in Montpellier - Midsummer Fiesta

in Montpellier
th
6 July 2013
EVENT REPORT
1
CONTENTS
1. Cover
2. Contents & background
3. Organisation
4. Budget & funding
6. Entertainment & attractions
7. Marketplace
10. Promotion
11. Public feedback
13. Volunteer feedback
14. Plans for 2014
BACKGROUND
The annual Midsummer Fiesta in Montpellier began in 2010 when two events:
Midsummer in Montpellier and Fiesta in the Park were merged to create the biggest
free event in the borough.
The Midsummer Fiesta celebrates the diverse communities and talents of
Cheltenham, providing charities, local organisations, small businesses and
performers with a platform to showcase themselves; and families and neighbours in
the borough a free day out to enjoy together.
The 2012 Midsummer Fiesta sadly had to be cancelled due to waterlogged ground
and weather conditions. The 2013 event, held from 12-9pm on Saturday 6 July,
more than made up for it, with a perfect sunny day which was enjoyed by several
thousand people.
2
ORGANISATION
The 2013 Midsummer Fiesta was organised by staff from: Cheltenham Borough
Council; Hesters Way Partnership; Cheltenham West End Partnership and
Cheltenham Music Festival.
Steering Group Member
Helen Down
Organisation
Cheltenham Borough
Council (Strategy and
Engagement)
Hannah Wright
Cheltenham Borough
Council (Strategy and
Engagement)
Wayne Sedgwick
Cheltenham Borough
Council (Green Space
Development)
Tom Sparks
Cheltenham Borough
Council (Wellbeing and
Culture)
Cheltenham Borough
Council (Wellbeing and
Culture)
Cheltenham West End
Partnership
Hesters Way
Partnership
Laura Loving
Bernice Thomson
Andy Hayes
Alexis Paterson
Cheltenham Music
Festival
Roles
-Steering Group Chair
-Volunteer recruitment
and co-ordination
- Budget management
-Steering Group admin
-Sponsorship
-Social Media and
Promotion
-Applications and
Licenses
-Site planning and
management
-Bar and Catering
-Classic Cars
-Fairground
-Engagement with
residents
- Infrastructure and
health and safety
-Sports area
-Children’s area
-Marketplace
-Site plan
-Entertainment
programme
-Website
- Music Festival link support
with
acts
selection and promotion
Additional Support
This year the Fiesta went through the new Events Consultative Group process which
co-ordinated the input and guidance of other officers from the Council.
On the day, 22 volunteers supported the staff team. First Aid cover was supplied by
British Red Cross. In total they treated 12 casualties. Four security guards were
employed to patrol the event during the evening. Litter Pickers were employed to
clear the gardens of any residual small litter the morning after the event. Extra bins
were hired and collected.
3
BUDGET AND FUNDING
The Midsummer Fiesta needs around £8,500 to run each year. Money is raised by
fund applications, sponsorship from local businesses, market stall pitch fees, bar and
catering pitch fees and bouncy castle takings.
In 2013, the Midsummer Fiesta received the following:
Funding
Promoting Cheltenham Fund, Cheltenham Borough Council £2000
BME budget, Cheltenham Borough Council £1,500
Sponsorship
A range of sponsorship packages were offered, from £100 to £1000. As the 2012
event was cancelled, sponsors from the previous year were invited to also display
their material.
Cheltenham Borough Homes £500
Royal Agricultural University £100
Cheltenham Chamber of Commerce £100
As well as cash donations, many organisations (in addition to those who provided
staff time to organise the event) offered sponsorship in kind.
Showcase/ Promenade productions – Two comperes.
Eagle Tower- 70 Parking spaces for market stall traders.
Glide Media- Leaflet distribution and space in magazine racks.
Heart 102.4 – free radio coverage and children’s activities
The music and dance was provided free of charge, as were many of the activities
and attractions.
Income
Carried
forward from
previous year
Grants
Sponsorship
Stalls profit
Bar &
Catering
Bouncy
Castles
Danters
TOTAL
2011
£2460
2013
£1629
Expenditure
Promotion
2011
£1243
2013
£683
£2936
£1450
£3500
£700
£476
£1336
£324
£1942
£2262
£2500
£2020
£3300
Volunteer costs
Infrastructure First aid, litter,
security, toilets,
licenses, sundries
Stall hire
Entertainment
£1596
£4116
£1235
£2663
£384
£619.40
Children’s village
£940
£1545
£0
£11,992
£300
£12,068
TOTAL
£9707
£8392
There is £3676 to carry forward for the 2014 event.
