Advance Festival Planning and Checklists: Ensuring Nothing Is Overlooked

Organizing a festival involves countless moving parts. From booking artists and securing permits to coordinating vendors and preparing the venue, there are hundreds of tasks that must come together seamlessly. Advance planning with detailed checklists is the foundation that keeps everything on track.

By mapping out tasks early and checking them off methodically, festival teams ensure that nothing falls through the cracks. This proactive approach provides peace of mind, knowing that every big requirement and tiny detail has been accounted for well before showtime.

The Power of Checklists in Pre-Production

In high-stakes industries like aviation and healthcare, professionals rely on checklists to guarantee critical steps aren’t missed – festival production is no different. Using comprehensive checklists during the pre-production phase helps festival organizers track progress on every front. These lists serve as a roadmap, covering tasks from the strategic (like securing a venue contract) to the granular (like ordering enough wristbands for attendees). By having all tasks laid out in writing, the team can delegate responsibilities clearly and monitor deadlines. In practice, a festival checklist might span multiple categories – permits, contracts, vendor arrangements, marketing, logistics, and safety – each with dozens of items. Seasoned producers know that if it’s not written down, it’s easily overlooked. A checklist turns the chaos of festival planning into an organized, step-by-step process.

Practical tip: Break down your master checklist by timeline (e.g., 6 months out, 3 months out, 1 month out, week-of, day-of). This creates mini-deadlines and ensures steady progress. Regularly review these checklists in team meetings so everyone stays aligned and any emerging gap is quickly spotted and addressed.

Permits and Licenses: A Top-Priority Checklist

One of the first and most critical checklist categories is permits and licenses. Nearly every festival – whether it’s a music concert in a city park or a food fair on a rural farm – requires permission from authorities. Creating a detailed permits checklist early in the planning phase is essential to avoid legal issues or last-minute event cancellations. This checklist should include:

• Venue and Event Permits: Ensure you’ve applied for local event permits or venue-specific permissions. Many jurisdictions require a general event permit for gatherings over a certain size.
• Health and Safety Permits: If you’re serving food or alcohol, list the required health department food service permits and alcohol licenses. Include fire department approvals for stages, tents, and any pyrotechnics or open flames.
• Noise and Curfew Permits: For music festivals, note any noise ordinance waivers or extended curfew permits you need if the event goes late. It’s crucial to get approvals for amplified sound if required by local law.
• Building and Stage Permits: If building temporary structures (stages, large tents, lighting rigs), add any required building permits or structural safety inspections to your list.
• Insurance Certificates: While not a government permit, obtaining liability insurance is typically mandatory for a festival. Include obtaining the event’s insurance certificate and any additionally insured endorsements needed (and keep copies of vendor insurance certificates too).

For each permit or license on the list, record key details: application deadlines, fees, point of contact (such as a city official’s name), and the date approval is received. Many experienced producers will set reminders well before official deadlines – for example, if a noise permit application is due 60 days out, put a checkpoint at 75 days out on your timeline to ensure it’s in progress. Missing a permit deadline can jeopardize an entire event, so treating permits as a top priority in your advance planning pays off. A real-world example: a multi-day festival in California once nearly stalled because the organizers overlooked a fire marshal inspection form. A robust permit checklist would have flagged that item early, preventing a last-minute scramble.

Contracts and Agreements: Tracking the Paperwork

Festivals run on a web of contracts – artists, vendors, suppliers, venues, and more. Managing all these agreements is easier when you deploy a contracts checklist to monitor their status. In pre-production, list out every contract or agreement that needs to be negotiated, signed, and tracked:

