Christmas Shopping Fireworks

[jedimaster]

Originally Posted by Leon Kelly

Tit for tat, and i stand by my comments re what they did to the towns nightlife sector using a five year old story, since then they contacted me and did retract their comments a week later so im sorry Garinda, spend more time please actually getting your facts correct, as asked already you didnt attend so you cant comment, and as for bounce hows about this one for you .... Have you checked the Matalan CHRISTMAS ADVERT this year.... ill show you below.... Its Set You Free the same Set You Free Kelly Llorenna sang so call it coincidence but im sure matalan thought the same obviously.... As you wasnt in attendence you didnt see Boomin who did a 30 min set of classics, You didnt see snow white and Pantocast, You didnt see Sandersons Dance Studio, and you didnt see the two local heros do the switch on...........

instead of defending this years, WHY are you not concentrating your efforts on what THE PEOPLE want for next year?

[mobertol]

Originally Posted by Gayle

Let's look at some of the tasks needed

Hurdles? Those who run on the flat aren't used to them but there are specialised athletes!

[garinda]

Originally Posted by Leon Kelly

Tit for tat, and i stand by my comments re what they did to the towns nightlife sector using a five year old story, since then they contacted me and did retract their comments a week later so im sorry Garinda, spend more time please actually getting your facts correct, as asked already you didnt attend so you cant comment, and as for bounce hows about this one for you .... Have you checked the Matalan CHRISTMAS ADVERT this year.... ill show you below.... Its Set You Free the same Set You Free Kelly Llorenna sang so call it coincidence but im sure matalan thought the same obviously.... As you wasnt in attendence you didnt see Boomin who did a 30 min set of classics, You didnt see snow white and Pantocast, You didnt see Sandersons Dance Studio, and you didnt see the two local heros do the switch on...........

Matalan?

Hardly Galeries Lafayette, or even Harvey Nicks.

Naff.

[Acrylic-bob]

I do think that there is one thing the council could, and should, do as a matter of some urgency. That is to begin to make the town centre more user friendly.

1. Put the bluddy benches back and police the area properly to control the drunks and other anti-social elements.
2. Sort the buses and the bus station out.
3. Open some public lavatories and keep them staffed.
4. Get rid of the officious signage that clogs every damned street in town.
5. Consider the appointment of Town Guides to be helpful to shoppers.
6. Enforce a decent standard of behaviour.
7. Offer Rates Holidays (meaningful ones) to new businesses opening up in the town centre
8. Cut back on fast food licences where the shops are only open at night.
9 And finally, cut the party politics and get a bluddy grip. The town is dying around you!

[jedimaster]

Originally Posted by Gayle

This is the big stumbling block of course.
Finding some people to actually do these things - there are plenty of people willing to pitch in with good ideas but they seem to expect some mythical body to actually do these things.

Let's look at some of the tasks needed

Decide what the actual event would be (the group as a whole ie. volunteer commitee)
Design posters (me)
Print posters - who's going to pay for that? (me)
Distribute posters - all around Hyndburn, Blackburn and even Burnley
Sign up stall holders/participants (volunteers)
Notify all shop keepers as to how they can be involved (volunteers)
Get stall holders at the market involved (not required)
Send out letters to the press to get publicity(volunteers)
Apply for the licence (should be automatically given by hbc as they are in charge)
Fill in any forms needed to get road closures or permissions - bear in mind that even if you want to put a poster up on a highway you need to apply for permission (see hbc above)
Do a running order of the event - if it's an event (project manager)
Decide what the competition is - organise it and then judge it (project manager)
Find judges (apply for volunteers through the community section of observer)
Get prizes - talk to people about donations for prizes (volunteers - mrs jedi good at this)
Award prizes - invite the Mayor to come (simple job)
Look after the Mayor for the evening (project manager)
Do you need a loud speaker system so that the Mayor can be heard? (can get one or get the bee or hospital radio events team to cover)
Invite people down to the event - print invites - cost involved. (me)


All of these items on the list are off the top of my head and I'm not saying it can't be done. But you need to find quite a few people willing to share out the jobs and do it because it might sound simple but never is.

Find the people and I'll help.

we have a wonderful resource called hyndburn CVS for recruiting volunteers we can also canvas local community groups for help for instance new era are very pro community events

[Leon Kelly]

Im not even going to bother responding the coment above as its just ridiculous, Good luck with your event Garinda im sure it will be a huge success .....