4
Mirage
Parabola Arts Centre Youth Theatre
Variations Academy of Dance
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ENTERTAINMENT AND ATTRACTIONS
Comperes for the day were sponsors-in-kind from Showcase and Promenade
Productions. The Fiesta was officially opened by the Mayor, Councillor Wendy Flynn.
The day started with two flash-mob performances by the Parabola Arts Centre Youth
Theatre, in the High Street and the Promenade. The group also performed at the
Fiesta during the afternoon.
The site plan is below. In order to keep the noise to a 65 decibel limit around the
outside of the park, the main stage was positioned in the corner nearest the
roundabout on Montpellier Terrace.
Dry weather plan
KEY
Toilets
Stallholder car parking
stalls
tents
Tent
Performance
Football
Rugby village
ca
rs
Fairground rides
bar
info
food
food
food
ba
Band
stand
r
cafe
stage
Classic
cars
Musicians
car park
food food
Children’s
village
info
toilet
Bouncy
castle
Go-karts
fair rides
food
market
free
running
police
Fire
marketplace
21 X 3 = 63 stalls
Volunteer
bus
Free
standing
stalls
lodge
Tennis court
stage
Heart
FM
Skate
park
Montpellier Terrace
Main Stage
Due to last minute cancellations, the music started later than usual at 2.15pm. This
year, bands were chosen that would be able to stay within the new noise limit. This
limited the choice of local acts but an enjoyable programme was delivered.
The 2013 Music Acts were:
The Chequered Souls -“Up-tempo soulful dance tunes”
Chloe Foy -“Female Singer/Songwriter with light distinct vocals and poetic lyrics”
Edd Donovan and the Wandering Moles -“Contemporary folk, singer-songwriter”
Stressechoes –“acoustic, harmony filled, angst-folk”
“
Juey -“Folky, bluegrass tinged, country singer songwriter”
Bootique Live-“A great mix of covers songs, old and new; everything from Rock 'n'
Roll to Disco”
Scott James and the Revolution –“Hip Hop/Soul/Folk band.”
6
Bandstand (12 – 7.30pm)
The area of hard-standing between the bandstand and the gallery provided a
platform for dance workshops and performances.
Variations Academy of Dance -Performance
Tango Cheltenham –Tango session for visitors
Coady Crew – Street dance performance
Mirage –Belly dance performance
Syren – Alternative belly dance performance
Salsa Del Sol- Salsa session for visitors
Zumba with Natalie- zumba session for visitors
Children’s Village (12 – 6pm)
Canvas Cottage Company Bell tents provided sheltered spaces for several
activities including arts and crafts, face painting and a ‘chill-out zone’.
Heart 102.4 Angels
Bouncy Castles and inflatable activities 50p charge per go.
Fairground rides, zorba balls and bungees from Danters’ fair, up to £5 a go.
Andy Clay Circus skills workshop.
Animal Mania mobile zoo.
The Music Man David Lloyd, interactive musical show for young children.
Sports Village (12 – 5pm)
Gloucester Rugby Team and O2 inflatable rugby village with inter-schools touch
rugby competitions.
YMCA Mobile Football Cage with Cheltenham Town FC coaches
Fencing demonstrations and have-a-go.
Kung-fu demonstrations and have-a-go.
F.R.E.E free running demonstrations.
Bar and Catering (12 – 9pm)
Following last years’ bad weather, it was more difficult to find local mobile caterers,
so there was a little less choice than usual.
Hullabaloo Bar –inflatable bar with seating areas.
R.T Catering –Hog roast
Shocka –Coconut hub
Rogan Josh –curry
Steak baguettes
Burgers
Green Machine -tea and coffee
Marketplace (12 – 6pm)
The market place was open from Noon until 6pm. 80 stalls were booked by a
mixture of voluntary sector or charitable organisations, public sector organisations,
local artisans and businesses.
