Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with festivals

Festival Management 101

divabat — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:08:41 -0800

I'd like to start a festival. This time I actually have a plan and possibly some people. Where do I start? After being mildly frustrated at the local alt-arts scene, I made a plan for a fringe/indie/alt arts festival that showcases minority and culturally diverse performers. I've been inspired by the upcoming Shades of Burlesque festival and the Kaleidoscope Cabaret festival (both for burlesque performers of colour; Kaleidoscope has a more queer focus) and basically want to do something similar in Australia. It would be the first of its sort in my area, if not the country. (Kaleidoscope has a pretty good outline of how I want my festival to run)

I made up a quick plan outlining how the festival will run, a wishlist of people and resources, and further questions. I've got a few people interested, and just had a chat this afternoon with someone whose job is to help young people with their creative projects. I've also been collecting advice here and there.

Where do I start? My contact this arvo suggested I write a 1-2 page brief to the organisations whose involvement I'm after outlining the festival idea and what I need. Who should I go after first - venues, presenters, sponsors, all at once? It seems a bit chicken and egg.

I figure the earliest this festival will take place will be mid-late 2010. Right now people are finishing up year-end projects before going on holidays, so any major meetings will only really take place in January. What can I do between now and then that won't take up people's time? I anticipate that some of my presenters and brains will likely be from outside Australia - how do I plan for travel expenses and that sort of thing?

What resources have you found useful in festival planning? Any software, reading material, guides, people that are handy? Any grants or funding bodies that make good contacts? (I'm not a permanent resident yet so 99% of Aussie grants are off-limits to me; however, if I'm auspiced, the auspicing org could apply on my behalf) Any creative methods that have worked well for others?

(The plan is in a public Google document; MefiMail me if you'd like to take a look.)

How do you keep up with NYC's events?

helios410 — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:36:24 -0800

NYC Filter: This past week I realize I must be living under a rock. I had no idea Jay-Z was performing, nor did I know it was the San Gennaro festival until I accidentally ran into it this weekend. What do you do or follow to keep up with upcoming festivals, concerts, and the like?

I have a week and a half paid time off for an adventure this Sept/August -- Where should I go?

jkl345 — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 22:12:22 -0800

What kind of adventure can I have in a week and a half this September or August? I have about a week and a half of vacation that I have to burn before the end of September and would like any suggestions the hive mind can offer. I'm looking for some sort of cool festivals, experiences or week-long trips that I can take to use this time and have a good adventure (or two). Ideal trip parameters:
+ Cheap would be cool, but not mandatory. I'll pay a bit for a 'bucket list' type experience. In general, tend to enjoy more of the backpacking/shoe-string travel experiences than the catered, package tour/planned travel experiences.
+ Relatively relaxing (Due to ridiculous drama and stress at the job, in my current state of mind I'd really prefer something relatively mellow. Running around being tourist nazi trying to cover Asia in a week and a half isn't what I'm looking for.)
+ I have a wedding the first weekend in September, so nothing tied to that weekend -- I was thinking of heading to Burning Man, but it's that freaking weekend! :\
+ I'll probably have to do this solo. Most of my friends are broke or don't have time off.
+ Foreign lands are doable, but I don't want to spend more time traveling to the place than I actually get to spend at the place. Also in general, if I'm going to take a 10+ hour flight somewhere, I'd prefer to spend a big chunk of time traveling there (as in, more than a month) ... so maybe not Iraq or somewhere really far away.
+ This could be two extended weekend trips instead of one long trip if need be (I don't HAVE to fill an entire week and a half in one shot)
+ I'll be starting from the Chicago area (Not that it really matters, but just fyi)

Just to give you a feel for some things I've considered:
+ Burning Man (can't do it because of wedding)
+ The Gathering of the Juggalos (this thread really piqued my curiosity as a sociological study.. all you can eat cheeseburgers and a waterslide sounds awesome too: http://www.metafilter.com/83540/See-you-there-ninja)
+ Go to Maine for the changing of the leaves in September (Seems a little too... I dunno ... late-30-something-married-couple-in-big-fuzzy-sweaters for me though... no offense to anyone)
+ I've considered going fly fishing in Montana or something (although I have no experience fly fishing, I've always wanted to try though and it'd be pretty relaxing)
+ Maybe doing a cruise up to Alaska to check out some glaciers before they all melt (I've heard you *have* to be double occupancy on these trips though or you get raped on the cost... this also seems like uh... it'd be me and 231882349 60 year olds).

