Life in Vintage # 12 – How to organise the “Perfect Event”

Strictly tongue in cheek  and for amusement you understand!

Things we have learnt from over 5 years of organising vintage fairs.

 

The Perfect Venue

townhall

The room should not be too big and cavernous so there is no atmosphere and there is metaphorical  tumbleweed rolling by during the lunchtime lull.  Neither should it have too many rooms as despite numerous signs, visitors will not be able to find them all.  It should not be in the middle of the town as there is too much else going on, neither should it be too far out of town for people to find.

 

 

 

Ideal Parking

carpark

It should not be too far away so that there are miles of trundling for trollies and rails.  It should not be part of anywhere else because all the spaces will be taken.  It should not be a multi storey as cars might be mislaid after a long and tiring day.  And it should not be too expensive on a Saturday  to affect our bottom line and not so full on a Sunday that visitors give up and go home without finding an alternative a few yards away.

 

 

 

 

The Best Kind of Weather

It should not be so hot and sunny that everyone is spending time in their garden or in the pub.  It should not be so cold that everyone stays indoors.  It should not rain too much so that people do their shopping and go straight home without venturing in.  It should not be so windy that the organisers sit in the freezing cold at the entry table.

 

 

 

Lovely Stallholders

dresses

There should not be too many so that any purchases are diluted amongst them all.  There should not be too few to make the event look unsuccessful.  There should not be too many of the same kind as we all know vintage can be so samey.  There should not be too many crafts because that’s not real vintage.

 

 

 

And lastly…  The Right Kind of Visitors!

vintagemarket

They should be the right kind of visitors (yes, we did have a complaint about this).  They should not all arrive at once and overwhelm the entry table and then cause blockages going into the venue. They shall have seen all of our advertising.  They shall have retweeted all of our Tweets.   They should spread their money out amongst all of the stalls.  They should want to buy the things we have and not complain that we don’t have the things they want.  They should all fit into the vintage clothes they want to buy.  They should not walk past stalls without even looking.  They should not ruin our displays.  They shall not all PPP (Pick up, Put down, P*ss off)  They shall spend all day at the Fair with only a break for some tea and cake.   They shall keep their children under control.  They shall say nice things to the stallholders and the organisers.  They shall return to all of our events.

 

So if we can crack all this, then we’ve got it made!