The charges were:
Full stall (10ft) – VCS or charity: £20
- Public sector or business: £40
Half stall (5 ft) – VCS or charity £10
- Public sector or business: £20
7
The organisations that booked stalls were as follows:
Beautiful things by Becky
Independent Phoenix Trader
Florence & Belle
Goodies Jewellery
Fibro, ME/CFS Babes & Guys
Fair & Square Chocolate Brownies
Winston's Wish
Chelt & District Neighbourhood Watch
Cheltenham Borough Council & Ubico
Butterfly Crafts
Purple Glaze pottery
Beverley's Craft Boutique
IDK Promotional
Cheltenham Town Hall
PartyLite UK Ltd
Community Foster Care
St Vincent's and St Georges Association
Friends of Pittville
Penny and the Bun
Red Robin Jama & chutneys
Cheltenham Sea Cadets & Royal Marine
Cadets
Godfirst in Cheltenham
Hand Crafted Cards
Treasure Trove
Sally Smith
Eggardon Rare Breeds
Two Bees
GAVCA
Acorns
Lions Club of Cheltenham
Elsa conservation Trust
Vision 21
Royal Agricultural University
Imadjin Jewellery
Sue Ryder
Cheltenham sunrise Rotary
Usborne Books
Kenya projects
The Grass Wood Co
Sammi Lou Store
Posh Chloe's
Ian Mitchell Artist
Cotswold Riding for the Disabled
Martin Hayes
Mandinka
Cotswold Humanists
The Wicked Chilli
Holst Birthplace Musuem
Utility Warehouse
Inspiring Families Project
Glos Wildlife Trust
Charity fundraising
Tilly Lock
Dotty Dollies
Ramkin's Tump
LINC
Rotary - Cheltenham North
Angel Clairvoyant
Forgotten Treasures
COBALT
Mithra Designs ltd
F-Y-U
Purple
Tom's Bookmarks
Nahid Syeda
African Community Foundation
Global Footstpes
Stonham
The Elms
Free Prize Draw
Fruity Flamingo
Get Milky Baby Boutique
Third Sector Services
Pathway Care ltd
British Red Cross
Ginger Lily Designs Ltd
Police
Chris Boulton Photography
Izana
Send her Victorious
Other attractions (12 – 5pm)
Row the Atlantic –the boat and its Cheltenham crew who will be rowing the atlantic
to raise money for prostate cancer.
Classic Cars - Cotswold Classic Car Club displayed classic cars from the 50s, 60s
and 70s including Austin Healey, Bentley and Porshe.
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9
PROMOTION AND ADVERTISING
Website - www.midsummerfiesta.com. 3692 hits period 30/6/13-7/7/13.
Social Media - Facebook over 1100 likes; Twitter 190 followers
Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0ScDAb_iI5ebzXdMLT06vw
Gloucestershire Echo and Citizen
Magazines including Cotswold Style, Cotswold Family, Shop Cotswolds
Banners – 3 banners on the corners of the park from 2 weeks prior to the event
Posters and leaflets – 25,000 leaflets were distributed, including the programme for
the day.
Heart 102.4 provided free talk ups in the days before the event.
Cheltenham Music Festival brochure
VOLUNTEERS
22 Volunteers were recruited following advertising through partnerships, local media
and social media. The volunteers attended one of three briefings held at the
Municipal Offices, where they were given their volunteer t-shirts and instructions for
the day, and had the opportunity to ask questions. Jobs included manning the
bouncy castles, car parking, litter picking, visitor surveys, manning the information
point, setting up and taking down. They were given one or two (depending on the
length of shift) food vouchers for meals, and had access to water and sun cream.
Reasonable travel expenses were also paid where necessary.
FEEDBACK
General Public
Visitors were asked to complete surveys at the Fiesta and on social media. One
returned survey was drawn out as the winner of a hamper. The following results are
taken from 110 responses.
Where visitors came from
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
G
L5
0
G
L5
1
G
L5
2
G
L5
3
G
L5
4
G
L1
G
L3
G
L4
G
L7
G
L1
9
BA
13
SK
11
W
R
14
W
R
8
5
0
10
O
rg
an
is
at
io
n
26-35
W
ea
th
er
Fu
n
Ca
rs
Ages
Fo
od
/b
ar
Ru
gb
y
Fa
ir
26-35
ar
ke
tp
la
ce
17-25
us
ic
Under 16
M
Fr
ee
id
s
36-50
fo
rk
50+
M
un
ity
os
ph
er
e
G
oo
d
At
m
Co
m
m
Va
rie
ty
W
or
P
os d o
te f m
rs
o
an uth
d
fly
er
s
A
Be dv
en erts
b
Li efo
ve re
S
oc loca
ia
l M lly
ed
W ia
eb
si
te
Ec Ra
ho di
/C o
iti
ze
Ba n
B nne
y
ch r
an
ce
How did you hear about Fiesta?
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Overall opinion of the event
Under 16
Excellent
17-25
Neutral
Poor
36-50
50+
What do you like most about the Fiesta?
25
20
15
10
5
0
11
Social Media
What would make it even better for you?
“Thankyou so much
@MidsummerFiesta, we had a
fantastic sunny day”
Ban dogs
Pony rides
Cut cost of fair rides
“Lovely day @MidsummerFiesta.
Well done to all the organisers.”
More dance workshops
More games
Maps
“Montpellier Gardens in
Cheltenham was buzzing yesterday
at the Midsummer Fiesta.”
