Event Design for a Community Music Festival

This article discusses the event design for a community music festival, including its impact on the local community, theme design, content, entertainment, environment design, production design, and catering design. The festival aims to promote the culture of different communities, nurture the talents of young upcoming talents, and promote togetherness by bringing people from different backgrounds and cultures together. The festival will feature various artists, singers, dancers, and speeches, and will take place in Nyanza. The article also discusses the importance of event scheduling, decoration, sound and visual presentation, and catering operations and service style.

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Introduction
The event design is the heart and soul of all events and it is used in maximizing the opportunity
within any given event. The event design includes elements of an event which include staging,
venues, amenities, décor, edible display, marketing and also the theme. The event design
makes the event to be successful because it simply involves the application of project
management to the creation and development of large-scale events, for example, the festivals,
weddings, ceremonies, festivals and conventions or concerts. It entails brand studying,
identification of audience being targeted and coordination of technical launching the events.
The event planning is simply the process of planning and coordination of the event which
comprises the budgeting, scheduling, selection of the site, obtaining the appropriate permits,
coordinating transportation and parking, catering coordination and emergency plans.
The nature of the event makes every event to differ such that planning and execution of every
event different on the basis of the type of event. Events of all sizes are now being included since
the event management is currently used in companies of different 2 companies of every size.
Impact of the event on a local community
This festival is important in the community since it involves a large number of visitors invited
from different geographical locations and therefore they spend more. The revenue collected
during the period of the event creates new employment opportunities and the taxes collected
will be used in building infrastructure which is beneficial to the community at large. The local
business will also improve thus leading increased standard of living and this is achieved when
goods are acquired by the visitors from the local community.

A community will also benefit from the festival as a result of socio-cultural benefits and this
includes awareness, family bonding, community pride, stronger cultural identity as well as the
certain sense of ethnic identity (Allen, 2010, p. 658). This is achieved by allowing the
community to showcase their talents and culture and presentation of their culture to the
invited guest from various places strengthen the idea of what it means and feels to live within a
community thus increasing the pride and identity. In the community, there are two separate
individuals who benefit from the event hosted by the community. The benefits received by the
community and individuals are shown as follows;
Community benefits
 The community image is enhanced
 The sense of community well-being.
 A positive recognition is gained by the community.
 A celebration of the community.
 The community is unique and special.
Individual benefits
 Meeting festival performers or workers.
 Festivals acts as a showcase for new ideas.
 Festivals enable people to learn new ideas.
 Festivals enable people to learn a variety of cultural experiences.
 Opportunity to develop talents and new cultural skills.
 Personal health and well-being.

 A personal sense of pride and recognition through involvement in the festivals.
Theme design
The theme of this festival will be “A WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES”. The guest should interpret the
theme as a way of nurturing young talents by rendering the support required so that they can
prosper in life (Allen, 2009, p. 128).
People come with high expectation hoping to acquire unique experiences and memorable
events. A theme offers a condensed version of what one is interested in accomplishing and the
selection of theme was done based on the following; which include the needs and interest of
the audience and something which is in line with the objectives as well as the host city (Brown,
2019, p. 78).
The selection of the festival theme for this festival will be important since it will definitely act as
a catalyst for success, therefore, it will be necessary because;
a) Themes ensure a cohesive unit
It is important to come up with a well thought-out theme to anchor your communication and
the objective of the event should be reflected by the theme as well as unifying them. The
purpose of the event must be reflected as well as embody the brand of its host. The event
preparation is directed by theme while permitting the participants to identify their theme.
b). Theme creates Buzz

