Host an Event

Hosting a National Street Party Event

Thinking of hosing an event in your community and become part of Australia’s largest National Street Party? The following guidelines and suggestions will help you, both in the planning and in the staging of your event.

Getting Started

Sharing the workload will be a key factor to the success of your event, so think about who else you would like to participate, and contact them as soon as possible to spark their enthusiasm and encourage their participation.

If you are a private citizen, talk to your neighbours and family members. And whether you are planning a private or a public event, form a small planning committee and get together to nut out the details of your event. The more people you can involve from the beginning the more confidence and collaboration you can promote as you go forward.

Key decisions you will need to make are:

Will it be a public or a private event? Both have advantages and disadvantages.

Date and time The publicised dates of the National Street Party are the 20-21 and 28-29 November 2010, so some time over those weekends would be ideal to host your event. Though of course you are welcome to run events any time during Social Inclusion Week – 20-28 November.

Can you piggy back with existing events? The timing for the National Street Party has been carefully chosen because people have told us that this is a time when there are lots of functions commencing in the lead up to Christmas and to mark the beginning of summer. Perhaps add another dimension to a school sports event. Use the National Street Party as the impetus for an early Christmas break up. Or host a private function to welcome some new neighbours to your street. If you are a community organisation running your annual fund raising fair, why not extend an invitation to other organisations within your community and host a barbecue at dusk?

Venue This will be a key decision that will influence whether your event is a private or public event and how many people can participate. If you choose a public place your liaison with the organisation who ‘owns’ the space will be a key component of your planning process. Suggested venues for private functions are private property, yours or that of a neighbour who is keen to be involved. Suggested venues for public events are council reserves or public parklands, which often have barbecue facilities, toilets, water, seating and other amenities. We are already aware of some events being hosted in shopping centre carparks – linking in with other community initiatives, so this too may be an option subject to the appropriate permissions being sought.

Who to invite?

As the celebratory event within Social Inclusion Week, the National Street Party is aiming to promote collaboration, connectedness and caring.

You would be surprised to know how many people in your local neighborhood, both individuals and groups, relish the opportunity to make contact with others and develop friendships and relationships. So of course, extend invitations to those you know – but think about who else you can invite…..older people; people with disabilities; people who might be disadvantaged. There may be people in your community who you may know of but don’t often engage with. Or the local council may be able to refer you to a community group who would be delighted to contribute to and participate in your event. Inclusion is the name of the game – subject of course to the space you have available!

How will you extend your invitations?

Your planning committee will need to think carefully about how to extend invitations. Over the next few weeks the National Street Party website will provide some useful templates that you can use as the basis for a paper based invitation…in fact – a paper invitation is encouraged. Why not ask the members of your planning team to actually hand deliver invitations to the people you wish to invite – particularly if you are holding a private function, in the immediate vicinity of your neighbourhood.

In the interests of security, and an issue all event organisers need to be mindful of – we strongly recommend that invitations are NOT posted on Social Networking websites, eg, Facebook, Myspace. Twitter.

Getting people involved

To enchance your National Street Party event, you may want to invite your guests to participate in some of the following ways:

• Cook! There is nothing better than a multicultural BYO feast of home-cooked specialties
• Make name tags – the bigger and more colorful the better
• Provide some entertainment – signing, dancing, story telling. Ask your guests to share their unique cultures with you in a way that is special for them. Create a community choir and use the event to showcase the inaugural performance
• Creating decorations – banners, lights, candles, sand sculptures
• Make a speech – to thank all who have attended and to welcome all who are participating
• Run special classes to show off people’s skills and diverse backgrounds. Think big…..learn the Highland fling…..learn Zorba’s dance….. make a paella together!

Above all – think carefully about that all important ingredient.. music!!! Clearly you have an endless range of options with pre-recorded music but there is nothing like live music to get a party going. Engage a local up and coming band, or a local choir itching to perform. Ask all the local kids to stage a street concert. Hark back to the 70s and ‘do the hokey pokey’ or run a barn dance and kick up your heels!

Risk Management

A number of important risk management issues are addressed in the attached page.

Become a Social Inclusion Week member and register your National Street Party event at www.socialinclusionweek.com.au today!