse, and I went shopping--including a four day driving trip all the way to Ohio that ultimately involved eight folks combing through plunder to aid in furnishing those cabins. Again, some of those folks spending days in barns and attics were 'local'---and some in that effort were not event attendees. My Aunt is long past such, her last event being during the Centennial, yet her home served as storage for all that plunder until it got picked up and moved. And, in the grand scheme of things, this was only a small cog in the wheel.

My point is, often folks do not know the amount time on task that goes into an event---or who does it.

[Bill_Cross]

Mr. Cross--I'm going to take mild offense here--and I'm the sort who gets over such and moves on, as its not important in the grand scheme of things. BUT I consider myself 'local' to the Bummers event--and I'll define "close by" as being someone who could get in there at a decent hour on a Friday evening.
Mrs. Lawson, I hope you don't take offense, because my point was not meant to denigrate those who were local, but to say that simply by attending the event, we invested a great deal (Mr. Rodman and I spent two nights in motels plus all the gas and wear & tear on his van getting there).

But I will play the Devil's Advocate here and say that I don't believe every event needs investors. There are events that are intended as entertainment and are consumable. I doubt they would be significantly improved if we brought a different attitude or invested something in them because they aren't intended that way. I won't name names in order to avoid offense, but y'all know what I mean.

[hanktrent]

Hank, I think you're running into the "us vs. them" paradigm.

Bill Watson describes a desideratum that many of us strive for: events where folks invest their time and effort into recreating a more-historical experience.

I don't think it's "us vs. them," in the usual sense. I know that a more-historical experience for participants isn't what some events are looking for, but those aren't the events I mean.

These events--I can think of only about three over the past 6-7 years--are ones that say they're history heavy, talk about getting out what you put in, are supposed to be for "us," and so forth, but I just can't get a handle on what they want. Probably just my own personal inability, but I'm sure others run into the same thing at other events. There's a point after which you get enough of a cool reception, you just need to back off, shut up, do your own thing, and not try to invest.

Unless, I dunno--it's a fine line. Is one supposed to invest anyway? At what point does it become too much enthusiasm, taking over, encouraging people to do historical things that they don't want to and that the organizers don't think participants should have to?

When I start getting those vibes from organizers, I consider it to mean I shouldn't invest the way I am at their event, even if it was okay elsewhere. But I dunno. Is one supposed to invest anyway, just because investing is always good?

Personally, I think events belong to the organizers, since they're the ones putting in 99% of the miserable, hard, backbreaking work. Shaping the event to be what they want is hard enough without participants deliberately overstepping bounds, once the signals are out there. But yes, it's puzzling and frustrating to have enthusiasm to invest and yet have to hold it back, but better to hold it back than to accidentally contradict what the organizers are envisioning.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@gmail.com

[Pvt Schnapps]

My own experience -- and I suspect it's the same with most reenactors, but I could easily be wrong -- is that there's a direct correlation between investment and return. I "invest" something with every event. The simple cost of fees, gasoline, and powder for even a New Market is significant. And the return, even for a heavy-camping, history-lite event is usually also significant.

I mean, it's almost always more intense and rewarding than bowling, not that there's anything wrong with bowling.

For more meaningful events the investment may include weeks of research, as well as behind-the-scenes contributions to firper info and stage-craft for other participants. But as a general rule, the events that promise more, get more input, and provide more of a return. Events like "War on the James" and -- to an order of magnitude more -- "In the Van" -- provide true historical insights and life experiences that little else can match.

So, to me, perhaps the first question in "event planning 101" is what am I offering participants? That will typically guide the related questions of what balance you'll obtain between consumers and investors.

One caveat to keep in mind, though, is that one should only promise what one can deliver, and therefore not expect more than one is likely to obtain. There's room in the hobby for a full spectrum of authenticity, but we can't expect participants in larger events with lesser aims to contribute as much as those few who buy into more demanding efforts.

Please forgive my being vague. I'm thinking about some choices I've made for myself this year.

