The special event:
all things for all people

Special events can generate good will, favorable publicity, visitors and revenues for park districts and other recreation agencies.

(All photos courtesy of the Dallas County Heritage Society.)

By Thomas H. Smith

In the search for new uses of public space, be it open fields, specialized parks, or topical museums, the special event just might be "all things for all people."

The special event brings to the public's attention an attraction which has an educational purpose, draws visitors and publicity to the site, generates revenues, and provides a rationale for the existence of the facility. Properly planned, the special event can help meet a wide range of objectives for public administrators and, at the same time, provide a healthy management tool which can help justify public support for parks and museums.

Successful ventures

Special events come in many colors, limited only by the imagination. They can be thematic, dealing with a specific site or event. They can be woven around a local, state, or national holiday, either patriotic or festive, or they can be of a specific period, reflecting the flavor or customs of days gone by.

At one Midwestern museum site, which focuses its educational mission upon Indians of the Old Northwest and an early 19th Century farm, a

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lacrosse game between Michigan State University and The Ohio State University was used to underscore contributions made by North American Indians. The match was played in a pasture which had only recently been vacated by a herd of cattle.

The event received regional television coverage, attracted a large crowd from a two-state area, and brought to the site many families who might not otherwise have visited the museum.

In an outdoor architectural and material culture museum in Texas, "Dairy Day" has been co-sponsored with the Texas A&M University Agricultural Extension Service for the past three years. This event has introduced to the Dallas community the dairy industry, beginning with the cow and ending with the distribution of free samples of butter, yogurt and ice cream.

The event attracts large numbers of families who enjoy petting the calves and trying a hand at milking a cow. Fiddlers and square dancers add a festive note to the day.

Focusing on holidays

Holiday themes are an obvious inspiration for special events. Everyone already is familiar with the festive day, and it is easy to spin a program using the traditional ingredients of the occasion. If there is an historic house site or a village, a celebration of the year's end or of the December holiday season is a natural.

An evening with Mark Twain proved a successful combination of dinner and theater — 19th Century style.

Research from local sources can direct the flow of events and offerings to the public. Find out what was done during the holiday season 100 or so years before, and replicate the happenings. The visitors will learn by participating or watching, and a part of the educational mission will be fulfilled. If the visitor has a good time, the need for public support of the facility is implanted, and the job of encouraging council members or county commissioners is easier.

Candlelight at Old City Park provides visitors with a nostalgic home town, reminiscent of holiday celebrations of years gone by. Last year, 14,000 visitors came to the event over a four-day period.

Foodways

Dinner-theater themes are popular. Educational objectives can be reached with both food served and the performance.

Foodways is an increasingly popular subject with museums and historians. As women's history develops more and more as a topic, what wives and mothers did, and what they worked with, becomes more a subject for study. Certainly the preparation of food has traditionally become a major part of women's work. Therefore foodways, not only what was eaten but how it was prepared, becomes a focal point for study and exhibition.

A dinner, using periodic foods and prepared in traditional ways, using recipes from older cookbooks, is a good way to serve the public. In addition, the performance, be it music, 19th Century drama or readings, can be taken directly from a specific period in time, paralleling the historic theme of a park, and put on stage.

Recently, an outdoor museum in Dallas presented a performance by a volunteer as Mark Twain in conjunction with a dinner from the 1880s. The dinner-theater was offered five times during a week. Guests dined on roast Long Island duckling, mashed potato casserole, French-cut green beans and peach meringue — all based on 19th Century recipes — in

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the 1876 farmhouse which serves as the museum's restaurant. Then they walked to the nearby 1890s country church to enjoy an hour's monologue by "Mark Twain."

The event was a sellout, and the public has requested more of the same. Thus, the dinner-theater can be a good vehicle, using period ingredients, to make offerings to the public which fit the theme of the park, get visitors to the site and produce revenues.

Financial concerns

The old saw that "nothing is free" is true. All special events cost money! However, there are ways in which costs can be met and, with planning, special events can produce revenues.

If an event is to be annual, it should make money after the third year.

For example, businesses or foundations can be asked to underwrite an event. Underwriting pays for all or part of the actual costs. Foundations are in the business of giving money away, and most businesses donate money also. The trick is to get the right event matched with the correct money source.

In return for underwriting by businesses, they can have advertising at the event, let their employees in free or at a special discount rate, and create the image of cooperation between the private and public sectors. The event makes revenues from ticket and gift sales, and from concessions. The benefits for the park or site, the general public and the donors become obvious.

If an event is to be an annual, it should make money after the third year; breaking even the first and second years should be considered successful. If the event continues to do poorly the third time, a trip back to the drawing boards might be in order.

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Calculating costs

Actual costs are easily and quickly calculated. Key personnel should be included in the planning, since many minds are better than one or two. A simple way to plan costs is to take an imaginary visit to the event, starting with buying the ticket, viewing the event, eating and leaving. During this mental walk-though, jot down costs of printing (including tickets and programs), advertising, the event itself, concessions, labor, insurance, security and so forth.

In 1985, a local health organization, along with an outdoor museum in Dallas which exhibits 36 historic structures, joined forces to host "Victorian Halloween." A specific number of the museum's buildings were decorated and staffed as a location for "trick or treats." Costs for underwriting were subscribed by area businesses, each of which also provided treats and costumed employees to hand them out.

Volunteers from both organizations provided the base labor core, selling tickets at the gate, staffing food concessions and running games for the children under a tent. As a special attraction, disadvantaged and handicapped children, the clients of the health organization, were allowed exclusively on the grounds for an hour before the actual event started for the general public.

Foodways is an increasingly popular subject with museums.