Also, just to give you an idea of what I've done already:
I've backpacked across Europe for months, done Mexico, Toronto to Quebec, Australia and some Caribbean islands. I've driven cross country three times so that's kinda been done (although if there was an end goal like Burning Man, that would be cool.)

Any thoughts or suggestions? All help would be greatly appreciated. Time is pretty short. :\ We've had such a bad year at work that I've been working like a dog and the year kind of got away from me. If I don't use this vacation time I lose it. Thanks for your help!

Luggage Storage in Hildesheim

Zarkonnen — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 12:28:40 -0800

Ms Zarkonnen and I are going to M'era Luna in Hildesheim. But prior to that, we're going on holiday in Switzerland. We don't want to take our laptops etc to a festival. Is there a place we can certainly store our luggage in Hildesheim?

Music festivals for next year?

qwerty155 — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 03:56:43 -0800

Any recommendations for European music festivals for next year? As veterans, a number of us are looking at more music festivals abroad (mainland Europe) and we were after some suggestions. We've been to Dour for the last couple of years and really enjoyed what always seems a far more laid back affair than you get in the UK, so something along those lines.
Musically, as eclectic as possible - so the music of ATP in a Glastonbury setting sounds about right.
Not too worried about which country or the size, but extra points for some decent weather and being big enough that there's always something on somewhere would be great.
Cheers guys!

First-time travellers to Mexico need some advice.

bricoleur — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:39:00 -0800

We will be in the city of Chihuahua (or roundabouts) for Dias de los Muertos. We're wondering if the festivities will be better in the city, or if there is a smaller town within an hour or two's travel that would be better? Beyond that, are there any don't-miss sights, experiences, or eateries you'd care to recommend?

Festivals around the world

bikergirl — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:55:30 -0800

Is there a good reference site for festivals around the world? I'm going to be traveling and this would be a neat place to start planning where to be when. I'd like to find a resource that has actual festivals, not just holidays (like you wouldn't specifically come to the US for MLK Day but you would for the 4th of July).

Now we have "open skies", we will travel

jobby — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 07:57:29 -0800

In the US from 24th-31st May, what do we do! We're two friends from London in our twenties interested in going to music festivals (particularly blues and jazz and possibly country), cultural events (food/drink based, film festivals) and anything else people think will be fun. We have a mid-range budget and don't like camping. We were thinking about going to New York but are open to other cities on either coast. We'd be up for some travelling but obviously can't see everything in a week. Our mighty currency permits us to lavish copious beverages upon those who please us.

What's your go-to site for events happening locally in the weeks and months ahead?

mrkinla — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:47:22 -0800

What's the best web site out there for local events going on in your area? New examples of these types of sites pop up every day, so it's hard to keep track of the best of the best, but what are some of MeFi users' favorite sites to take a look at upcoming events of all kinds, including concerts, art exhibitions, festivals, arthouse/revival film showings, etc? I live in Los Angeles, and a cousin of mine recently called me to say, instead of their usual family vacation spot, they would be visiting Southern California for the first time. She was wondering if I could suggest some "things to do" in So Cal during a specific time period (mid-to-late March). Of course, I know the usual things -- Disneyland, places to go shopping, the right beaches -- but I was curiously dumbfounded that, given all I use the web for, I had no "go to" site when it came to what was going on in the coming months in my neck of the woods. LAWeekly.com's calendar seems intent on making you come back again and again, parsing out info on a weekly basis -- I'm thinking of something like yelp.com that may be a combo of professional information as well as user-submitted "things to do/reviews of whether they're worth doing." And searching Google for "things to do in [your area]" seems to only give you paid-linked pages of little worth.

Art/Culture Festivals/Areas in Northern Vietnam?

Wink Ricketts — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:21:08 -0800

My bosses are going to Vietnam early next year and are interested in finding Art and Cultural things to do. They ask me 'cause I haven't told them of the Hivemind yet. I've looked through the old threads which dealt mostly with Hanoi (and I'm sharing those) but they're up for some travel into more rural areas. They're looking for advice not only for WHERE but WHEN. Anytime from Jan to March is good. Right now I'm considering recommending the latter part of February which has Tet and Lim festivals.

