Is your event a concert at which musical artists will perform?

Is it a conference at which panelists will speak?

Is it a party for the hell of it?

If the event is a concert or a conference, who would you like to perform?

Who else do you have in mind, in case your dream performer is busy or costs a lot of money?

If the event is a party or other random thing, will it be open to the whole school? Just WBAR folks?

Two things to think about:

-How (cheap) much (cheap) will (cheap) this (cheap) cost? WBAR loves to put on lots of great events, but we are also a functioning radio station, so we must keep the costs of day-to-day broadcasting in mind.

-Would other campus clubs be willing to co-sponsor the event?

Music directors may be able to help you with this, if they are in contact with the artist, or the artist’s record label, already. If the music directors do not know the artist, the web is useful.

Find out if the artist is available, then ask how much s/he is willing to be paid. At this point, DEFINITELY talk to Ori/Amy to find out is the cost is feasible. If all is good, move onto Step 2.

Check the calendar. Try to avoid the obvious (too close to exams, religious holidays, etc.), but if the event must be on that day, so be it. DEFINITELY AVOID a major sort of campus day (e.g. Take Back the Night).

Once you have a date, fill out an event reservation form at the Room Reservation Office, 212 McIntosh (Upper Level). The forms, if not in this folder, are found to the right of the Room Reservations door, before you walk in.

If you have any questions, ask Andrea Turnbull, the Space Coordinator (first desk when you walk in). She can also be reached at x4-6478. She can also tell you the capacity of each room.

Things to remember:

• Try to be as detailed as possible, and include a diagram so that Facilities will know where to put the stage and what to do with furniture. Even put down the # of chairs you want, etc.

• Event Reservation forms must be submitted at least 10 days before the event.
• When filling out the "Open Room At:" section, keep in mind that the room must be free a couple of hours before the event so that A/V can set up. Also, if the performer will want to sound check, allow a couple more hours.
• If you want alcohol at the event (more about booze later), food MUST be served, so make sure to check that box off.
• Altschul Atrium requires a different type of stage (the regular one doesn’t fit through the doors), so let Andrea know what dimensions you want the stage to be, if you are having an event in the Atrium.

Certain spaces at Columbia actually cost money, so contact Ori/Vern/Amy if you are determined to have an event across the street. The people at Lerner don’t charge for the actual space (though they charge for just about everything else), but rooms must be pre-calendared the semester beforehand, so if your event is for this semester, skip this option.

Events off-campus generally cost WAY more than ones at Columbia, so contact Ori/Vern/Amy first, with a location already in mind.

Contracts should be found somewhere in this folder or on the DJ Resource Table, but if there are none let, then they can be found at the College Activities Office, 209 McIntosh (Upper Level). Anyone in there should know where they are kept, but In Paik, our WBAR advisor, is the best person to ask, since she’ll probably know a bit about your event by this time. Her office is the second door to the right, when you walk into 209.

Fill out the contract, keeping in mind the things below. Do NOT have the contract signed unless you are completely satisfied with all arrangements made. Then give the contract to Ori so that she can check it over and have In sign it. Once the contract is filled out, fax both pages to the performer, then have him/her fax back a signed version to 212-854-1112. Then MAKE COPIES OF THE SIGNED CONTRACT, and submit one copy to Ori and two copies to Amy.

Things to remember:

• One contract per payment: this means that if three performers within a band want three different cheques, three contracts must be sent, signed, and submitted.
• Ask the performer if s/he wants the cheque sent to her/him or handed to her/him at the end of the show.
• Work out the "Form of Payment" with Amy beforehand, so she can have a cheque cut, or obtain the necessary cash well before the event.
• The address requested on the contact is the address to which the cheque will be mailed, UNLESS you request that it be held at the Bursar’s Office for Amy to pick up before the show.

• Write out any extras in the "Stipulations" section.
• These contracts are legal documents, so don’t mess with them.

You don’t have to have alcohol at the event, but if you want to, AND IF ANY MONEY IS CHANGING HANDS AT THE EVENT (i.e. admission, beer charge, t-shirts, raffle, anything), you MUST apply for a Temporary Beer and Wine License from New York State as soon as possible. If no money will be changing hands at the event, either because tickets are sold in advance or because everything’s free, you can skip this step.

The only exception to this is if you want to go through Dining Services for alcohol buying and serving. This way, Dining Services is a third-party vendor, and they already have a liquor license.

