6.1 Gotta Have Stuff
Before diving into figuring out what supplies and equipment are required for your program, revisit STEP 5 – Program Design and ensure you have confirmed the facility, venue or space where you will hold your program or event. Once you have physically scouted the space to ensure suitability and determined that the venue has the amenities needed for your program, you can then start thinking of the physical stuff – the supplies and equipment – you need to run your program successfully.
Considerations
Your Budget
Your working budget for the program or event will have a direct impact on not only the type of supplies and equipment you use but also the quality and quantity of these items as well. Many recreation programs work with limited budgets. Your job as a program-planner is to ensure you are doing as much as you can with what you have, and to stretch those dollars as far as they will go!
Feeding Your Participants’ Senses
Participating in a recreation program or event is an entirely holistic experience that engages the senses – sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. The supplies, décor, props and equipment you use in your program will have a great impact on the quality of your participants’ experiences. Human beings generally enjoy having their senses fed and delight in experiences that include new, creative or novel phenomena. It’s important to keep this in mind when deciding on what “stuff” you will use for your program, as the stuff you include will have an impact on the feelings elicited in your participants. Ask yourself – how do you want the space and the activities perceived by your participants? Imagine your program or event components through their eyes and ears. What will they see? Hear? Smell? Touch? Taste? With the money and resources you have, what can you do to amp up the novelty and quality of their experience?
Supplies
Supplies: Items used in a program or event that are consumable and generally not reusable. Examples: Food, clay, glue, confetti canons, hot-glue sticks, googly eyes, paper, stickers, balloons, name tags, paper plates, beads, paint, coffee creamer, stir-sticks, etc. Supplies are physical items that can be touched, tasted, held, or manipulated by participants that can be used up (consumed) and then replenished. From origami paper to pamphlets, you will need to make a comprehensive list of the consumable supplies you need for your program or event and the quantity required for each.
Props and Equipment
Props & Equipment: Items used in a program or event that are generally reusable and somewhat permanent in nature. Examples: Hot glue guns, basketballs, gym mats, chairs, tables, hockey sticks, tent pegs, paintbrushes, beanbags, parachutes, helmets, tents, kayaks, metal cutlery, backpacks, etc. Anything that can be packed up and put back in a supply cupboard likely falls under this category. Props and equipment are physical items that can be touched, held, or manipulated by participants that are reusable (non-consumable) or generally permanent in nature (rubber balls, maps and compasses, dice, etc). From rubber chickens to hiking boots to extension cords, you will need to determine the non-consumable items needed for your program or event and the quantity required for each.
Décor
Décor refers to anything that decorates a space. This can be signage, decorative table centrepieces, flowers, tablecloths, candles, photographs, colour-themed napkins, posters and more. Furnishing, plus anything that gets put up on a wall, hung from a ceiling, or displayed in some way, is décor. How do you want the furnishings laid out and the decoration of your space to look? What feelings do you want the décor to elicit in your participants?
Prizes
Prizes are anything that can be won by program or event participants. Prizes can be as big as a round-trip holiday to Québec City or a diamond ring or as small as a $5 Gift Card to a local coffee shop. Prizes can vary from artwork to gift baskets, from tote bags to books. Prizes can be won through the purchase of raffle tickets, (in which numbered tickets are sold, drawn at random, and the holder of the winning ticket number gets the prize), or through the drawing of names for door-prizes. If you will have prizes, what will they be? Given your budget, how many can you afford? Or…will they be donated?
Audiovisual (A/V)
Another consideration is your A/V (Audiovisual) equipment. A-V can include microphones (‘mics’), mic-stands, speakers, turntables/DJ equipment, wedge monitors, a soundboard, extension cords, projection equipment, screens, etc. – anything used to enhance the audio or visual experience for the participant falls under this category. If your program has audiovisual components (music, a PowerPoint presentation), does your venue have the required A/V technology built in for you to use, or will you need to bring in equipment from outside?
