Category: Festival

Introduction

The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is an annual event organized by the Melbourne Food and Wine Organization. The event is held in March of every year since its inception in 1993. The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is held throughout Melbourne showcasing the urban and regional life of the city and its various food and wine offerings to reinforce the position of the city of Melbourne as the culinary city of the nation. The duration of the festival is usually for 15-20 days variable on a year to year basis. Over 300,000 visitors attend the year annually (200 events over 17 days: Festival Showcases Melbourne’s iconic food and wine scene 2009).

The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival was originally started in 1993 when it encompassed of only 12 events. Now however the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is composed of more than 220 events and rivals other regional events like the Australian Tennis Open.

Context

Role of the Festival

The role of the Melbourne Food and Wine festival is to provide increased awareness about the culinary treasures in Australia as well as increase the attraction of the public to the gastronomical offers that the festival opens up to them. The festival plays a key role in promoting Australia, particularly as a tourist destination as well as promotes the food and wine culture of the region.

Push and Pull Factors

The push factors that are relevant to the festival pertain to the unique culinary experience that is expected by the visitors as well as the recreational enjoyment that they crave from the festival. The pull factors relevant to the festival include the various different food and wine offers that attract the visitors of diverse palates as well as the free sample food tasting offered by the festival.

Role of Food and Drink in Festival Events

The food and drink festivals play an important role increasing tourism in the region as well as increase revenue for regional as well as international food businesses. Aside from this the food and drink festivals are also aimed at increasing the awareness of the visitors about the culinary and gastronomical offers while educating them about the culture, history and heritage behind the food.

Political Agenda

The main political agenda behind the Melbourne Food and Drink Festival is to increase the awareness of Melbourne as a cultural hot spot and epicenter of good food and great wine in Australia. The festival promotes to the political agenda by creating awareness about the region, as well as increasing revenue for the region by increasing internal as well as over season tourism coming into the region.

Historical/ Contemporary Importance of the Festival

Since 1993, the festival has been integrating the history of the region, and its significant landmarks with food and wine offers for visitors. The World Longest Lunch in the Melbourne Food and Drink Festival in 2009 took place at the banks of the Yarra River depicting the heritage of the region and the classic Italian roots of the location/ infrastructure in its food offerings and selection presented in the lunch (200 events over 17 days: Festival Showcases Melbourne’s iconic food and wine scene 2009).

Attendants of the Festival

The attendants of the Melbourne Food and Drink Festival are people from all around the world. The residents of Melbourne as well as tourists that come from all over the world are welcome to experience and be part of the Melbourne Food and Drink Festival. The festival has been attracting many celebrity chefs as well as celebrities in the past.

Planning

Vision and Mission of the Festival

The vision of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is to create awareness in the general public about the gastronomical offers that Melbourne ahs to offer and the role that it plays in the culture and historical heritage of the region. The mission of the non profit organization behind the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is to simply promote the urban Melbourne lifestyle to the general public while also depicting the contribution that food and wine plays in the urban life of the region.

The charter of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is to “promote the quality produce, talent and lifestyle of Melbourne and the State of Victoria and to reinforce Melbourne as the pre-eminent culinary city of Australia” (About Us 2009). The structure of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is such that it is run and managed by a Board of Directors and a dedicated team. The festival marks significant industry partnership between the organization and the food & drink/ hospitality industry. “Melbourne Food and Wine has the strong support and respect of the food, wine and hospitality industry and has worked with and for the industries, showcasing Melbourne as an outstanding food and wine capital” (About Us 2009).

Goals and Objectives

The goals and objectives behind the food and wine festival in Melbourne are derived from the vision and the Mission of the festival. The main objectives of the festival pertain to the following

• Creating awareness of the gastronomic offerings of the region
• Promote the classical roots of the region through their impact on regional food
• Create awareness of diverse types of food in the region
• Create awareness on healthy food
• Showcase urban life in Melbourne
• Conduct presentations and live cooking of food as well as the wine preparation/ packaging process to the visitors.
• Promote tourism in the region
• Acknowledging the contribution of the great chefs and local food business to the food and wine industry through the Melbourne Food and Wine Legends program (What makes a Melbourne Food and Wine Legend 2009).

SWOT Analysis

The strength of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is that it showcases a diverse offering of gastronomic inventions and feasts prepared by world renown chefs that attract visitors to the event. Aside from this the event makes such of local culture and heritage to tastefully depict the urban Melbourne lifestyle and the related food and drink to visitors offering them a unique experience. The weakness of the festival is that it is usually over a period of 15-17 days which makes it difficult for some visitors to have the whole experience of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival as they are unable to stay the length of the festival.

The opportunities that are present to the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival for strategically attaining its vision is to market the event globally and make way for a larger audience for the festival. The Threats that are faced by the festival pertain to the high fuel costs in the aviation industry which makes it difficult for tourists to travel to Australia for the event. Aside from this the impact of the financial and capital market failure in the recent past has affected the expendable income that the consumers can dedicate for such excursions therefore having a negative effect on the number of visitors attending the event.

Human Resources

Stakeholders

The stakeholders of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival include the employees and the Volunteers of the Melbourne Food and Wine Organization, the Management of the Melbourne Food and Wine Organization, The sponsors and the partners of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival event and the customers who visit the festival. Aside from this the stakeholders also include the regional state of Victoria and the government of Australia. The organization also hires volunteers for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival which are also the stakeholders of the event. Other stakeholders of the festival include the local community of Melbourne and the different businesses and chefs that showcase their food and wine offerings to the public through the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.

Volunteers

As mentioned above the Melbourne Food and Wine Organization employs volunteers for its annual Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. These volunteers include college students; regional business owners as well as the general public who want participate in the event and want to be involved in the festival.

Recruitment and Training

The Melbourne Food and Wine Organization has an established policy for recruitment. The organization hires employees through recommendation, job posting in the newspapers as well as through online recruitment channels. The organization hires its volunteers for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival through traditional channels of recruitment like newspapers, bulletin boards and advertisements placed through agencies as well as through advertisements posted on their website inviting volunteers to sign up.

The management of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is responsible for supervising the volunteers and providing support to the participating businesses and chefs. The training of the volunteers as well as the staff at the Melbourne Food and Wine Organization is conducted through official training programs and work shop sessions. These sessions are usually designed and held in accordance with the training partners of the organization which include Holmesglen, Swinbur NE and William Angliss Institute (Melbourne Food and Wine Festival presented by The Age Sponsors 2009).

Sponsorship

Budgeting

The budgeting for the event is conducted by the Melbourne Food and Wine Organization which is derived form the previous years budgets for the annual Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and the sources of funding available form the sponsors and partners of the event. The contributions of the previous year’s festival are incorporated into the budgeting for the current Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.

Major Sources of Funding

The main source of funding for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is derived from the sponsorship of the event. For this the organization embarks upon sponsorships that foster mutually beneficial relationship through the festival. The main sponsoring partners of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival include The Age, The Langham Melbourne, and Virgin Blue. The media partners include Sunrise, 774 ABC Melbourne, ABC Local Radio, APN Outdoor, AdShell,. BBC Australian Good Food, Gourmet Traveller, and AvantCard.

