Run an Open Fair
1 First things first
Where to begin
The first step in organising an Open Fair in your locality is to contact the Open Fair office for help, advice and promotional materials.
The second step is to enlist the support of a local committee to help organise the event and to secure a venue. Community groups, sporting bodies, local voluntary organisations, business and retail networks or church groups may agree to share the responsibility of running an Open Fair.
Thirdly, once you have decided on a date and venue for your Open Fair, contact us with this information, so that we can provide you with an application form containing those details. Your committee can photocopy these forms and distribute them in the community; once they have been returned to you by people who want to exhibit, they will provide you with vital information on planning your fair.
As a final step, local branches of state enterprise development agencies, Leader groups etc should be offered an opportunity to promote their services at the Open Fair.
2 Venue
Selecting a venue
Venues might include school halls (primary or secondary), community centres, church halls or sports clubhouses. You may even be able to secure the cooperation of local hoteliers or other venue owners who may be willing to host an Open Fair free of charge.
Any venue can be considered, as long as it is large enough, and as long as organisers can be satisfied that public liability insurance is in place.
Bear in mind that tables will be required for display purposes. Some exhibitors may want to use their own display stands, or may need access to electrical sockets, and they will need to advise you of this in advance. Similarly, some participants may need or prefer to exhibit outside, so make sure there is enough space.
Open Fair will supply blank identification signs on which exhibitors can fill in their names and identify the product or service they’re promoting.
Once you know who’s taking part, you may like to consider drawing up a floor plan to display at the entrance.
3 Publicity
Publicising your fair
Choose a date for your Open Fair not less than one month in advance. This will give participants enough time to prepare their displays, and will give you enough time to publicise the event.
The Open Fair office will supply you with posters, booklets, leaflets and application forms. It will be up to you to distribute them.
To this end, we ask that you collaborate with the Open Fair office on the scale of the project you’re planning, so that we will know how much promotional material will be required, and so that we can advise on the best publicity plan.
You may find it helpful to appoint one person from your committee as a spokesperson for dealing with the press. Every assistance will be provided by the Open Fair office in preparing press releases for circulation to local media. Discussions on self-development and starting your own business should be encouraged on local radio and newspapers. Remember too that awareness of local Open Fairs will be boosted by national media coverage of the movement as a whole.
We recommend inviting prominent personalities from the area to help you promote the event. You may even consider seeking local sponsorship to help with incidental expenses associated with staging the fair, or to provide prizes, or to boost local advertising.
The Open Fair website can also be used to promote your event, along with the Open Fair Facebook page, and @open_fair on Twitter. These social media are a means of communicating with other people who have organised or are planning an Open Fair, and you can use them to ask for and to offer advice.
4 On the day
On the day
The more volunteers you can find to help on the day, the better. Remember that the Open Fair is free to everyone, exhibitors and patrons like. However, if you wish, you may like to consider placing a voluntary donations box at the entrance to cover any incidental expenses, such as cleaning, caretaking, waste disposal, raffle books etc.
Please ensure that your venue is left clean and tidy after the Open Fair. The reputation of the Open Fair movement depends on this.
Not for traders
In keeping with the spirit of the Open Fair, there are certain rules about who can participate. Firstly, no traders can be allowed inside or outside the Open Fair. This event is not aimed at retailers, it’s aimed at people who make things and do things themselves. Secondly, the buying and selling of animals should be discouraged, for obvious reasons. On the whole, though, organisers can use their own discretion as to which exhibitors can be included.
5 Reporting back
Success reports
We would be very grateful if, after the event, you could report back to the Open Fair office on the numbers who exhibited, the numbers who attended, and the approximate value of sales transacted. We’ll supply you with feedback forms for this purpose, and we recommend that you designate a committee member to gather the information. These anonymous records will be treated in confidence, but will be vital in establishing the overall success of the movement nationally.
