***FYI/DISCLAIMER: These blogs are for a business plan workshop by which are a reflection of discovery, research findings and conversations with industry and non-industry people about my idea to introduce a music festival that promotes the African American experience, culture, lifestyle and tradition on a global platform in the City of Boston (The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.*** Any and all opinions are a reflection of the blogger and her journey.***
The most challenging
part of producing a festival as a first time producer, whether small or large,
is where to begin. There are so many components (permits, licensures, venue
location, site and safety plans, ticketing, marketing/branding/PR, registration/ticketing
systems, security and signage, etc), questions to ask, personnel to hire,
politics (City Council members, the Mayor and his staff, etc) and funding (city and foundation grants,
corporate sponsors, crowd funding, angel investors) involved in transforming an
idea (such as a festival) into a reality.
So where do I begin?
Well, it made sense to
check out one of my competitors’ festivals to see how they operate. On
Saturday, September 27, I attended the Berklee Beantown Jazz Festival. Despite
the gorgeous day, the humidity and the beaming sun that caused everyone to
sweat and scram for ice cold bottles of water, attendance was abundant. Three
stages, each about a ½ mile away from another to form a respective triangle layout,
covered a portion of street and sidewalk with vendors squeezed in between. All attendees
could access the festival from any side street parallel to the festival, inside
of specific entrances. I found this to be great
because there were no long
lines to wait in. However, a lack of crowd control made me wonder how BBJF kept
track on the numbers of attendees, since it’s a free event. I attempted to ask
a volunteer at the “Festival Info Booth”, but she would not share the
information. This is something to keep in mind, as I plan for revenue and crowd
control.
One observation about the
food vendors was that each catered to a different race of people, including
Caribbean, Mediterranean and American cuisine. People lined up elbow to elbow
in anticipation for such delectable trays of herbs and fresh spices, deeply
baked in the rice, meats, fish and breads. The line-up of artists was somewhat
entertaining, particularly the world-renown, Sheila E, a Grammy nominated singer, drummer, and percussionist who
has worked and collaborated with the likes of Prince, Lionel Richie, George
Duke, Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez, and
Beyoncé. Her performance was interactive and monumental. As I maneuvered back
and forth in between each stage, I found myself attracted to the local live
bands. Instantly, I found myself truly proud to be a Bostonian, to be a part of
a community of music fans that appreciated the all-encompassing experience of
musicianship, live performance and storytelling.
More than this, I re-united with friends who I had not seen in years
including neighbors, teachers and new people who had heard about me through other
community members. This “reunion” was heartfelt and reminded me of the
importance of staying in touch and connected with diverse groups of people.
Overall, I enjoyed myself and would attend again.
One of the people I
reconnected with from BBJF was Justin S., who has his hands in the community,
arts, music and nightlife of Boston. He has a great skill in
relationship/partnership development. Often I consider him to be a connector type of person, because he
believes in the power of building a network of people who are selfless in their
efforts to promote social good. He just launched his own business called
Outside the Box Agency, by which he intends to change and enhance the
environment of opportunities and community building for Black Boston. In 2013, I pitched my concept idea to him to
get his opinion and “buy in” of potentially helping me make this festival, a
tangible experience. This month, Justin has
confirmed his time and resource investment in my music festival and has provided
a list of names of potential investors and committee members who would be vital
to the success of this festival.
These individuals (both men
and women) represent all aspects of the festival from both a creative and
funding perspective, including organizations such as the Boston Cultural
Council, Future Boston, The Boston Arts Commission, and handful of minority
owned event management companies. Through LinkedIn, I was able to research each
individual, explore their interests related to community building, art, and
music, and reviewed several articles with their name mentioned. So far, I am
impressed by their experience (both professional and volunteer), their
accomplishments and their future goals in life and for the company they work
for or own. At this time, I am in the process of creating an invitation for a
special meeting to be held at the end of this month or early November, where
these individuals will be asked to come see a presentation on the festival. Following
this meeting, I will develop a schedule of meetings to discuss funding needs,
potential community partnerships and corporate sponsorships and identify each
person’s role. More importantly, these meetings will help me to determine members’
commitment levels, passions, resources, relationship and synergy. If the
relationship and vibe between committee members is not authentic, holistic and
progressive, the outcome of the festival will be dismal.
