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FestivalNet

As heat waves continue to roll across the nation, planners who have upcoming outdoor events may tend to panic. How in the world are you going to keep your guests cool and comfortable if the weather turns blistering?

Of course, there are always portable air conditioners and fans, but if that stretches the budget or exceeds the power supply, you have some other options.

A Cool Damp Towel

Nothing feels more refreshing than a cool, damp cloth when the temperature is feverish. You can offer your guests that sensation with individualized, 100 percent cotton, pre-moistened towels. Patterned after the traditional oshibori nakins offered before a meal at restaurants in Japan, they can be used on hands, faces or even feet. It's a snap to chill down the packages in a refrigerator or freezer before the event.

These napkins come in different sizes and scents including lemon, lavender and peach mango. They are also available unscented. A nice added touch is that you can customize the packaging to include your branding or sponsor information. One source: www.wtowel.com.

Drink a Watermelon

Guests will appreciate a nice cold drink, and it's even better spiked with a little jolt. Here's a fantastic summer drink from our friends at Feastivities Events (www.feastivitiescatering.com) in Philadelphia. It's easy to make in large batches, and is a luscious thirst-quencher.

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• VOA (Voice of America) Featured "Green Crafter" 2010
• Best of American Jewelry Artists (book) 2010
• Midwest Home's "Greenest Artist" American Craft Council (St. Paul, MN) 2010

I think every food concessionaire remembers his or her first event. Mine was with a stick joint made of scrap barn boards, screwed together on sight by my dad and me. It took all day and lots of hand tools to have it standing straight enough to throw a tarp over it and call it a food booth. Inside I had a folding table, folding chair, stack of napkins, cash box, and, a tall stack of coolers full of my one and only menu item: sliced loaves of banana bread. I knew it wasn't the perfect menu for a five-day Fourth of July event, but, since I was already baking loaves to sell to restaurants, it was easy to bake extra. Besides, what's not to like about banana bread?

In anticipation of sales, for a week prior to the event, I stayed up late each night baking bread in my home kitchen. By fair time I was ready with two freezers full of bread. I mistakenly believed I would sell every one of them. It's amazing now to recall how, back then, the health department was much more lenient in their food service licensing than it is today. By just answering a few questions, such as: "Is your dog an indoor or outdoor dog?" I was able to get a license to cook commercially at home.

I wanted a classy looking booth so an artist friend hand lettered wooden signs for me. On the front counter I plunked down a nice bouquet of flowers. I was set to make my mark in the concession business.

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Today, this has been a topic of conversation between my good friend and fellow artist, Shanna Kunz and me. Shanna and I are exhibited together in an all women art show, Broad Brush Stokes.

Shanna and I love to talk ‘shop’ when we are together. Today, we have been discussing the importance of producing a cohesive body of paintings for each of our upcoming winter exhibitions.

I was really impressed with Shanna’s clear 10 step approach to developing a series of exhibition paintings. Shanna is a landscape painter, but these steps could be applied toward any painting subject.

One

The first step is to decided upon a theme.

For example: For a landscape painter, the theme might be a regional location, or a season, or you might choose to focus on abstraction, or paint quality.

Two

Next, it is important to plan the shape and sizes of your paintings. There is an emotional connotation attached to different formats.

• Horizontal = peaceful
• Vertical = majestic, active
• Square = risky, contemporary
• Standard = traditional

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Sheena Metal

The absolute, number-one, most important thing to remember when playing live music in front of an audience is this:

You can't throw a rock in any metropolis on Earth without hitting someone claiming to be a manager. Where musicians go, managers follow. It's as accepted and expected in the entertainment industry as an out-of-control cocaine habit or a failure to pay taxes. When you tell people you're a musician, one of the first things they're going to ask you is: Do you have a manager? However, those in the throws of the music business know to ask an even more accurate question: Do you have a good manager?

"What's the difference?" you may ask. Isn't any manager better than no manager at all? While it would seem that the answer to that question is unequivocally, "Yes," in reality it's a bit like asking, "Isn't having a herpes-ridden prostitute for a girlfriend better than being single?" In truth, bad representation is far worse than a lack of representation. While, it's a fact, that there are things your band will probably never achieve without the aid of a manager, agent, entertainment attorney, etc., bad representation can stagnate a career..stop it dead in its hurling climb to the ranks of superstardom or even worse..undo some of the hard work the band has already done.

Sad but true, a bad manager can take a perfectly good band and turn them into a thing so foul that old gypsy women covering their faces with rags will spit and give your band the evil eye as you pass. Ok, that may be a bit dramatic, but seriously..all your band really has is its name and its reputation, so why would take a chance on either of those by putting the whole of your band into the hands of someone that you're not 100% sure has your best interests at stake?

