HELP! Rally advice needed.

[speedtriplebbc]

We're going to try and organise a rally next year in Northants but last time our club had one was well before mine or the chairmans time in the club. Me and the chairman want to do a regular rally but we dont know how to go about it.
We found a venue at a local rugby club but need to find out about any licencing or insurance we need and where do we find people who will want to put up stalls and we dont know how much a decent marquee should cost. It will only be a small rally but we want to make a good weekend of it.
Cheers for any help on these or anything we might have missed.
Luke
4 Aces MCC Sec

[Mitch]

Can me and Mrs R come?

A couple of (OK, three) thoughts - you guys with more experience can badger me later :D

1. The rugby club should already have its own music and dancing licence as well as the drinking one, so you should be sorted there.
2. The venue should be big enough for weddings and such like, so I wouldn't have thought a marquee would be needed
3. In-sewer-ants... Depends, is the club affiliated to either MAG or the BMF? They both do schemes as part of club affiliation - that could save you a packet!

[speedtriplebbc]

Unfortunatly the hall doesnt look big enough for a decent rally (and you have to walk upstairs - try that when your drunk). and we're not afiliated with the MAG or BMF. Although maybe we should be.
Cheers for the help I'll let you know of any dates. (maybe end of July 2005)

[Creature]

email (thefatonet@hotmail.com) me your phone number and well arrange a visit - and I'll try n help all i can. I only live near spalding lincs - so only around the corner

[Clouseau]

Kautari MCC joined MAG to get public liability in-sewer-ants. It covered us for something like £2,000,000 ( or is my memory failing?). It didn't cover us if anyone got eaten by a box with loads of legs though!
If you sell beer, don't. Sell beer tokens then give beer away with a token. That way you get round any licencing laws for the booze.
As for a marquee, god knows. If the weather is good and it is your first rally then something to house the band and bar (if needed) with room for about 50 people in should be more than enough as a lot of people will stand about outside and listen anyway. Don't worry too much about a sage unless it is totally bomb proof. If the band get carried away you don't want it collapsing (trust me I have seen it!).Put a load of tables and chairs outside, if you can get some that are strong enough. That way people will be near enough to the marquee so won't worry if they can't jam in. If the weather is bad then you are stuffed! On a brighter note keep plugging away and the support will come. Good luck. Will try and come up if I can. Will watch out through 100%

[Maggie B]

Go to the local council the rally will be in & ask about how much an entertainments licence-they usually go up and down in price dependant on how many attend.
Entertainments licences are compulsory-need you to really sit down & write risk assessments, but don't be fazed-ring the department & ask what they want.
Don;t sell tickets for beer
Get a beer licence-they are not difficult, and why worry about the Police coming down & shutting you down.
Unless you have lots of willing marshalls, think about getting a publican in to run your bar-take a cut of the profits, but obviously agree times opening, amount of bar staff, prices, types of booze etc.
shop around for you Marquee-and be honest about what it is used for-Our Marquee man is not bothered about Bikers using his marquees, as they do treat them with respect.
You will need up to date fire extingushers-look into hiring, not buying.
Ring MAG insurance up-don;t just presume they will cover you-I am not sure about this, but your insurance bill will be massive otherwise.
First Aiders? small rallies can manage with a few 1st Aiders, not the Red Cross etc-but you need a welllit area cordoned off
Portable Toilets-shop around-a lot !!!-you need a disabled one too
get them to come & Empty friday night, saturday morning saturday evening in fact pick a local firm, and consider having them there 24/7-and bring TONS of loo rolls

DONT AND I SAY DONT get a heavy metal band
get a very good covers band that you all go see & agree on
Hold a committee meeting and run through all the above.
IT may be an Idea, and what works well with us is giving jobs to people-i.e. bands & DJ man, Gate person, etc.
be aware that one person has to be named on the entertainments licence (which you must have, or the Police will close you down) and that person is liable if all goes T*ts up ! :p

[speedtriplebbc]

Wow this is a great help from everyone. Thanks for all the advice, I'm finding it all usefull. Just found out our last rally was 9 years ago and called DILLIGAF Rally (Does It Look Like I Give A F**k). So we will stick to the name.

[Yoda]

dont forget when you set up the deatils let me know at www.bikerlifestyle.co.uk
and i will add it to the events (2005 calender is starting to fill up)

cheers
Yoda

[Mad Dog]

Where do I begin?

