Events and Museums a Perfect Match

Events can be used in a variety of ways that are beneficial to museums large or small. Museums face many common challenges such as funding, volunteer recruitment, ways to increase visitor attendance and of course our continuing mandate of finding ways to reach and educate the public. Events are one of the tools that public historians can utilize to help us face these challenges.

Events can be used for fundraising, volunteer recruitment/appreciation, as ways to draw visitors, attract media attention and overall spark interest in your museum.

I would like to draw from personal experience the roles that events played in the management of two small museums in Ontario. The first is a General Store Museum located in Commanda Ontario. Commanda is a very small town just outside of North Bay. This museum has survived due to the ingenuity of its curator Roberta Quinn who was able to make the most use of events and turned her General Store Museum into a gathering place for the community and as an attraction to visitors of cottage country. Despite the population and isolation of this community the Commanda General Store Museum was filled every Thursday night during the summer months. Thursday nights at the Museum were Murder Mystery Dinners preformed by the summer students working at the museum mixed with local talent. On weekends during the summer various special events were held including a Strawberry Jam Festival which featured bands from the area and strawberry themed desserts. This event would take place on the lawn of the museum. There was also a historic quilt show, and many fundraising yard sales that would involve people from the community. Events were used to maximize the potential of the museum and were a great way to attract tourists, draw funds to the museum, attract media attention and as a way to enlist the support of the community.

The next museum I would like to discuss is the Niagara on the Lake Historical Society and Museum. The curator of this museum Clark Bernett also understood the importance of events. This museum holds events year long. Past events are a festival of wreaths fundraiser, historic lecture series, wine and cheese nights, they take part in doors open and as a stop on walking tours of Niagara on the Lake among others.

Museums which hold regular events seem to come alive and gather a great following in the community as a place that is not only a museum but as a social venue and one that makes everyone feel welcome and invested in its successes and development.

If you would like to plan an event for your local museum here are some things to consider:

• What is the purpose of the event? What would you like to accomplish?
• What sort of event would you like to hold?
• If there is to be wine served make sure you secure a special occasions’ permit. An application form can be picked up at any LCBO
• Draw up a budget that includes all expenses and use this to determine ticket cost and the minimum number of tickets that need to be sold in order to cover all expenses
• Determine what is called a “drop dead date”, this is the date that is set by the event planner, it refers to the date by which a certain number of tickets need to be sold in order to proceed with the event. If not enough tickets are sold by this time it many be necessary to cancel the event.
• Make sure to create a timeline for the event which outlines what is to take place and when so the event can run smoothly and everyone involved with the execution of the event is aware of what is to take place.
• Because you are holding the event in a museum don’t forget about the artifacts. If food or beverages are to be served make sure that any artifacts that are not under glass are removed for the event. Objects may also need to be moved to create space for guests.
• An event is a great way to attract media attention. About a month before an event is about to take place make sure to draw up a brief public service announcement and send it off to local media. Because museums are often non profits it is possible to get free advertising in the what’s happening section of newspapers. It may also be possible to invite media to attend an event and arrange to be interviewed. This is a great way to draw attention to your museum without paying any money for advertising.
• The amount of coordination needed to be done especially for larger events can get overwhelming so make sure you start planning for your event a few months in advance especially if it is a new event.
• Consider partnerships with other museums, hotels, bed and breakfasts and tourism sites in the area. Sometimes an event package that includes tickets to your event and an overnight stay for example can help you sell tickets through cross advertising and promotion.
• If events are to become a regular occurrence at your museum you may wish to invest in linins, dishes, a microform and stand and any other object that you would need to use often instead of renting
• Business cards printed out on the computer make great, affordable and professional looking event tickets
• Send mass emails to board members and museum members to let them know about the event it is a great way to get free advertising of your target market
• Use your imagination to create unique events and clever titles such as death by chocolate murder mystery dinner or historic fusion progressive dinner
• Once the event is finished reflect on what went well what could have gone better so the event can be improved in the future. Pay attention to any comments made by guests so you can get insight into what they liked and didn’t like and watch for smiles and if people seem to generally be having a good time or if they keep looking at their watch.
• Assign someone to greet everyone at the door when they arrive and thank everyone for coming when they leave
• At the end of the event this is a great time to inform everyone about upcoming events, upcoming exhibits and future projects at the museum as you now have access to your target market all in one room so make sure to make use of this opportunity.