• Artist and Performer Contracts: Include each artist’s booking agreement, due dates for deposits or payments, and any special rider requirements. Check off when contracts are countersigned and when payments are sent.
• Vendor Agreements: For food trucks, merchandise vendors, sponsors, or exhibitors, note each vendor contract or written agreement. Ensure that it covers key terms (booth fees, revenue share, setup times) and that you’ve collected any necessary documents (like proof of insurance or health permits from food vendors).
• Venue or Site Contracts: If renting a venue, park, or land, include the venue contract on the checklist. Pay attention to deposit schedules, insurance requirements, and any restrictions the venue owner outlined.
• Equipment and Services: Think about sound, lighting, stage rentals, generators, fencing, portable toilets, and other rentals or services. Each should have a service contract or at least a confirmation document. Track their delivery/setup schedule and on-site contacts.
• Insurance Policies: Beyond general liability insurance for the event, check for any specialized coverage needed (e.g., weather insurance, cancellation insurance). Confirm coverage is bound well in advance and note policy numbers and coverage limits for reference.

The contracts checklist not only tracks whether agreements are signed, but also helps manage deliverables and obligations. For instance, if an artist contract stipulates providing hotel rooms and ground transport, those items should appear on your checklist (or link to the relevant hospitality sub-checklist). Similarly, if a supplier contract includes a specific delivery date, mark it down so the logistics team is aware. Many seasoned festival producers attach status notes to each contract item – e.g., “Stage lighting contract: Signed, deposit paid, balance due 2 weeks prior, vendor to deliver on June 5 at 8 AM.” By systematically verifying each agreement and its conditions, you avoid nasty surprises like a missing stage on event day or a vendor who doesn’t show up because they never got a countersigned contract. This level of organization is especially vital for large festivals where dozens of contracts are in play.

Coordinating Vendors and Suppliers

Communicating with vendors and suppliers is a marathon, not a sprint. It starts months in advance and intensifies as the festival draws near. Using a vendor communication checklist ensures that every vendor – from food stalls to stage crew – gets the information and attention they need. Key elements to include:

• Initial Outreach and Booking Confirmation: Check off that each selected vendor has been formally invited or has applied, been vetted, and confirmed. This list might include caterers, food trucks, marketplace sellers, equipment rental companies, and more.
• Documentation Collection: For each vendor, note required documents such as insurance certificates (COIs), health permits for food handlers, signed vendor agreements, and any necessary safety waivers. Keeping track with a checklist ensures you receive all paperwork well before the event.
• Vendor Guide Distribution: Prepare a vendor information pack or guide detailing setup times, breakdown times, site maps, parking instructions, credentials/badges, and festival rules (for example, sustainability guidelines or noise restrictions). Have a checklist item to send this guide to all vendors and confirm they received it.
• Site Needs and Logistics: Consult each vendor about their on-site needs – power requirements, water access, refrigeration, lighting, or special equipment. Note these needs and confirm arrangements. For example, if a food vendor needs a 220V power hookup, include an item to allocate the correct power source at their location. A checklist might have entries like “Vendor X – power drop and 2 tables confirmed.”
• Final Check-Ins: In the final weeks, have a checklist for touching base with all vendors. This includes confirming their arrival date/time, load-in instructions, and any last-minute questions. Many festivals schedule vendor coordination calls or send reminder emails one week out – put these on the list so none are missed.

By advancing through a structured vendor checklist, the production team can ensure consistency and thoroughness. One missed email to a critical vendor can cause day-of chaos (imagine a vendor calling, “Where do I park? Who is my contact?”). A real example: a regional beer festival once organized vendor load-in times via a shared spreadsheet, but one new brewery wasn’t included – meaning no one was at the gate to let them in on time. The festival organizers learned from this slip-up and created a master vendor communication checklist, preventing such oversights by having every vendor’s touchpoints logged and confirmed. The lesson: treat vendor coordination as an itemized process to guarantee everyone shows up prepared and on schedule.

