Hosting
FAQs
Q: Will I actually have
to handle money or keep track
of registrants?
A: NO. The entire
registration runs through Deborah's
office, and her assistant, Bea,
will send you a registration
count twice a week, and will
forward a list of registrants,
along with their contact info
to you on the day of the event
(or earlier, if the event sells
out and registration closes)
Q:
Do I have to get all the registrants
myself?
A: NO. We believe
we chose cities with strong musician/harpist
communities,
but that list is flexible. If there's
NOT a strong arts/performer or
harpist community within an hour
or so, you may want to reconsider
hosting; however, if you have a
strong community to tap, we work
with you to promote the event using
Deborah's mailing list, online
postings, etc. Bottom line: YOU
are an important part of the outreach!
 Q:
I want to host - but my city's
not on the list. What do I do?
A: Fill out the
Host-Questionnaire.
Tell us where you are, including
your zip code, and
why you think your community is
a strong
option
(for example:
do you
have a lot of friends you KNOW would
sign up and love this?). We'll
check the map and see if there's
a chance
we could get to your city. If not,
we'll make sure you're on Deborah's
email-mailing list so you'll know
when she IS coming to your area
and you can offer again then.
Q:
Do I have to do this alone? Do I
have to follow all your guidelines
exactly?
A: NO. We love that you can get creative
with this! We encourage you to collaborate
with at least one other person so you
can share the responsibilities of promoting
the event, securing the location, the
accommodations and meeting the guarantee.
Sharing these responsibilties
promotes community building -- and
that's part
of what this workshop / tour is all
about.
Q: Will it cost me anything to be
a host?
A: NO… YES. The answer
is up to you. Potential costs
fall into 3 categories, and it's possible
to avoid ALL of them. Here’s
how:
1.
PERFORMANCE FEE: Hosts
are generally required to submit
a 50% deposit
BUT once registration reaches
11-12 people, the entire deposit
is returned. Our goal
was to create a system that covers
the cost of the workshop without
leaving anyone on the hook: either
the host or Deborah. So
your deposit is only to cover
any shortfall between the workshop
guarantee (Deborah's fee) and
the registrations that come in.
Any difference is returned to
you and once the registration
is filled (usually 11-12 people
depending on registration fee),
the entire deposit is returned.
2.
REFRESHMENTS: We offer up to
$50 reimbursement
for refreshments -
of course, if you choose to
spend
more, you can, but you're
welcome to keep them simple
(fruit, water,
cheese & crackers,
juices, coffee & tea) -
or feel free to wow us with
your special vegetarian h'ors
d'oeuvres recipe. It's up to
you - but keep your receipts!
The reimbursement process is
more thoroughly explained in
our Hosting Details page.
3.
LODGING:
Lodging/Accommodations are the
final potential cost: If
you don't have room for Deborah & Trista
in your home (2 separate rooms)
or in a home within 5-10 minutes
of the event location, and you
decide to lodge them in a B&B,
Hotel or Inn, then you'd incur
that cost as well.
Q.
Do hosts have to pay to take
part in the event?
A: When we work with a single host, we
offer free admission to the host. If
you have a large community (like a
harp society) and want to host it collectively,
we can either offer a $20 discount
for each host, or you can split the
single admission discount between the
hosts – whichever works out better
for you financially (and so long
as the guarantee is reached). Q.
Will my address be publicized?
A: NO. Only the city or general location will be
used in the general promotion. Your address (or the address of the
event location) will only be given to the 11-14 people who actually
attend the event.
Q:
How will the event be publicized
and promoted?
A: Deborah's team will
post it to her website, email
mailing list, plus Facebook,
Twitter, MySpace and other social
media. We'll also provide
you with blurbs, images,
PDF posters, YouTube video and
links to the registration page
- everything you need to contact your friends,
colleagues, students and community.
If you have a bona fide mailing
list and work with an email company
like "Constant Contact" we
can send you an HTML email, or
images and text to send out to
your list.
Q: How much time will
I have to spend promoting and hosting
the event?
A: The time you spend falls
into two categories:
1.
PROMOTING: The
amount of time you spend promoting
it is up
to
you. Remember
that your full deposit is returned
when a minimum
of 11 participants are registered.
We want you to be fully involved
and as successful as possible,
but we also want to make it as
easy
as
possible, so we provide you with
a webpage that includes the blurbs,
images, links and PDFs you need
to make that happen.
2.
EVENT LOGISTICS: Before
the event you'll
provide us directions and we'll send
them to the participants. On the
day of the event you'll prepare the
space
and some light refreshments, make
sure the space is available to us
when we
arrive, make sure we have parking
and help loading in - and then you'll
participate
in the event.
Q:
What cities is Deborah coming to?
A: In the Fall
Tour 2011, the states we're traveling
through include: Massachusetts,
New York, Ohio, Colorado, West
Virginia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia, Maryland,
Florida, Pennsylvania and Connecticut
(and Missisippi later in November)
- for a tentative map of locations
and
target dates,
see below (but
remember, we're constantly updating
this document,
so it's just for basic reference)
|