The Product Partners for the festival include Hamix, Covent Bakery, Equal, Fissler, Magimix and Mount Zero Olives. The Wine partners for the festival include Sommeliers Australia and T’Gallant Winemakers. Other partners and sponsors include CoffeX, Connex, Crown, Miele, Sanpellegrino, Fed Square and South Gate to name a few (Melbourne Food and Wine Festival presented by The Age Sponsors 2009).

The government of Australia and the state of Victoria are some of the main contributors to the funding for the Melbourne Food and Drink festival. The Minister for Regional and State Development for the state of Victoria mentioned in a media release in 2004 that the “government was a major sponsor of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival as part of its commitment to developing the State’s $8.5 billion tourism industry” (Top Chefs to Join Celebrities in Culinary Cook Off 2004). The Government partners and Sponsors include the Government of Victoria, The City of Melbourne, Tourism Victoria and the government of Australia (Melbourne Food and Wine Festival presented by The Age Sponsors 2009).

Marketing

Target Markets

The target market for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is global in nature. This is because the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival targets the residents of Melbourne as well as those of the entire nation of Australia to experience the life of Melbourne and its culinary delights along with its heritage in a spread of event packed 15-20 days. This encourages local tourism. Aside from this the target market for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival include the international consumers and customers as well who come to Australia as tourist to experience the regional lifestyle and take in the culinary delights of the region. The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival attracts over 300,000 visitors from all over the world every year (200 events over 17 days: Festival Showcases Melbourne’s iconic food and wine scene 2009).

Marketing Mix

The marketing mix that is employed by the organization for the purpose of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is a comprehensive one in which major stress is put on promotion and creating awareness while celebrity endorsement and sponsorships are also actively used.

Promotions

The promotion of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival event is conducted through television ad campaigns, radio advertisements, online advertisements, out door advertisements, media and press releases as well as through brand based marketing by the City of Melbourne. The organization has formed strategic partnerships and alliances with local and international media partners like local radio stations, as well as BBC Australian food to promote the event (Melbourne Food and Wine Festival presented by The Age Sponsors 2009). The Tourism board also promotes the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in its tourism brochures and publications targeting tourists to Australia.

Products

The products that are offered to the public through the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival are impressive selections of outdoor, BBQ and classical Australian food. Modern fusion based food is also showcased in the festival along with the regional selection of wines from the local cellars. The services provided are in the form of experiences through the various events comprising the festival.

Pricing

The pricing of the events and product/ service provided are all structured to suit the budget of all visiting the festival. While indulgent and classical cuisine is priced significantly high, there is free food and sample tasting available that is not priced and provided free to the visitors of the festival. “The festival is not all about decadent and expensive feasts, though. O’Brien points out that there is a selection of price ranges (and some free gigs, such as the Taste of Slow Spoken Word series) and events designed to appeal to all tastes and ages” (Sutherland 2008).

Legal and Risk Management

Legal Issues and Insurance

The legal issues that the festival has to deal with are accommodating the visitors, making way for hygiene in the preparation of food, acquiring healthy food sources, as well as maintaining the standards of quality of food according to its claims. The Insurance aspect is covered by the financial partners of the organization and involves getting insurance for protection of the stakeholders of the Melbourne Food and Drink Festival.

Risk Management

No information was officially available on the risk management aspect. However it can be extrapolated from the role that the Melbourne Food and Drink Organization plays in the festival that the organization and its Board is responsible for the management and the mitigation of risks.

Evaluation of the Festival

Purpose of the Evaluation

The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival was selected for evaluation through this report in order to determine what are the main characteristics of the festival and what contributions it makes to the local community, stakeholders of the festival, regional state and the country of Australia in terms of revenues, tourism and development.

Impact of the Festival

The festival has a very string impact on the economy of Australia. It provides immense contributions to the tourism and hospitality industry as well as business opportunities to local businesses in Melbourne and the state of Victoria. “It makes a major economic contribution to Victoria, with last year’s event attracting around 300,000 people, who spent an estimated $10 million in our restaurants, bars, markets and shops” (Top Chefs to Join Celebrities in Culinary Cook Off 2004).

The festival helps mark Melbourne as the food and culture epicenter of Australia. The heritage of the region as well as its history is depicted through the integration of the food, art and architecture of the region. “The festival inevitably combines a passion for food and wine with a celebration of what makes Melbourne unique, but this link is more pronounced this year. ‘The city’s laneways and rooftops, its art and architecture, the river – and all the global cultures that have come together here – will serve as a distinct backdrop to a celebration of food and wine,’ says chief executive Natalie O’Brien” (Sutherland 2008).

Through the festival awareness is created about diverse kinds of food and gastronomic dishes amongst the public while showcasing life in Melbourne. “The festival provides a terrific opportunity for visitors and residents to discover our abundance of world class wines, some of the world’s freshest produce and our great mix of cuisines from all round the world” (Media Release: Top Chefs to Join Celebrities in Culinary Cook Off 2004).

The festival is suited for the masses regardless of their age and their budget as it tends to cater to everyone tastes and requirements. “Cooking classes are held children the kids are taken under the Australian master chefs and are taught the finer nuances of cooking in a program tailor made for them. World’s longest lunch in the country are celebrated across twenty-five locales. Spice bazaar at Victoria harbor docklands are a new entry on 2004 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. The fair was an eye opener regarding the variety of spices and their distinct flavors.” (Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, 2004) Visitors to the festival can enjoy alfresco foods take classes in making different cuisines as ell as rub shoulders with celebrity chefs and other celebrities form all over the world.

Feedback and Support to the Community

The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival opens doors for business providing the local businesses with avenues of displaying their wares to the mass public and reaping revenues form operation. The Melbourne Food and Wine Organization provides support to local food and wine related business in terms of funding their operations based on their business synergies, values and goals. “Melbourne Food and Wine operates as a not-for-profit organization and seeks to work with like-minded groups in order to foster and support causes we feel passionate about. As a not-for-profit, we have limited funds to donate to such causes, so we instead choose to offer our services in various ways whether it be utilizing our existing knowledge or industry contacts to assist the efforts of other causes” (Working with the community 2009).

Recommendations

The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is exceptionally managed and has a positive impact on the stakeholders of the event including the visitors and the economy of the region. However some recommendations are stated below that can aid the Board of the festival to further improve the festival.

Increasing Community Involvement and Ownership

While currently the festival welcomes the local community to become involved in the festival through participation, volunteering and exhibiting local businesses in the festival, strategies can be employed to further improve community involvement and ownership. The festival can help support the local food and wine based businesses through the revenues reaped form the festival while strategic marketing and promotion programs can be launched outside of the festival dates to promote local food amongst the regional people as well as other international visitors to the region. Aside from this the festival can also help support the launch and establishment of businesses by financially supporting them or providing them with management resources.

Increasing Attendance by Locals and Visitors

A research undertaken by Yuan, Cai, Morrison and Linton focused on attendance motivation factors for those who attended food and wine festivals. The findings the research “showed that attendees were motivated by a variety of factors which were associated with the focus on the different elements incorporated in the theme of the festival — a synergy of wine, travel and special event” (Yuan et al. 2005).

