Block Party! Your Community Celebration

6/10/2010

Planning a Neighborhood Event

 

It’s summer, and the sun is shining. The sky is a deep blue. It’s warm, but a soft breeze keeps everyone cool and in a good mood. In the distance, there’s the sound of live music, and close by, the rich smoky, aroma of food being cooked up on a grill.  Children are playing while their parents watch on, and folks are mingling, getting to know one another and having a wonderful time.

Your organization is hosting a community barbecue and raffle, and you did your best to get everyone involved. All of your neighbors are there. Everyone bought a ticket. Some contributed money or meals, tables and tents or just their willing hands. Local church groups, police and firefighters, teachers and representatives showed up. Area vendors sponsored the event and even put up the funds to print event tickets and host a prize raffle.

You’ve been planning this event for a long time—networking with neighbors, pinning down dates, finding volunteers, designing and printing event tickets and promotional collateral—and as you stand back and reflect over all you’ve accomplished, you realize, there’s a bit of an art to planning and pulling off a big event. You have a talent for it!

It Starts with an Idea

 

Any good event  starts with a worthy idea. Perhaps you realized your local school needed money for its music program or you saw your neighborhood playground could use some rehabilitation. Maybe bought an event ticket to attend a less successful event . The venue could have been too small or the raffle was poorly managed; maybe the organizers didn’t print event tickets  that kept the event secure. You realized with a little extra effort, you could pull off something better.

You began to do your research. You thought of the kind of event you wanted to host. You learned about venues. You looked at promotional materials online and browsed event ticket printing websites to find further inspiration. You simply talked to others about it, and realized you had a willing set of volunteers and attendees.

Using Your Resources

 

Once you decide to do it, planning a big event can be a challenge, but it’s an opportunity to bring your community and its resources together.  It can be refreshing, too, when  you realize there are plenty of people who want to help. Let them!

Preparing the venue—If you’re hosting a community event like a neighborhood barbecue, you can may want to have it in the form of a block party or host it at a local park or school. Make sure you have the proper permission, and recruit volunteers to help set up tables and cooking stations and bring supplies, as well as to take tickets or sell raffle tickets.

Rely on Donations when you can—Seeking donations is a good way to host a community event on a budget. Volunteers can donate anything from food to tableware to time. This is a great way to get everyone involved.

Get local vendors in on the action—If you have local businesses in your neighborhood, invite them. They’ll get to know the community better, and attendees may be more likely to frequent them afterward. They might even donate a prize or help print event  tickets if you’re hosting a raffle. You can also sell tickets at local businesses.

Promote It!

 

Your neighborhood event won’t be a big success unless you take the time to properly advertise it. You want local attendees, so promote locally. Print event tickets and promotional materials that reflect the spirit of your community and provide all the important details. You can usually do this through an online vendor using an event ticket template.  If you’re holding a fundraising raffle, you’ll want to be sure to find an event ticket printer who can provide securely numbered tickets, so that everything runs smoothly.

Enjoy your Event!

 

You’ve managed to bring your whole neighborhood together! Your family, friends and community members are having a great time! Have a great time with them!