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Moving people and stuff around in a festival environment can be a challenge, and the larger the land area the event occupies the bigger this problem becomes.

An effective solution for dealing with the on-site festival logistics is the use of golf and utility vehicles. Since most festivals are an annual event, renting make more sense than ownership, especially where many units will be needed.

Let's start with a definition of the types of units that are normally available for event rental. The most obvious is the traditional golf cart. This is a 2 passenger, bench seat vehicle with a small storage area in rear. They may or may not have a top. They may be powered by a small gasoline engine or by a rechargeable battery pack. The electric powered units have the advantage of being very quiet and they do not produce any exhaust fumes. These units are best suited for indoor use, or perhaps around animals. However, the gasoline powered units have a much great operation range than the electrics. Typical gas golf carts can run 150-200 miles on a tank full of gas, and can be filled up and used again immediately. The electric units will only run 10-15 miles on a charge, and at that point they require a 6-10 hour charge, which also means a 110 volt electrical source must be available, one for each unit. Gasoline powered units are the most commonly used type in festivals. Uses for this unit include Parking lot patrols, security, management, and very light hauling.

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For many years, this writer has been an enormous fan of Gordon Ramsey's show, Kitchen Nightmares. It is a show that keeps the audience captivated with both real life drama and built in suspense. For those unfamiliar with the show, the premise is that Master Chef Gordon Ramsey travels around the country to save various failing restaurants from certain bankruptcy. Ramsey literally has one week to turn a failure into a success. Every week, Chef Ramsey, like a skilled surgeon, must overcome tremendous odds and breathe new life into an almost moribund patient. Amazingly he is successful almost every single time turning water into wine. How does this wizard of the kitchen do it? What lessons can you learn from him to reanimate your failing business?

Review the Situation

In the musical, "Oliver," the character Fagan sings a song about reviewing the situation. That is the first step toward making a change to any problematic situation. Take a step back and make an objective analysis of your business. In a harsh light, examine its strengths and weaknesses. It might even be helpful to have an outsider or friend come in to examine it.

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Art wants nothing more than to be expressed.

Commerce wants nothing more than to profit from Art.

Art dreams about being admired.

Commerce dreams about abundance.

Art wrestles with the doubting mind of the artist.

Tom Hess

The absolute, number-one, most important thing to remember when playing live music in front of an audience is this:

The very best way to get more people to repeatedly come out and see your band play live is word of mouth. When your live shows are great, people will like it and talk about you to their friends both online and offline. Besides the obvious point of playing good music that people like, there are 5 main areas of preparing for your gigs.

1. Your individual playing

The most important thing you can do (individually) to prepare for your gigs is to focus on playing your songs 'consistently well'. To improve this, practice your songs in a wider variety of environments and situations. Play your songs standing, walking, in the dark, under a strobe light (if you have one), while talking, without looking at your guitar, while friends are listening, etc. The key point is to practice playing consistently well in all those different scenarios. This will help your individual performances on the stage.

2. Your band's performance

When your band rehearses, you should NOT be focused on playing the songs correctly. If your band mates cannot play the songs flawlessly BEFORE the band rehearses, send him/her home to learn the songs. Once he/she has truly done that, then bring that person back to band rehearsals. Band practice is not about 'holding people's hand through the process of learning the songs which should have been learned at home. If you have a band mate who needs your help learning the songs, you can do this by meeting alone with that person to help. However, if this is a consistent problem, then you may need to replace that band member for someone who is better (or less lazy if that is the case).

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1. Decide what sort of press coverage you would like. Get specific on what magazines, newspapers, TV shows you would like to be featured. Check out where your peers are being covered. What is your overall goal in getting press? Write all of this down and get very very clear on your vision.
2. Create a press list, which is simply the names and emails of potential interviewers. Excel and Google Doc will keep you organized.

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The spring and summer seasons are the busiest times of the year for us, and hopefully for you too. Warm weather blankets the entire country and everyone wants to be outdoors in the sun and fresh air.

This makes a perfect setting for an outdoor event. But, be forewarned, an outdoor event can easily be twice as difficult to organize as an indoor one. And, don't assume an outdoor event will cost less to produce than an indoor one. That is rarely the case.

Based on our experience and the feedback we get from clients, here are our top tips to help assure a successful outdoor event:

1. Plan ahead, plan way ahead.

The first step once you have decided on a date and location is to obtain a permit. Make sure you're legal. Nothing will shut you down quicker, and at the worst possible moment, than omitting this step.

