Run your community festival from one plan, with the money and safety worked out
A complete kit for the volunteers who organise festivals, fairs, fetes, melas, bazaars, markets and street events, from the first committee meeting to the debrief.
- A 15-sheet Festival Workbook and a calculator that shows break-even paid stalls and a wet-day net before you sign anything
- Four fillable form sets (14 pages) for stall and performer bookings, the risk assessment, steward briefings, incidents, lost children and the debrief
- Brand-ready Word templates: event plan and run sheet, stallholder terms, 45 messages, sponsor pack and publicity, 28 AI prompts
- A 7-page print pack for the day: site map poster, steward and lost child cards, stallholder rules, run sheet and who-to-call card
The Community Festival and Fair Organiser · Bodhih Pro Kits · 267 by Bodhih Training, trainers to 2,000+ companies since 2008.
How do you organise a community festival?
Agree a purpose and roles, test the budget for break-even and a wet day, ask your council and land owner what permissions they need, plan the site around an emergency route, book stalls, acts and suppliers, roster briefed stewards, agree safety and lost child procedures, then run the day from a control point and debrief. The Community Festival and Fair Organiser from Bodhih Training gives you every file for each step.
Want the full free guide first? Read How to Organise a Community Festival: A Step-by-Step Plan.
You already feel the problem. Here is what it is costing you.
Nobody knows if it adds up
Stall fees, sponsors and donations are guessed, and the shortfall is found after the event. You need break-even before you sign a supplier.
Permissions feel like a maze
Road closures, food, music, alcohol and insurance each have their own form and deadline, and the rules differ by council. You need to ask early and track every date.
The day depends on one exhausted person
One person holds every contact and every decision. If they are ill, the fair stalls. Roles, deputies and a control point fix that.
Safety is a worry nobody has written down
Crowds at the gate, a storm warning, a child separated from a parent. Each needs a plan agreed before the day, not invented on it.
Picture the next few weeks with the kit open beside you.
Imagine the Tuesday before your fair. You open the Festival Workbook and the Dashboard tells you, in numbers and colours, that every permission is granted, 40 stalls are confirmed, the volunteer rota is 93% filled and Shift B is one steward short. You know exactly which call to make.
As you print the steward briefing cards and the lost child point sign, you notice something: the questions people will ask you on the day already have answers. Who can stop the event. When to call the police if a child is not found. What to do if the wind picks up.
On the morning itself you run the go/no-go card at seven, set up the control point, brief the stewards at quarter past eleven and open the gates at noon. When something goes wrong, it goes on the problem log, gets an owner and gets closed.
Whether you start with the calculator tonight or the Start-here map at your next committee meeting, the next step is small and the file for it is already open.
20 files that do the work for you
The e-book shows you how. The tools make it happen. Here is exactly what you download.
The Community Festival and Fair Organiser (e-book, PDF)
The guide: methods, worked examples, scripts and exercises
Start here: festival organiser map
The job in ten steps with the file to open at each, your first hour, your first week, a 30/60/90-day plan to the event and the 'Brand it in five minutes' box.
Festival Workbook
15-sheet master workbook: settings, permissions tracker, stallholder register, programme, suppliers, budget and break-even, volunteer and steward rota, risk register, site zones, day-of problem log, gate counts, waste and a dashboard with four charts and traffic lights.
Festival Budget and Stall Fee Calculator
Seven-sheet calculator: inputs, stall mix, costs (fixed, per visitor, per stall), wet, expected and busy scenarios with break-even paid stalls, a fee tester and a dashboard with two charts.
Stallholder and performer booking forms
Four-page fillable set: stallholder application, stallholder documents and declaration, performer booking and performer day-sheet. Print the pages you need or send them as one PDF.
Event risk assessment form
Four-page fillable risk assessment: event details and scoring guide, hazard table before and after controls, the five plans every public event needs (crowd, weather, lost child, medical, fire) and sign-off.
Steward briefing sign-off, incident report and lost child report
Three-page fillable day-of set: the steward briefing checklist and sign-off sheet, an incident report and a lost or found child report with a timed record.
Post-event debrief form
Three-page fillable debrief: the numbers, a scored review of every area, and the decisions and hand-over notes for next year's committee.
Event management plan and run sheet template
Brand-ready event management plan in 19 sections, from event summary and roles to crowd, safety, lost child, weather, evacuation, cash, waste, accessibility, a filled sample run sheet and contacts.
Stallholder terms starter (plain words)
Brand-ready plain-words stallholder terms in 14 short clauses: booking, cancellations, weather, pitch, set-up, insurance, food, gas and power, goods, waste, conduct, photos, data and disputes. For your adviser to check.
Festival message library
45 ready-to-edit messages and scripts: stall calls and stallholder emails, sponsor approaches, letters to the council, police and fire service, neighbour notices, volunteer calls and briefings, performer confirmations, weather changes and thank-yous.
