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9 Steps to the PERFECT Music Festival

32 million people attend music festivals each year.  Are you interested in hosting the PERFECT Music Festival? Is yours on their radar? Hosting the perfect music festival is not easy. Talent aside, there are monetary, zoning, and scheduling considerations. County Fair USA breaks down what makes the best festivals tick. Follow each step for an event that can't be beat! Step 1) Fund your music festival Firefly Music Festival in Delaware is nothing less than an underdog success story. Their festival raised $1 million within 24 hours of launch. Yes, 24 hours plus 5 years of planning. You've got an idea, but what's your pitch? A music festival is a pipe dream without money. A sad fact is that profit is the only reason suits would take a shot on an eager upstart. Bootstrapping will be your primary option until the festival inevitably scales up (Am I being presumptuous? Of course!). Firefly built expertise hosting smaller, niche events. Investors won't take a shot on festivals that aim too high. If you're more an 'ideas kind of guy/gal', hire someone that has been down this road. Crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter and GoFundMe let amateurs test the waters. Hell, even experienced planners use crowdfunding to quickly build capital. The premise is simple: Pitch your festival online. People from all over the world can back your project. If there is demand, it will reach appropriate funding before a deadline. Combine crowdfunding with social media for maximum exposure. Facebook Pages are mandatory! Younger attendees prefer to keep friends in the loop on Facebook and Twitter. Proposition other event managers in your niche. Most local establishments are keen to help entrepreneurs because this opens a cross-promotional avenue. Don't be discouraged if your project fails to garner adequate backing. Even festivals boasting world-famous headliners flop. Rock band 'My Bloody Valentine' agreed to headline Hop Farm Music Festival in Kent, England. A hostile economic climate killed its momentum. There could be a number of reasons for an initial failure. Pinpoint costs down to the last toilet paper roll and be prepared to recalculate your budget several times. Don't be surprised to break even your first time 'round. Potential backers desire some semblance of structure. Work through the remaining steps on our list before making your pitch. Step 2) Insure your music festival You name it, someone's insured it. So why not music festivals? Festivals are a profit-making enterprise like any brick-and-mortar business. City/town officials will regard it as such. Suppose an errant cigarette burns [...]

By |2024-01-12T14:12:37+00:00May 9th, 2016|Festivals, Food, Music, Rock|0 Comments
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Cinco de Mayo, means freedom

Cinco de Mayo,  Grito de Dolores honors Mexican independence. Cinco de Mayo proves she deserves it. Yet Mexico’s future was uncertain concurrent the American Civil War. In 1861, France peered across the Atlantic and saw a distraction. Hitherto, Mexico owed several backers large interest sums. France would make her pay by force! But there was an ulterior motive. A Tale of Two Presidents President Lincoln understood that a Mexican alliance was pivotal to Union victory. Mexico’s President Benito Juarez was happy to oblige – European puppet governments were legitimate concerns. United States policy discouraged European nations from intervening. Conversely, France’s Emperor Napoleon III would profit from Confederate victory. Union occupation halted French trade. Without Union policy holding them back, France was free to engage Mexico. A True Underdog Story And it did, despite standing policy. Lincoln’s Union was pre-occupied and could not intervene. French military covered Mexico like a plague. There were two French soldiers for every one Mexican! Mexico City was destined to fall, but not before one of the biggest upsets in military history. On May 5th, under General Zaragoza’s command, Mexico’s army repelled France at ‘Puebla’. Word travelled internationally. The improbable victory emboldened Mexican’s home and abroad. The Fight for Freedom Continued resistance made France’s endeavour fruitless. America, eventually reunited, pressured France into relinquishing control. Napoleon III’s puppet emperor was executed and President Juarez returned to power. Cinco de Mayo (“Five of May”) remembers Mexico’s struggle and acknowledges her spirit. Celebrating at the Turn of the Century Cinco de Mayo enjoyed renewed American interest following the 1960’s. Today, Cinco de Mayo ceremonies are held in every state. In fact, General Zaragoza’s birthplace, Goliad, Texas, is the official celebration location. Puebla, however, still boasts being Cinco de Mayo’s largest celebratory location. Participants re-enact the conflict between Mexican and French soldiers. (We hate to ruin a surprise, but Mexico always wins.) Food, song, and dance proceed. Color floats and piñatas adorn Puebla’s streets. Adult and child alike scarf down plate after plate of Mole Poblano. Ingredients like chili pepper and chocolate make a unique juxtaposition for your palate. Tequila is, naturally, imbibed liberally. In recent years, focus has been placed on international music plus traditional Mexican artists. United we Stand Benito Juarez remarked that Mexico would be wise to imitate her neighbour’s democratic principles. Lincoln and Juarez had mutual affection, despite never meeting. Cinco de Mayo reminds all nations that freedom is worth striving for.

By |2019-03-15T02:28:57+00:00April 29th, 2016|Festivals, Cinco de Mayo, Holidays|0 Comments
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Competitive Eater Crazy Legs Conti

Major League Eating sponsors competitive eating contests around the world. In the following interview we talk about them. They run about 80 contests a year. This is primarily an interview with Crazy Legs Conti a competitive eater and several time champion.   Crazy Legs Conti uses Zen to prepare for contests. Zen is "a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing the value of meditation and intuition."    