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival incorporates art, architecture and historical association between the food showcased at the festival and the history behind it. Theme based events are also organized which further increase the motivation of the attendees. However in order to encourage the local as well as the international visitors to the festival, the festival organizers can use the strategy suggested by Lee et al, (2003) and provide nationality based and regional selections of foods in separate smaller events in the festival.

This can increase the appeal of the festival amongst the regional tourists who seek diverse culinary experiments as well as the international tourists who can enjoy the food from different parts of the world as well as that local to the region of Australia and Melbourne. The multiple number of events in the festival will attract multiple types of visitors (Nicholson and Pearce 2000) therefore increasing overall visitor attendance.

Historical and Cultural Understanding

The historical and cultural understanding amongst the visitors can be further promoted by providing visitors with published media like brochures, booklets and leaflets on the food and the wine being exhibited and sold at the festival. The established restaurants and chefs can provide their own published material on their food and the culture and heritage of the food. The small regional food and wine based businesses participating in the festival on the other hand can be provided with published material that would be specially developed for them by the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Organization at minimal cost. This would help in encouraging knowledge transfer about the history of the food showcased at the festival as well as provide support to the local and regional food and wine industry.

Financial and Environmental Impacts

The financial impact of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is significant as it is one of the major contributors of revenue and growth to the local to tourism and hospitality industry. “In the current global environment the relationship between food and tourism therefore represents a significant opportunity product development as well as a means to rural diversification. Specialized products offer the opportunity for the development of visitor product through rural tours, direct purchasing form farm, specialized restaurant menus with an emphasis on local food and home stays” (Hall et al. 2003).

On the other hand the environmental impact of the festival has to be reduced in terms of its carbon foot print has to be reduced. In order to reduce the negative environmental impact with the large scaled food and wine festival the likes of Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, the organization should take initiatives to use recyclable packaging for food, recyclable and reusable cutlery and dinnerware as well as environmental friendly materials in their advertisement and promotional material;. The company should additionally employ energy efficient gadgets to control the use of electricity during the festival as well as incorporate waste management and recycling policy under its sustainable community and environmental objects.

References

(Minister for State and Regional Development) 2004, Top Chefs to Join Celebrities in Culinary Cook Off, media release, 15 March, State Government of Victoria, Australia. Web.

(Melbourne Food and Wine) 2009, 200 events over 17 days: Festival Showcases Melbourne’s iconic food and wine scene, media release, Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Presented by The Age. Web.

About Us 2009, Melbourne Food and Wine. Web.

Feast your senses in Melbourne 2008, Australasian Business Intelligence. Web.

Dodd, TH 1995, ‘Opportunities and Pitfalls of Tourism in a Developing Wine Industry’, International Journal of Wine Marketing, Vol. 7, Issue 1, 5-16. Web.

Getz, D, Dowling, R, Carlesen, J, & Anderson, D 1999, ‘Critical Success Factors for Wine Tourism’, International Journal of Wine Marketing, Vol. 11, Issue 3, 20-43. Web.

Hall, CM, Sharples, L, Mitchell, R, Macionis, N, & Cambourne, B 2003, Food Tourism around the World: Development, Management, and Markets, Butterworth-Heinemann.

Hjalager, AM, Richards, G, & Minho 2002, Tourism and Gastronomy, Routledge.

Lee, C, Lee, Y, & Wicks, BE 2003, ‘Segmentation of Festival Motivation by Nationality and Satisfaction’, Elsevier Science Ltd. Web.

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2004, Asia Rooms. Web.

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival presented by The Age SPONSORS 2009’, Melbourne Food and Wine. Web.

Melbourne: Food and Wine Festival 2009 – 7-23 March 2009 2009, Visit Vineyards. Web.

Nicholson, R, & Pearce, DG 2000, ‘Who goes to events: A comparative analysis of the profile characteristics of visitors to four South Island events in New Zealand’, Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol. 6, No. 3, 236-253. Web.

Rand, GD, Heath, E, & Alberts, N 2003, ‘The Role of Local and Regional Food in Destination Marketing: A South African Situation Analysis, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, Volume 14, Issue 3, 97 – 112. Web.

Sutherland, D 2008, ‘Melbourne Food & Wine Festival’, WA Today Executive Style. Web.

What makes a Melbourne Food and Wine Legend 2009, Melbourne Food and Wine. Web.

Working with the community 2009, Melbourne Food and Wine. Web.

Yuan, JJ, Cai, LA, Morrison, AM, & Linton, S 2005, ‘An analysis of wine festival attendees’ motivations: A synergy of wine, travel and special events’, Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol. 11, No. 1, 41-58. Web.

An event can be described as a congregation of people who come together to attend or perform a specific activity (Carter, 2007).

Production of an event is a very difficult task. In other words, a party is never designed but planned properly. This can be compared to the art of producing a play.

The event planner can also be seen as the director while the venue is seen as the stage. Nevertheless, for one to have an extraordinary event, a resourceful course of action with a diverse realistic groundwork is needed.

However, the organizers need to ponder on the five Ws and how, before they come up and produce an event. These are also known as the event essentials, and the how-as in “how much is the budget?”-is not just sometimes; it’s always.

An arts festival is a unique bringing together of artists and audiences which goes beyond the usual presenter/spectator relationship. However, for a festival of such to be successful much legal documentation has to be put in place and some of these are contracts and fees agreements and the acquiring of some legal documents for the event (Magie & Korza 1989).

We are to plan for a two-day Independent Arts and Crafts Festival. As we plan this event, we have to take into consideration a range of strains that may be encountered and make sure that they are avoided. These if not taken care of can cause limitations to the event and be an embarrassment to the organizers of the event.

Organizers of events have several responsibilities to be put into considerations like legal, financial, and ethical to ensure that the event and its operations are of the right standards as far as security and safety are concerned.

Ignoring these factors can show an attitude of negligence on the side of organizers which may expose them to unnecessary liability and embarrassments.

Different countries and states have established different jurisdictions and legislated municipal codes and status for their citizenry to consider these issues which are based on standards either nationally or internationally to avoid accidents, injuries, disasters, emergencies and also determine and avoid preventable causes. Any event organizer should work with representatives and of relevant regulatory agencies to ensure a safe and healthy event, event site, and job site.

Conditions such as sanitation are to be considered when organizing any event for the protection of public health and the comfort of the guests. Jurisdictions, as well as the cultural and cosmetic standards, are some of the health codes requirements for any event, extent, and locality. For as long as food services are provided at the venue, and the duration of the event expands, the sanitary condition should exponentially be of more importance especially given that the event is in the park where such facilities are not provided for.

Every audience, provider, paid volunteer worker, a participant, in any event, has the right to access a proper health facility. Nevertheless, necessary training should always be accorded as precautionary measures to help control any forthcoming hazards and necessary forces implemented to make sure that measures are followed to the letter for everyone’s safety (Silvers, 2008).

Consequently, in any organized event, legal issues have to be given more consideration. They come in many forms some of which need contracts signed by concerned parties to the proposed event. Some of which may be provided by the local authorities, venue providers, and other service providers.

It’s necessary to have such contracts signed clearly since they show the party liable in case of any occurrences and or damages at the time of the event.

In addition to the contracts, some licenses and permits are required from the state city council and they are outlined below:

Special events permits

Reference List

Carter, L. (2007). Event Planning. Bloomington, IN: Author House.

