The King’s Taxes part 1

So you want to be an artist at the renaissance festival? What a great way to express your inner soul! Freedom to draw, to sculpt, to perform and let out that hidden child! And to get paid for it! You pour your heart and soul into your creations. And the people flock to see you… Continue reading The King’s Taxes part 1

Tim’s Festival Hiring Credo

The following post is the work of my friends Tim Rosa and Donna D’Ignazio, both long time working participants of the Renaissance Festival industry. We were discussing tips and tricks to hiring good help at festivals, and they shared with me their favorite hiring tool. I’ve included their Preamble … which kind of makes this… Continue reading Tim’s Festival Hiring Credo

Things to think about before launch

Everywhere I’ve gone this month, the conversation seems to be about the intersection of Entertainment and Commerce in the Festival or Theme Park world. Permanent parks and themed environments are not entry-level venues, whether speaking of crafts, services, or food & beverage sales. Too often participants leap into an investment in a park or festival… Continue reading Things to think about before launch

Mimicry and Innovation in the Festival Industry

In a clearly defined business category, it is easy to watch your competitors and see which of their ideas work, and which fail. You can watch the most successful team, and mimic their attempts within your own budgets of time and money. However, those of us that straddle more than one category have to keep… Continue reading Mimicry and Innovation in the Festival Industry

Playing by the Numbers, part 2, None of your Business

Ok, let’s see, …..where were we? ….poker…matchsticks…20 pounds of quarters….profit/patron, cost/patron and patron/vendor ratios…big pies…..and little pieces. Remember? If not, you can refresh your memory by reading ‘playing by the numbers, part 1’ It’s a funny thing about numbers. When you ask someone the time of day, a baseball score, or the age of their… Continue reading Playing by the Numbers, part 2, None of your Business

Playing by the Numbers, part 1, Patron/Vendor Ratio

Editor’s note: This is the first installment in Al’s series that uses metrics to determine the financial relationship between vendors and festivals.Following articles will end up with internal links here (Part 2). It’s high-season in the outdoor festival business, but we’ll get them to you eventually. I love to play poker.  When I was a… Continue reading Playing by the Numbers, part 1, Patron/Vendor Ratio

Photo shoot v2

We completed another photo shoot that attempts to blend “Business” and “Festival”. Here are some of the results:     So photos are an ongoing work in progress. We got some great suggestions about images in an earlier post. I personally want to create the one where we are unloading a refrigerated truck while in… Continue reading Photo shoot v2

Compostables

I’ve been in conversations recently about zero-waste goals for outdoor events. It’s not as difficult as it sounds, and there are multiple benefits … but there is a learning curve. This article first appeared in my personal blog. I’m bringing it out here, as it will have a greater probabilility of reaching those who need… Continue reading Compostables

Profitability Through Play

  The other night I was channel surfing and paused briefly on ‘Rawhide’, an old black & white weekly western series.  Wishbone was servin’ up the grub.  Rowdy, Scarlet, Mister Favor, the whole gang was sitting around the campfire, eating beans off of metal plates and soaking up the sunset.  I was there with them,… Continue reading Profitability Through Play

Recognizing Your Customers and Avoiding the Fail

Some of the worst Customer Service failures occur when a worker isn’t able to recognize who their customer is. In a well-run commercial kitchen, each station has a different customer. Yes, the Guest is everyone’s customer, but in order for that Guest to have an optimum experience, the entire team has to function at its… Continue reading Recognizing Your Customers and Avoiding the Fail