About them: They're very artsy / cultural explorers and are experienced travellers but are not into the whole backpacking through Nature thing. Their last trip was to Berlin and they came back with photos and stories of galleries / museums / old districts / etc. As to economics...I won't say money is no object, but they're not the sorts to be staying at the HoJo.

Many thanks for any thoughts!

Fine food, fiddles and festivals

Jofus — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 07:14:18 -0800

Top tips for making good food at music festivals I'm a bit of a food snob and am about to spend a few days at The Green Man Festival. Was wondering if anyone had some top tips for cooking and/or any related equipment to take.

For reference, I've got a little pisspot gas burner, a frying pan and two saucepans, and anywhere between 2 and 4 people to cook for per night. Let's assume I've got to carry it all, and concentrate on the following criteria:

1) Food that makes a bit of a splash. (To cheer everyone up after what I assume will be a windlashed and rainy few days)
2) Food that won't kill us all after a couple of days unrefrigerated.
3) Anything that can easily be assembled after, say, 4 pints of hallucinogenic cider. (OK, maybe don't concentrate on this one so much.)

Anyone got anything to share?

What other conferences/events are out these like SXSW, Burning Man and TED?

brokekid — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 08:11:16 -0800

What other conferences/events are out these like SXSW, Burning Man and TED? I'm looking for events that encompass popculture, technology, film and/or music.

weird european festivals

nyu2 — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 09:50:21 -0800

I'm looking for quirky events or festivals around europe, especially near or around spain between january and may of this year. For example, there is an local eel tossing festival in London or a bridge jumping festival in Poland. The more fun, entertaining or quirky the festival the better!

what are you up to?

pissfactory — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 08:31:37 -0800

What kind of stuff are you planning to do in 2006? After finding out about lebowskifest I am convinced that there are some seriously cool things I don't even know that I don't know about. ... so, this isn't a new year's resolution type thing. Just looking for what kinds of things you are planning to do in 2006. Some stuff I am going to: skiing , a pro football game, see a local waterfall, do some volunteering, rock climbing, photographing old steel mills, niagra falls, a trip to pittsburgh, chicago trip, lebowskifest, white water rafting, amusement park, rodeo, Let's go to Maine! Cross country skiing and snowshoes, Grand Ol' Opry, more local band shows, hockey, Horse Racing...

So, what are you up to?

How is SXSW for someone under 21?

lotsofno — Wed, 12 Jan 2005 08:46:45 -0800

A friend and I are hoping to go to SXSW's music portion this year. I am 22, but my friend will only be 20. Will we have trouble getting into a lot of the shows? Will the whole SXSW experience not be fun for us? Is all the fun to be had 21 and over? And uh... How well will a fake ID work down there?

Did Christmas Become Less Holy Once It Was Associated with "Merry" or "Happy"?

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Dec 2004 22:23:33 -0800

Should Christmas really be "merry"? Can't the origin of the decline of this sacred day, as a sacred day be traced to couching it as a "merry" or "happy," rather than something "good" or something similarly sober?

What to see at the Toronto Film Festival

dobbs — Sat, 28 Aug 2004 09:51:48 -0800

Selecting things to see at the Toronto Film Fest. Here's a list of films playing at TIFF. International MeFites and film nuts: have you seen/heard anything about any of them/the directors? What should a TIFF-goer see or avoid? If you're going to the Fest, what are you seeing? Got extra tickets you want to sell? Looking for ones to buy? Lets use the thread to maximize the event. {more} I wasn't expecting to be going this year and am very unprepared. I've scrounged up 16 tickets so far. Since it's way short of my usual industry/festival pass, I want to use them wisely and am therefore asking for suggestions. Thanks!

(If any MeFites work for TIFFG and can help finagle me a (non-free) Industry (pref) or Festival pass, I'd sure appreciate an email and my lips will be sealed and I'd exnay on anything but screenings.)

What are you reccomendations for the L.A. Times Festival of Books at UCLA

wendell — Mon, 19 Apr 2004 20:57:52 -0800

I'm going to try to attend the L.A. Times Festival of Books at UCLA this weekend, and pondering my options of which panels or other programs to attend. [more inside] I've been highlighting a few things that just seem kinda superficial (Ray Bradbury meets Ray Harryhausen, Carrie Fisher, Schoolhouse Rock Unplugged), and want the MeFi elitits to help me figure out how to expand my mind there (languagehat, this means YOU)...