A buzz for the social event can be generated by a well-selected theme and adapting the
communication and event activities backing the objectives and the needs of the guests then the
marketing efforts are enhanced (Duncan, 2015, p. 129).
c). Themes help with the guest focus
Apart from determining the initial event tone, the theme can also remind the objectives of an
encounter. The theme should influence every part of the event space such as the directions
signs, food beverages, and logo.
Content
Appropriate topics
The following topics will arise as a result of this planned festival;
 Promoting peace, loving and unity.
 Promoting the standard of living
Event summary
This is an event which always takes place on a yearly basis and this festival focuses on
numerous activities which involve offering support to the local and upcoming artists,
comedians, spoken word artists, dancers, glitter wrestlers to showcase their talents, the local
and various communities are also invited to showcase their cultures (Evans, 2008, p. 129).
There are guests that will be invited to attend the event through the event is not that big but
only it is marketed as a community music festival featuring a mix of musical genre and styles

focusing on uplifting new artist, also creating a peaceful relationship in the community by
bringing the society together thus promoting togetherness (Friedmann, 2011, p. 219).
Event objectives
The event object simply aims at;
 Promoting the culture of different communities.
 Nurturing the talents of young upcoming talents.
 Promoting togetherness by bringing people from different background and culture
together.
Through the organization of these events, the organizers try to pass a message of living in peace
in the community despite your background, social status and also language. The organizers also
try also to remind people where they come from by simply allowing them to showcase their
culture (Getz, 2010, p. 321).

Program
The following schedule will be used for the effective running of the event;
Start Time End Time Task Task Duration
7.00am 8.00am The arrival of the invited guest, locals and various
performers.
1 hour
8.00am 8.45am Rehearsal 45min
8.00am 9.00am Consume and make up ( for those who wants to
showcase their culture though optional)
15min
9.00am 9.15am All the guest and the locals seated awaiting the
show to commence
15min
9.15am 10.00am A prayer from the clergy before the show begins
followed by a welcoming speech from the member
of parliament to welcome people officially to the
show.
45min
10.00am 5.00pm Showtime. All people showcasing their talents and
the closing of the festival officially.
7hours
5.00pm 6.15pm Food and refreshment 1h 15min
6.15pm 7.00pm Participants and the invited guest should be gone
from the venue.
45min
7.00pm 8.00pm Staff should clean everything and be gone. 1 hour
The above event schedule is very important such that;
 It will enhance proper management of time. Good management of time will enable the
organizers to divide up the day effectively to recognize how much we can achieve from
that particular event.
 This will prevent the activities planned from colliding with each other.

 The scheduling of event will enable the events to go as they are planned without any
interference.
 The scheduling of events will enable the planned event to finish on time thus preventing
boredom and interrupting with people other activities (Groot, 2013, p. 419).
Entertainment
This will be the most important part of events since it without entertainment the invited
guest will feel bored.
Artist/ Singers
This music festival is entertaining itself is entertainment so only one known artist will be invited
to address the occasion and talk to young people concerning the talents they have. The artist
will give a motivational speech how he made it life because of the talent and this will motivate
those upcoming artist who thinks they have talents to stop hindering them and come up and
showcase them (John, 2011, p. 219).
Dancers
One known dancing group will be invited to showcase their talent to the upcoming talented
dancers who have talents in dancing (John, 2011, p. 123).
Speeches
Speeches will be made by a selected number of people who made it in life after going through
hard times in order to motivate the upcoming youths having talents never to lose hope but

continuing pushing hard until they succeed in life. A speech will also be made by the artist who
succeeded after working hard in life.
This event will benefit the attendees by making them understand that is not education that
would make someone succeed in life but one should also focus on the God-given talent to
succeed in life.
Environment design
The environmental design simply involves addressing surrounding environmental parameters
when devising plans, programs, and policies. It sometimes refers to the to the applied arts and
sciences dealing with creating the human-designed environment (Kilkenney, 2011, p. 19)
Event venue
The event will take place in Nyanza. Nyanza is a broad, low evaluation, northwest-southeast
trending village comprising various hills and it is located in the eastern portion of Siaya county
between 100 to 140 miles of Kisumu.
Fig 1: Showing an entrance of the venue (Getz, 2010, p. 44)

Furnishings
Their different decorations needed for the festival;
a) Placing flowers
The flowers will be placed at the entrance and all some to be placed at the dining table.
Fig 2: Showing flowers at the dining table (Wood, 2008, p. 78)
b) Making chalkboard signage
Chalkboard can be used in decorating the entrance point and then personalize it by thrifting an
old frame and spray-painting to match the rest of décor.
Fig 3: Showing chalkboard signage (Brown, 2019, p. 65)
c) Use of table runner that pops

