Hosting a Festival

There are many advantages to hosting a festival.  Whether you are a director, a school administrator, a parent, or student of a host site, the benefits of hosting music festivals are many. 

For my students it is an opportunity to gain valuable insight into the performance practices of other students and groups.  They also gain leadership experience in guiding groups, running events (on time), and generally seeing to the overall comfort of the students and directors in their charge.  As a director it allows me the opportunity to network with directors from other areas, even other states, with whom I would not usually meet.  We have the chance to share educational and musical ideas that can only benefit our respective schools and programs.  My school system benefits in many ways as well.  As various groups come to our site and see the facilities that our school system has to offer, it helps to put “our little corner of the world” on the map.  We have had many compliments in the past on our performance facilities and we are pleased that we can share them.  Our Music Booster organization also gains helpful revenue in the form of concession sales.    

We have hosted festivals in Oak Harbor for the past five years and with each passing year they run more smoothly as we “fine tune” things on our end.  As with any adjudicated event, some much needed planning and organization is necessary for a successful festival.  While Music in the Parks will provide you with a list of necessary items for the performing groups, it is essential to have the support and assistance of school administrators, parents and students.   Administrators can provide invaluable assistance with crowd maintenance and ensuring facilities are accessible and well kept; as well as helping to serve as an extra pair of eyes.  Well-informed parents make fantastic volunteers to assist with set-up and tear-down, registration, merchandise sales and fee collections.  Responsible students can serve as group guides, greeters, and rating sheet runners.  With all of these things in place, it will allow you (as a site coordinator) the freedom to oversee the event and handle any issues that may arise such as forgotten tapes, missing scores or the occasional ill student...and while these situations are rare, they do exist.  But with a little planning and coordination, hosting a music festival can and will be an enjoyable and beneficial experience for everyone involved. 

Oak Harbor High School

© Copyright 2001 Educational Programs Network. All rights reserved.