Julie Cochrane
If you are an event director as happy, positive, and colorful as your festival, chances are you've picked the right job. When your staff digs the mission too, probably the event is a successful one. "Live Life Like LEAF", that's the philosophy of Jennifer Pickering; executive director and founder of the LEAF (Lake Eden Arts Festival) in Black Mountain, North Carolina.
The heart of this festival beats a very positive vibration & emanates the spice of life, variety! It's not just the diverse international and local musical acts that make LEAF sell out in advance year after year. The interactive healing arts workshops, outdoor excitement like zip lining, canoeing, hikes, mountain side drum circles, an ever-expanding kid zone, and stunning arts and crafts vendors round out a very colorful, breathing, and loving festival so varied that you can't see everything it has to offer in one weekend, so you come back for more six months later.
The staff & volunteers wear LEAF's values on their sleeves; riding around in uniquely decorated golf carts, festively decked out and smiling. Positive energy is contagious; festival goers will feel it. Vendors feel it and desire to match it too. As leaders of an event, it is vital to blaze the path by example. The folks attending will catch on quickly and be transported to another dimension; one that as event producers, the framework is yours to build.
LEAF founder Jennifer Pickering offers these tips so you can enjoy your festival tooRead more here!
- TRICK YOURSELF TO BE ZEN. "I always try to breathe a little bit, bring my voice down, walk a little softer, and not use certain words to trick myself that I am calm and zen."
- DETAILS & MOMENTS. "Details count. People count. The little things do make a difference, and it is important to go out of your way to help people when you can- this can also drive your staff crazy."
- PREPARE. "Prepare as far in advance as possible so that during the event you can talk and adhere to the moments needed."
