What is an Event?
The term ‘event’ describes a broad range of activities and often means different things to different people. There are usually a multitude of stakeholders involved in or impacted by the planning and delivery of community events, including the event organiser(s) and planning team, attendees, sponsors, suppliers, vendors, and residents in the host community. Below are three dominant stakeholder perspectives that shape the definition of community events and will carry through the content of this chapter.
- For an organiser, an event is typically a ‘one-off’ or infrequently occurring occasion outside of routine activities.
- For the attendee, an event is often an opportunity for a leisure, recreational, educational, business, social or cultural experience.
- For a community, an event typically occurs outside the scope of its normal programming, and often requires the dedication of additional resources.
Special event
The term ‘special event’ typically refers to civic, provincial or national celebrations, cultural performances or gatherings, sports contests, and a wide range of commercial or corporate functions which are planned to mark special occasions or to achieve specific social, cultural or economic objectives.
In this chapter, in addition to the qualities identified above, a special event is further understood as an activity or group of activities that contains one or more ‘event indicator(s)’.
Event indicator(s)
Event indicators are specific programming, logistical or administrative elements contained within the delivery of a special event. These elements are subject to regulatory compliance in accordance with government legislation, local, regional and/or municipal requirements, and event planning best practices.
Event indicators include, but are not limited to: Alcohol service, food vendors, fireworks, inflatables (i.e. bouncy castles), temporary electrical works, temporary structures (i.e. stages and tents), raffles, and road closures.
Events are a workplace
Event organisers, whether hired or volunteer, can be individuals, committees or organisations. They are considered to be employers as events are workplaces for staff, contractors, volunteers, and service providers. As such, community event sites are subject to applicable federal, provincial, regional and municipal laws, regulations and policies for ensuring workplace and worker safety.
Employers (event organisers) and workers (hired or volunteer) have certain duties and rights under provincial Occupational Health and Safety legislation such as: Assessing the job duties and functions carried out by all event workers (staff, contractors, volunteers, service providers, etc.) to protect the safety of workers and ensuring the safety of the event site and the work being done.
Some workplaces may already have policies, procedures or controls in place to ensure worker safety at events, such as working-at-heights training, fall prevention training, hazardous materials handling and storage procedures, and safe food handling protocols. Event organisers working for formal organisations should consult with their Joint Health and Safety Committee(s) or Health and Safety representative(s) to implement measures which protect workers in the event workplace. Event organisers that undertake gig or contract work or that are part of volunteer committees should determine whether worker safety policies and procedures already exist for their event. Where worker safety policies and procedures do not exist, event organisers should work with the appropriate individuals to develop and implement any necessary safety policies and procedures.