At my full time gig, we have well over 2,500 people at our two Carolina campus buildings. Recently, we decided to have a green fair where our vendors and local companies could come and tell a little about their organization and what they do to make the planet breather a little easier.
We had a very good turnout and I believe that we all learned a little something. The vendors got a little face time with the typical employee, the employees learned more about how our company and partners are trying to make better environmentally friendly choices, and out Green Team here learned how to put on a successful fair. It was a bit of a trial by fire, but we managed to pull it off.
If you are planning on attending, participating in, or planning a Green Fair, here are a few points to consider:
Attendees:
• Don’t’ just go for the free stuff. Only take giveaways if you truly will use it.
• Before the fair, learn a little bit about who is coming, do some research and have a few questions for the presenters. People like talking about what they do.
• If you find something or someone interesting, don’t be shy—let them know.
• If you liked the fair, let the group who organized it know and if you want to help, sign up!
Vendors:
• If you have special needs such as audio/visual equipment, electricity, or special space needs, please let the organizers know in advance.
• Remember this is a green fair, try to limit your giveaways to things that make sense. Flyers may not be the best, but maybe reusable grocery bags may work.
• If you need to leave or arrive outside of the normal fair hours, let the organizers know—most of us take our lunch breaks to help out with the fair.
• Try to anticipate and manage your garbage/waste needs. Leaving 50 boxes not broken down and full of the plastic packing for the company does not help.
Organizers:
• Tie your fair to a theme and have your own message. Just because there will be vendors and other presenters, does not exclude you from having a point to all of this.
• If you work in a secure area, let the appropriate people know well in advance.
• Show the vendors where to get the basics—bathroom, water, coffee, food, etc.
• Have three separate teams—one for set-up, one for assistance during the fair and the other for breakdown.
Please feel free to add any that I missed as a comment and remember to have a great fair!
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