We generally do a quick debriefing after every activity, and ask the following questions:
What worked well?
What could be improved?
Any suggestions on things we can do differently next year to make the activity any better?
Since we won’t be holding meetings for a couple of weeks, please weigh in by posting a comment on the blog, or you can e-mail the feedback to DeLaina at dctonks@mstar2.net.
What worked well?
What could be improved?
Any suggestions on things we can do differently next year to make the activity any better?
Since we won’t be holding meetings for a couple of weeks, please weigh in by posting a comment on the blog, or you can e-mail the feedback to DeLaina at dctonks@mstar2.net.
14 comments:
Lori-I copied and pasted this from Word and the formatting is still messed up...sigh.
Hey DeLaina,
I think we just need to focus on making sure everyone has somewhere to be and something to help out with. A few people came up to me and pointed out they had nothing to do most of the time. Thanks. Amanda
Amanda-agreed. What specifically can we do to ensure that is not the case next year? We made assignments for face painters, perhaps others can be assigned to help w/greeting, decorating, crowd control, handing out ice cream afterwards, and what else?
I don't think there was enough to keep everybody busy every second, even though there were probably 1500+ people there b/c the parents wanted to help out the kids, which is great.
I felt like everything was too squished, and would like to have the entertainment on the north side of the building, more spread out so that you don't have to walk through the clowns to get to the bike decorations. What do you think?
We also need water, and WAAYYY more ice cream! Who knew??!!?!?!?
What did you think of the magic show?
the people that were assinged to greeting and directing did nothing at least my group did'nt. w/ a group that big and so close together they did'nt need much telling. once all the shirts are in i think we NEED to wear them to the bigger activities so that guests can see that we are there to help not just people there to do what every one els doing. i agree that it was too squised maybe the parking lot or semitary??? it would maybe also be good if we sort of rotated assingments to make sure every one is doing something and something different.
Great suggestions James. Thanks!
Well... Now we know what we need to do. My only suggestions would be:
A) Supply water
B) More Ice Cream
C) Table cloths to cover tables (they had paint all over them)
D) BIGGER TANK.
All of you ROCK! Thanks for those of you who continue to show up to activities!
My suggestions:
Have kids assigned to clean up trash in the parks after the decorating and magic show.
I think there needs to be 6-7 DYC kids to lead the parade to mainly keep the little ones back away from the tank. Maybe form a kind of blockade?
Also, one of the parents commented that last year they had Popsicles instead of Creamies. She thought that the Creamies were more appealing than Popsicles to the adults and that's maybe why we went through them so fast. So ... if we decide to do Creamies next year we should probably plan on giving them to adults as well as kids. We should have several different "ice cream" & water stations around the park so there's not a bottleneck as the kids move into the park.
My 9-year-old and her friend that came with us loved the magic show and her friend told me the next day how much fun she had at the parade.
My opinion: The magic show could have been about half as long. I think Harry Schudini dragged it out too long.
I think the Draper Library did a fantastic job with the decorations for the bikes/scooters as well as the police dept.(the tank was SO cool) Do we need to write them a thank-you? Maybe that's something we need to assign to kids/districts for each project we do?
Ok, I think I'm done, but I feel it was a huge success! Great job everyone!
Excellent suggestions Lori! What time did the show end? It was supposed to be 30 minutes and I left at 8 and he was still going strong-definitely too long.
Yes, we should do thank yous. I still have extra cards w/sigs on them so we can just use those.
Absolutely we should have more ice cream stations next year, w/youth assigned to man them.
The blog is awesome b/c we'll ahve all the suggestions on hand for when we plan next year!
How about orange paint on the grass at the Park School with labels for the areas, such as decorations, balloons, face painting, so that when people get there to set up, it's already marked for them? And even an orange paint lint on the road that all the kids have to be behind? And the tank should be pulled up a little farther so there's room for all the kids to line up.
Otter pops next year? LOL
All of those coments are great... I think most importantly we should have a lot more people keeping the tank and the kids separated! It was a little stressful and the kids wouldnt listen anyway.
I think otterpops are a great idea they aren't as messy and they are less expensive!
Also I like the shift idea we should have some of us there from 6-7 then some 7-8 and a clean up duty afterward!
James great idea with the shirts! Now we just need everyone to get their info into me!
Thanks everyone!
Amanda
After speaking with DeLaina, we came up with an idea to help keep the kids from the tank. We could create a large banner to be carried by the eight or so DYC members and have them walk behind the tank, and the kids have to stay behind the banner. It could say great things like, "Childrens Parade, Sponsored by the Draper Youth Council" It might help with the crowd control.
Also, DeLaina mentioned considering closing off Pioneer road to give more room for things.
Gwendolyn
I think the banner idea is a great plan.
I doubt the city will let us shut off Pioneer Road...big problems and complaints will arise.
Maybe we could have the kids line up down the alley on the south side of the school?
And we definitely need tall signs so parents know where to go and what to do in each area. It was hard to hear the officer w/the bullhorn.
Hi DYC, I just wanted to write to tell you thank you very much for all your efforts in helping make Draper Days a success by way of the numbers the Childrens Parade is a highlight and a very important event. That is why I am giving you some constructive critism to help improve your event and to further its success.
1. It would be helpful for the parents to have an outline of events stated in the main hand out previous to the event.
2. Greeters at side walks, stations and along side the parade route would be very helpful for the parents and kids. Color shirts with your logo would be nice too so we know who we can ask for assistance.
3. Lawn sighns were mentioned and I think that is a must. As a parent coming on to the site with the hundreds of people was a bit frustrating and very overwhelming.
4. Stations need to be clearly marked and you needed to maximise your space, especially for the Clowns, they were a hit! also by way of providing decorations. I don't know how you can provide for that large of a crowd I am sure it will get expensive and you may want to encourage decorating at home so you can put your funds to better use, also you will get more varaity of creativity.
5. Parade Route needs a longer or wider route, I know that a member of the Council mentioned that some roads could never be closed off well I think that you approach it as a saftey issue with that concern I am sure that the city would find a comprimise. I saw many parents that were frustrated with the parade route and they simply turned around and left and also kids were being run over. Suggestion....The Start of the parade was confusing, the parade needs to be clearly stated, I know that a lot of cities use Fire Engines because they are loud, colorful and kids love Fire Trucks.
6. Entertainment was too long as mentioned! and not age appropriate and was also borderline offensive-which luckly the little ones didn't get. I also had several parents around me say that they wanted to call animal curelty on him especially when he was handeling the big duck. Suggestion...We have so much talent in Draper! This is were the DYC really should be able to run wild and get creative! they could put on a talent show, puppet show, or a small skit or give awards for the best decorated bike or have the local Highschool teams come and perform. Kids of all ages loved to be involved and to see their own peers do something cool-right.
Well thank you for listening! Thanks again for all your efforts! this is a highlight of Draper Days and one that will continue to become even better with experience and great creative team effort. I look forward to next year!
Sincerly your fan, Natalie Boman
Pat came up with a fantastic idea that will solve a LOT of our problems in one fell swoop. We'll start the parade at Draper Elementary instead of the Park School. It's big enough to accommodate ALL of the activities, it will make a little longer parade route, we can end at the same place, AND we won't have to worry about children running onto Pioneer Rd! PERFECT!!
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