Inside Events & Festivals - Edition 11

Inside Events and Festivals The official publication of the Washington Festivals & Events Association

See Inside: •

Utilizing new technology for a great volunteer experience • •

Planning for Mobile Food Vendors

A glance at WFEA member events in December

The Lineup Technology and the Next Generation of Volunteers Utilizing new digital tools for the volunteer experience Page 3

Victims Sue California's Gilroy Garlic Festival A lawsuit filed Nov. 12 in Santa Clara County Superior Court alleges negligent security Page 6

Information on Planning an Event with Food Trucks Logistical information for public event planners Page 8

Fundraising Tax Exemption Fundraising Tax Exemption Close to Expiring!

Page 11

WFEA Member Events December WFEA calendar listing of events to attend around the state this month Page 13

Inside Events and Festivals Edition 11 Washington Festivals & Events Association

Technology and the Next Generation of Volunteers Eric Corning Seafair

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inding and retaining volunteer leaders to replace your baby boomers who have volunteered with your organization for years is a daunting one. I have been fortunate to be a part of a festival who has had a strong volunteer corps for decades. These dedicated volunteer leaders meet 36 months in advance to plan and prepare for the event. They used these planning sessions to reconnect with their friends and to give back to their community as part of something larger than themselves. The digital tools we use to be efficient for volunteer management must also be used to promote a great volunteer experience.

The next generation of volunteer leaders have different expectations about how they want to be participate as volunteers. They have been raised in a school system the required mandatory hours to graduate. These experiences may have been their first opportunity to volunteer with an organization they feel personally connected to. These digital natives have different notions of what the volunteer experiences will be like. We will have to adjust our expectations how to train, communicate and retain new volunteer leaders. Our ability to sell the volunteer experience in a concise way will be key in the recruitment process.

Training and orientations may be a turnoff for a new generation of volunteers to attend. There are a number of ways to achieve this same goal. Create a short video (with your phone) or narrate a PowerPoint presentation in an engaging way. Please keep these short. Think “stackable”. You could also hold your training sessions via Skype or Join.me.

These trainings can allow volunteers to get up to speed on their own schedule and allow for questions and answers in a personalized way. If your orientation is recorded be sure to include captions so your video can be viewed without the volume on.

Our traditional face to face monthly planning meetings will require us to change our thinking about how we exchange ideas. The work done at “the meeting” was focused and also nurtured our sense of community. Email and Facebook groups have moved much of the meeting content online however it is not where many in the new generation operate. Modern collaboration tools such as Slack and Teams hold a means to communicate with slick

new tools that may have a learning curve that is too steep for our existing volunteer leaders.

There is no right answer how to implement technology for volunteer led organizations. The tools we have adopted over the years such as online volunteer registration allowed us to be more efficient. Utilizing new digital tools will need to evolve from efficient to great volunteer experiences from recruitment through retention. The details about recruitment, how the volunteer feels valued, understands their contribution, and is thanked will determine if they return again.

In the end the volunteer experience is not about the technology. It is a crafted experience that serves the needs of the volunteer and the organization.

5 Victims Sue California's Gilroy Garlic Festival, Citing Lax Security Gilroy Dispatch A lawsuit filed Nov. 12 in Santa Clara County Superior Court alleges that negligent security allowed a heavily armed gunman to enter the Gilroy Garlic Festival on July 28, killing three people and injuring at least 14 others. The lawsuit against the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association, various security companies and other unnamed defendants was filed by the Scarlett Law Group of San Francisco on behalf of five victims who suffered multiple life-threatening gunshot wounds.

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SAVE THE DATE WFEA ANNUAL CONFERENCE

MARCH 24-26 RED LION, BELLEVUE, WA

Information on Planning an Event with Food Trucks Lori Johnson Director, Washington State Food Truck Association

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ue to the massive quantity of questions we received the past few years from event organizers, the Washington State Food Truck Association and its members have compiled the logistical information for public event planners below to help you plan for your special event using mobile food vendors.

What locations can I host food truck events?

Each county and city has different mobile food vendor regulations, so you should check with the county health department and city municipal code first. When you host more than 4 to 5 mobile food vendors at one location, you are required to file a Coordinator’s Checklist with the local health department.

Number of attendees: The ideal ratio of attendees is between 200 and 300 customers per truck, and that is assuming that everyone is expected to eat. With less than 200 customers, it’s difficult for the trucks to make money. With over 300 customers, the lines often get long and the customers will be unhappy. If it’s not an “eating” event, the ideal ratio should double. One food truck can feed a maximum amount of 80-100 customers per hour. If you want a 2-hour serving window, you should figure one truck for 160-200 people. Depending on the event, be sure to consider how many people you think will eat. Not everyone attending large festivals will eat, but if there is a truck in your backyard for a holiday party you can plan on all of them eating. Event hosts should not be charging food trucks based on estimated attendance.

If you are considering a gathering of 2,000, you might want to choose eight savory food trucks and a couple of desert trucks.

