2013 Environmental Expo

At the January meeting, the Board directed Staff to add an item to this agenda to start discussing potential speakers and exhibitors.  As the Board knows, the 2013 Environmental Expo event will be incorporated into Happy Days, which is scheduled for Saturday, September 7.  While this poses a great opportunity to capture more foot traffic, it does pose a few new challenges (or changes) as well.

   

There are several expos that already operate as a part of Happy Days, including a Business Expo and Craft Fair Expo. The expos typically run eight (8) hours, beginning at 11:00 a.m. and ending at 7:00 p.m. Attendance at these components of Happy Days generally peaks just before and then after the parade (parade typically runs from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.). While it adds several hours to the typical event time of the Environmental Expo, Staff would encourage mirroring the start/end times of the other already established expos.

The date of the event is already established.  As noted above, Staff would recommend the event begin at 11:00 a.m. and end at 7:00 p.m. to match the times of the other expo components.  Knowing that the peak attendance of the entire event is sort of centered around the parade, that may help identify a good time slot for having a speaker.  While potential speakers could be contacted anytime, it may be helpful to identify the actual time for the talk/presentation.

In addition to finding a speaker, other critical features of the expo that need to be addressed include:

• Identifying and inviting exhibitors to participate.
• Promotion and marketing (will be able to capitalize on Happy Days marketing, but may want to explore other options as well).
• With new format, are there other attractions that could be incorporated into event now (e.g. eco challenge concept)?
• Giveaways for attendees.

A couple components of past expo events will no longer be applicable.  By incorporating the Environmental Expo into Happy Days, soliciting a food vendor is no longer necessary as there are plenty of food options offered at Happy Days already.  Also, because of the timing of the event, a coloring contest with school students doesn't seem to work either (students will have just started school that week).  Nonetheless, Staff will be seeking assistance from the Board not only with concepts/ideas for the event but also with coordination and implementation the various event components.

 

There are about seven (7) months before the Happy Days event.  Now is the time to start working on the details of the expo event to ensure a good program and adequate time to market and promote it.  The Board should be prepared to not only discuss the expo event but also consider what aspects it could accomplish either as a whole or as individuals.

Based on discussion.