Safety and Approvals: No Shortcuts for Safety

Safety planning is paramount for any event with a crowd, and it’s an area where checklists can literally be lifesaving. A safety and emergency planning checklist in pre-production helps organizers prepare for worst-case scenarios and meet all safety regulations. This checklist might cover:

• Risk Assessment and Safety Plan: Ensure a comprehensive risk assessment is completed, identifying potential hazards (severe weather, crowd surges, medical emergencies, etc.). Check off that a written safety plan (sometimes called an Emergency Action Plan) is developed, covering evacuation routes, emergency procedures, and communication protocols.
• Safety Team and Training: List out staff or contractors responsible for safety: security personnel, first aid/medical teams, fire marshals, and so on. Include items to conduct safety briefings or training sessions for staff and volunteers so they know emergency procedures. For example, check off “All staff and volunteers received safety briefing one week before event.”
• Permits & Inspections: Tie in with your permits checklist – include specific safety approvals such as fire department inspections of stages/tents and sign-offs on capacity limits. If your festival needs a site inspection by officials (for electrical safety or structural checks), schedule it and list it here.
• Equipment and Facilities: Inventory safety equipment via checklist: fire extinguishers in place, first aid kits stocked, on-site ambulances or medical tents confirmed, radios/communication devices tested, emergency lighting and exit signs installed, and any required ADA accessibility features verified. Each item gets a checkmark when ready.
• Emergency Services Coordination: Note contacts and coordination steps with local emergency services – police, fire, and medical. For instance, check off that local ambulance services and the nearest hospital have been notified about the event (with details on crowd size and dates), or that on-site medical teams are confirmed. Often festivals will hold a multi-agency meeting before the event; put this meeting on your checklist to ensure it happens with all relevant authorities present.

No matter the size of the festival, never assume someone else is handling safety details – explicitly track them. Seasoned producers have learned through close calls that safety planning must be deliberate and documented. For example, at one outdoor concert a sudden thunderstorm hit; thanks to an advance safety checklist, the team had weather monitoring and an evacuation procedure ready, which they executed smoothly. Without that preparation, the outcome could have been chaotic. In summary, double-check every safety measure in advance: when festival day comes, you want to be confident that all precautions are in place and approved by the experts.

Run-of-Show Documents: Blueprint for Event Day

When the big day finally arrives, a well-prepared run-of-show (ROS) document becomes the master checklist for showtime. A run-of-show is essentially a minute-by-minute or hour-by-hour schedule of what will happen during the event, and it’s created during pre-production so that everyone knows the plan. Think of it as the event’s script or playbook, coordinating the efforts of all teams on the day. Key features of a solid run-of-show document include:

• Timeline of Activities: A chronological list of all key actions and moments, from the time doors open to the time the last attendee leaves. It lists performance set times on each stage, important announcements (like sponsor shoutouts or safety messages), and any scheduled special programming (e.g., contests, workshops, or fireworks).
• Responsibilities and Contacts: Alongside each item on the schedule, note the person or team responsible. For example, “3:00 PM – Opening ceremony begins (Stage Manager: John D.).” If something is supposed to happen, it should be clear who is in charge of making it happen. This way, nothing is left to assumption.
• Production Cues and Technical Details: The ROS often contains cues for lighting, sound, video, or other technical elements. For instance, when a headline artist is about to start, the run-of-show might include a cue like “9:00 PM – Headliner intro video plays (Audio/Visual Team cue).” Having these cues in a shared document ensures technical staff and stage managers are synchronized.
• Contingencies and Notes: Include notes for potential contingencies. For example, mark scheduled breaks or buffer times for overruns, and note any backup plans (like an alternate schedule if there’s a weather delay). Even though it’s impossible to script everything, acknowledging flexible slots in the timeline is wise.

During the festival, this document is often printed and taped to backstage walls and also distributed digitally to all crew leads. It acts as a live checklist that the event director and stage managers tick through as the day progresses. Advance planning is what makes a detailed run-of-show possible – you typically lock this document only after confirming artist schedules, technical requirements, and other major details in the weeks before the event. Many festival veterans will attest that a well-crafted run-of-show is a lifesaver: if an unexpected issue arises (say a performer is late or weather causes a delay), the team can quickly adjust on the fly because they see the whole day’s plan in one place. Essentially, the run-of-show turns the chaos of event day into an organized sequence, giving the crew a clear checklist to follow in real time.