Along with alcohol comes a number of other considerations:

1. Will WBAR’s trained alcohol event managers be able to make the event? As of September 2000, Emily and Vern are trained, with more exec staff to be trained at Lerner in the coming months. Without an event manager, alcohol cannot be served at a campus event.
2. For every person over 21 at the event, there must be
• ONE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE PER PERSON PER HOUR,
• an equal amount of non-alcoholic drinks for the drinkers, and
• one plate of food per person.
3. For every person under the age of 21, there must also be one plate of food per person, as well as enough non-alcoholic drinks.
4. Does the space you’ve reserved allow kegs to be served? We can only serve beer and wine, unless we want to pay humungous amounts of money for a different license. Kegs are cheapest, but not all locations on campus allow you to serve them.

If all this is okay, obtain a license application form from Ori, fill it out with Ori or an event manager, and have someone from the College Activities Office sign it. Also, copy the model letter on the next page and have In (WBAR advisor) sign it. Then head to the downtown New York State Liquor Authority at 11 Park Place, and submit the application with a $25 fee. WBAR will reimburse you, if you keep a copy of a receipt. The application must be made in person, so if you absolutely cannot do it, contact the exec staff to see if anyone else can. THIS MUST BE DONE AT LEAST 15 WORKING DAYS BEFORE THE EVENT.

State Liquor Authority, Zone 1

11 Park Place

New York, New York 10007

212-417-4002(3)

Every campus event with alcohol must be registered through Lerner. Events that are off-campus are technically supposed to registered as well (e.g. events at the West End, frat parties), but if no one’s watching….

Alcohol registration forms can be found, if not in this folder or on the DJ Resource Table, inside the College Activities Office, hanging on the wall to the left. These forms are supposed to be filled out in conjunction with event managers, but Ori can also do the job just as well. There’s a lot of math involved. Any bigger questions can be directed to Dara Falco, the head of the Alcohol Management Program at Lerner (x4-5825).

Once both sides of the form are filled out, it must be faxed to Lerner: 212-854-9555. A few days before the event, a confirmation will be faxed back to the College Activities Office (212-854-1112).

Things to remember:

• Alcohol registration forms are due 10 days prior to the event, so that proctors (grad students) can be found to cover the event.
• You’ll have to run around getting the appropriate signatures from CAO, event managers, etc., before you fax the form over, so allow for a few days of that.

Before you fill out the A/V requisition form, find out from the performer:

• if s/he has a technical rider already. If so, have her/him fax it to 212-854-1112.
• how many performers there are in total.
• how many are vocalists, guitarists, drummers, bassists, turntablists, etc.
• which instruments need to be miked, and how many have their own amps.
• if the performer is coming with his/her own sound / light technician.

The Audio Visual requisition forms, if not in this folder, are found by the Room Reservations forms, outside 212 McIntosh.

If you have any questions, ask Michael Hyman, the present Audio-Visual Coordinator (desk facing the window in 212 McIntosh). He can also be reached at x4-3021. Vern may be able to answer some A/V questions as well.

Things to remember:

• Make sure to tell the performer that Barnard A/V does not provide any backline gear (i.e. guitar amps, keyboards, drum kits).

• Once again, be as detailed as possible and include a diagram of the set up. Also, find out as much specific info as you can on a performer’s set up beforehand, so that the A/V department can be prepared with the proper equipment.
• A/V requisitions are due 10 days prior to the event, so that students can be found to work the event. There is no obligation for A/V to honour late requisitions.
• Put down the start time of the actual event, not when you think set up should begin. The A/V department will figure out when it’s appropriate to start setting up. If you want the A/V set up by a certain time, specify that on the form.
• Mark down if there will be a sound check, and at what time it will be.

A rate sheet and equipment list for Lerner Tech is also on the following page. Tech forms are due at least 10 days prior to the event, and can be faxed to 212-854-9555 or brought to the 7^th floor of Lerner Hall.

Other locations on Columbia’s campus charge INSANE amounts of money for tech services (i.e. $40 for use of a mic for an hour), so try to just plain avoid them.

If the event is off campus, and the venue does not already have tech services, the phone book will be your best friend. Cheapest services, please.

If your event is a concert or a big party, you must fill out a separate Security Report. Forms are found in this folder, or outside of the Room Reservations/A/V Office, as well as in the College Activities Office.

Things Security will want to know:

• Whether you are charging a cover/admission at the door
• Whether the event will be advertised off-campus
• Whether non-Barnard/Columbia students will be allowed at the event

• If you are inviting other schools to the event

• Whether alcohol is being served at the event
• How many people you are expecting at the event

After filling out the form, In (advisor) and Vern must sign it. The form must be brought to Security (first floor of Barnard Hall) three weeks prior to the event, for approval. If additional guards are required, WBAR must cover the cost.