By |2019-03-24T20:39:32+00:00June 27th, 2014|Hot Dog Eating Contest, 4th July, Coney Island, Corn, Hot Dogs, New York, State Fair|0 Comments
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Fireworks and Safety for the 4th of July

Fireworks are part of the July 4th celebrations. They are synonymous to the nation’s birthday as backyard barbecues, parades down the main street, and apple pie. They are relatively safe if only people use their common sense. There are also some easy to follow rules that make handling fireworks in County fairgrounds safer. But even with the rules, it seems like people ignore the rules. Each year people are brought to the emergency room due to fireworks-related injuries around the July 4th celebrations. People should remember that fireworks are dangerous and can cause serious burns. If you are tasked to set up fireworks at the county fairgrounds, there are some things that you must do first. One of the first things you need to do is to make sure you have already appointed a firing team. It should be composed of no more than three people with one person serving as the leader of the group. Members of the firing team must have experience of lighting fireworks and have knowledge of safety regulations.   Organizing the Fireworks Display You must ensure that the firing site can accommodate all the fireworks you intend to fire. There must be ample spacing in order to avoid accidental firing of fireworks. Don’t forget to read the instructions on all the fireworks. Each item behaves differently and might be required to be set up and installed in several ways. Make sure that the right side is facing the audience, especially the fan style cakes. There are some types that are required to be buried in soft earth or attached to wooden stakes buried in the ground. These are candles, fountains, and cakes. If they are attached to wooden stakes, they should be attached with strong cloth tape to ensure that the firework stays behind the stake and doesn’t fall over or face the crowd. The fireworks must be angled away from the crowd. If the weather is not too nice, you can use plastic bags to keep fireworks dry. Some fountains have a cone shape and make them hard to be attached to anything. You can place the fountain on a flat surface and avoid placing it on the grass that could make the firework unstable and tip over. Rockets should be launched from tubes. You can make a DIY project using plumbing pipe. Just make sure that the stick of the rocket can freely liftoff form the pipe. It must not get stuck in the pipe. If the rocket has a [...]

By |2019-03-24T20:59:45+00:00June 12th, 2014|4th July, County Fairgrounds, Countyfairgrounds, Fireworks, Holidays|0 Comments
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I feel for the Missouri State Fair

Okay I am sure a lot of your saw this post this morning on Yahoo Missouri Fair clown draws criticism for Obama mask. Well, if this clown was looking for attention he certainly got some. This mask and act had absolutely no business at one of our big state fairs. Yes, this was disrespectful. I am somewhat of a public person too and have been for years. Once a wise mayor said this to me as I was trying to run a large public event, "If you are going to be in the public eye, there are people that are going to love you, people that are going to hate you and people in between". Think about it, that is a very very wise statement. Being President is hard hard work. I would not want the job. The President has the responsibility of making everyone happy. Hey, folks that is not going to happen. Nor is the world going to be a perfect place in the next five seconds either. So, if you "think" you could do a better job you should run for President.

By |2023-01-08T01:19:02+00:00August 12th, 2013|Missouri, Missouri State Fair, State Fair|0 Comments
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King County Fair, WA. Features Concerts, Rides and 4-H Youth

Join the fun July 11-14 during the 151st King County Fair. Experience amazing live concerts, relish thrilling rides, including Mutton Bustin’, view livestock exhibits, and enjoy much more. The King County Fair is held in Enumclaw WA. For more information visit thekingcountyfair.com. The 4-H kids throughout King County will have prepared photography, food and clothing displays, various public presentations/performances, Lego robots, etc. and trained their dogs, cats, horses, goats, etc. in hopes of qualifying to show at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup. Hands-on projects, like dogs, robotics, etc. keep kids interested as they learn and practice leadership, citizenship, and life skills, such as public speaking. To learn more about 4-H and the many different projects, including robotics, performance arts, animal and plant science, cooking, sewing, etc., that are offered attend the King County Fair or visit 4h.wsu.edu.

By |2019-04-11T23:33:53+00:00July 9th, 2013|County Fair, King County Fair, Washington|0 Comments
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‘Big Tex’, coming back to the Texas State Fair

Big Tex was destroyed by fire last year. The 52-ft iconic host was destroyed in an electrical fire on the final Friday of the 2012 State Fair of Texas. Fair officials confirm that Big Tex will be unveiled on opening day of the 2013 season. Fairgoers want Big Tex back and a fund was established to rebuild him. Big Tex has been around since right after the 2nd world war. The merchants were looking for a big draw for the Christmas season and decided a big cowboy was in order. After all what could be better then Santa in Texas the worlds biggest cowboy? So the Kerens Chamber of Commerce, built a 49 foot one - it was suppose to attract shoppers to spent money during the Christmas season. In 1951, State Fair president R. L. Thornton purchased Santa's components for $750 and hired Dallas artist Jack Bridges to create a giant cowboy out of the material. More about the history of Big Tex can be found in the book - The Great State Fair of Texas - An Illustrated History, by Nancy Wiley. Here is an article talking about the new 'Big Tex' coming to the Texas State Fair September 27th, 2013

By |2019-05-24T00:56:30+00:00May 1st, 2013|Dallas, State Fair, State Fair of Texas, Texas|0 Comments
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