Tools and Techniques for Managing Checklists

With so many checklists and documents flying around, it’s important to use tools and habits that keep everything organized. Different teams have different preferences – some swear by traditional clipboards and binders, while others use digital project management apps. Here are some tools and techniques to consider when managing your advance planning:

• Centralized Planning Document: Maintain a master festival planning document or spreadsheet that links out to all your specific checklists (permits, vendors, etc.). This could be a cloud-based tool that the whole team can access and update. The key is centralizing information so everyone knows where to find the latest version.
• Project Management Software: Consider using project management software (like Asana, Trello, or Monday.com) to turn checklist items into tasks assigned to team members with due dates. For example, create a task for “Submit park permit application” with a due date and assign it to the team member responsible. These tools can send reminders as deadlines approach.
• Regular Update Meetings: Schedule brief but regular check-in meetings (or calls) as part of your project timeline. In these meetings, review checklist progress – what’s done, what’s pending, and what’s falling behind. This routine helps catch oversights early. For instance, if the staging contract hasn’t been signed yet and the festival is a month away, an update meeting ensures it’s flagged and resolved sooner rather than later.
• Version Control: If you use spreadsheets or documents for checklists, practice good version control. Always date-stamp your documents or use cloud tools that update in real time, so no one is referencing an outdated checklist. The last thing you want is a team member following an old version that doesn’t include a critical new task that was added.
• Visual Calendars and Timelines: In addition to itemized lists, having a visual timeline (a calendar or Gantt chart) can help illustrate the big picture. It’s useful for spotting conflicts (e.g., too many deliveries scheduled at the same hour) and ensuring your tasks are sequenced properly. Many festival producers pin up a big calendar on the office wall or use digital timeline tools to map out each week’s key milestones.

Remember that the tool is less important than the discipline of using it. A checklist that’s created but never revisited won’t help anyone. The most successful producers instill a culture of checklist-checking – making it second nature for team leads to update and refer to these documents daily during the crunch time before an event. By integrating checklists into the workflow, the entire team gains confidence that all bases are covered, which reduces stress and last-minute emergencies.

Adapting Checklists to Festival Size and Type

Every festival is unique – a small community art festival has different needs than a multi-stage international music festival. However, the principle of thorough advance planning applies universally. The scope and detail of your checklists should scale to the size and type of event:

• Small Local Festivals: With a smaller scope, one person or a tight-knit team often wears many hats. Here, checklists are personal memory aids as much as team tools. For example, a neighborhood food fair might have one organizer managing permits, marketing, and vendors all together. A concise but clear checklist (perhaps a single spreadsheet of tasks) can help that organizer switch between roles without forgetting anything. Even if the list is shorter, it should still cover permits, basic contracts (maybe just vendor agreements and insurance), a simple run-of-show (schedule of activities or performances), and any community notifications needed (like informing neighbors or local police of the event date).
• Large-Scale Festivals: For massive events with tens of thousands of attendees, checklists tend to branch by department. There may be separate, detailed checklists for operations, hospitality, artist relations, site management, and more – all feeding into a master production schedule. In these cases, strong version control and communication are vital – each department lead should regularly report on their checklist progress. Large festivals might also use more sophisticated tools like shared online dashboards or collaborative software to keep everyone in sync. Don’t shy away from redundancy at big events: it’s better if two people independently verify that the fencing was secured than to assume “someone else did it.” Complex festivals benefit from overlapping checks and cross-team communication in their planning documents.
• Different Genres and Audiences: Tailor some checklist items to the festival’s specific character. A music festival might prioritize things like sound checks and artist hospitality in the schedule, while a film festival’s checklist will include coordinating projectors, screeners, and venue seating arrangements for screenings. Family-oriented festivals need items like child safety measures (e.g., a lost child station and ID wristbands for kids) on the safety checklist, whereas a beer festival needs to double down on ID checks and designated driver programs. Always ask, “What unique aspects of this festival require special planning?” and make checklist items for them. If your festival has camping, add campground setup, water supply, and 24-hour medical coverage to the list; if it has a parade element, add float staging logistics, etc.