Magie. D., & Korza, P. (1989). The arts festival work kit. Amherst, MA: Arts Extension Service.

Silvers, J. R. (2008). Risk management for meetings and events. Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Event Sponsorship Proposal

This report aims at giving the details of the 2014 Joondalup festival, which will place in the city of Joondalup. The report gives an overview of the management of the event, the benefits of the participating firms and individuals. In addition, the report focuses on identifying the theme of the event, objectives associated with the event and the philosophy of the event, among other event aspects.

The management

The management of the event is the responsibility of the authorities within the city of Joondalup. The management teams are chosen from various departments because the event is usually quite diverse with regard to the main activities. For example, there are music activities, performing arts and sporting activities, among others. The members of the management team ensure that the event is carried out successfully to meet its goal of uniting people. In addition, the management team ensures that firms that sponsor the event have excellent opportunities for marketing their products (Grey & Reid, 2003).

Deadlines for action

All events should be organised while considering some deadlines for actions to ensure that all activities are carried out as planned (Allen, O’Toole, Harris & McDonnell, 2011; Goldblatt, 2005; Sonder, 2004). In fact, the deadlines for actions with respect to the event in the city of Joondalup are planned in such a way that attendees, exhibitors and sponsors have adequate time to execute important aspects of the event. The calendar of the event shows that activities are planned to take place throughout the week.

Event description

Theme of the event, event objectives and event philosophy

The event aims at uniting people in the local community for a common purpose of strengthening connections, as well as sharing and broadening ideas through the cultural festival (Allen, O’Toole, Harris & McDonnell, 2011). The philosophy of the event is based on the principles of harmony that is achieved when people meet and share their various aspects of lives.

Logistics

The event will take place in the city of Joondalup in May. The location is a perfect avenue that has been used in the past to host the event. In fact, the metropolitan nature of the city helps it to be a perfect location for the event. Most of the facilities to be used will be obtained from the city as well as from the participating organisations. The time of the event is from 8 in the evening to about 5 in the evening.

Figures, history and marketing objectives

Participants in the event take part in a wide range of interesting cultural and sporting activities, which explains the high attendance of more than 100,000 people last year. Therefore, the event benefits all stakeholders from those attending, the exhibitor and the sponsors (Hughes, 2000; Wagen & Carlos, 2005). Various marketing approaches are used to popularise the event. The use of radio and television has proved beneficial in the past. However, the best approach that will increase the number of sponsors is the use of the internet, which is relatively fast.

References

Allen, J., O’Toole, W., Harris, R., & McDonnell, I. (2011). Festival and special event management (5th ed.). Brisbane, Qld: John Wiley & Sons. Web.

Goldblatt, J. J. (2005). Special events: event leadership for a new world (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ.: Wiley. Web.

Grey, A., & Reid, K. (2003). The sponsorship seeker’s toolkit (2nd ed.). Sydney, NSW: McGraw-Hill Companies. Web.

Hughes, H. L. (2000). Arts, entertainment and tourism. Oxford, United Kingdom: Butterworth-Heinemann. Web.

Sonder, M. (2004). Event entertainment and production. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley & Sons. Web.

Wagen, L., & Carlos, B. R. (2005). Event management: for tourism, cultural, business, and sporting events. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Web.

Introduction

Australia is famous for its cuisine, and every year it welcomes thousands of tourists from all parts of the world who want to become aquatinted with the country’s most iconic food. According to official statistics, in 2017 alone, the spending on food and wine by international tourists in Australia accounted for more than five billion dollars (“Food and wine,” n.d.). There are also annual festivals which take place in different regions of Australia which promote the produce of local farmers and the Orange F.O.O.D Week (Food of Orange District) festival is one of them. As the oldest regional gastronomic festival, the Orange F.O.O.D Week presents an interesting case for analyzing the strategies it employs and the issues it faces.

Overview of the Event

The Orange F.O.O.D Week has been in existence for several decades, and it is still considered to be among the most popular regional food events in the country. Orange District, the place where the festival is held, is known for its vineyards and premium quality wine, as well as restaurants (“Orange,” 2019). In 2021, the creators of the Orange F.O.O.D Week once again hosted the festival, which lasted ten days and marked the thirtieth anniversary of the event. Essentially the idea behind the festival is to celebrate food and wine produced in the region by bringing both residents and tourists together. Farmers get to showcase their produce while restaurateurs, chefs, and caterers can find new suppliers for their companies. The notion of provenance is integral for the festival. Provenance refers to the origin of a particular object or phenomenon, and in this case, it is of food and wine of the Orange Region.

The festival of 2021 included numerous events ranging from a long table lunch to an art exhibition. Demonstration and tasting events are at the center of the festival. For instance, the audience could observe the process of making fermented drinks and try some raw probiotic liquids (“Fermentation,” n.d.). The local restaurants also participate in the festival and create their own F.O.O.D. Week Menus which include dishes made of ingredients sourced from the regional producers and farmers. Shinning the Light on Local Producers is another program during the festival which includes several events dedicated to promoting local farming. Argyle Saffron is one of the participants, a company which grows saffron in Orange (“Shining,” n.d.). Additionally, there is Sampson Street Long Lunch, a lunch together with famous people from the local gastronomic scene. The festival also held several signature events, which usually take place every year and have become traditions. One of the main ones is Forage which is a four-kilometer stroll through Orange vineyards.

Over the past five years, the festival has demonstrated steady growth and development despite the recent pandemic, which forced the organizers not to host the event in 2020. There is no data yet available on the number of attendees of the 2021 event, yet the information on the pre-pandemic situation shows that the festival had been gaining new participants every year. In 2019, the number of people who attended six main events rose by 4% compared to the previous year (Orange F.O.O.D, 2019). In 2016, the government of New South Wales signed a deal with All Nippon Airlines to promote international travel to the festival for the first time (Destination NSW, 2017). This fact shows how important F.O.O.D. Week is for the local economy and how its international popularity is growing. One important matter which has to be mentioned is the fact that in 2017 the festival started following global-standard ISO 20121, requirements to improve the sustainability of events, and received official certification as an event which upholds sustainable management practices. The decision by the festival to achieve the goal of making its operations sustainable is a response to the growing trend of eco-consciousness and environmental accountability.

Strategies Employed by the Festival

The festival’s organizers employ a variety of strategies to promote the Orange Region as the ultimate destination for local and international tourists who want to have an excellent gastronomic experience. As it was mentioned before, the Orange Region has numerous vineyards and wineries which produce premium wine and other types of drinks. Creating an environment for people to experience the true quality of the farmers’ produce and Orange’s breath-taking landscapes has been the core strategy of the festival. Forage, the signature event of the festival, combines both tasting local food and wine and observing the nature of the Orange Region by walking through vineyards.

Another strategy of the festival is providing the attendees with the authentic atmosphere of Orange’s gastronomic scene. This strategy is consistent with the World Tourism Organization’s (2019) recommendations on the development of local gastronomic tourism. For example, in 2021, the festival featured Beer Tasting at the local pub Beekeepers Inn, as an event where guests could taste local handcrafted beer which has been brewed there from 1859 (“Beer,” n.d.). Another strategy used by the festival to enhance Orange Region’s branding as the place for gastronomic tourism is encouraging both domestic and international guests to learn about the local culinary scene. The festival’s website has a page dedicated to all the food and wine industry’s key players of the Orange Region, where every person can access information on these companies. Thus, through this directory, people who are considering visiting the Orange Region can discover that the local gastronomic scene has a lot to offer.

