--
A standout amongst the most noteworthy occasions of your college life is the college fest. They are meant to be unforgettable. Organizing a college fest is a momentous accomplishment and the diligent work pays off when you feel the happiness on the essences of your mates and educators. Planning out a fest isn’t only an obligation of a few because to be fruitful it needs to draw in the student crowd from different colleges in huge numbers.
In spite of the fact that it appears extraordinary fun, arranging a college fest requires a great deal of proper planning. It takes a lot of time, effort, and money to organize a college fest. Keep in mind these essential steps when organizing a grand and splendid college fest:
You can not organize a college fest without the support of your professors and college management. In fact, if you get the backing from your professors, it becomes easier to convince the management. Moreover, it is often seen that the teachers get the administration to give approval for the college fest.
Hence, it is important to keep your lecturers in the loop, who are involved to be the decision-makers, about the planning to take place in the fest. As this occasion isn’t just about understudies and fun, but also the reputation of the college will be at stake.
The team assumes an essential job; they have to carry on the work assigned to them. A well-shaped team is like winning half the battle.
Lookout for students who could support and volunteer for the fest. The students that are willing to go an extra mile for their college event must be part of the fest organizing committee. Hold a recruitment drive for the committee and involve professors as well in the selection of students for the team.
After choosing students, select the fest coordinator who will be the main person responsible for the successful execution of the college fest. Ideally, the team consists of a mix of students from different batches and streams, headed by the fest coordinator. This committee is overlooked by a college professor who acts as the chair for the fest.
It is also recommended to have back-ups. This is helpful in situations like losing a key member right before the fest. This might damage the fest. Try to onboard the students who are genuinely enthusiastic and interested.
Post the committee selection, the team sits together and discusses the roadmap.
An agenda must be set up for the college fest. The committee has to take decisions on important topics such as
- how to go about the execution
- how to get funding and sponsorship
- what are the implementation ideas
- how to market the event
- logistics
To take these decisions, each team member must know his/her responsibility. The fest coordinator along with the guiding teacher must assign or delegate appropriate responsibilities to the committee. The coordinator needs to communicate regularly with the team and have frequent discussions or meetings for status updates.
Every College Fest is created and catered around a subject theme, decide yours and plan out the activities accordingly. Name the college fest as per this theme.
For selecting a theme, you can take inspiration from other fests and try to replicate the same. This is one of the ways to choose a theme. It can work if you execute the fest in an altogether different way.
The way to come up with a theme is only through thorough research. So dive deep and keep thinking out of the box and research. At the end of the day, successful research with proper brainstorming will lead you to your own college fest theme.
Sponsorship and Budgeting
Arrange for funding and sponsorship for your fest. Post that, set up budget and expense sheet for your fest. Based on various events and activities, the estimated number of participants, the ticket prices and various logistics, decide on the budget.
Ticketing for College Fest
Select a ticketing partner for your fest where students can easily register and make the payment — you can use Townscript for online ticketing and registration for your fest or MeraEvents or Insider.
Plan the venue
Be it your school amphitheater or an outdoors ground stage, choose where you might want the various activities to occur. You can even plan some activities indoors inside the college auditorium and some activities like pro-nights on outdoor grounds. Remember — the venue must be your college and not any outside location for your college fest.
Arrange for Food
Food is one of the most significant parts of any occasion. Book for a food vendor(s) and plan out the cuisines and dishes well ahead of time. Set up live counters of Chaats and Pizza to enchant and engage the participants. A very good idea would be to invite famous local food vendors to put up food stalls at your college fest.
Accommodation for Students
Providing accommodation for students from outside the college city is essential to get more students to participate in your college fest. The accommodation for all students traveling for your college fest must be arranged so that no student is left out. The arrangement needs to be organized so that participants do not have a negative outlook on your fest.
Other Logistics
The Lighting, sound systems, and other technical setup need to be taken care of. Dedicate a team for this task.
Remember that it is essential to give students an amazing experience for your college fest. Food and Accommodation are two very significant aspects of this experience.
It barely matters how well you have organized a fest if students do not turn up. Exploit the assets around you: beginning from advertising (paid + organic) on social media and setting up a site for free are the two things one must do.
Spread the word — go around and tell people about the college fest. Attract the maximum crowd by aggressively pushing your event details online Put up posters in different colleges and universities — or hire campus ambassadors for different colleges.
An attractive, insane marketing strategy to get the word out is crucial. Make your fest a brand in itself, wear it as your pride, and hype about it as though it were your most happening thing in life!
When so much has gone into setting up an incredible show, it is similarly essential to recognize the endeavors: be it money related or the thoughts. A post-review session is the place where this should happen. Thank the sponsors, college administration, your professors, all the suppliers, and the volunteers. Everyone deserves a pat on the back.
Lastly, remember to be in charge of the post clean-up. Also, thank students and guests for coming and make sure that all your participants leave happy and take back an experience to remember forever.
In Conclusion
The energy that one gets the chance to see at the time of such occasions is unique, treasure it and be propelled to take up other new difficulties, as you have officially experienced what it feels like to be a college fest organizer. The fervor, the thrill, and the camaraderie that happens will always be your cherished memories and put a smile on your face when you recall them.
