I wrote the following letter because of the Camp Claiborne event being cancelled because people wouldn't get off their butts and register. Of course, as soon as it was cancelled, there were a bunch of "but I was going to go and haven't registered yet" comments on several facebook pages. Here's the letter: Hosting Reenactment Events
This monograph is an open letter to anyone who attends reenactment events, from one who organizes and runs reenactment events.
Why do I have to pay an event fee?
You have to pay an event fee, because it costs money to run the event you want to attend.
Why do I have to pre-register for this event?
You have to pre-register for the event you want to attend, because if you, and everyone else, don’t pre-register, the host will think no-one is coming, or too few to bother running the event, and the event will be cancelled.
Why can’t I just tell the host I’m coming to the event, and then pay at the gate, instead of paying prior to the event?
You have to pay prior to the event, because the host has to pay for liability insurance, food, and all the other supplies and administrative costs to make the event happen. All of this stuff has to be bought and paid for prior to the event. The cost of things purchased depends on how many people are coming.
If you and 30 other people also say they’re coming, and then don’t show up, the host has just planned for 31 people to show up, and spent the money on YOU to make sure YOU have a good experience at the event. If it costs $25 per participant to provide all these things, 31 people that don’t show up just cost the host $775.00 out of their own pocket to provide for all those people who said “I’m coming and I’ll pay at the gate”. If the host ends up losing $775 because of YOU and the others, don’t expect that event to ever happen again. If YOU and all those others haven't pre-registered at least 3 weeks prior to the event, and only 10 or 15 have registered so far, DON'T BE SUPRISED IF THE HOST CANCELS THE EVENT.
So the only other way for an event host to protect themselves financially, is to only accept pre-registration and pre-payment, and not allow registration at the gate. That is the only way for the host to protect themselves financially, and provide participants with what they say they want; a good experience.
And the only way to provide that accurate count and have enough time to purchase everything in time for the event, is to end registration at least a few days prior to the event. This is the only way the host can have enough time after registration ends to buy all those supplies and necessities before the gate opens at the event.
This does not even take into account all the time, effort, and sweat the event host puts into organizing and running the event. If the host clears $5 per person after expenses, and 30 people show up for the event, that adds up to $150 dollars the host cleared after expenses. If the host put 50 hours into putting together and running the event, that means they were compensated $3.00 per hour to do all the work it took to provide YOU, the participant, with a weekend of entertainment.
SOOOO…………
If YOU want to know why there aren’t more events, look at the above monograph, and ask yourself, would YOU host an event?
If YOU WANT someone to host an event so YOU can go there and have a good time for a weekend to play with your uniforms and gear and spend time with your friends and others like you:
Get off your ass, make sure that the weekend of the event that’s a month or more away that you want to go to is free from conflicts, arrange to go to the event, and GET REGISTERED AS EARLY AS YOU CAN.
…. A friend asked me to add his comments to this letter: "You left out battlefield setup, running on-site check in/authenticity check/ammunition check, running the actual battle to ensure good flow and then picking up everyone’s trash after the event is over and they have all departed. So you grossly over exaggerated the value of any excess funds in terms of per hour compensation."
You can stop reading now, but if you’d like to get an idea of some of the things I typically deal with in putting together an event, read on:
Liability insurance, bread, spam, eggs, onions, potatoes, butter, salt, pepper, napkins, paper towels, paper plates, plastic forks, apples, coleman fuel, plywood to make direction signs to the event, spray paint, brush paint, brushes, screws, gas for chain saws, sharpening chainsaw blades, zip lock bags, labels and markers for ammunition inspection, goodie bags for the casualties at collection points, water bottles and Gatorade at the hydration points for participants, snacks and drinks, pyrotechnics, registration forms, event waivers, schedules, flyers, maps, pens, gas for generators, batteries for flashlights, port-a-johns, internet costs for the web site, fuel to transport everything to the event site, walkie talkies to run the event, batteries for the walkie talkies, folding tables, flood lights, chairs, toilet paper, hundreds of dollars in small bills for the cash box to make change, paypal fees for receiving payments from participants, rental equipment, black powder, igniters, junctions, remote firing systems, duct tape, masking tape, clip boards, poster boards, sand bags, barbed wire, pickets, dummy mines, unit award prizes, sound systems, period music discs, coolers, ice, garbage bags, treated wooden posts, nails, thumb drives, printer ink, projector, projector screen, parachutes, dummies, various battlefield debris and effects, can openers, oil, lighters and matches, coffee, sugar, creamer, flares, smoke grenades, protractors, propane, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.,
This monograph is an open letter to anyone who attends reenactment events, from one who organizes and runs reenactment events.