While the strategy concerning the provision of authentic experience of Orange Region and its food and wine is mostly targeted at foreign tourists. To attract locals or people from other parts of Australia, the organizers engage in the strategy of promoting the festival as a place where people can socialize while enjoying local food and wine. The aforementioned Sampson Street Long Lunch is an example of an event where people can talk to other individuals, both old friends and new acquaintances, over a meal made of locally produced products. This strategy ultimately seeks to establish a connection in the minds of the attendees between Orange Region’s food and wine and their personal moments of joy and happiness.

Issues Affecting the Future of Gastronomic Tourism in Orange Region and Worldwide

When developing a development strategy for a regional food festival, it is essential to take into consideration all possible issues which may affect the success of the event. Issues concerning economic, environmental, social, and political factors play a major role in the world and food festivals, including Orange F.O.O.D. Week, have to be able to respond to them.

The primary economic issue which has a significant capacity to impact the future of gastronomic tourism and the Orange Region is a considerable drop in consumer purchasing power due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdowns which continue to take place in countries worldwide have impaired the financial stability of millions of people who lost their jobs or experienced large cuts in their pay. This situation has negatively impacted individuals’ ability to travel since now they have to attend to more essential expenses. According to some estimates, a drop in tourist activity in June 2021 will be more than fifty percent compared to December 2019 (Fotiadis, Polyzos. & Hua, 2019). There is a high probability that many potential guests of Orange F.O.O.D. Week did not attend the event in 2021 and are likely not to be present for the 2022 festival due to financial constraints caused by the pandemic.

Environmental concerns have been on a global agenda for the past several years and now are addressed at all levels, from local to governmental. The primary issue related to the environment which directly affects the future of gastronomic tourism is climate change. This problem poses a threat to the sustainability of international farming since unpredictable changes in weather patterns can damage crops and reduce the volume of produced crops. For instance, researchers discovered that in Australia, climate change caused a reduction in barley, maize, and wheat yields (Ray et al., 2010). The issue of climate change, if left unresolved, can negatively affect the gastronomic tourism industry by making farming financially unsustainable and thus undermining the current diversity of food produced in different countries. In the worst-case scenario, the climate may make only a limited number of regions on the planet viable places for growing crops.

Social issues are of equal importance as both of the previously mentioned ones, and global providers of gastronomic tourism have to consider them when planning their events. The issue which potentially threatens the success of the gastronomic tourism industry in the near future is the change in the customers’ preferences. After the pandemic, people may decide to opt for traditional tourism destinations, namely resorts by the sea, where they can simply enjoy sunshine and rest. Gastronomic tourism is still a niche product since it usually focuses only on food and wine. There is a chance that people who spent a year in a lockdown will not be likely to go to Australia to try produce of Orange Region’s farmers and instead will choose to go to Greece or any other traditional tourism destination.

The most significant political issue faced by the gastronomic tourism industry today is the introduction of travel restrictions by governments worldwide. Despite the mass vaccination efforts, there is still a possibility of another wave of the pandemic. In this case, nations will be likely to once again close their borders which will inevitably impact the gastronomic tourism industry, which is dependent on foreign guests. Yet, states also can close their borders, and the Orange Region, which benefits greatly from people who go there from all parts of the world and Australia to enjoy local food and wine, can considerably be harmed by such government policies.

Emerging Consumer Trends and Possible Responses to Them

As with any industry, gastronomic tourism is susceptible to changing trends which enable all stakeholders to adjust to new circumstances. Companies which operate in the food and drink industry have to respond to consumer demands to stay competitive. One of the main emerging trends which affect the behavior of consumers in relation to food and gastronomic experience is the growing popularity of “foodstagramming” (Schimperna, Lombardi, & Belyaeva, 2020). Essentially, people today love to share photos of their food online on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. This is an exceptional tool for increasing the popularity of gastronomic places such as restaurants and even geographical regions since one good photo can be viewed by millions of people worldwide. To respond to the trend of “foodstagramming,” Orange Food Week can feature a list of the most scenic places in the Orange Region and set up small areas there for people who want to dine and take photos of their food with exciting views in the background.

Another trend which is gradually gaining traction is wellness. Specifically, more people are wishing to consume products which possess functional health benefits, namely, food and drinks which are packed with nutrients (“5 global,” 2020). Orange F.O.O.D. Week has plenty of good food, but the festival does not position itself as an event promoting healthy eating. Yet, to take advantage of this trend, the festival can feature an event which will involve listing to the audience all of the health benefits of consuming food produced in the Orange Region. The attendees of this event can then tell about it to their friends who will become interested in visiting the Orange Region, which has an extensive selection of healthy-food producers.

Conclusion

The Orange F.O.O.D Week is a unique gastronomic event in Australia which promotes the Orange Region’s food and wine producers. In 2021, the festival celebrated its 30 anniversary and hosted a variety of events, such as the Forage and Shinning the Light on Local Producers. Before the pandemic, the festival demonstrated steady growth in the number of attendees and received certification for its sustainability efforts. The main strategy used by the event concerns creating an environment where its guests can enjoy Orange Region’s food and wine. The festival, as a part of the global gastronomic tourism industry, faces several issues which mainly concern the COVID-19 pandemic effects on the economy and behavior of people and governments. To be able to better respond to new consumer trends, the festival has to provide its attendees with a list of the most exciting place in the Orange Region for them to take photos and share them on social media. Additionally, the organizers can introduce events which promote the health advantages of consuming Orange Region’s food.

References

5 global trends that will shape the food industry in 2021. (2020). Businesswire. Web.

Beer tasting @ The Beekeepers Inn. (n.d.). Orange F.O.O.D. Week. Web.

Destination NSW. (2017). Destination NSW: Annual report 2016-2017. Web.

Fermentation – demonstration & tasting. (n.d.). Orange F.O.O.D. Week. Web.

Food and wine.(n.d.). Tourism Australia. Web.

Fotiadis, A., Polyzos. S., & Hua, T. (2021). The good, the bad and the ugly on COVID-19 tourism recovery.Annals of Tourism Research, 87, 1–14. Web.

Orange F.O.O.D Week. (2019). Sustainable event report. Web.

Orange: A world class region emerges.(2019). Australian Wine. Web.

Ray, D.K., West, P C., Clark, M., Gerber, J.S., Prishchepov, A.V., & Chatterjee, S. (2019). Climate change has likely already affected global food production.PLOS ONE, 14(5), 1–18. Web.

Schimperna, F., Lombardi, R., & Belyaeva, Z. (2020). Technological transformation, culinary tourism and stakeholder engagement: Emerging trends from a systematic literature review.Journal of Place Management and Development, 14(1), 66–80. Web.

Shining the Light on local producers – a show, tell & taste workshop. Chicken and Saffron. (n.d.). Orange F.O.O.D. Week. Web.

World Tourism Organization. (2019). Guidelines for the development of gastronomy tourism. Web.

