Event Planning Blog: Crunch Time

In the course of being a part of this event, I  have heard “Gosh, planning an event is easy, anyone can do it,” I want to make it clear that this is not the case.  Event planning is not easy, it is not simple, not just anyone can do it.  It takes dedicated, team players to make things happen.  This entry is regarding event planning and how it's not as easy as you think.

.This is a daily (I hope) blog regarding Event Planning from the level of an event planner.  There are some things I can’t talk about because we need to keep some stuff as surprises.  There’s some stuff hat I just won’t talk about for other reasons

It’s t-minus 10 days prior to Big Bang 2010 in Ottumwa, Iowa, and I can tell you, it’s definitely crunch time.  This entry is in regards to the posts I’ve seen in many places regarding the event.

There is nothing like being a part of helping to plan a new event and being a part of something exciting.  There is nothing like working to make things “perfect” when there is no such thing as a perfect event.  Event planning is not easy, it is not simple, not just anyone can do it.  It takes dedicated, team players to make things happen.

Fact of the matter is, I’ve heard more bitching from outsiders now that we’re closer to the event of what we should be doing, or what could be done better.  And you know what, it’s great to hear those opinions, but it’s not so great to have it thrown in our face that someone who is not involved in the event thinks they could have done it better.  Because honestly, if you could have done it better, you should have volunteered your time to be on the event team.

However, considering where we stand now, 10 days prior to the event, I want to talk about a few things. 

We’re going to make mistakes.

There, I said it and there’s no turning back.  We’re going to make mistakes and I have no doubt about it.  First of all because this is the first year of trying to do an event on this level for this group.  Second, because a lot of us are working together that have never worked together on a team before.  Third, because there are time constraints.  While things have been coming together a lot more smoothly the last two weeks than they were in the past, not everything is smooth, not everything is perfect.  And this is due to the simple fact everyone is learning, about event management, about event attractions, about how far in advance some things need to be done, etc., and most importantly about each other.

Being on an event team means we have to work together, kinda closely, even if some of us working on the event are out of state.  In fact, a large handful of us working on the project are from more than 5 hours away, which means getting to know each other and working things out together is an integral part of the event.  Especially if a number of us remain on the team in future years, knowing what’s going on, what each other’s strengths are and what their weaknesses are makes the team stronger.

Year One, Not Year Ten

We’re not PAX, ComicCon, DragonCon or any of the other established events out there.  We’re new, we’re small and we’re in our first year, not year ten or eleven like a large number of events that are mainstream names are.  We don’t have set protocols, set sponsor lists, set exhibitors that will come to us year after year after year.  Just like PAX and similar events, we are starting out small and hoping to grow.

The dream, the desire, the want is here in the group to continue on to become a larger gaming convention that people will want to come to.  It just takes time.

PAX didn’t start out with 60,000 people attending in it’s first year.  Quite the contrary.  When PAX first launched in  2004, it was a 2-day event that brought in 1337 players..  2005 brought in more than 9,000 players.  Fast forward to 2009 where it had an astounding total: more than 60,000 attendees.

They started out as a small, 2-day event that exploded each year into something much larger, much more fantastic than the last, all due to their event team, participants and more making hit happen.

We’re at Stage One, similar to what PAX was at in 2004.  We don’t have a ton of corporate big-name sponsors.  We don’t have a ton of flashy exhibitors or booth babes or other stuff most gamers look forward to at a convention.  But we do have events people will look forward to:

• Gamer of the Year
• Several Open Play areas with consoles and TVs set up and games available for you to check out
• Video premiers
• Induction ceremony
• 3 nights of great concerts
• Some vendor booths, some swag
• And a 400 person bring your own computer/console area for tournaments, lan party and more

Not to mention the historic displays and other tournaments as well as a classic arcade for folks to play in.  We are starting out at year one, but we’re doing the best we can to make the four day event a blast.

Learning from our mistakes

Finally, this first year will give us a chance to see how events run. Only a few people on the event team have had hands in previous conventions and how they work.  For a large number of us, this is our first time working full blown event staff, from planning stages to seeing it go live and end Aug. 8. 

And while we know we’re going to make mistakes, myself included, I also know we’re going to learn from it. 

We’re all volunteers: no one is getting paid to make this a great event.  At the end of the day, we’re exhausted, but satisfied. We’re doing this because we want to.  We know it isn’t easy.  We know it’s a lot of work, but we’re sticking through it. 

And I think this is the first insight into what work we have been doing to make it fun.

I know this is a bit long winded, and not the initial direction I wanted to take on the first blog on it, but needed to be said.  Tomorrow, I’m going to talk about getting involved and what is involved in being on an event team.

For more event information, visit http://www.ivghof.com