Why do I have to pay an event fee?
You have to pay an event fee, because it costs money to run the event you want to attend.
Why do I have to pre-register for this event?
You have to pre-register for the event you want to attend, because if you, and everyone else, don’t pre-register, the host will think no-one is coming, or too few to bother running the event, and the event will be cancelled.
Why can’t I just tell the host I’m coming to the event, and then pay at the gate, instead of paying prior to the event?
You have to pay prior to the event, because the host has to pay for liability insurance, food, and all the other supplies and administrative costs to make the event happen. All of this stuff has to be bought and paid for prior to the event. The cost of things purchased depends on how many people are coming.
If you and 30 other people also say they’re coming, and then don’t show up, the host has just planned for 31 people to show up, and spent the money on YOU to make sure YOU have a good experience at the event. If it costs $25 per participant to provide all these things, 31 people that don’t show up just cost the host $775.00 out of their own pocket to provide for all those people who said “I’m coming and I’ll pay at the gate”. If the host ends up losing $775 because of YOU and the others, don’t expect that event to ever happen again. If YOU and all those others haven't pre-registered at least 3 weeks prior to the event, and only 10 or 15 have registered so far, DON'T BE SUPRISED IF THE HOST CANCELS THE EVENT.
So the only other way for an event host to protect themselves financially, is to only accept pre-registration and pre-payment, and not allow registration at the gate. That is the only way for the host to protect themselves financially, and provide participants with what they say they want; a good experience.
And the only way to provide that accurate count and have enough time to purchase everything in time for the event, is to end registration at least a few days prior to the event. This is the only way the host can have enough time after registration ends to buy all those supplies and necessities before the gate opens at the event.
This does not even take into account all the time, effort, and sweat the event host puts into organizing and running the event. If the host clears $5 per person after expenses, and 30 people show up for the event, that adds up to $150 dollars the host cleared after expenses. If the host put 50 hours into putting together and running the event, that means they were compensated $3.00 per hour to do all the work it took to provide YOU, the participant, with a weekend of entertainment.
SOOOO…………
If YOU want to know why there aren’t more events, look at the above monograph, and ask yourself, would YOU host an event?
If YOU WANT someone to host an event so YOU can go there and have a good time for a weekend to play with your uniforms and gear and spend time with your friends and others like you:
Get off your ass, make sure that the weekend of the event that’s a month or more away that you want to go to is free from conflicts, arrange to go to the event, and GET REGISTERED AS EARLY AS YOU CAN.
…. A friend asked me to add his comments to this letter: "You left out battlefield setup, running on-site check in/authenticity check/ammunition check, running the actual battle to ensure good flow and then picking up everyone’s trash after the event is over and they have all departed. So you grossly over exaggerated the value of any excess funds in terms of per hour compensation."
You can stop reading now, but if you’d like to get an idea of some of the things I typically deal with in putting together an event, read on:
Liability insurance, bread, spam, eggs, onions, potatoes, butter, salt, pepper, napkins, paper towels, paper plates, plastic forks, apples, coleman fuel, plywood to make direction signs to the event, spray paint, brush paint, brushes, screws, gas for chain saws, sharpening chainsaw blades, zip lock bags, labels and markers for ammunition inspection, goodie bags for the casualties at collection points, water bottles and Gatorade at the hydration points for participants, snacks and drinks, pyrotechnics, registration forms, event waivers, schedules, flyers, maps, pens, gas for generators, batteries for flashlights, port-a-johns, internet costs for the web site, fuel to transport everything to the event site, walkie talkies to run the event, batteries for the walkie talkies, folding tables, flood lights, chairs, toilet paper, hundreds of dollars in small bills for the cash box to make change, paypal fees for receiving payments from participants, rental equipment, black powder, igniters, junctions, remote firing systems, duct tape, masking tape, clip boards, poster boards, sand bags, barbed wire, pickets, dummy mines, unit award prizes, sound systems, period music discs, coolers, ice, garbage bags, treated wooden posts, nails, thumb drives, printer ink, projector, projector screen, parachutes, dummies, various battlefield debris and effects, can openers, oil, lighters and matches, coffee, sugar, creamer, flares, smoke grenades, protractors, propane, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.,