To people on here that have put forward good ideas ill pass them onto the market people you have my word, and also traditional stuff will look at as well.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Poster design could be put out to local schools - the more people who are involved in the planning and development of the idea, the more will attend and see the fruits of their/or their childrens work.
Get schools involved for the music part too.....Christmas songs/Carols. Again they will be bringing parents and Grandparents to the event.
Publicity.....get the radio stations to announce the event......have a town crier....get inventive....word of mouth...all the involvement of the schools again will be a plus.

[jedimaster]

Originally Posted by Leon Kelly

Im not even going to bother responding the coment above as its just ridiculous, Good luck with your event Garinda im sure it will be a huge success .....

To people on here that have put forward good ideas ill pass them onto the market people you have my word, and also traditional stuff will look at as well.

and you have yet to respond to my point, the people want a traditional christmas festival is that what we are going to get or are you going to ignore it and do your own thing because thats what you think they want after all you are the organiser

[Gayle]

Originally Posted by jedimaster

we have a wonderful resource called hyndburn CVS for recruiting volunteers we can also canvas local community groups for help for instance new era are very pro community events

So, round up this team of volunteers and get it organised. I'll quite happily let you have a meeting room at the Civic for the planning committee.

[Gayle]

Originally Posted by jedimaster

and you have yet to respond to my point, the people want a traditional christmas festival is that what we are going to get or are you going to ignore it and do your own thing because thats what you think they want after all you are the organiser

Leon organises the sort of event that he and other people like him enjoy.

If people want something different then he's not the person to go to so you have to find the people who will do it instead of expecting one event to cater for everyone.

There were a lot of people at the light switch on so clearly something appealled to them. Just because it wasn't your taste or even the taste of the other few people on here, doesn't mean to say it was wrong.

[garinda]

Originally Posted by Leon Kelly

Im not even going to bother responding the coment above as its just ridiculous, Good luck with your event Garinda im sure it will be a huge success .....

To people on here that have put forward good ideas ill pass them onto the market people you have my word, and also traditional stuff will look at as well.

Peace be with you.

[Acrylic-bob]

As for Licences and permissions etc. Perhaps that is a way in which our absent councillors can make amends for their dreadful lapse with the Kashmir Motion incident (after it has been repealed or struck off or run over or whatever they do with such things). Just a thought.

[garinda]

Originally Posted by Gayle

Leon organises the sort of event that he and other people like him enjoy.

If people want something different then he's not the person to go to so you have to find the people who will do it instead of expecting one event to cater for everyone.

There were a lot of people at the light switch on so clearly something appealled to them. Just because it wasn't your taste or even the taste of the other few people on here, doesn't mean to say it was wrong.

As I said at the time, I congratulate Leon for making a success of what he was asked to do.

I do question those who make the decisions, if a bouncy pop show is what would make all sections of the borough want to attend a publicly financed Christmas event.

From what people have posted, it seems not.

[Gayle]

Originally Posted by garinda

As I said at the time, I congratulate Leon for making a success of what he was asked to do.

I do question those who make the decisions, if a bouncy pop show is what would make all sections of the borough want to attend a publicly financed Christmas event.

From what people have posted, it seems not.

Well, of course it wouldn't get all sections of the borough attending - what would?

If you do a brass band concert, people who like brass bands go along. If you do folk music, people who like folk music go along. There really isn't one size fits all.

I guess the best you can hope for is a variety over the course of a year.

Also, and I ask this because I genuinely don't know the answer - who should a Christmas light switch on be aimed at?

The town was busy with young people but were they buying? Perhaps not! However, it got a lot of publicity in the local papers. It also was deemed a success so is more likely to be replicated and the council to continue putting money in. If it was geared more towards people who had spending power then would it have got enough people in and would it have been deemed a success?

I ask all this because I don't know what the answer is. It's one thing having an opinion about what you would like to see but you also have to consider the target market when you've decided what the target market is.

[Acrylic-bob]

It strikes me that a 'bouncy pop show' would attract a similar audience at any time of year. That is not to say that it is a bad thing, in and of itself, just that there seems to be very little of Christmas in it and rather a lot of pop. if you see what I mean.


God, I am being reasonable this afternoon, perhaps I am coming down with something.