Sponsor pack, press release and poster copy templates
Brand-ready publicity templates: a sponsor pack with four levels and a plain-words agreement summary, a press release, main poster and flyer copy, three social posts and a community WhatsApp message.
Worked example pack: the Elm Park Diwali and Winter Fair
The kit's main files completed for one fictional composite event (2,500 visitors, 40 stalls): break-even, permissions, a stall application, risk assessment, steward plan, a lost child report, the problem log and the debrief numbers.
AI prompt pack for festival organisers
28 tool-agnostic prompts grouped by step of the job, each with what to paste in and what to check: briefs, minutes, permission questions, stall allocation drafts, programme copy, rotas, briefings, sponsor reports and the debrief.
Go/no-go and weather decision card, and mistakes organisers make
Two one-page cards: a go, change or stop table for weather and readiness with the four-question decision, and twenty common mistakes with what to do instead.
Numbers that matter: festival KPI card
13 numbers a community festival runs on, each with plain-words definition, exact formula, where it lives in the workbook and what to do if it moves.
Festival rules by country (November 2026)
Dated orientation on permissions, temporary event notices, food stalls, music licensing, event safety guidance and lost children for the UK, US, India and who to ask elsewhere.
Festival print pack
7 printable pages: site map poster, steward briefing card, lost child and first-aid card, stallholder rules card, control point run sheet, emergency who-to-call card and a lost child point sign.
16-week festival countdown calendar
41 events from the first committee meeting to the debrief and hand-over, with a weekly 20-minute check-in. Day 113 is the event: change the start date so it lands on yours. Import into Google, Outlook or Apple Calendar.
Festival task board
42 tasks with list, owner role, due day (day 113 is the event), priority and the kit file to use. Import into Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira.
Chapter by chapter
Each chapter opens with a real situation, gives you a method and ends with something to do today, using the tools in your kit.
- Format
- PDF e-book + XLSX + fillable PDF + DOCX + printable PDF + ICS + CSV
- Files
- 20 files plus a one-click ZIP
- E-book
- 68 pages
- Works with
- Excel, Google Sheets, Apple Numbers, LibreOffice, Word, Google Docs, Acrobat Reader, Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar, Trello, Asana, Notion
- Best for
- Volunteer-run community events for a few hundred to a few thousand people
Start With Why: Purpose, Committee and the One-Page Brief
A one-sentence purpose, the constitution check, named roles with deputies, who can stop the event and the one-page brief.
Can We Afford It? Budget, Break-Even and Three Scenarios
Break-even paid stalls, three weather scenarios, sponsors, grants, donations and the two-person cash rule.
Permissions, Licences and Insurance
How to ask your council and land owner what they need, the usual permissions, insurance in plain words and the deadline tracker.
The Site Plan
Zones, gates, the emergency route, step-free access and walking the site three times.
Stallholders: Applications, Fees, Food and Set-Up
A published stall mix, applications, food and insurance documents, fees, plain-words terms and set-up slots.
Programme, Performers and Suppliers
Running orders with changeovers and cut-offs, under-18 performers, three quotes and supplier certificates.
Volunteers and Stewards
Specific, bounded roles, the volunteer ladder, steward ratios from your authority, the rota and the briefing.
Safety: Risk, Crowds, Weather and Lost Children
The risk assessment, crowd basics, weather triggers, the lost child procedure and medical cover.
Promotion, Inclusion and Sustainability
Promotion in three waves, neighbours, inclusion across cultures and faiths, and waste by stream.
The Day Itself and the Debrief
The control point, run sheet, problem log, gate counts, closing well and the debrief.
Not just reading. Tools you will actually open again.
