Step 1: Contact us. We will ask you a few questions about your community, its commitment to putting on this event and the make-up of your organizing team or organizer.

Step 2: If we are satisfied that you have the enthusiasm, energy and organizational skills necessary for hosting an ongoing Pickin' In The Park®, then we will send you the the Pickin' In The Park® agreement or you can download it from this web site.

Step 3: After signing the agreement, we will send you the Pickin' In The Park® Event Operations Manual and companion CD-Rom. This 60 page Operations Manual is divided into 10 chapters that cover the structure of the event, buidling your organizing team, developing sponsor pitches, keeping the integrity of the event, signage, publicity, venue selection, and more.

We charge $39.95 to cover our printing, production and postage costs. It is money well spent - with the amount of artwork and assets already developed along with winning sponsor pitches and publicity materials - there is no need for you to reinvent the wheel. This is not a money making venture for us, we are just keeping our costs covered.

The Operations Manual includes:
• How to set up your organizational team
• What to look for in a presenting sponsor, how to make your pitch,
   how much money you'll need
• Attracting musicians
• Picking a venue
• Insurance & Liability issues
• How to handle problems that might arise
• Creating publicity materials, signage, web site options
• Choosing your season and time of week
• Community benefits

The CD-Rom includes:
• Adobe® Photoshop templates for signage, banners, posters, flyers, advertisements, logos, Musician of the Month flyers
• Adobe® Image Ready templates for web site development
• Microsoft Word examples of sponsor pitches, press releases, community calendar listings
• Adobe® PageMaker templates for stationary, notecards, Musician of the Month certificates

Here's how you can acquire the Pickin' In The Park® Operations Manual and CD-Rom:

Step 4: Read and look over all the materials.

Step 5: Design your organization team. This consists of a lead organizer, web developer, sponsors and media partners. The handbook goes into detail on all these entities plus government and civic organizations with which you'll interact.

Step 6: Select a Venue/Public Space.The location for Pickin' In The Park® can be a town square; county, town or state park; or privately/publicly owned building. The Operations Manual will give you the critical aspects of location to keep in mind.

Step 7: Target a Presenting Sponsor and make your pitch. The Operations Manual helps you determine the appropriate sponsor for your event. The companion CD-Rom contains examples of a winning sponsor pitch.

Step 8: Start creating your marketing materials. The companion CD-Rom has everything you need for posters, banners, signage and flyers.

Step 9: Get the publicity machine rolling. The Operations Manual tells you all the unique and free avenues available for publicity. We provide you with a number of creative inside tracks for heightening the awareness of your event.