NOTES: Meeting #2 (2011)

Posted on Mar 7, 2011 in Featured Articles, Planning Updates | 1 comment

A few people came out last Tuesday to talk about last year’s PARK(ing) Day and what might be possible for 2011. Talking about everything from other events to possibly partner with to overall goals for 2011 we found some starting points on the way to planning.

The following are just some very rough notes from the meeting for those who were unable to attend.

2010

Overall, aside from the one negative piece of media the 2010 event went extremely well. The City of London was happy with how the event took place and un-officially has had no concerns with any aspect of the day. The participants and passerby’s that day had overly positive things to say about the experience.

Partnerships

For 2011 there is potential for partnerships with other events happening in London during the weekend that PARK(ing) Day Precedes. Car Free Festival and Open Doors are both scheduled to happen that weekend and could create great opportunities for collaboration. In addition there might be more opportunity this year to partner with other organizations that are driven by green initiatives now that we have had a successful year “under our belt”.

There is also potential for partnerships with local businesses to actually convert, on a permanent basis, spaces into other uses.

There was a note that Oh! fest is taking place the same weekend as well.

Teaming up with Our Street and their Car Free Festival is a first step but there might be far more opportunity here in the long run.

Media

Although a media release went out last year it was very last minute and potentially could have had a greater impact. This year we should try not only connecting media outlets the week before PARK(ing) Day but should get in touch with them earlier in the year to help start the conversation sooner. It would be great to have the focus be on the real issues and not just a typical media spin.

Businesses

One big goal for this year is to get more local  businesses involved. While there were 3 or 4 local businesses in the downtown core who came on board it would be nice to see more local businesses using the spaces in front of their stores. With this said, it would be helpful to have directed information packages focused on different types of businesses (general business uses) to outline WHY they would want to be involved, WHAT some of the things they could do are, and the overall BENFIT of it.

Funding

It would be great to be able to seek out funding in advance from granting bodies. We could apply to cover our base costs from last year and provide additional funding to help people and artists create the spaces they have in mind. In addition to this, sponsorships should also be secured to help the event grow while still covering all of the costs involved.

Potential sources: Heritage Council (Culture) and Creative Cities Fund (March 23rd)

Bylaws

We should look into bylaws surrounding the serving and creation of food in a parking spot.

Possible Space Suggestions

• Parking Museum in conjunction with the Parking Enforcement division of the City of London
• London FUSE spot
• LSFS Film Living Room
• Goodlife SpinCycle Classroom
• Potential Bike School
• Reading Nook (with carpet, seating and books)
• More PARKS!
• Mini Golf.

Organization

This year there needs to be a greater number of people involved in the planning up to the day. We will need to have specific people responsible for the website, media relations, design, sponsorship/funding etc. Unfortunately Kevin does not have as much free time this year as he did last.