Apart from using numerous big floral centerpieces space them out in smaller bud vases to span
the length of the runner.
Fig 4: Showing table runner tops (Groot, 2013, p. 34)
Arrangement of décor
The decoration of the festival will be done using floral decoration whereby dried or living plant
materials for the adornment of the body will be used in the festival. The flowers will be selected
then composed into a harmonious unit based on the principle of design which include the
design, contrast, balance, rhythm, scale, proportion, harmony and dominance (Kitchin, 2016, p.
219). The arrangement of the flower will not only entail flowers only but also the containers
holding the flowers and the base on which the container may rest. Some plants materials will
be allowed to extend forward while others to recede in order to satisfy the sculptural quality
(Wood, 2008, p. 19). The color of the material is very important for example dark color looks
heavier compared to the light values. For floral decoration, many materials will be used for
example the foliage, grasses, grains, branches, berries, vegetables as well as nuts. The material
may be living, dried or artificial (Kitchin, 2016, p. 78)

Production design
a) Sounds
A sound company who can deliver high-quality sound system will be hired for the music festival
and this will entail the use of microphones and public address system which will be used in
entertaining the invited guest before the commencement of the festival. Other gadgets such as
the microphone will also be used in by the performers so that so that they can be listened to
clearly and apart from that, it will also be used during the opening and closing of the event by
the master of ceremony (May 2014, p. 63).
Fig 5: Showing sound system for the event (Moran, 2010, p. 287)
b) Visual presentation
The festival will make use of the projector. The projector will serve a number of functions such
that it will be used to clearly view the brand name of the event and also enlarging those videos
that cannot be seen by every person.

Fig 6: Showing visual representation (John, 2011, p. 56)
Catering design
a) Suitable catering operations
There are various catering operations that can be applied to various events. For example, in a
music festival, the catering operations may include special events, business activities and
mobile services (Yeoman, 2014, p. 27). During the music festival, special event operation will be
used such that a company is likely to offer the all-inclusive services for the large-scale events.
The operation of the special event simply entails service and presentation side of providing a
stunning menu. A mobile type of catering service entails van traveling to specific locations
carrying already made food (Monroe, 2010, p. 43).
b) Service style

During the music festival, the service will be conducted in a different manner depending on the
invited dignitaries and those who will be performing at the music festival. A family style service
will be offered to the invited guest where the guest will be served while seating (Wates, 2013,
p. 39). The guest will be seating at a dining table after the completion of the occasion and the
meal will be brought by the service staff. This type of service style will be essential since it will
give the guest a humble time to know each other since large platters will be passed around and
larger tablescapes or smaller centerpieces will be required during the service (Simonse, 2018, p.
55).
Fig 7: Showing family service style (Evans, 2008, p. 34)
Another service style that will be used will be buffet service style and this will be used by other
participants who attended the festival or those who perform in the festival. Here, the
preparation of menu items will be done in advance and this will give the guest a selection of
items and will require a minimum staffing. People will have the ability to inspect the food
before selecting it and taking only the quantity required (Sturman, 2011, p. 89). The diagram
below shows a guide to catering department.

Fig 8: Showing buffet service style (Allen, 2010, p. 67)
Fig 9: A guide to catering department (Friedmann, 2011, p. 234)
Conclusion
The success of the event will result from the event design. The event will be successful because
it was based on certain principles which offered guidance to the event design which include;

To ensure the success of the event is attained, there are certain principles that guide event
design and this include;
 Balance and this entails distribution of textures, colors, and spaces and it is sometimes
created by the using long rectangular tables paired with small round tables.
 Proportions, this is achieved by ensuring that all parts of the design are relating to each
other thus giving the room and décor of a sense of proportions to each other.
 The emphasis, this is achieved by concentrating in that part of the design that attracts
people's attention mostly.
 Movement, this is the path the eye takes around a design or space and this includes the
floral globes at the peak of the ceiling as well as bunches of flowers at the top of each
column in the tent.
 Repetition, the design can create a pattern and help the design feel cohesive and this is
achieved when the object is repeated resulting in the creation of patterns and making
the room feel cohesive.
 Unity, whereby several elements are used to hold attention and guide the eye such as
different style plates as well as mismatched chairs.

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