Start here
- 00-Start-Here-Festival-Organiser-Map.pdf: the job in ten steps with the file for each, your first hour, your first week, a 30/60/90-day plan and the 'Brand it in five minutes' box
Workbooks
- Festival-Workbook.xlsx: 15 sheets including Settings, permissions tracker, stallholder register, programme, suppliers, budget, money summary and break-even, volunteer and steward rota, risk register, site zones, day-of problem log, gate counts, waste and a dashboard with four charts and traffic lights
- Festival-Budget-and-Stall-Fee-Calculator.xlsx: 7 sheets with wet, expected and busy scenarios, break-even paid stalls and a fee tester
Fillable forms
- Stallholder-and-Performer-Booking-Forms.pdf: stallholder application, documents and declaration, performer booking and day-sheet
- Event-Risk-Assessment-Form.pdf: scoring guide, hazard table before and after controls, the five plans and sign-off
- Steward-Briefing-Incident-and-Lost-Child-Forms.pdf: briefing sign-off, incident report and timed lost or found child report
- Post-Event-Debrief-Form.pdf: the numbers, an area-by-area review and the hand-over
Word templates
- Event-Management-Plan-and-Run-Sheet-Template.docx: 19 sections with a sample run sheet
- Stallholder-Terms-Starter.docx: 14 plain-words clauses for your adviser to check
- Festival-Message-Library.docx: 45 messages and scripts
- Sponsor-Pack-Press-Release-and-Poster-Copy.docx: sponsor levels, agreement summary, press release, poster, flyer and social copy
- Worked-Example-Pack-Elm-Park-Diwali-and-Winter-Fair.docx: the main files completed for one composite event
- AI-Prompt-Pack-for-Festival-Organisers.docx: 28 prompts with what to paste in and what to check
Cheat sheets
- Go-No-Go-Weather-and-Mistakes-Cards.pdf: the go, change or stop card and 20 mistakes to avoid
- Numbers-That-Matter-KPI-Card.pdf: 13 numbers with formulas and what to do when they move
- Festival-Rules-by-Country-November-2026.pdf: dated orientation for the UK, US, India and who to ask elsewhere
Print pack
- Festival-Print-Pack.pdf: 7 pages: site map poster, steward briefing card, lost child and first-aid card, stallholder rules card, control point run sheet, who-to-call card and a lost child point sign
Calendar and import
- 16-Week-Festival-Countdown.ics: 41 calendar events
- Festival-Task-Board.csv: 42 tasks for Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira
E-book
- The Community Festival and Fair Organiser e-book: about 9,500 words, 10 chapters and 24 figures
When you have worked through it, you will be able to…
Every outcome is practised with a worked example and a tool, not just described.
- Work out break-even paid stalls and a wet-day net before committing money
- Ask your local authority and land owner the right questions and track every permission deadline
- Draw a site plan around an emergency route, step-free access and a lost child point
- Run fair, documented stallholder bookings with plain-words terms
- Build a volunteer and steward rota from the ratio your authority gives you, and brief every shift
- Complete a risk assessment with five plans: crowd, weather, lost child, medical and evacuation
- Run the day from a control point with a run sheet, problem log and gate counts
- Debrief within a week and hand over a complete pack at your AGM
Know your starting point. Prove your progress.
People who measure before and after improve faster and can show it. AssessAll, our sister assessment platform, has AI-graded assessments that pair with this kit. Take one now, work through the kit, then re-take it.
Task Prioritisation & Planning
Take the assessment →AssessAll assessmentFrontline Safety Leadership Judgment
Take the assessment →AssessAll assessmentCrisis & Pressure Judgment
Take the assessment →JobularySet goals you actually reach with the WOOP method (Jobulary)
Make it a growth plan →A taste of Chapter 2
Here is how it worked for the Elm Park fair. Usha entered every cost line in the Budget sheet, including a contingency of 7% of the other costs. The total came to £7,210, of which £470 was contingency. Income other than stall fees was £4,750: £2,000 from sponsors, a £1,500 council community events grant and donations estimated at 50p a head for 2,500 visitors, £1,250. That left £2,460 to come from stall fees. The fee list was £120 for hot food, £75 for sweets and snacks, £50 for crafts and gifts, £60 for clothing and jewellery, and free for community and charity groups. With the expected mix, the average fee per paid stall was £71.76. So break-even was 2,460 divided by 71.76: 34.3 paid stalls, which rounds up to 35. The site plan had room for 34 paid pitches plus six free community pitches. The budget showed a £20 gap.
The honest comparison
| Free templates and typical advice | This kit | |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | A list of costs | Budget, actuals, break-even paid stalls and three weather scenarios |
| Permissions | One country's rules, undated | A tracker with deadline alerts, letters to authorities and a dated country sheet |
| Safety | A blank risk form | Scored risk register, five plans, go/no-go card, lost child procedure and print cards |
| Volunteers | A sign-up sheet | Rota with fill rate, steward gap per shift, briefing sign-off and a volunteer ladder |
| The day | A timetable | Control point run sheet, problem log, gate counts and a dashboard |
| Hand-over | Nothing | Debrief form, worked example and an AGM hand-over pack |
Made for you if…
- Volunteer committees of residents' associations, housing societies, apartment owners' associations and homeowners' associations
- Festival, fair, fete, mela, bazaar and Christmas market committees
- PTAs, PTOs, parent associations and school fete organisers
- Club, alumni and membership association officers: presidents, secretaries and treasurers
- Amateur sports clubs running a fun day or open day
- Anyone who has just been handed 'the festival' at an AGM
Probably not for you if…
- Professional event companies running paid events (see the Event Professionals kits)
- Private family parties and reunions
- Charity fundraising events where money raised is the main purpose (see The Fundraising Campaign and Event Kit)
Built by trainers, tested in real rooms.
