Survei Hip Hop

The first question to be answered in event planning is "What will this event be and what is it for?" So start broad and think of all the ideas you can, figure out where you're going with it and go from there.

Someone emailed me with a question about planning events, and this is how I responded:

The first step is to brainstorm and write down every idea you can think of. The ideas can be as out-of-the-box as you want because having something unique helps. Then I'd say to go over your and your friends' ideas, if you're doing this with a group, and pick something. Then after you figure out what it is exactly you want to do, you should talk with the activities coordinator at your school [or an equivalent key person if it's not at school] with a few event dates in mind and find out if any of them will work.

Once you have the event day chosen, you will want to make a timeline stating when you want to contact all the artists/performers and important elements of the show such as sound, lights, and a stage. Earlier is better of course and it's good to plot this out. For the Hip Hop Hunger event, I started contacting artists around November of 2007 even though the concert wasn't until February 08. If the event is something you're passionate about that will make it better, it has to be something you'll be willing to go outside of your comfort zone for. Once you go outside your comfort zone enough times, you'll forget it was there and that will make things easier in the future.

Other posts in this series:
Introduction to Series
Step 1 - Brainstorm and Timeline
Step 2 - Communication
Tips - Resources for Promotion