way in over my head

[colinashante]

ok so as many of y'all have read I am in the process of organizing a protest to bring light and awareness for LGBTA community of kc and then after that having some sort of awesome event to celebrate the ethnic diversity of the LGBTQA community of kc. so now im thinking and creating what do I need to have to make that happen. obviously a note from the city saying its ok for my group to be protesting on that portion of public property, markers, poster board to write messages of equality on, a crash course on my songs and chants of equality to further my memory bank of those (however if you know any simpel and catchy ones that would be great), do you like the idea of t-shirts yes, no, maybe. thats really all I can come of with. what I mainly need is more along the lines of logistics, if you have any idea as to how that goes please let me know. I am in so far over my head. its great and I love it. thanks for the help

[Zerbie]

:D I know exactly the feeling.

Get with at least one other activist from you area to brainstorm ideal locations. For that, you need to have a goal in mind: is your goal to be seen by the traffic passing by, to have a fun-event for the local community, get media coverage, educate? Pick your primary goal and let then brainstorm possible places that would be good for what you need and want to do. It sounds like you are envisioning a kind of rally with stage and bands, maybe outdoors at a park, or maybe inside a hall. Make a list of places with the space you need. Then consider how easy or hard it will be for participants to get there.

When you have one or two fave places in mind, call up the owner, or the city, and find out what is required to rent or reserve space. Some cities require permits for demonstrations. Others don't.

You will want to contact the PD in your chosen area so that you have one or two officers around watching out for public safety from any potential detractors running in to incite arguments or heaven forbid, violence. When I organized a street demonstration last fall, I actually chose location in part due to the friendliness of the police department in that city (as opposed to neighboring cities.) You or a fellow-organizer will need to function as liaison to the PD letting them know what is happening when, and if possible, how many people you expect might be there. Your PD contact can probably also help you figure out whether permits are required, whether or not you can have sound systems, open-flame (we used candles at our event,) etc.

You and your fellow organizer(s) can also brainstorm groups of target participants and ways to advertise your event to those groups. College groups, fraternities, community groups, progressive activist groups, notices posted at libraries/bookstores/coffee shops, online advertising on myspace pages, etc., list your event in the "community events calendar" for various newspapers - most if not all will have an online calendar as well as print. Check deadlines to make sure your event is submitted early enough to be listed.

If you can think of a name for your event, you can print Ts with the event name.

Concentrate on getting the big picture now. Once you have a framework in mind you can then refine all the details like posters and music.