The Great Pumpkin Carnival Update
So it has been just over a week since The Great Pumpkin Carnival, and the event itself was a great success by all counts.
It has also been a week of reflection for me and has made me think.
My History with the Carnival
This was the 7th year the event has been going and I have been helping out with it in one form or another for 6 of those years.
It started out small and has continually grown, with bigger pumpkins involved, more people and a seemingly longer list of things to do every year. And now that it is over I think I was and have been in the wrong mindset for the last couple of years.
Yes I am down as a Co-Organiser of this event, I work out a whole bunch things needed for the day, but on the organising front I have been lacking. I think I haven’t actually stepped backwards and had a good look at it and taken on board just how much it has grown over the years. This has became evident as every year I have less and less time to actually have some free time at the event, this year I think I had about 30 mins.
I think people would be shocked/amazed at how much stuff we get done amongst basically 2 people organising it (although we did have more people helping with different bits this year) and the small amount of money we actually run the whole event on, plus don’t forget all the amazing people that help out on the day.
Moving Forward
But we need to look at it differently. Now that we are an Incorporated Society which was mainly to allow us to step out from the Friends of Hamilton Gardens who over the years have helped us immensely with applying for funding and also helping manage our money.
We have an AGM coming up in August and it will be interesting to see how that goes, reporting back on what we have done and money we have made will be easy, talking about the way forward and getting buy-in from people is a whole other matter.
More actual meetings will be required, with follow-up and discussions with a variety of people.
I said to a lot of people this year that I wouldn’t be doing it next year, actually, I have said that to various people the last 2 or 3 years. In the moment of stress, dealing with a lot of stuff at once it is my way of dealing with the situation. It doesn’t change the actual situation, and it isn’t a good solution, but at that point in time it helps me get through it.
Frustration occurs, and to be fair most of it is self-inflicted. Running a small event is nice and easy, dealing with the growth of it and letting other people into something you have been intimately involved with for a long time can be hard, but is has to happen as you have to do what’s best for the event.
I have a bunch of ideas for next year, ideas that will allow me the free time, allow me to step back and enjoy the carnival.
It will involve prep work, talking to people and being smarter and thinking things through. I think it is about time I caught up to the growing carnival and grew up myself.
You can find out more about The Great Pumpkin Carnival by checking out the website, The Facebook page, or if you want more information about growing giant pumpkin in NZ check out www.giantpumpkins.co.nz
