Event planners who work at the city level will often plan a single or series of community festivals throughout the summer for residents and visitors to a city. In Chicago, the Mayor's Office of Special Events plans a 10-day long food festival, scheduled around the Fourth of July holiday. It began in 1980 as a single day event and driven by the business community and drew a surprising attendance of 275,000. Since then, city government special event planners have grown the festival into an event attended by more than 3.5 million people. Proceeds from the Taste now pays for the majority of expenses for free neighborhood festivals throughout Chicago. Planning a Festival : Taste of Chicago

The Taste of Chicago is probably the largest of festivals, and this is a great event to observe for anyone interested in creating a smaller scale festival. Signage is an important element of event production to help brand the event.

Event staff must prepare the site several days before the actual event. Physical setup for the Taste begins five days prior to opening day.

Outdoor special events require daily maintenance of portable toilets and garbage containers. About 500 portable bathrooms (including handicapped accessible) were at the Taste. Rental vendors offer quantity recommendations based on crowd size.

The goal of an outdoor event is to have large crowds and safe, favorable reviews. In its first year back in 1980, the Taste of Chicago drew about 275,000 people. The Taste has grown to that size on a daily basis, and as many as 1 million on July 3rd.

Food vendors at the Taste must receive a Festival Food Vendor Santitation Certificate from the Illinois Restaurant Association. And the health department requires accessible sinks for every food vendor tent and its employees.

Food vendors are happy to brand themselves with an outdoor food festival, and people will come back year after year for some items. Eli's Cheesecake has been at the Taste since it first began in 1980.

Participating food vendors will consider a festival to be one of their community events that builds their brand. The marketers and event planners who make those decisions will build a plan to staff their booths. Eli's has as many as 140 people.

The ticket booth is the best way to manage the cash at an event. About $12 million is generated at the Taste, and tickets track how much food and drink is consumed.

Corporate sponsorships tents add another dimension to a festival and are a great draw. Plus, their marketing plans already incorporate community events, ready with booths, tents, games and giveaways.

Event planners should vary the types of sponsors that are present at a festival. By identifying multiple categories, it allows a sponsor to gain the possibility of category exclusivity which also brings more revenue for the event planners.

Beverages account for about $3 million - 25% of the revenue at the Taste, so beverage booths must be dispersed throughout the grounds. Interesting fact: it takes about 750 people to staff these booths during the 10 days.

Plan how sponsors may gain additional name recognition/logo visibility at your festival.

Event planners should work with public safety officials and have dedicated space so that they are visible. Also, incorporate a designated area for lost children.

Event production will build bandstand structures, including stage decks, scaffolding, sound systems, lighting, screens and more for live performances. Entertainers will often setup and perform a live sound check in front of the audience before their show.

Free concerts are an important element to planning a community festival. The Taste setup four stages that included local and national musicians. Renea Taylor and Bang performed urban R&B for crowds at the Fox Chicago Bandstand for the fifth year.

Tums participated as a sponsor for the first time at the Taste of Chicago 2007, and they had people lining up for their free giveaways: 15,000 samples were distributed each day.

Educational sessions should be part of a community festival, and this was the first year for the Goin' Green Area at the Taste. Educators shared ways that people can use to "go green" and incorporate new technology into their gardens.

In addition to food and adult entertainment, festivals should have a dedicated family entertainment area away from the other activities. This will offer opportunities for kids to safely sing, dance, laugh and enjoy themselves.

The Mayor's Office of Special Events coordinates Chicago's Jumping Jack Program, which offers a giant inflatable playground to community events throughout the the summer. Kids had a great time in there.

The "carnival" is a staple of most festivals, and the Taste had its own as well. Street festivals should incorporate safety and security when closing streets.

Food vendor Vee-Vee's African Restaurant, Chicago, barbeques jerk chicken for crowds at the Taste of Chicago 2007.

Refrigeration trucks (called "reffers") maintain the temperature of food items such as the roughly 28,000 strawberries and 2,200 lbs. of chocolate that are used for dipping each year at the Taste.

Sponsor Lady Gilette held a limbo contest near its mobile marketing exhibit and gave away prizes.

Event staff should receive training and event t-shirts as part of setup prior to a festival. Apparel is an important way to distinguish various event staff to the public, including information, security, maintenance and others.

Only the best working conditions for those who plan and execute an event. Event managers will have trailers setup that they use for their base. And at the Taste, that trailer was conveniently located next to the commuter train tracks.