Introduction

The Lantern festival that is also known as Shangyuan Festival. A celebration takes place on the 15^th of the first month in the Chinese lunar calendar. The festival is celebrated to mark the first full moon night in the lunar year and it symbolizes the return of spring. The festival brings together family members. During the festival the people light up fancy lanterns and eat rice balls to mark the celebrations.

The celebration is very colorful as the people enjoy family reunions and the return of full moon. There are various activities during the festival however, the most important event during the Lantern festival is watching the lanterns and eating rice balls.

Rice balls

The main food eaten at the Lantern festival is the rice ball. In North China the rice balls are called Yuanxiao while in the South they are called Tangyuan. The rice balls have been eaten by the Chinese people for a long time from the time of the Han and Song dynasties. The rice balls are made from rice flour and can have other ingredients added too. For instance, sugar, nut lets, sesame, walnuts and meat are used to stuff the rice balls. The ingredients are sweetened because they symbolize happy futures for the people.

Significance of the rice balls

The rice balls are shaped into round shapes or ball shapes hence their name. they are made round in the shape of the full moon. They are made from rice flour, which is stuffed with various fillings. There are different ways of making the rice balls, which differ with regions and the fillings, used.

hus, some rice balls have fillings while others do not furthermore different cooking methods are used such as frying, boiling or steaming and each of the cooking methods used gives the rice balls unique tastes. Eating rice balls is an essential part of the Lantern festival.

The rice balls are made in round shapes, which symbolize happiness, reunion and harmony. Family members gather to eat the rice balls on the night of the celebration as they appreciate the full moon (Simonds, Swartz and Children’s Museum of Boston 27). During the making of the rice balls, the women involved in the process engage in positive talk and good things. They did so to ensure that “only good luck would go into making the balls and anyone who ate them would have prosperity” (Podhaski 107).

Stories associated with the lantern festival

Moreover, the rice balls are an essential component of the Lantern festival because they are the reason why the fire goddess spared the city of Chang’an. The city had a minister called Dongfang Shuo who was an extra ordinary man and could foretell the future. His subjects admired him greatly. He predicted that the city would be destroyed on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month through a terrible fire. Being an extra ordinary man, he devised a plan to try to save his city from destruction.

On the set day, the fire goddess arrived on a donkey back to accomplish her mission as per the orders of the Jade Emperor. Dongfang had sent old men to persuade the Fire goddess to change her mind but even though she was touched by the wailings of the old men, she could not go against her Emperor. However, she gave copies of the order to the Emperor so that he could try to save the city.

The emperor consulted Dongfang who suggested that they prepare rice balls as he had heard that the fire goddess loved the sweet rice powder. He suggested that everyone prepare the rice balls, light lanterns throughout the city, and prays for the salvation of the city. Moreover, fireworks were to be lit so that they could fool the Jade Emperor that the city had been set on fire.

People made rice balls lit lanterns and fireworks as the courts maid, Yuan Xiao who was very good in making rice balls made some very sweet ones for the fire goddess. She presented the rice balls personally to the fire goddess who loved them very much. The fire goddess rewarded Yuan Xiao by reuniting her with her long lost family. The Jade emperor saw the fireworks and he was pleased to see that his orders had been obeyed. It was a successful conclusion for the city of Chang’an as it was saved (Simonds et al 27).

The other story associated with the lantern festival was that it originated from the worship of Buddha. Buddhism flourished during the Han dynasty 206 BC and 220 BC in china, emperor Mingdi gave an order that lanterns were to be lit in order to show respect for the Buddha during the 15th day of the first month in the lunar calendar, and hence the lantern festival was born. Moreover, Buddha was believed to have the ability to dispel darkness.

The other legend regarding the lantern festival involves Taoism. Tainguan a Taoist god is associated with good luck and has his birthday on the 15^th of the first lunar month. The people would celebrate his birthday with all sorts of entertainment because he loved entertainment and during the celebrations, the people would pray to be awarded with good fortune (Lantern Festival 1).

Lanterns

The lanterns have evolved over turn in terms of their shape and materials used to make them. Earlier there were silk lanterns, sheepskin lanterns and orange lanterns. Today there are sophisticated lanterns with the advancement in technology.

The lanterns are made into various shapes such as animal shapes such as rabbits and dragon some of the lanterns are electronically powered. The lanterns are inscribed with messages of god will. The lanterns are also used for riddle games in which papers with riddles are hung on the lanterns and people take turns to try to solve the riddles.

Significance of the lanterns

The lanterns are lit to guide the ancestors’ spirits to come home and later go back to the beyond after the celebrations are over. During the festival ordinary people would be invited to come and watch the display of fireworks and lanterns. The period of the festival was also a holiday hence people could enjoy coming together without worrying about going to work.

Children who dress up and go around singing and dancing carry the lanterns. They also take the lanterns made by their parents to school to their teachers who lights the candle inside the lanterns. Lighting the candle in the lanterns is very important as it symbolizes that the students will shine in their studies just as the lanterns shine (Roy 243).

Conclusion

Finally, the lantern festival has continued to grow in leaps and bounds since its inception thousands of years ago. The festival is popular with the Chinese people living in china and those abroad. The festival displays the Chinese tradition and culture, as people get busy with festivities during the day.

Works Cited

Lantern Festival. n.d. Web.

Podhaski, Anna. White Jade: A Novel. Indiana: iUniverse, 2010.

Roy, Christian. Traditional festivals: a multicultural encyclopedia, Volume 2. California: ABC-CLIO, 2005.

Simonds, Nina, Leslie Swartz, Children’s Museum of Boston. Moonbeams, dumplings & dragon boats: a treasury of Chinese holiday tales, activities & recipes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002.

“Tomorrowland” is among the biggest global music events that were first launched in 2005. Despite the benefits of this festival for the local community, such as increased economic activity and employment, “Tomorrowland” has also been criticized for the presence of drugs on-site, the issues with cleaning up the location after the festival, local community’s quality of life, and noise pollution. According to Turner (2017), during events such as Tomorrowland, “police generally occupy a low-key role at festivals with a focus on the seizure of drugs, rather than arrests” (241). Hence, the youth attending this event is exposed to drugs and seeing people around them be under the influence.

Another issue with Tomorrowland is the effect that this festival has on the local community. According to Pavluković et al. (2018), the governments and organizers of festivals usually cite the economic benefits of these events but fail to acknowledge the discomfort the locals feel. An obvious environmental impact is a trash left behind by the visitors, which requires the administration of the festival to invest in clearing the site after “Tomorrowland” is over.

Adbulredha et al. (2017) argue that major music festivals generate substantial quantities of solid waste, an estimated “0.89 kg per guest” (p. 388). This problem affects the environment negatively since this waste includes non-recyclable objects or items that need to be collected and send for recycling. Finally, noise pollution due to the powerful sound systems used by “Tomorrowland’s” performers, which can affect the hearing of the people attending the festival and cause discomfort to the community members, is also a problem. Overall, although “Tomorrowland” is an important cultural event that has multiple benefits, it also endangers the youth and the environment and causes discomfort for the locals.

References

Abdulredha, M., Al Khaddar, R., Jordan, D., Kot, P., Abdulridha, A., & Hashim, K. (2018). Estimating solid waste generation by hospitality industry during major festivals: A quantification model based on multiple regression. Waste Management, 77, 388-400. Web.

