TIPS & TRICKS
You know you re forgetting something. You know you are. Check out this dour little reminder list of frequently overlooked event organizing basics.
Cell Service
The organizers of Burning Man are pretty much the only people ever allowed to host an event without regard to the availability of cell service.
Lost & Found
Sounds like a kindergarten throwback, but let s be honest, yeah? We never really got any better at taking care of our toys than we were when we were four. People are spacey slobs. People will toss the keys to their own little kingdoms down next to to the A/V booth and wander off. You re gonna be yanking the tablecloths off the 6-tops and someone s insulin pack is going to be under there and you ll know that somewhere in the crowd, someone is hysterically tearing their purse apart muttering nononono, wondering if today is the day they die. Find a way to let everyone know that all the things you ll try not to judge them for losing will be returned to a designated pick-up point.
Optional Coat Check
I have a love-hate relationship with coat-checks, but if your mid-sized event is happening during even moderately chilly weather, you should think about setting one up. The bottom line is that having to chose between draping your parka over your arm all night, or panicking about which chair you left it on, sucks.
First Aid Kit
It would be really nice if a refusal to believe in problems means that they won t ever happen, but that time I ate eel skewers in northern China and then got on a long-distance bus proves otherwise. According to the good folks at the American Red Cross, a good first aid kit should contain:
- 2 absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 inches)
- 25 adhesive bandages (assorted sizes)
- 1 adhesive cloth tape (10 yards x 1 inch)
- 5 antibiotic ointment packets (approximately 1 gram)
- 5 antiseptic wipe packets
- 2 packets of aspirin (81 mg each)
- 1 blanket (space blanket)
- 1 breathing barrier (with one-way valve)
- 1 instant cold compress
- 2 pair of nonlatex gloves (size: large)
- 2 hydrocortisone ointment packets (approximately 1 gram each)
- Scissors
- 1 roller bandage (3 inches wide)
- 1 roller bandage (4 inches wide)
- 5 sterile gauze pads (3 x 3 inches)
- 5 sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 inches)
- Oral thermometer (non-mercury/nonglass)
- 2 triangular bandages
- Tweezers
- First aid instruction booklet
Evacuation Plan and Fire Extinguishers
Ideally, the venue itself will have this covered, but you know how the Schrodinger s thing works: If you ask the venue staff before anything bad happens, you can expect an eye roll as someone hands you a meticulously-prepared in-case-of-emergency binder with nearest exits and extinguisher-placement map. If you never bring it up, something is going to blow up and everyone will be like, I thought YOU brought it! And then lawsuits will happen.
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