[plankmaker]

Several of us in the 90s "invested" our time and efforts into getting property owners, county historical societies, the NPS, and various local gubment officials on the same page in order to hold events on some pretty amazing sites in the Richmond, VA area. We then had to back up and punt and restore the trust we had earned when a certain group undid all of our work in less than 15 minutes by doing something incredibly stupid. It took two years, development of new guidelines for blackpowder and fire safety, and a lot more of trust building, promises to individuals, and even more personal investment. Things ran well again until we were convinced to help a cpouple of individuals with some property for the 140th 7 Days event, that died a quick and tragic death when two individuals again udid all the trust with property owners and local officials in a meeting that lasted less than an hour. After that, we stayed with the smaller events and LHs until the burnout was complete. "Investing" means different things to different folks. To us it was "investing" our reputation to gain trust. It totally sucked to have that evaporated by the stupidity of a few.

[billwatson2]

I think folks are reading too much into the "investors" paradigm I brought up. It need mean nothing more than attitude, and it may translate into exactly what Rob said on another post about quitting the hobby: Stop worrying about the length of the button shanks on the guy two company streets over. Enjoy what there is.

A pure consumer might consider it his duty to complain that any event allowing 3/8 " button shanks clearly has failed in its duty to its customers, just as, a few years ago, an entire brigade complained on the spot about lack of firewood from the event while sitting in the middle of a field surrounded by enough deadfall to fuel a homecoming football bonfire. Someone willing to get the most of out what there is might invest his time in just being quiet about button shanks and stooping to pick up deadfall lest his misery spread and ruin someone else's good time.

It really doesn't have to be complicated or heavy or involve anything expensive or materialistic. It can be as simple as adapting your mindset to "how can I help?" rather than "am I satisfied with what's been provided?" And the "call to action" on the thing may really turn out to be just silence.

I expect to be entertained at events, yup, but I expect most of that to come from my fellow participants. All I expect from the organizers is a place for it to happen.

[Coatsy]

Besides being one of the A-holes that planned and ran Bummers, I’ve helped with WIG events, and smaller living history events or tacticals in my home state. I don’t plan mainstream, for profit, or spectator events. Other folks can run those. I’ve helped with planning, research, and actual on site logistics. So I think I can add something here.

Some points besides the usual stuff (having your land, insurance, scenario, spectators or not, water, leadership, who is attending, stream or history heavy event, rules and regs)

1) Behind the scenes crew is quite possibly the most important issue an event organizer needs to focus on once you have the scenario, land, insurance, military/civilian leadership, who is attending, etc....

Make sure the folks on your kabuki staff are NOT FLAKES. They need to be trust worthy, dependable, and actually show up to help. Having 3 of 6 people who were supposed to be my Kabuki not show up at Bummers did not help my general state of being during the event.

This is quite possibly the least glamorous role at an event, but the most important factor for an event to run properly everything starts.

2) Keep you planning staff small! One person needs to have the final say. No committees. Those lead to wasted time over arguments. The person in charge needs to trust their planning staff, be flexible, not be afraid to say they are wrong and check their ego at the door.

3) Plan A and B can and just might go out of the door. Be prepared for a Plan D, E, and F when someone goes on a Plan C and does not tell the rest of the event staff. Not that I would know about that.... You can’t control the weather/mother nature. Make sure you back up your main plans.

4) You can put all the pre event/historical info out in phone calls, newsletters, internet posts, but you cannot MAKE folks actually read or pay attention to what you are giving them or setting up for them. All the meticulous planning in the world cannot stop the Human Factor. People are people and they will do what they want. Some participants get it with the pre event reading, a lot more do not. Herding cats man… herding cats.

5) Event planners, have a super thick skin. I had folks accuse me and the crew of purposely endangering people’s lives at Bummers on the forums, while at the same time I had my cell phone bill go up to $250 for one month because people would not stop calling my phone telling me that Bummers was the best thing since the invention of the wheel. Yes… This actually happened and Bizzaro World was a reality.

Finally…. Never, ever, ever let Eric Tipton guide anyone down a trail. EVER! But Eric constructs awesome websites for events.


PS, contact other event planners that share you vision for an event. They are a great resource for bouncing ideas around. Most folks out in CW reenacting land are mighty fine people that will generally give good advice.

[Spinster]

Having 3 of 6 people who were supposed to be my Kabuki not show up at Bummers did not help my general state of being during the event.


.

