Attended Event 1 – Soup Festival

Question 1
a. Ticket Purchase Process
 High Satisfaction Level – The ticket purchasing process was very easy to navigate.
The tickets were being given out for free to any culinary student at Humber
college. My girlfriend, a student there, sent me the link where I was able to
quickly download my free ticket.
b. Overall Event Organization and Flow
 Medium Satisfaction Level – The event was run very smooth. As soon as I got to
the event there were staff who quickly gave me instructions on where to go and
how to purchase soup tickets. The reason I give this a medium is because there
was no map or document that I could find that told me what different soup
stations there were, and what soups they were offering.
c. Overall Theme and Activities
 Low Satisfaction Level – Besides eating soup, I did not think that there was
enough for people to do at the event other than soup. Once I ate my soup, I felt
no reason to stay any longer. If they would have had other activities, I would
have stayed at the venue longer and possibly spent more money.
d. Venue
 High Satisfaction Level – The venue was outdoors with a few tents. I thought this
fit the event very well. With the main attraction being soup, having a colder
environment made me want to eat soup more than if I were indoors.
e. Food and Refreshments
 Medium Satisfaction Level – With soup being the main attraction of this event, I
was slightly disappointed. While I enjoyed all 4 soups that I ate, the selection was
very minimal. I think there may have only been 14 different soups to try. If I had
paid the full $25 to enter, I would have not been as satisfied with the event as I
was.
f. Overall Value
 Low Satisfaction Level – There was not options for ticket purchasing at the event.
It was a strict $1 for 1 ticket. There was no bulk purchase discount, which I had
been accustomed to. All of the soups were also priced at 4 tickets per bowl. At
other food festivals I have been to there was a variety of purchase options,
allowing for more bang for my buck.
g. Extras
 High Satisfaction Level - They did provide a spoon on a lanyard which I thought
was very clever and useful.

Question 2
The Six A’s of event planning were not entirely apparent during the lead up and execution of
the event. Even though I gave my email when I got my ticket there was not any anticipation
built up for this event through emails. Had I not put it in my calendar I could have easily
forgotten about it. There was no Facebook group that I knew of. I had to continually relocate
my ticket to double check the information and details. This aspect of the event was not good.
As mentioned in question one, the arrival to the event was very smooth, with great signage and
staff members helping me in the right direction. The atmosphere and amenities were good, but
minimal, with unappealing washrooms and unsanitary looking hand washing stations. The
appetite fit the event well. With soup being served in a cold environment. Lastly, the activity of
soup eating was nice but difficult. Having a soup spoon on a lanyard was great as I didn’t have
to worry about a spoon when I was done eating. However, there was not much in terms of
tables. I had to eat all of my soup standing, which was difficult and sometimes rushed.

Question 3
I did have a lot of expectations for this event, but unfairly so. As I did not see much advertising
or information for the event, I used my prior experience at food festivals as a basis for my
expectations of this event. This was unfair to the event as it did not live up to my expectations.
However, if I remove that, I would say I had a good time at the event and would possibly return
in future years.

Question 4
Stop – There is not much that I would tell this event to stop doing. As I mentioned I thought
there was minimal things to do at the event other than soup, so there is not much I would want
them to stop

Start – This event needs to start hyping up the event better to drive better anticipation. They
also should have more seating for the attendees to sit at and enjoy their soup. They also should
start making ticket purchase discount ($1 for 1, $10 for 15, $20 for 40), this would have
encouraged me to buy more tickets and soup.

Continue – This event's staff were great. Whatever few questions I had at the event, they were
able to answer. They also, while having a minimal number of soups, had a good variety. Each of
the 14 or so soups that they had were different, which while limited, provided me with a good
variety of choices.

Question 5
The first key learning item from this event that I plan on executing at my own is the
organization and logistics at the event. While entering this event was easy, I felt that the
direction within the event was lacking. I felt lost at times. In my own event I want to make sure
it is clear where everything is and what everything is to do. Secondly, I want to make sure that
the lead up and anticipation for my event is much more than what I experienced here. There
was no lead up to this event. I want to make sure that for my event the attendees know
everything that is happening leading up to the event. I also want to have contests and other
exciting things leading up to the event so that the attendees are excited about the event when
they come in the front door. Third, I liked how well the venue of this event complimented the
theme of the event. A soup festival outside in the cold is a great match. I want to make sure
that my venues always are well connected with my events purpose.
Question 6
I would recommend that the organizers put some focus on additional things to do at this event.
Besides eating soup, I felt that there was not anything to do at the event. It would be
interesting if they had a farmer’s market there with fresh vegetables and other similar themed
things. This would give me something to do between eating soups. As well, as it would keep me
at the event longer, which would likely result in me spending more of my money.