Halloween Party

On the 9th of September we were set the task of hosting a Halloween party in the Art Cafe of the Hartlepool campus. We all got designated areas of work ranging from poster design to security etc. and it started out really well. We managed to get bands booked, security, venue, tickets and posters printed but when it came to selling tickets it all went down hill. I feel that the plan failed because parts of the organisation that should have happened first, did not. For example, the posters should have been made within the first few days / first week of being given the task therefore there would have been more time for everyone to see the poster and not make other plans. People didn't seem interested in the party when tickets were being sold as this was a week maybe a week and a half before the actual event and by now people would have already made plans for Halloween and there was a lack of communication between everyone and there was a lot of misunderstandings. I think if we had had some help from student union to promote the party and help organise things we would have been more successful in carrying out the party. I think we all thought it would be a success as we made a connection with Skyy and organised a free entry and bomb (drink) after the Halloween party, so we thought this would make people want to come. A few people did buy tickets but as the party has been cancelled they got refunded and we have decided not to go ahead with the party, basically to avoid embarrassment and bad reputation.

When the party was cancelled a sign was put up saying "Cancelled due to lack of interest" and this was a bit of a mistake as this can be seen as damaging our reputation as illustrators. We could have bent the truth a little and said that we couldn't afford the security with the budget we have because we required more etc. this is called damage limitation. We are limiting the damage to our reputation.

I think it's a good thing that the Halloween party failed because the next time we have this opportunity we will know what not to do and we will know who to contact for help. I also think that this failure will make the Student Union a little more aware of what they can do to help courses in this situation.