Herborama,

I think we have another reenactor math paradigm here. While I had the luxury of knowing that of the six folks I'd recruited as support staff for In The Van, only one was showing up-----you really did not have that luxury. It happened to you in the last day or so.

I don't know how we reduce that to a fomula, but its a good lesson.

In both cases though, there was a feller who got to the event early and who took one look and started running his truck all over the Bummers site helping with support. He's also the one who ultimately got my truck and a horse trailer married up for In The Van, and ran escort all the way to the site. He was already my friend, and yours------and its the pitch in and help rather than the stand by and snipe that tells the true worth of a man.

[Bill_Cross]

Herb, welcome to my world. I was once called one of "the intentional conflictors" (TICs, cure, eh?) because I deliberately put "War on the James" on top of "TAG" (the Advance Guard, an event 500 miles away). I didn't pick the day, but I have dealt with the landowner in the past, and know he was trying to shoe-horn our event in between harvest and grouse-hunting seasons, so it was "take it or leave it." But, hey, as you said, you need thick skin to plan or put on events or you'll quit.

Oh, right, a whole bunch of good folks I know HAVE quit.

Besides being one of the A-holes that planned and ran Bummers, I’ve helped with WIG events, and smaller living history events or tacticals in my home state.
"Bummers" was an excellent event in many ways, but one that suffered from the remarks you make below. It reminds me of the reason why I don't do my own electrical work, but will do around-the-house plumbing: if I %$#& up, I get wet, not killed. "Bummers" was very, perhaps overly-ambitious, trying to do things that hadn't been done before. For that the event organizers have my admiration. As an aside, a group I was working with was going to do some of the same things at the aborted "Road to Goldsboro" but never got our chance to fall flat on our faces, LOL.


1) Behind the scenes crew is quite possibly the most important issue an event organizer needs to focus on once you have the scenario, land, insurance, military/civilian leadership, who is attending, etc....
Couldn't agree more.

Make sure the folks on your kabuki staff are NOT FLAKES. They need to be trust worthy, dependable, and actually show up to help. Having 3 of 6 people who were supposed to be my Kabuki not show up at Bummers did not help my general state of being during the event.
Field staff is also important. Fortunately you had good people in wool (Tripp Corbin in my group) who rose to the challenges.

This is quite possibly the least glamorous role at an event, but the most important factor for an event to run properly everything starts.
Few folks want to work on an event and then not play. So invariably just at the time when the human %$#&-ups and weather can impact the most, the staff is dispersed. Until we get more folks like Bill W (or myself, my phone hasn't rung asking me to Kabuki), the problem won't go away.

2) Keep you planning staff small! One person needs to have the final say. No committees. Those lead to wasted time over arguments. The person in charge needs to trust their planning staff, be flexible, not be afraid to say they are wrong and check their ego at the door.
Alas, this is the Holy Grail of most hobby problems.

4) You can put all the pre event/historical info out in phone calls, newsletters, internet posts, but you cannot MAKE folks actually read or pay attention to what you are giving them or setting up for them.... Some participants get it with the pre event reading, a lot more do not. Herding cats man… herding cats.
Those of us with the fire in our bellies believe if we just SHOW everyone how great a truly authentic event can be, we'll....

Find Jesus?
Achieve the end of world hunger?
Bridge the mainstream and CPH wings of the hobby?
Create a new group of converts to our way of thinking.

5)I had folks accuse me and the crew of purposely endangering people’s lives at Bummers on the forums, while at the same time I had my cell phone bill go up to $250 for one month because people would not stop calling my phone telling me that Bummers was the best thing since the invention of the wheel. Yes… This actually happened and Bizzaro World was a reality. ]
"Bummers" was a very fine event, but at some point, decisions were made (or not made) that put SOME of the attendees in physical danger (don't know about lives being endangered, but certainly the tort lawyers would've licked their chops at the possibilities). I have no idea whether the error was one of omission (someone %$#&ed up) or commission (someone %$#&ed up because they decided to go down that river road in spite of the flooding). It's beside the point in some ways, because it's not like there was a core group of people we can blame or avoid in the future. It was a singular event not likely to be repeated, so we can all learn from the mistakes AND the many fine things y'all did.