More freebies
Better sound for music
Electricity
“Cracking weather, cracking gig,
thanks all.”-Juey
Tombola
Shade/shelter
More seating
“Thanks Cheltenham Midsummer
Fiesta, great event! Cheers for
inviting us to play.”-Ed Donovan
and the Wandering Moles
More & more varied stalls
More food variety
Water activities
More ice-cream vans
“Thank you for having us at the
Fiesta yesterday! We had the best
time!”-Zumba Natalie
Activites to stay later
Event to run longer
More music
More space
“Fantastic day! Big thanks to all
who made it happen!!”
More drinks/bigger bar
More exciting rides
More party atmosphere
Nothing!
0
5
10
Is there anything you didn't like about it?
15
20
25
30
No
Cost of fair rides
Not enough shade
Cars left too early
Rugby took up too much
space
Belly dancers
Queues
Stalls not interesting
youths taking drugs on
skate ramp
Crowded
Children out of control
“I am one of the Mirage Belly
Dancers and have to say I was
amazed by the event!! It was
amazing!! We stayed quite late and
loved it!!xx”
“Came with my family at 10.30am
(it was arranged a month before) to
get a good spot. We wanted shade
and to be near the stage. We all
had such a brilliant day and didn’t
get home ‘til 9.30pm, shattered but
well worth it. Bring on next year! x”
“It was a fabulous event. Thank
you. xxx”
Not enough drinks
“LIVE music, Gloucester Rugby and a bustling market place combined with
glorious sunshine to make Montpellier’s Midsummer Fiesta a sweltering success!”
-Gloucestershire Echo
12
Volunteers
Feedback was received
from 12 out of the 22
volunteers
The overall opinion of the
event was 100 % positive.
When asked if they would
be interested in further
volunteer opportunities:
3 were interested in regular
opportunities;
6 would like to help with
more events;
1 would like more events
experience (particularly the
music side);
1 would like to be involved
with other community
projects;
2 would like more
Involvement in planning the
Midsummer Fiesta;
1 would like to do more
Litter picking;
1 would like Information on
jobs in events, travel;
2 would not like to do more
volunteering.
What would have made
volunteering at the Fiesta
even better?
What did you enjoy most about
volunteering at Fiesta?
Meeting new & friendly people
Working as part of a team
Talking to other volunteers and learning of other events
Experience in running an event
Varied roles
Being part of Cheltenham's biggest event
Seeing people have a great day
Good explanation of everything
Loved it
Compliments on doing a good job
Confidence building
More involvement in
music
Involvement in
planning the event
Working 2 hours
on, 2 off
A momento
No doing children's
village twice
Working longer &
trying other roles
Nothing
What did you enjoy about the
event?
Very positive and successful
Good community atmosphere
Lots of positive comments from the
public
Volunteers were all friendly and
happy
Very well organised
Many things going on at once
Lots of space to move around
Enjoyed the rugby
Busy, with something for all ages
13
What could be improved?
More bins
More disabled parking
Electricity for stall holders
Greater and healthier variety of food
Flyers could have a site plan on them
Gazebos around the park if hot weather
Specialist team looking after the toilets again
At least 2 people manning each bouncy castle
Designated and marked out queues for the
bouncy castles
Specialised cocktail bar so that customers can be
entertained
Additional signposts to show where First Aid /
toilets / info tent are
Questionnaires could be held by the volunteers
manning other areas
More attractions for the older sector e.g DIY,
cooking, gardening displays.
A leaflet board promoting other Gloucestershire
events / places of interest
Info tent could sell emergency supplies like sun
cream, water, sting ointment, umbrellas and
waterproofs, to stop people having to leave to get
these things
Larger signs with the site map and programme
around the site at strategic points
PLANS FOR 2014
A lot of positive feedback was received about the Midsummer Fiesta 2013. The
recommendations from attendees, participants and organisers and will be considered
in the planning of the next event.
The following is a summary of what will be the most noticeable changes to the event
and the way it is organised:
Summary of major changes planned for 2014
• Recruit volunteer interns to help with the planning in the main areas,
particularly with infrastructure, entertainment and the marketplace. This would
help with the workload and sustainability of the event, allowing the teams’
experience to be passed on through working alongside new people.
• Emergency items could be made available for sale from the control tent, for
example bottled water, sun screen etc.
• Invest in signposting and flags for control tent.
• Place large maps in various locations
• Salsa Del Sol keen to organise the dance workshops at the bandstand
• More photographers/ videos
• Arrange electricity for stallholders
• Sunday bin collections
14