By adapting your advance planning to your festival’s scale and style, you ensure that your checklists are relevant and comprehensive. The ultimate goal is the same: have a plan for every significant facet of the event. Whether it’s a 500-person community gathering or a 100,000-strong weekend festival, the peace of mind that comes from a well-planned checklist is invaluable. In all cases, thorough preparation empowers the on-site team to handle the festival smoothly, because they aren’t scrambling to remember what still needs doing – it’s all been thought through beforehand.

Learning from Successes and Failures

Even with the best planning, live events always involve learning. One mark of a seasoned festival producer is a thick notebook (or digital file) of past checklists and notes on what did and didn’t work. Embrace each festival as a learning opportunity to refine your advance planning process:

• Case Study – A Success: At a multi-genre festival, the team introduced a new “morning-of checklist” as part of their run-of-show documents. This list included tasks like “morning sound check complete on all stages,” “vendors have ice and water supply,” and “ticketing scanners tested.” By systematically verifying these at the start of each day, they caught small issues (like a food vendor without ice) before attendees ever noticed. The result was smooth operations and happy vendors and guests. The lesson? Ingrain checklists not just in pre-production but also as daily routines during the event.
• Case Study – A Lesson Learned: A few years ago, a film festival ran into trouble when a venue contract clause had been overlooked – the venue required using their in-house projector, but the programming team hadn’t been aware and rented a different one. This mix-up caused a last-minute scramble on opening night. In the debrief, the team realized the issue stemmed from not thoroughly reviewing and checklisting every contract requirement. They responded by updating their contracts checklist to include a step for each contract labeled “Requirements & restrictions noted and communicated.” Subsequent festivals saw no such issues, as the updated checklist forced them to address these details well ahead of time.
• Flexibility Within Structure: Another experienced organizer recounts how a freak power outage once hit an evening outdoor event. Thanks to diligent advance planning, the team had a backup generator on standby (it was on the equipment checklist) and a communication protocol for emergencies. They managed to restore critical power in 15 minutes. However, the schedule was thrown off, and they had to adapt the run-of-show on the fly. The takeaway: checklists and plans make you resilient, but you also need to stay flexible and ready to pivot when reality doesn’t match the plan. After this incident, the organizer began adding explicit “contingency planning” items to their prep checklist (like backup power testing and spare equipment verification).

By documenting both the victories and the mishaps, you gradually build a playbook for future festivals. Over time, your checklists will evolve to become ever more effective. This continuous improvement mindset is what keeps even veteran producers at the top of their game. They treat each festival not just as an event to execute, but as a chance to gather insights on how to plan even better next time.

Key Takeaways

• Start Early and Stay Organized: Begin checklist planning as soon as a festival is conceived. Early preparation with categorized checklists (permits, contracts, vendors, etc.) ensures critical deadlines are met and nothing vital is skipped.
• Be Comprehensive: Include tasks big and small. It’s often the tiny overlooked details – like forgetting extra batteries for radios or missing a signage order – that cause the biggest headaches on event day.
• Use Tools and Documents: Utilize run-of-show schedules, timeline calendars, and project management tools to turn your checklist into a living plan. Share these documents with the team so everyone is literally on the same page.
• Regularly Review and Update: A checklist is only useful if it’s updated. Hold routine meetings to go over progress. Update lists as new tasks emerge. Check items off as they’re completed to visualize momentum and catch any lagging areas.
• Prioritize Safety and Compliance: Permits, safety checks, and insurance must be rock-solid. These are non-negotiable items on your planning documents – double- and triple-check them. It’s better to be overly cautious on safety than to risk an incident.
• Learn and Improve: After each festival, evaluate what your checklists missed or what items were unnecessary. Evolve your advance planning documents with those lessons so your next event is even smoother.