[billwatson2]

Guys, I'm not buying the argument that any event organizer ever put anybody's life in danger. You reach a point where, when circumstances cross a threshold that's different for everyone, you just say "I'll stop right here, thank you" as a 21st Century individual. Whether that's a river you can see rising, a thunderstorm where you really don't want to stand sentry in an open field carrying a lightning rod, a campsite where those without a tent are in danger from tired late arrivals unable to distinguish between a shadow and a man wrapped in a gum blanket, a surprise twist in an event like abandoning packs, getting stepped on by a horse after taking a hit, or even a heart attack caused by a marching route that inadvertently includes the sight of nearly naked Virginia womanhood sunbathing on a rock in the Shenandoah. It's all ultimately our choice, not some event organizer's. What we choose to do, like sky diving, has some potentially lethal outcomes, and we all know that going into it. We deal with firearms, people of all types including some who could be committed any time a psychiatrist noticed them, animals with brains the size of walnuts, heavy things like wagons and caissons that go fast downhill, and many sharp things, which is usually where I derail. (OK, I'll admit it, I'm not allowed to use a knife at an event. Nobody wants blood in their soup, apparently.)

Sometimes it seems like people raise the specter of "you coulda killed us!" because their lives are so without drama that even the faintest chance of a mishap opens the door to some gratefully manufactured indignation. I've yet to be on any event where you couldn't drag yourself to civilization in a few hours, even with two broken legs while vomiting from food poisoning.

[Coatsy]

Bill C. "overly-ambitious" is nice way of saying insane. :D

Bummers is a good example of many extemes occuring at one time at an event. Besides some twisted ankles and folks being hungry/thirsty (I include myself here) it was a minor miracle no one got super hurt. As nutty as it all seemed, hopefully other folks wanting to plan events can use the good, the bad, and the crazy from THAT event to make their events work. I actually paid very close attention to 2 years worth of events to try to see what worked and didn't before Bummers. Stuff still happened that surprised me.

The law suits do float in the back of my mind when running events. I know of a historical site getting sued because of a person getting hurt. That stinks.

I know some folks don't read the waiver forms and that sometimes the waiver forms themselves don't mean spit, but they are there for a reason.


Mrs. L.

Senor Cornbread is worth his weight in gold, oil, and cash money.

[Spinster]

Mrs. L.

Senor Cornbread is worth his weight in gold, oil, and cash money.

Hush Herb. Too many folks know that already. They might be trying to kidnap him or something. Especially if folks figure out that Mrs. C is equally talented and industrious.

Yep, natural forces converge and high numbers increase the possibility of problems.

We took a lot of lessons from Bummers for In The Van--and were grateful for your honesty aiding us in learning from you. A whole lot of folks were screaming in our ears "People are going to DIE", given the ambitious combination of wagons, animals, heat, terrain, military, civilians, and event length.

And while we knew it from the get go, we saw written large, that in order for an event to be All About the Wagons, it must first be All About the Water. We were fortunate to have many experienced hands in aiding us in focusing proper water treatment, containers, and hauling methods.

For us, able participants with high personal skill sets self-selected themselves for the event. While our low key approach to event publicity and recruiting hurt in other factors, the experience level of the participants saved us on casualty rates.

[PMB1861]

Those of us with the fire in our bellies believe if we just SHOW everyone how great a truly authentic event can be, we'll....

Find Jesus?
Achieve the end of world hunger?
Bridge the mainstream and CPH wings of the hobby?
Create a new group of converts to our way of thinking.

Can't be done and doing so is tilting at windmills. I'm an avowed different hobbies-ist and know that you can't make hardcores out of streamers or streamers out of hardcores. An individual chooses what his level of comfort with the thousand aspects of living history and attends the events he/she feels meets that level of comfort.

In my opinion, nothing causes more friction in planning and executing an event than when the individuals involved do not have, if not the same, at least similiar visions of what the intention is.

Missus Lawson brought up that In The Van was all about the wagons. That singularity of vision was why there was limited discord between those that participated. There was a common vision and no one got hung up on 'Streamer' or 'Hardcore' or any of thousand other labels.

Making Event Sausage Rule #1 (Petey's A-hole Opinion) - Make a clear vision of the event focus and goals, communicate it and leave behind those who can't/won't accept it.