A Pleasing Site

True, all you really need for a festival is a bunch of jugglers and a place to juggle, but there are some other considerations if you are inviting people from far away. Juggling space, food and drink are essential, sleep isn't, but still...

 

Everyone who attends should be accommodated with housing or crash space. Crash space/camping is important for those who have suffered light hats, bad agents, an unfortunate lifestyle choice, or spent all of their money on glo-balls. A 24 hour gym (I've slept in 'em) and nearby showers will do. Showers are important for events longer than one day, as jugglers tend to get stinky and grimy (gyms often smell like they've been slept in). Even people who eschew most trappings of civilization agree that copious amounts of hot water is a good thing. Saunas and hottubs available will make you legend. Be sure and let people know what options are available, so they can bring their blankies and towels along if need be.

 

For the well-endowed, try to arrange a discount rate or at least reserve a block of rooms at cheap but not sleazy motels near the fest site. Hotels with rooms rented by the 1/2 hour or containing any equipment which accepts quarters are to be avoided. Dorm rooms are good, if available.

 

Having everything on site or within walking distance is ideal, but if people will need to move about to get to other locations (a theatre, sportsfield, housing, food, tavern) put a sign on every festival-related event site and be sure that transportation will be available, even if it is only semi-formal car-pooling (no ties). If you are in Europe, Great Britain, Australia, Canada or California, there must be beer available, even if it is in a nearby tavern. You don't have to buy the drinks, but if you did you would be very, very popular.

 

Mostly, you need a gym. This is the first thing you look for in selecting a festival site. 24-hour gym access is almost required to make it worth the drive for the juggling fanatic, and the fest should ideally be a multi-day event. Local colleges and universities, convention centers, elementary and high schools, union halls, National Guard Armories, big hotels, and churches are all possible festival locations. Scout 'em out. If you cannot rent the space outright, try negotiating a trade, such as a demo, lessons, a free show, or comp tickets. In return for doing a show at an alternative school (which also served as promo for the public show), we got the use of a school for the weekend, which gave us a 24-hour gym, and class­rooms for crashing people. In past years we have rented an armory and crashed people at our houses, and we have also gotten the university gym, although booking it was a major headache because of scheduling demands and all of the bureaucracy involved. You may want nearby rooms for workshops. Need I add that there should be high ceilings? Chandeliers are not a good thing to have in your juggling space.

 

Be sure your facility is large enough to comfortably accommodate your anticipated attendance; as with t-shirts, too large is better than too small. Outdoor grassy space is very desirable, but be sure to have a bad weather contingency plan. Adequate heating/cooling will keep people from complaining about the weather, but may remove all conversational openers.

 

A reasonable concern is the care of the facility, so reassure the super that you know how to treat their building. The rule is to treat the gym floor as if you had just replaced it yourself. Keeping black uni-tires off the floor avoids marks; putting a tarp down guarantees it. Dropping eggs, bowling balls and knives on gym floors and stages upsets people, so don't let it happen. Fire indoors is usually against code, and can set off sprinklers, creating a fabulous impromptu grand final to public shows.

 

You will want tables and chairs, for registration, vendors, etc., so find out if they are provided with the building, and where they are stored and how do you set them up. Gym mats are nice to have, for tricks and for sleeping. Also note if there is a stage available for set up (some of them break down), and bleachers or chairs for seating. Being head and shoulders above the crowd is an easy way to capture attention, and even a few pallets and plywood are better than nothing, and will prove useful for making announcements, awarding prizes, or having little shows. Find out where the electrical plugs are, the circuit box is, and figure out the lights. Know where the running water is, and the mops and brooms live, and where to dump the trash.

 

Common-sense stuff, yeah, but put it on one of your lists, so you don't have to remember to think of it.

 

Zero-Hour Check List

Make lists. Make lots and lots of detailed lists. Write down every little random thought (and you wondered why my articles are so long...). Keep paper and pencil close at hand on every available flat surface. Tape 'em to your chest. Stuff your pockets with scraps of paper with lists on them, or, better yet, keep one notebook with pockets with all organizational materials. Lose the notebook to learn a valuable lesson about redundancy and list-making. As the fest draws nigh, move from lists lying about on horizontal surfaces to post-it notes stuck on vertical surfaces at readily-readable eye-level (I recommend refrigerator, front door, and computer monitor).

 

The rule is that if it is on a list you don't have to remember it anymore. You only have to remember one thing: check your list. This reduces your cognitive load, alleviating elevating stress levels.

 

Signs help people navigate foreign locales, so put up lots of them on roads and in buildings pointing the way. Don't put them up too far in advance, or they will disappear. Place signs at possible points of confusion, and also place signs of encouragement every so often to reassure travelers that they are on the right track. Consistency of design is important because it is easier for people to follow the trail of one icon (or one color of fluorescent posterboard). Keep the graphics simple and bold, and don't forget to take the signs down afterwards, or give them away as party favors or low-budget raffle prizes. If they were that cool, though, they've already been ripped off as souvenirs. Duct-tape works better than masking tape for affixing signs, as it is fairly weather-proof, and it is cheaper than gaffer's tape.

 

Update your answering machine message frequently, so that people calling in can get the information they need when they are calling en-route, if you are off seeing to one of the half-billion details that needs seeing to. Be sure you have a central check-in location, with all maps, schedules and information available.

 

In the gym, set up an accessible and appealing central information/registration area near the entrance. Keep it staffed with easily-identified people-in­the-know. Register everyone so that you have an accurate yet beefy headcount, or in case someone needs an alibi later. Name and address and phone is nice to have, for doing an advance mailing the next year, and to aid in finding out just where that guy was from anyway, and was his name Scott, Steve, or Sven (the one doing the

seven-up pirouette)?

 

If you get a massive turn-out, the club could generate some revenue selling the list. Just kidding! But only just. Registration is the one place you are almost guaranteed of seeing everyone, which not only makes it the place for the social butterfly, it is also the place to get mandatory business taken care of. If you have a waiver, it gets signed here. If you want everyone to have a list of rules, or an announcement to another event, give it to them at registration.