Cost / Fee Structure: With all costs included, the trucks expect fees to be approximately 5-10% of their sales for the day and NO MORE. Some prefer a flat fee upfront and no percentage taken on the back end. It must be one or the other but never both. (If the fee is over 10% of sales, then they need an exceptional sales day to make up for it.) A flat fee is often easier for the organizer. If the flat fee structure is chosen, please

keep in mind the trucks would ideally need 10x that fee in sales in order to profit. If you choose a flat fee structure, we have recommended that our members ask for a guarantee of a number of customers, and if that number falls short of expectations, you may need to compensate the vendor to insure they do not suffer a loss. Please do not be surprised if you get this request, because many events/festivals have promised the world and delivered less than ¼ of the projected attendance. Please keep in mind, food trucks need to cover their costs for prep-time, travel, staff, out of county health permits, etc….

Food based on attendance estimates: Food trucks have to purchase and prep in advance. If attendance is higher than anticipated, vendors run the risk of selling out well before the end of the event. Customers will go home angry and trucks have not capitalized on all possible sales. Conversely, if tickets are selling slower than anticipated, the trucks may have to throw away food. You will need to provide estimates of the attendance weeks in advance, and then confirm those numbers 48 and 24 hours before the event.

This will help the trucks prepare appropriately. Your marketing and promotion of the event will show the food trucks how much you care about their success.

Continued

a few savory foods with desserts in multiple areas at larger events.

New fire regulations: An official policy change petition was filed by our state's building code council for adoption of the 2018 International Fire Code this year. This will add code: WAC 51-54A-0319: Mobile food preparation vehicles. New section: 319.1 General. Mobile food preparation vehicles that are equipped with appliances that produce smoke or grease-laden vapors or utilize LP-gas systems or CNG systems shall comply with this new code and must have a fire permit.

Organization: Facebook event pages can work very well to help promote your event and give you attendance estimates.

Logistics of the event:

Load-in times: Please keep in mind how load-in times impact food trucks. They pay their employees from the time of load-in until they return to their commissary. Ideally, all trucks will be in position 1hour prior to the start of the event. If special temporary food facility permits are required, trucks should be in place and ready for health (and fire) department inspection 2- hours prior to the event. Please communicate load-in times, 2-weeks in advance. Trucks need to schedule employees’ days/hours 1-2 weeks in advance. Without knowing the load-in times, it makes scheduling very difficult.

The serving area you plan for trucks needs to have enough height clearance without obstructions from limbs, or nearby buildings. And, the ground surface should be as flat as possible. Food trucks operate best on a level surface (remember, they have deep fryers that do not work well at an angle). Make sure you are not asking them to drive over to many obstacles, like curbs.

It is beneficial to all the vendors to AVOID overlapping menu items and/or cuisine types so as to not dilute their sales. We also recommend grouping

The most successful events/festivals we have seen have impeccable organization. The day is scheduled to the minute, trucks’ locations are clearly marked, and everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing at all times of the day. Specific items to be wary of are the layout of trucks: plan for the most popular gourmet food trucks to have longer lines than others. Waste facilities: pay attention to the quantity and location of trash cans and restrooms to keep the area clean and in compliance with all codes and regulations. And, last but not least, promote the heck out of your food truck event!

For event organizers that need help from the Washington State Food Truck Association in requesting reputable and reliable vendors, there is a request page here: https://www.wafoodtrucks.org/ request-food-trucks For special events that could benefit from offering an “order ahead” or online ordering feature to the attendees, this is also a service the Association can provide.

ACTION ALERT: FUNDRAISING TAX EXEMPTION CLOSE TO EXPIRING WRITE YOUR HOUSE MEMBERS TODAY! We received an action alert from our friends at the Washington Non-Profit Association regarding the “exemption of sales tax collection” on auction items sold at a fundraiser.

Picture this scenario: Your nonprofit is hosting a gala with a silent auction. You and your fellow staff members are overwhelmed with all the craziness of working the event while your guests are having a good time. Then, at the end of the night, it’s time to announce the silent auction winners. The winners are ecstatic and riding high about the fun items they’ve won. Then, reality sets in: you have the unfortunate task of breaking it to the winners that they owe an additional sales tax on their prizes.

For more information on this issue and their recommendation on an action to be taken can be found:

Click Here

BOLD HAT PRODUCTIONS IS HIRING! Bold Hat Productions is looking for an amazing and energetic person to lead our Craft Market Vendor Sales and Volunteer Recruitment efforts for all of our events. This Vendor & Volunteer Coordinator is a full-time position, working alongside our rock star team of event and marketing pros in our office in Fremont. If you know or could recommend anyone that is goaldriven, well-organized and loves to have fun while we build remarkable events in the community, we’d love for them to apply for the job!

SEE JOB DESCRIPTION SEE DETAILS

December WFEA Member Events At A Glance December 2, Lacey Lacey Lighted Parade and Tree Lighting December 2, Lacey Lacey Lighted Vehicle Parade and Tree Lighting December 6 - January 1, 2020, Renton Holiday Lights at Gene Coulon Memorial December 6, Ocean Park Ocean Park Christmas Tree Lighting and Santa’s Workshop December 6 - December 8, Metaline Falls Deck the Falls

December 7, Puyallup Santa Parade December 14, Ephrata Miracle on Main Street

LET US HELP YOU SPREAD THE WORD! The Washington Festivals & Events Calendar Magazine is produced by the Washington Festivals and Events Association (WFEA), and helps direct visitors to Washington's Festivals and events all year long. It directly brings increased revenues to businesses and communities throughout the state. From the Largest well-known civic celebrations to the growing community fairs and festivals, this guide is an important marketing tool for the tourism industry in the State of Washington and to Washington's economy.

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