For the sponsoring agents, a wonderful community event was acknowledged by the media, both organizations received good press and the objective of community involvement was achieved. Proceeds from ticket sales and food concessions were split equally after expenses. The event was successful and is being repeated with much enthusiasm by all concerned.

Generating income

Actual income can be generated from many sources. Ticket sales are a quick way to earn income. Parks which are usually free to the public can be closed for special events. The public usually will accept a charge for a specific occasion if there is good value received, and it is understood that any profits help operate the museum, park or organization.

Food concessions, whether prepared over open pits or fire boxes, sit-down dinners, linger food, box lunches, or old-fashioned hot dogs and popcorn,

Illinoisans fill key NRPA posts Five Illinois residents have assumed new leadership positions with the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA). Michael "Mick" Pope, director of the Elmhurst Park District, is president of NRPA's board of trustees. In this role, he will promote the association's goals to stress public awareness in leisure studies, develop socially and environmentally relevant public policy for leisure studies, enhance professional and citizen development, and promote and disseminate information about the leisure movement. Pope began his career in the parks and recreation field in 1963 as supervisor of athletics and aquatics for the Topeka Recreation Commission in Topeka, KS, and later served as parks and recreation director of the Homewood-Flossmoor (IL) Park District. He assumed his present post in 1973. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Pope is a member of the Illinois Park and Recreation Association (IPRA), of which he was president in 1974. Peter J. Koukos, president of Omega Systems, Ltd., Chicago, is vice-chairman of the NRPA board. Koukos is a past president and a director of the Illinois Association of Park Districts (IAPD), and a former president and commissioner of the Park District of Highland Park. He is currently a member of the Highland Park Lakefront Commission. Robert F. Toalson, general manager of the Champaign Park District, is one of eight new trustees on the NRPA board, serving as an "at large" professional member. He previously served as an NRPA trustee (1975-78) and was a member of NRPA's Executive Committee (1978). Prior to his service in Champaign, Toalson was executive director of the Oak Park (IL) Recreation Department, and served as an NRPA intern (1958-59). He has been a visiting lecturer at a number of universities, authored several books and articles, and played a key role in NRPA's early efforts in the area of college and university accreditation. Robert F. Cole, president of the Decatur Park District, recently became president of NRPA's Citizen Board Members Branch. He served as IAPD president in 1980-81 and recently received that organization's highest honor — the Allan A. Weissburg Award. This award is given annually to a board member who has demonstrated a complete understanding and appreciation of, and support for, parks, recreation and conservation. Cole began his park service in 1975. IAPD Exec. Dir. Ted Flickinger is president-elect of the American Park and Recreation Society (APRS), which is an NRPA branch. He will serve as APRS president in 1987-88. In addition, Illinois had two trustees renominated to new terms on the board. They are Morgan C. Powell, commissioner of the Champaign Park District, as a citizen member representing the Great Lakes Regional Council, and Jerry Handlon, director of the Schaumburg Park District, as a professional member representing the Council.

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Dairy Day is sometimes called "the best free event in Dallas," highlighted by free ice cream, butter, milk, cheese and yogurt, and the chance to pet and milk real dairy cows.

if tied directly to the special event, can do well. Certainly, making foods part of an ethnic celebration makes the food an educational treat. Gifts, too, if selected properly, with thematic links to the event, can make some money.

Another good source of revenues is the production of handmade crafts which are directly related to the site or event. Visitors are willing to pay for good quality craft items if they can have a direct contact with the crafts-person and discuss the creation of the object. Many localities have numerous craftsmen who are anxious to demonstrate their skills; park sites and museums can provide fine settings for demonstrations and sales. It is most appropriate for the museum, which provides the location and the crowds, to take a straight fee or a percentage of sales.

Elaborate occasions

A gala special event can be a good fund raiser also, and at the same time can have a theme which is woven into the educational mission of the park or museum. A special party, a ball or concert, including fine and deliciously-prepared foods, drinks, and other delights, capped off by an evening of entertainment or dancing, can be productive revenue sources.

All can be underwritten, and a per ticket price of $100 to $250 per person is not unusual. Decorations, dress and food can be elaborate. Such events can realize high dollar returns if planned and promoted properly. Unless specifically forbidden, non-profits and governmental units can sponsor such events. If the general public knows that the proceeds are used to help operate the facility, such an event can be accepted by the community.

Public support

Museums, historical sites and parks are there to be used by the public, whether owned by a government or by a non-profit. Tom Johnson, the reform mayor of Cleveland, OH, at the turn of the century, had all the "Keep Off the Grass" signs removed from the public parks in the Forest City. The premise was that if the parks were not for public use and enjoyment, then the public should not foot the bill.

The production of handmade crafts is a good revenue source.

The Dallas Artillery Company adds excitement and authenticity to the yearly old fashioned Fourth of July celebrations.

The same holds true for parks and museum sites today. The public has a vested interest, whether through direct payment of taxes or through tax benefits given to those who operate or manage public interest sites. If they are available, use them to the public's benefit.

At the same time, most people know that to operate a park or a museum site costs money. If a dollar spent on a special event gives the public a good return in education, entertainment and enjoyment, then the public will support a good special events program willingly and enthusiastically.

Special events can do many things for the management of a park or museum site. They can produce good publicity, bring people to the site who might not ordinarily come, create good will for the management organization, serve as an educational tool and generate revenues to be used for the operation of the site. Also, a special event reassures the public that a site is being used, is worth funding from taxes or other means, and appears to be vital and alive.

Education is dear to most everyone's heart, and a special event can be an educational experience. Lastly, at base, having a special event, using all the ingredients discussed, can just be good fun.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Thomas H. Smith is the director of Old City Park in Dallas, TX.

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