Pavluković V., Armenski T., Alcántara-Pilar J.M. (2019) The impact of music festivals on local communities and their quality of life: Comparation of Serbia and Hungary. In A. Campón-Cerro A., J. Hernández-Mogollón, & J. Folgado-Fernández (Eds.), Best practices in hospitality and tourism marketing and management. Applying quality of life research (pp. 217-237). Springer.

Turner, T. (2017). Space, drugs and Disneyfication. An Ethnography of British youth in Ibiza. [Doctoral dissertation, Coventry University]. CURVE.

Festivals are one of the most important events in any community since they are dedicated to a particular idea and gather the whole society or family to celebrate it. In my experience, the most memorable event is the Ramadan celebration which is a religious festival. Even though I do not participate in Ramadan fasting, I enjoy it every year since it has symbolic significance to my family and community.

During this annual festival, which usually lasts around a month, Muslim people keep fasting from around 4 am until 9 pm. Fasting keepers and others alike invite each other to the iftar, that is, the evening meal when fast keepers end their daily Ramadan routine. Moreover, during this month, people are encouraged to respect others, perform good deeds, and remain clean from sins such as lying and theft.

This festival is significant for me because of the solidarity between community members. Both Muslim and non-Muslim members understand the value of Ramadan and try to support each other as much as possible. Since fasting is a difficult task, those who do not keep it help those fasting keepers both mentally and physically. For instance, my father and brother fast every year, and I try to prepare them an iftar (evening meal) and suhoor (morning meal).

In addition, during this month, people are kinder and sincere towards each other. This symbolic importance has not changed for me over the years since I still experience the same level of enjoyment every year during the festival. However, over the last two years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival is celebrated very differently. Since social distancing was imposed, people could not gather for meals. Such a condition was especially difficult for fasting keepers since the community support played a significant role for them. Nevertheless, people tried to provide family support as much as possible by arranging family dinners.

To conclude, Ramadan month, a religious festival, is my favorite and most memorable event of the year. Community solidarity and family support are crucial during this festive period. Individuals behaving better and kinder towards others during this month is another part of the festival that I appreciate. I sincerely hope that as the pandemic will be over, my community and I will enjoy the festival as before.

The above named event can be termed as a festival as it is clearly reflected in the name. This means that displaying the various items will be a major undertaking, there has to be a sense of fun and festivity in the event. A number of arts and crafts from various parts of the world will be on display. Where possible, nationals from the participating countries will be invited so as to explain to viewers the cultural and artistic significance of the items that will be on display.

The event will be held on the 16^th of October 2010. The Hay High school field will serve as the venue because it is big enough and therefore able to accommodate as many people as possible. Its closeness to the main road is also adds to its strength as an ideal location for this event because people will not have to struggle to access it. In order to accord the viewers sufficient time to view the items on display, the event will run from eight in the morning till six in the evening. This will be a ten hour viewing period for the viewers.

The Mission of the Event

Defining the mission of the event determines the level of success (Coons 1999, pp.15-17).In addition to informing the people on the huge variety of arts and crafts the company has been able to collect from various parts of the world over time, this event will be a good opportunity to educate the people on the way of life in other parts of the world. We live in a world of diversity but the commonality of human destiny is evident in the way of life led by every race or ethnic group on earth. This therefore will be a chance to clear the bias and suspicion that some members of the community may be having towards other cultures that may be different that their own.

In addition to the above, this event will act as a way of extending our corporate social responsibility to the people amongst whom we do business. Since the viewers will not be asked to pay any money to view the arts and crafts, they will surely appreciate the effort of the company is organizing this event. The fact that school children from local schools will be given a chance to examine the items on display will make the event even more meaningful to the community. This will give the company a good image.

Objectives

The objectives of the event include the enhancement of the image of the company and the exposure of the local people to other cultures. Company enhancement will occur through the free viewership granted to the community members while the exposure of the people to other cultures will be accomplished through the utilization of arts and crafts from different parts of the world.

Organization of the Event

The event will be run by a team headed by a manager. These team will oversee the setting up of the display stalls, the procurement of other needed materials securing the place with the help of the local law enforcement agencies (Harris 2001, pp.58-60).They will also inform all the people who will be participating in the event and arrange for transportation of both people and items to and from the venue. Other aspects to be considered include music and drinks as well as decorations to liven the place. Other agencies that can play any role in the event such as St John’s ambulance will also be contacted by this team. Also, this team will evaluate its performance from time to time and report any needs for additional staffing so as to ensure that there is no shortage of labor (Allen 2000,pp.25-27). The attendance will be open to men, women and children; meaning that the advertisements will be made to suit this demographic characteristics.

Potential Impact of the Event

This event will help the community learn about other cultures. The outcome of this type of learning is an open mind which translates to more tolerance of diverse cultures. It will also give the company a good image.

References

Allen, J., (2000). Event Planning: The Ultimate Guide to Successful Meetings, Corporate Events, Fundraising Galas, Conferences, Conventions, Incentives and Other Special Events, (1^st ed.).New York: Wiley.

Coons, P., (1999). Gala!: The Special Event Planner for Professionals and Volunteers, New York: Capital Books.

Harris, G., (2001). The Essential Event Planning Kit (5^th ed.).New York: Americas Group.

Several options are available to fund such a community activity as a book festival organized by a non profit organization. Though massive challenges exist in finding funds especially because of the current economic depression, the organizers of the event can try these methods in order to acquire funds to support the book festival. A commonly used method to solicit for funds which the organizers of the book fair can use to raise funds is to organize special charity events.

Through such charitable activities, the donor base for the community book festival will be increased as valuable publicity regarding the affairs of the festival will be highlighted (Berry & Arons, 2005). Despite the considerable amount of expenses involved in hosting such charity events, the recognition which the event will attract helps in advertising the event and can help form partnerships from local corporations.

Novel fundraising ideas likely to attract massive attention from members of public can help the organizers of the book festival to solicit enough funds to undertake the event. Currently, such novel ideas as selling items on eBay is an effective way in which a lot of funds can be availed to fund the event.

EBay which is the largest marketplace auction has a special program known as ‘EBay Giving Works’ in which non profits solicit funds through making direct sales or community selling of the auction items. Through community selling, eBay sellers are encouraged to donate some portion of the auction proceeds to specified non profit projects. Email advertising is another novel method to source for funds. Volunteers as well as anonymous visitors to the organizations’ website can be requested to fund the book festival.

Through online forums, the visitors of the website can be made aware of the community book festival and be requested to donate funds for the activity. Thus, the web portal of the organization should be geared towards fundraising solicitation as well as funding activities (Young, 2007). Through creation of a secure online donation page, guaranteed funds can be obtained. Internet donors as well as well wishers are a powerful and reliable means to pull funds.

The federal as well as State governments of USA offer grants to support the missions as well as activities of the Non profits (Berry & Arons, 2005). Organizers of the community book festival can get in touch with the relevant authorities and present their proposal for funding.

State and federal grants are geared towards financing community development projects as well as social services assistance programs. Acquiring funding through grants is not risky since the funds are intended to offer public service to members of the society. Nevertheless, a lot of research needs be done in order to know the right kind of Government grant to apply for to adequately cater for all the expenses of the community book festival.