End of July is a busy time in the calendar, so trade stalls and caterers particularly will be quite thin on the ground.

Northants Police have been very busy recently closing down unlicensed events.

Work out how many people you can accomodate, and how many are likely to actually turn up - diffficult, but you need some guideline figures.

Check out the local area - is anyone likely to be affected by noise or inconvenienced.

Go talk to the local Plod - they will have either an Events Officer or "special Operations" section, make friends with them - grin and bear it - ask for advice, get them on your side or you will be fekked.
Go talk to the Local Authority Licensing Office. New Licensing Laws come in next year and most Authorities haven't even finished the consultation phase yet, but most likely able to get the whole site Licensed via the Rugby Club.

Toilets - the "Tardis" types are dreadful, but the cheapest you'll get for a small event. They are rated for 60 uses each, so work out the number of people and factor in any clean outs.

Bar - Get a License or employ a publican who can do it for you. They will sort the License, and initial stock costs can be horrendous - plus what happens if you run out or have loads left?
Don't use tokens, most people don't like them and it is not a loop hole.

Fire extinguishers - cheaper to buy and have an annual inspection/recharge - must be certified every year.

Rubbish - black bags + builders sacks and a skip or two.

Electricity - you may have to hire a big diesel "silent running" one (or two)

Water - rising main a must - bowsers are a complete pain and can't be towed on the road full off water.

ABOVE ALL - MAKE SURE YOUR CLUB MEMBERSHIP ALL WANT TO DO IT.

And cost it out thoroughly.

The first Pissed Indian Rally cost £1,700 and we had 350 turn up
The last 2 years have cost £40,000 each with around 2500 turning up

Good Luck

[SPOOK]

I've been part of a team who've run a music festival near Chesterfield for the last 4 years.
We decided that 2004 was the last year we'd do it, as the local council, (may they rot in hell), and the police, (may they join the council), put so many demands and restrictons on us, it doubled the amount of money we had to raise to stage the event.
I'd take the others' advice and add that you'll need 1 person specifically to deal with the authorities.
It might be a good idea to beg a curtain-sided artic trailer to use as a stage,(you'll be surprised how helpful trucking firms can be), but bear in mind the powers that be are mega-strict regarding noise levels, and you'll probably need to invest in some Hi - Vis vests for the peeps working at your rally.
I know an excellent P.A. company, based in Lincoln, and also some good classic rock covers bands with their own P.A. E-mail me if you want their numbers.
We used Buckingham Insurance near Chesterfield for our events - not too expensive and a good cover. again, give me a shout for info.
Any info I can pass on to help you out I will.

Go For It!! :D

[Maggie B]

No offence SPOOK but "It might be a good idea to beg a curtain-sided artic trailer to use as a stage"


Nooooooooooooooooooooo


don't do it


have to make steps up, then the bands you choose can't be too big
how can people see the band if it rains and they all go sit in the marquee
is a nightmare

get a big enough marquee, make borrow or beg a stage.

Mr M Dog is very experienced on these things-heed his advice !!!! :)

[Doro]

from a rally goer who does small big and medium type of things I reckon - for the punters - the main points of moaning are

not enough toilets
crap food
cost and type of alcohol

bands, field, stalls etc aren't so much of a problem.

but I have to say we saw a band on a curtained trailer and it was crap, band were ok but the trailer thing just didn't work. It reminded me too much af a circus side show or punch & judy type of thing.

how about a daytime entertainer? NABD had a fella doing things with hoops and fire in a gold thong and that sort of thing is good, even if you have a magician for the kids

what about getting an artist in to sit and do caricatures? He'd have to be fairly cheap, say a tenner a picture, and he could do folks on their bikes or summat?

another good one I saw was a couple doing acrobatic stunts on a small van with a frame round it, belle and sebastian they were called, dunno if they still going, but you get the type of thing

if you don't pay for entertainment then you'll need some rally games

I saw a good one........tie peoples clothes to two bikes, get the bikes to ride away from the 'victim' and see if their clothes get ripped off...!

sounds like fun to me

anyway keep us informed, end of July is free for anyone who ain't going to the rock n blues so that probably means us :D

[speedtriplebbc]

Thers a good point there. I hadn't even thought of rally games yet. I think this whole rally is getting more difficult to organise. It WILL be worth it though. We could be the next Rock & Blues or Bulldog bash! (although I have some doubts).