Episode One: Crafting The Perfect Event
DGST101 Audio Project Concept and Results
In this podcast episode recreation aide, Summer Koontz, interviews the department’s director, Recreation Superintendent and Parks Superintendent as they prepare for this year’s Moonlight Halloween Candy Hunt. Within this episode, you can learn the logistics of creating the perfect public event. This includes the conception of the event, marketing and advertisement as well as building a team to make the event come to life.
Episode Transcript
Follow Along With the Written Transcript Provided Below!
Summer Koontz: Welcome! My name is Summer Koontz and today we’re diving into the art of creating a successful social event for the public. So, let’s explore the key concepts to making your event unforgettable with some advice from the department of Culpeper Parks and Recreation.
[Crowd chatter]
Summer Koontz: A successful event starts with a solid plan. Culpeper Parks and Recreation’s, Tabitha Riley, is here to help as she is currently prepping for this year’s Moonlight Halloween Candy Hunt.
Tabitha Riley: So in preparation of an event like the Moonlight Halloween Candy Hunt, involves coming up with the idea, and then it’s laying out the logistics and timeline of the event. So starting with what date we’re going to do it on and what time, and then backing up from there as far as when do we need to have vendors, when do we need to have supplies available, scheduling staff and then actually the timeline of the event. But a lot of this is also just volunteer vendors, they come in and they wanna participate and be part of the community.
Summer Koontz: For this event and many others, Culpeper Parks & Recreation’s director, Andrew Hardy, utilizes social media advertising to reach their audience.
Andrew Hardy: Our preferred model is actually utilizing Adobe Photoshop to make a variety of marketing materials. With those marketing materials, we put them on Facebook and other digital platforms to reach our target audience.
[Heavy machinery moving]
Summer Koontz: Having the right team to make the event come to life is crucial. The department plans logistics with the help of parks superintendent, Joe Koontz, and his team.
Joe Koontz: After attending the candy hunt event pre-meeting, I meet with my team the following day to go over how we’re going to set up the event, and handing out assignments for each thing that needs to be done.
[Children in crowd chattering]
Summer Koontz: With careful planning and execution, your social event can be a memorable success. Thanks for listening, and a special thank you to Culpeper Parks and Recreation’s team for joining me in this episode. Happy event planning!
How Did I Craft My Audio Project?
The Tools, Equipment and Software I used to Create My Audio Project
I used a variety of different tools when creating my audio project. As shown, my project is very interview-heavy, which can lead to complications. Many of my interviewees were very squirmish, making it difficult for the audio to pick up well. However, after some trial and error I found success with two audio devices: the built-in microphone attached to wired headphones for Apple products and a small lapel microphone that I was able to borrow from my work (at Culpeper Parks and Recreation, funny enough!). I then captured the audio using my IPhone’s Voice Memos App. Once the audio was recorded, I utilized the free audio editing software, Soundtrap. In Soundtrap I was able to put the different audio clips together, as well as some copyright-free music to add into my introduction and conclusion. As mentioned in my previous post, I made use of AI (Microsoft Copilot) in making my outline of the project. However, I altered it slightly to make all the content fit and flow cohesively.
Credits and Attributions
Giving Credit to the Resources that Made My Project Possible!
Many of the key points of focus that were included in this episode’s podcast were distributed from the following resources:
- The Event Planning Guide from Henrico.gov and provided by Henrico Recreation & Parks gives extremely detailed, and further in-depth notes of all the elements that go into planning an event for the public.
- The Event Planning Steps, Tips & Checklist for planning your public event created by Projectmanager.com displays an easy to understand list and descriptions for everything needed to plan a successful event. This includes all the equipment needed from start to finish, different templates to use to stay organized throughout the process, how to gain volunteers, how to advertise effectively, etc.
Music and sound affect attributions:
Introduction music: “Jetsonmade – Racket (Piano) + (Clap)” from Soundtrap.com
Conclusion music: “Vocal – Dumb 6” from Soundtrap.com
Crowd chattering, heavy machinery and children in crowd chattering sound affects by Summer Koontz from IPhone’s Voice Memos Application
Podcast episode edited by Summer Koontz from Soundtrap.com