Sourcing funds from corporations, federated funds as well as foundations which are philanthropic can an ideal way of getting funds for the community festival (Young, 2007). Genuine presentation of the usage of the funds is vital before the organizations can release the funds. Through selling of different gifts as well as goods, the organizers of the book festival will acquire a substantial amount of funds.

Forming business partnerships with people involved in sales can help increase sales. A mutually beneficial relationship will indeed be formed when the sellers give a certain percentage of the proceeds towards the book festival. It is important to make aware to the potential buyers about the partnership so that charitable persons can be motivated to purchase the products since they know some percentage of money will be used to fund a charitable cause.

In conclusion, sourcing for funds for a non profit community venture need be an activity that incorporates fun and thrill. The contributions obtained from donors must be used transparently. This will motivate them for any future requests.

References

Berry, J., Arons, D. (2005). A voice for non profits. Massachusetts: Brookings institution press, 2005.

Young, D. (2007). Financing nonprofits: putting theory into practice. New York: Rowman Altamira, 2007.

The Spring Festival is a well known event in the Chinese culture through which its citizens get the opportunity to learn how China as a country is viewed both locally and by other states. Traditionally meant for Han Chinese people, the Spring Festival has now been transformed into a national holiday by the government and it is now celebrated by all Chinese ethnic groups (Real 1999).

The festival has ensured that Chinese traditions have been handed down from the ancient times to the modern generation. The traditions have also undergone constant reinvention as well as being turned into various cultural practices and products. The practices and products include the ‘Spring Festival eve gala’ that appears on the China Central Television (CCTV).

The gala event has since then achieved a lot in trying to retain the Chinese traditional culture and enhance the Chinese identity of students in foreign countries like England.

The media has actively build China’s political practices, as well as its cultural and social practices. This has been achieved by the role played by the gala in educating the Chinese citizens. The festival has led to massive public awareness on the Chinese culture (Bell 2008)

The culture movement led to the realization of the importance of the support received from the mass media and the role the popular culture played in reaching the nationalists. New culture forms like the stage dramas, films, and carton magazines have become common in the urban centres.

The CCTV among the other forms of mass media dominates the China Waves as it is designed to unify the nation through entertainment that is culturally appreciated, informative, has official news presentation and is for official dialect use (Benton 1998)

The CCTV debut broadcasting live the Spring Eve gala changed the family togetherness traditional festival making it a distinctive national character. (Zhao 1998). The influence of the festive greatly expanded and spread the traditional Chinese culture in the entire nation and beyond.

According to Zhao (1998, p. 46), the gala has enhanced the traditional Chinese culture which was known for being oriented on family basis as well as merging the image of the Chinese nation to be one community.

The Chinese culture is no longer bounded by its physical territory according to Tu (1994). The image of an inter-national family has spread globally through the gala. The result is a Chinese ethnic Han nation which is at the center while the other outer layers spread globally (CCTV 1984-2007).

The stretch was from the 56 Chinese ethnic groups found in the mainland of China, to the Chinese nationalists found in Macao, Taiwan, and Hong Kong and later overseas to the Chinese diasporas all over the world. By the year 2001, the television gala had come up with a cultural space that become popular and subtle so as to create a ‘greater China’ in the minds of the audience.

The CCTV gala objective since its establishment has remained to be the mobilization of views that are popular and patriotic to the Chinese culture. This resulted to the solidification of the China’s 56 ethnic groups found within its physical territory to extended the Chinese family across its geographic boundaries to Chinese communities (Zhao 1998)

The festive was out to represent the cultures of the minority groups. These minority cultures get the chance to show their traditions during gala occasions in different exploitation such as cultural, commercial and political. In relation to politics, the gala preached its concern about unity and harmony promoting a harmonic ethnic myth in modern China.

The minority people and cultures through the gala have now stood out as the main selling tools of the Chinese culture both within the country and internationally. The culture of the minority groups has since then been familiarized regarding its cultural fabrication in modern China (Tang & Parish 2000)

Despite civilization and the cultures of the minority, the gala has ensured there is an increasing interest in Chinese culture in an effort to keep Chinese minority culture intact and unique for its artistic popularity, tourism, and the way its markets its culture.

Dancing and singing are the main ways in which the gala enhances the Chinese culture of both the minority and majority groups. During the festive, several programs like minority performances were included. Such programs are used as cultural platform of Chinese performers from different ethics who are always dressed in the festive costumes (Smith 1995)

Although the minority cultural groups are found in different locations due to the geographical distances and cultural diversity, the CCTV gala assembles the groups to be one common piece. The gala festive has also ensured that performers from the minority groups use their own languages during performances but have Chinese it translated into the national language below the.

The festival has also enhanced the academic culture especially to those students in foreign countries. This has been made possible by the broadcasts via the Internet ensuring students in foreign countries like England are able to follow the gala programs. This has led to intercultural interaction between the Chinese students and students from the western countries (Real1999).

This culture made it possible for the western educational tradition to be passed down to the daily Chinese culture, both contemporary and traditional. More than eight thousands diasporic students in United Kingdom view the Spring Eve gala every year so as to interact with people from their homeland and continue to learn more about their culture.

This ensures the students are not influenced by the western culture to the extent of forgetting their own. The students in foreign countries also follow the political situation keenly and pay much attention to the cultural citizenship or their complex identity formation. A large number of Chinese students are neither concerned with their political issues in relation to diaporac Chinese nor diaoporic subjects (Lull 1991)

Both the traditional cultural and social imagination of the Chinese people has been ubiquitous in both ethnoscapes and mediascapes during the Spring Festival. The festival since its introduction has remained a unique festival in China and is regarded as the most exploited phenomena in terms of culture. The festival is out to advocate for the Chinese culture.

It has been endorsed officially as the vision of multi-ethic and international festive but still unites Chinese families. The Chinese culture is considered to be an imagined community that is deterritorialised and mobile. China is no longer bound by its physical boundaries but its cultures.

The foreign students are now updated on the current developments in their countries as well as having the chance to learn more about their culture through this gala event. (Hong 1999)

References

Bell, D 2008, China’s new Confucianism: Politics and everyday life in a changing society, Princeton University Press, New York

Benton, G 1998, The Chinese in Europe, Macmillan: St. Martin’s Press, New York

CCTV. 1984-2007. ‘The Spring Festival Gala.’ China International Television Corporation.

Hong, J 1999, The Internationalization of television in China: The evolution of ideology, society, and media since the reform, Praeger London and Westport, CT

Lull, J 1991, China Turned On: Television, reform, and resistance, Routledge, New York, NY

Real, M 1996, Exploring Media Culture: A guide, Sage Thousand Oaks, CA

Real, R1999, Super Media: A cultural studies approach, Sage Newbury Park, CA

Smith, D 1995, Nations and Nationalism in a Global Era, Polity Press Cambridge, UK

Tang, W. & Parish, L 2000, Chinese Urban Life under Reform: The Changing Social Contract. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK

Zhao, Z 1998, ‘Popular family television and party ideology: The Spring Festival eve happy gathering’, Media, Culture & Society, 20, 43-58