Claire Viola, County Administrator at the Bedfordshire and Luton Pre-school Learning Alliance office, spoke to us about her experiences planning the fantastic annual Picnic in the Park event in Luton, and shared her top tips for new event planners on running a successful event.
Tell us about the Picnic in the Park event you organise in Luton every summer
Picnic in the Park has been running for over 16 years, and initially started as a traditional picnic in the park by the member groups of the 
鈥淟uton Branch鈥 of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, who met for a picnic in Wardown Park annually.
But as the years passed, the event got bigger and bigger, and much more popular, so the branch asked the Alliance鈥檚 county office to organise it for them. The event had turned into a community fete-style event, where local childcare settings were invited to hold stalls to raise funds for their setting and to also provide a free activity for the children who attended.
In the later years, we were able to secure sponsorship and organise support from the local authority, which was extremely welcoming, as by then the event was huge!
Local partners and charities were also invited to promote their services in Luton. However by 2015, the Alliance became the sole organisers again, as our partners were unable to support us 鈥 we are proud to say it was probably our most successful.
I have organised this event for the last 7 years, I started working for the Pre-school Learning Alliance 8 years ago, a week before Picnic in the Park 2009, so that year I attended the event with my 4 year old daughter and therefore my first experience of it was as a parent; which gave me a great insight to what I would then take on organising.
Each year we set a theme, and ask our stall holders to support the theme through either their stall or free activity. Previous themes have included Celebrating Fathers, Keep Luton Smiling (highlighting the importance of oral health), Keeping Luton Tidy, and Communication and Language; Luton鈥檚 Little Voices.
There are usually a total of around 40 stalls, along with entertainment from a local children鈥檚 entertainer, Cheeky Dog, who has supported us for many years. Luton Library staff also provide regular storytelling sessions, and Active Luton usually provides soft play facilities while promoting fitness programmes for all the family that are available in the town. Some of the stalls provided food, following our healthy eating guidelines. The fire service and police support us and bring along a fire truck for the children to explore.
How do you start pla
nning an event like this?
Well, the event is an annual one, so I guess I actually start on the day of the event, as I tend to see and think of things I would like to include or change for the following year!
Once Picnic in the Park has taken place I will send out feedback forms to all the stall holders, requesting their feedback on the organisation of the event and information provided, on the event as a whole (for example the position of their stall, the facilities provided, etc), any verbal feedback they may have received from parents who attended.
We also ask them for suggestions and ideas for the next Picnic the Park. Feedback is also requested from other contributors to the event such as the entertainment, PA announcer, first aiders, and also my colleagues who were there.
Once I have collated this information, I will meet with my manager Julie Longbottom (who is the Finance Manager) and my County Manager, Helen Middleton. This is usually in September, and we will discuss what went well on the day, what needs improving or rethinking, and what will happen next year. We decide as early as possible on a date and theme for the following year, and give feedback to our stall holders on any particular area or issue they may raise.
As the organisation of the event is just one part of my role as County Administrator, I won鈥檛 necessarily work on the event every month, once the date and theme is arranged and the key elements booked, I then get a few months off from working on the event! Work will then start again usually in February with more planning work and sending invites out to the childcare settings in Luton, along with invites to partners and organisations who have registered an interest in attending.
From that point onwards the work load will pick up and I get very busy leading up to the day itself booking stalls, liaising with suppliers and preparing site plans, risk assessments, inviting the Mayor of Luton, and staff rotas for the day.
Front row: 1st left, Julie Longbottom, Finance Manager, 3rd left Claire Viola, County Administrator, 4th left Helen Middleton, County Manager; plus colleagues from Bedfordshire & Luton Pre-school Learning Alliance and Flying Start Luton.
How do you prioritise all your various tasks?
I have to work with an operation plan or Gantt chart because I am a lifelong list writer, and for me, the plan is the best way to keep me organised and stops me from worrying that I have forgotten anything.
When I first took on Picnic in the Park 6 years ago, there was a total of 5 of us helping with organisation the event, and at that time my responsibilities were managing the invitations and bookings for the stalls, the site plan and staff rotas. We worked with Family Information Services at Luton Borough Council, one of our local authorities, and members of their team booked the park and the essential services, so it was a lot easier to manage my time and workload associated with the event.
From 2014/15, we lost the input of Family Information Services, so needed to organise the whole event ourselves at the sub-committee office. This meant I needed to take on all tasks from booking the park, risk assessing the event, booking toilets, marquees, walkie-talkies, first aid cover, entertainment, traffic management staff, and everything else.
The operational plan I set up at this time literally lists every task required from start of planning to finish and review. I give each task a target completion date and split the plan into months to allow me to fit the tasks in around my other county office work. The plan also ensures nothing is left out or forgotten, and has proven to be very successful. For the last couple of years I have worked closely with our colleagues in Flying Start Luton during planning, and particularly on the day, tapping into their expertise, resources and knowledge which has helped enormously with bringing the event together. On the day itself we work together as one very hardworking team!
How do you maximise attendance?
We have no budget for advertising, so Picnic in the Park is really advertised through word of mouth and by sending posters out with the invite packs. We ask childcare settings or local organisations - even if they are not planning to attend the event - to advertise it using the poster in their settings. It is a hugely popular event in Luton, so a lot of people make it their business to find out when it is running each year.
鈥淚 really enjoyed it, lots of things for my child to see and do鈥 - visitor at Picnic in the Park 2016
We also contact local radio stations, and sometimes in the past we have been lucky enough to be mentioned or in one case we have been joined by one station who broadcast live from the park, so that has given us free publicity. It doesn鈥檛 always work every year, but it鈥檚 worth the effort to send them details of the event.
We use our to advertise the event, and both the Luton Safe at Home Scheme and Flying Start Luton, who are managed by the sub-committee, have Facebook and Twitter feeds, so they actively advertise the event.
It is always humbling to see just how many families attend the event from the limited publicity we are able to achieve, but it does show that even though the advertising is quite small and local, it is very effective.
Check out where we talk about planning your budget, securing sponsorship, what to do in an emergancy and more!