Bishopstoke Carnival

CARNIVAL NEEDS YOUR HELP ​ If you can help in any way at all, either in the planning and organising stage, or on the day, please get in touch as soon as possible. At the moment we do not have enough volunteers to run Carnival this year. ​ We are holding an emergency meeting on Wednesday 19th June at Bishopstoke Methodist Church on Sedgwick Road at 7:00pm ​ If you can't come to the meeting but want to help, we need to hear from you before the meeting takes place, so please email [email protected] to tell us what you can do. ​ Below are listed some of the ways you can help, but if you would like to throw some other ideas into the ring and try to do something different with Carnival this year we would love to hear from you too. CARNIVAL - WAYS TO HELP (PLANNING AND ORGANISING) ​ To run the normal Carnival takes a group of people coming together regularly over the months leading up to it, to plan and organise the various different areas of Carnival. ​ Carnival Chair - Someone to say when the meetings will happen and keep things focussed. To keep an eye on what is happening and what needs to happen next. ​ Stalls - Ideally two people to make contact with previous stall holders to invite them to attend this year. To find ways of reaching out to new stall holders. To send out forms, chase insurance details and payments. To put together the map of where all the stalls will go on the Meadow on Carnival Day itself. ​ Inflatables and Rides - Like stalls, ideally two people to contact organisations and companies with inflatables and / or other rides to invite them to come along. To negotiate the fees paid by the ride owners and ensure they are collected. To map out where everything will go on the day ​ Food and drink - One person to deal with local food and drink providers to ensure there is sufficient provision but no clashes on the day itself. Ideally a minimum of a tea / coffee van, a burger van and an ice cream van, but it may be possible to add other foods and drink too. ​ Admin - One person to deal with Council issues - authorising funding, submitting forms and taking notes at meetings. Also booking portaloos and first aid. This is usually someone from the Council, ​ Water activities (River floats and Duck Races) - Ideally two people, one to focus on River Floats and the other on Duck Races. Contacting all local schools and youth groups to invite them to take part in the River Float competition. Organising judges and ensuring we have the required permission to use the river. Creating advertising for the event. To ensure we have sufficient ducks and all equipment needed to run duck races. Preparing any paperwork needed and organising pre-selling of ducks. Writing risk assessments and ensuring health and safety is planned for. ​ Audio - One person to either source or provide music and sound systems to cover the whole site. Also to amplify those in the arena if needed. ​ Arena - Ideally two people to contact various acts and displays to invite them to perform in the arena. Negotiating fees if necessary and communicating their needs to the rest of the team. Deciding arena size and ensuring the overall map can fit it in. Fancy dress competition if happening. ​ Raffle - one person to liaise with local businesses to gather prizes for the raffle. ​ As you can see, it takes a minimum of 9 people to plan and organise Carnival, but ideally there would be at least 12 because sometimes it isn't possible for a person to attend all the meetings and it would useful to have a second person from that area there to provide updates.