For a professional vendor, preparation for a major event starts several months in advance.
Applications, paperwork and phone calls to the local Health Department and Fire Marshall. It’s all important.
Bridge Day Funnel Cakes
Once I jump through those hoops, I’m pretty much ready until the week of the show.
Travel arrangements, scheduling of labor and more go into the long-range plan. Due to the security requirements at Bridge Day, my work-crew was set months in advance.
The Week Of
Once event week rolls around, Monday and Tuesday is usually spent working with equipment.
In my case, fryers are cleaned, tables, table skirts and table cloths are packed.
For this event, we will use one commercial fryer and one 70 lb fryer. That way, if needed, I can produce approximately 8 funnel cakes per minute. Did I mention I make funnel cakes?
Wednesday, I make a supply run. Funnel cake mix, lemons (we also make fresh squeezed lemonade) and sugar for lemonade. Cups, plates, napkins, oil for the fryers, and powdered sugar, are all checked off the list.
For a one-day event like Bridge Day in West Virginia I’ll pack and load on Thursday. Here is a sample pack-list of items which I load onto my truck and trailer.
- Fryers
- Propane tanks
- Tables
- Water containers
- Hose for refilling water containers
- Wood wedges in case my fryers are set on uneven ground
- Tent and banners
- Cups, lids, straws, plates, napkins and other utensils needed
- Lemons, sugar and a juicers for lemonade
- Batter mix, buckets or mixing bowls and a mixers for funnel cakes
- Powdered sugar and a sifter
- Tubs for washing dishes, rinsing dishes and sanitizing dishes plus hand washing facilities
- Trash cans with liners
Leading up to the event I like to mention the event on my blog (yes, I make funnel cakes AND blog!), make daily mentions on Twitter and Facebook the week of the event, and hourly tweets the day of.
This not only helps my business but also promotes the event. If an event is successful, I’ll will be successful as well and anything I can do to bring more people in is well worth my time and efforts.
The Day Of
I always get to my event early. Not only to set up my space and be ready for customers, but I also like to familiarize myself with other vendors and their locations. If someone asks where they can find hot dogs, I like knowing where to send them. (I also kinda like hot dogs!)
Beyond that, just pray for good weather. In my years of experience, bad weather is just about the only thing that can ruin a day.
Looking forward to meeting some new friends and having plenty of fun.