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One of the myths that is still prevailing in the wholesale business is the "business license and tax I.D need" in order to achieve wholesale success. It is a big mistake to get such an opinion as a fact and then making such message viral all across the Internet.

First of all, getting a business license ID is a true necessary step to make when you plan to incorporate your wholesale or reselling business. In my advance wholesale business opinion, it is important to get a business license if you plan to sell one hundred thousand dollars a month in sales from a retail, wholesale or reselling business. However, there is no need to get a business license when there are many wholesalers and distributors that can cut you deals for wholesale merchandise in single or in bulk amounts legally.

There are different laws that regulate the reselling and wholesale business in many states in the USA, however, that is not an implication that you need a business license to sell wholesale merchandise.

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1. Ask around. Crafters are friendly folks and love to give advice about what shows rock and which do not. Don't be shy to email your peers or just approach them at festivals and shows

Blake Guthrie for helium.com

The absolute, number-one, most important thing to remember when playing live music in front of an audience is this:

IF YOU'RE NOT HAVING FUN, THE AUDIENCE ISN'T HAVING FUN

It doesn't matter if you are a serious folk act, or a surf-rock band, if the audience senses you are uncomfortable on stage they will become uncomfortable themselves and only applaud because they are being polite. They might have paid a lot of money to see your act in a club, or they might have paid nothing at all, because it's an open mic night at a local coffeehouse, but a live performance is a fluid situation and no one likes to see an act uncomfortable on stage. Which leads us to our next bit of advice:

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How to Become a DIY Promoter:

• Find a Venue: This is the important one, because without a venue, there is no show. This can be as simple as a garage, basement, pole barn, field-anything with power and room for a band. It also doesn't hurt if you can avoid getting noise complaints, so sound proofed or somewhat isolated are important factors.

• Find a Backup Venue: It's only a matter of time before you run into venue problems, so why not be prepared? Sometimes a venue will close for repairs or financial reasons. Sometimes they will get cold feet. Sometimes you don't have enough money for a deposit, so make sure you have a backup plan. There's nothing worse than having the bands booked only to find out that you don't have a place for them to play.

• Book a Headlining Band: You may want to start small with some local bands to get a feel for the process and pitfalls before you invite a touring band to play. Pick the band you think will have the biggest draw. Sometimes this doesn't necessarily mean they will be a good band, but they may have lots of friends or fans. The key is to get a good turnout. Remember, touring bands are often sleeping on floors, living on crap food and playing to small, unforgiving crowds, so think about how to entice them. Offer them a place to sleep, a nice, home-cooked meal and work your tail off to get them a good crowd. Also ask them how much they need to make for gas and expenses. And if you are cooking or providing food, make sure you know if they are vegetarians, vegans or omnivores. Some bands will want a guarantee, meaning they need to make x amount of dollars each show. Your best bet, if you are a small promoter, is to avoid such bands. Avoid contracts. Just promise you will work hard for them and deliver.

If there is one sure way to kill your Mobile Restaurant it's not having it properly painted or wrapped. You see many are still skeptical eating "street food." I am amazed to see owners spend money on a vehicle and equipment only to scrimp and be cheap when it comes to the truck's appearance.

YOU ONLY GET ONE SHOT AT A FIRST IMPRESSION.

Yes, I know that sounds cliche and it is. But that doesn't mean it's not true. People will see your vehicle and in 5 seconds decide if they are comfortable eating your food. It doesn't matter how good it is! It only matters what they see.

YOUR OPTIONS

You can either have your truck painted or wrapped. I prefer wrapping the truck. Your investment would be 1000-3000 for the paint option and about 3000-5000 for a decent wrap.

You should try to use catchy hot or neon type colors so they"pop" when people see you coming.




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Michael Zapruder, Pandora Music Curator

So that’s the first thing you need to know. If you are connecting with an audience or community in a strong way; if you’re playing good rooms and getting attention, you will have a fine chance of getting into our collection.

We know we can’t find everything, though, so for the many deserving bands that we miss for one reason or another (and for bands that are just starting out), we offer a web-based music submission process that is free and open to everyone.

Here’s how it works:

1. Register for Pandora (the submission process is connected to listener accounts, so you can use your existing account if you have one).
2. Go to http://submitmusic.pandora.com and follow the directions for submitting.
3. If your CD meets the requirements for submission (you have to have a valid UPC code and the record has to be for sale in the Amazon CD store), you’ll be prompted to upload two songs along with any biographical or press information and any links you’d like us to know about.
4. When we get to your submission, we listen and make a decision about whether your submission is right for us.  (This takes time, so be patient.)

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