Bodhih Training has designed and delivered corporate programmes since 2008. Bodhih Pro Kits package what works in those workshops into a guide plus the exact tools we use, so you can apply it the same day without a facilitator in the room.
From here to using it in three steps
- STEP 1
Tap Get the kit
Name, email and country. UPI, card or netbanking in India; international cards everywhere else. No account to create.
- STEP 2
Download instantly
Your download page opens at once, with every file and a one-click ZIP. A permanent link lands in your inbox too.
- STEP 3
Open the first tool
Start with the quick-start chapter, then the main spreadsheet or planner. Most buyers use something from the kit the same day.
Your festival, planned in one place
Open the Start-here map and give it one hour. Whether you begin with the calculator tonight or the Settings sheet at your next committee meeting, you will know what to do next and which file to open.
Personal licence for the buyer's own use, including use within your own club, society or association and with its volunteers. Please don't share or resell the files. Team and company licences: solutions@bodhih.com.
What buyers say
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The Bodhih family, when you are ready for more
AssessAll
250+ AI-graded assessments to measure skills and earn verified credentials.
Jobulary
Individual development plans that start from evidence and stay yours.
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Run this topic as a live workshop for your team, in person or online.
Pewple
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Bodhih.org pathways
Certification pathways in Applied AI, Workplace English and management.
The Community Festival and Fair Organiser: FAQs
Read the free guideAlready bought? Resend my linkWhat exactly is in the kit?
An e-book, the Festival Workbook and a budget and stall fee calculator (Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers, no macros), four fillable PDF form sets, six Word templates, three cheat sheets plus the Start-here map, a 7-page print pack, a 16-week calendar and a task board: 20 files in all.
Can I use this with my committee and volunteers?
Yes. The personal licence covers use within your own group, club, society or association, including sharing the forms, cards and rota with your committee, volunteers and stallholders for your events. For use across several organisations, a council or a network, ask about a company or multi-site licence at solutions@bodhih.com.
Does it work in my country?
The method works anywhere: purpose, budget, permissions, site, stalls, people, safety, the day and the debrief. The dated rules sheet covers the UK, the US and India in more detail and says who to ask elsewhere. Permissions, food, music, insurance and safeguarding rules differ by country and council, so always check with your local authority, venue and insurer.
How do I work out whether our festival will break even?
Add up every cost, subtract income that does not depend on stalls (sponsors, grants, expected donations) and divide what is left by your average fee per paid stall. That is break-even paid stalls. The calculator does it for a wet, expected and busy day.
What permissions does a community festival need?
Commonly: the land owner's permission, a road closure if you use a street, licences or notices for alcohol, entertainment and music, food stallholders' own registrations, and public liability insurance. Exactly which apply depends on your council and country. Ask early and track each one.
How many stewards do we need?
It depends on your crowd, site and activities, and your local authority, venue or insurer may set a number. The workbook lets you type their ratio and shows the stewards needed and the gap per shift. The kit does not invent a ratio.
What should a lost child procedure include?
A lost child point at the control point staffed by two adults, a radio code word, a description without names on air, gates watching exits, zone searches and an agreed time to call the police. The kit's card, form and flowchart walk through each step.
Is this legal or safety advice?
No. The kit is educational and helps a volunteer group organise its event. Templates are starting points for your adviser to check. Safety, licensing and safeguarding decisions follow your local authority, venue, insurer and national guidance.
How can I measure my starting point?
If you want to see where your planning and safety judgement stand, AssessAll offers the Task Prioritisation & Planning, Frontline Safety Leadership Judgment and Crisis & Pressure Judgment assessments at assessall.com.
How do I turn this into a development plan for myself?
Pick one goal from your debrief and plan it with the WOOP method (wish, outcome, obstacle, plan); Jobulary explains it in its guide to setting goals you actually reach.
How much does The Community Festival and Fair Organiser cost?
₹999 including 18% GST for buyers in India, or $29 for buyers outside India. One-time payment, no subscription, with an automatic invoice.
How do I get the files after paying?
Instantly. Your download page opens the moment payment succeeds, and a permanent download link is emailed to you. Download each file separately or everything in one ZIP.
What software do I need?
Any of the usual tools: Excel or Google Sheets for spreadsheets, Word or Google Docs for templates, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Preview, Xodo or GoodNotes for the fillable PDFs, and Google, Outlook or Apple Calendar for the calendar plan.
Can I get a refund?
Because it is a digital download, kits are not refundable once downloaded. We always refund a duplicate charge or a failed delivery, and if a file is corrupted and we cannot fix it within 3 working days. Full terms: bodhih.org/refunds.
Can my company buy this for a team?
Yes. Team and company licences, and workshops on this topic run by Bodhih Training, are available. Write to solutions@bodhih.com or call +91 99000 11601.