Food is only necessary if you are planning to have alcohol at the event. You can serve food otherwise, you just won’t need as much. If you are having alcohol at all, you must make sure that there is enough for ONE PLATE OF FOOD PER PERSON. A plate doesn’t have to be literal—you can get away with bowls of chips and pretzels and things, as long as there is a bloody lot of chips and pretzels and things.

There are three ways to obtain food: at the grocery store, through outside catering, and through dining services. If you are doing the grocery store method, talk to Amy about the estimated cost and reimbursement, and have fun at Westside. If you want to explore the catering route, call around for estimates, then talk to Amy about the costs. It will ultimately be her call, and she may say no, if she thinks you can find feed people more inexpensively. More on off-campus vendors below. If you are want to go through dining services, read on.

Go to Purchasing at 107 McIntosh (on the way to Milbank), and ask Doug Maget for a Food Service Order Number. Doug may also be reached at x4-5204. You need a Food Service Order Number to order food.

Then, go to Dining Services Catering, Hewitt basement. Tony Tumello is the contact, also at x4-6653. Give Tony your Food Service Order Number.

Then work out:

• What type of food/drink you need
• How much you can spend on food—stick to the set-aside budget and confirm the price agreed upon
• How many people you are expecting to feed –confirm the amount and type of food
• If Tony has any other suggestions based on the price range and the number of people being fed
• The time and date of the food set-up—request at least a half hour before depending on how elaborate the food needs are

After you have chosen a vendor after checking at least three places for the lowest possible price, ask the food provider if s/he will accept an institutional cheque from a college. If so, fax the vendor the same contract as used in Step 4, and fill it out including an itemized list of your order, time of delivery or pick up, and any added extras (i.e. forks, plates, table cloths, etc.). Follow the same procedure with the contract as in Step 4.

For this step, you work with Internal Promotions and the rest of the WBAR staff to make sure people know about the event. Meet with Internal Promotions and figure out how you want to advertise:

• Flyers?
• Postcards?
• Banners?
• E-mail?
• Mass phone messages?
• PSA?
• Newspaper Articles?
• Newspaper Ads?
• Mailbox mailings?
• Off-campus publicity?
• Etc.

As soon as you know the name of your event, the performers, the date, the time, and the location, let Internal Promotions know so that she can put your event on the many web and print calendars on which WBAR lists events.

At least two weeks before the event, come up with a flyer (if you don’t want to make it, find out from Internal Promotions who else would be willing to), and give it to her. If not all necessary info appears, she has the right to modify it. The more time you allow, the better-publicized your event will be. With more time, it is also more likely that off-campus publicity can be arranged.

Do you need decorations for your event? Will they be made or bought or papier-mached by certain staff members who like to do that sort of thing? If they’ll be bought, find out costs, talk to Amy, purchase what you need to, and keep the receipts to be reimbursed. The closest party store around here is King Party Centre, at 125^th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. If they’ll be made, get cracking.

If your event involves alcohol, where will you purchase it? Talk to Ori about where to get the cheapest beer, and talk to Amy about how you’ll purchase it.

If your event involves bought food, where and when will you buy it? Once again, talk to Amy, purchase what you need to, and keep the receipts.

A few days before your event, confirm the following:

• The performers are coming, they have directions to the location, and they know what time to arrive (for sound check or for the show).
• Someone can meet the performers when they arrive.
• Payment for the performers is ready and in the right form (i.e. cheque or cash).
• The Temporary Beer and Wine License has arrived in the mail (if this applies).
• Booze is ordered and someone can meet the keg when it arrives right before the event.
• You’ve received the fax confirmation of the Alcohol Registration from Lerner, and alcohol event managers know what time to arrive.
• You’ve got people to buy/cook food or to meet the food vendors right before the event.
• You’ve got people to buy/set up decorations.
• You’ve got people to set up, serve food/beer, clean up, spin, etc. at the actual event.
• If you’re collecting admission, you’ve got people to work the door for the duration of the event, and you have people stationed at all entrances.
• You have all last minutes supplies you may need (i.e. masking tape, scissors, etc.).

Then go to/call the following offices to confirm everything:

• Room Reservations
• Audio Visual
• Security
• College Activities
• Dining Services (if you used them)

Right before the event:

• If you need Security to unlock the space when you arrive, or to turn off the lights in the space when the event actually begins, call x4-3362 to arrange it all.

Evaluate what was good and bad about the event-planning process, and let Ori know any problems you encountered along the way—this can only help the next person planning a WBAR event.

• Do any of these event-planning steps need to be updated?
• Did everyone get paid and reimbursed?
• Would you ever want these performers to come back for another show?
• Are there any ideas for future events you had while planning this one?

Lastly, thanks for undertaking this, if you do! You rock. Yes, yes you do.