This is the RailsBridge Boston cookbook, which includes various "How to" and planning documents. This README is the timeline for planning a workshop.
Ask a lead organizer for access to credentials to the various services we use.
Here's a list of roles that are involved in organizing a workshop:
- 1-2 Lead Organizers
- Venue Coordinator
- Registration Coordinator
- Catering Coordinator
- Sponsorship Coordinator
- TA Coordinator
- Child Care Coordinator
- MC
A summary of each role's responsibilities can be found here.
Interested in being a TA? Get on our volunteer mailing list to hear when the next signup is!
Start emailing potential sponsors. There's more info in the finances document.
Find 2-3 different vendors that we can work with. If our venue has a specific list of vendors we can use, please accommodate that.
Get a CSV of all the attendees, including TAs, to get a rough head count and a sense of what the dietary restrictions are.
Assume about 60% of the people who registered + number of TA's will attend. For more information, see this document.
Prepare a slide deck with:
- Sponsor logos
- Link to Saturday Google docs
- Schedule for Saturday
We have sample slide decks in the MC directory. We have a more detailed outline for MCing here.
View the registrations and check for those who've opted in for child care. Send them an email (all BCC'ed), explaining how it works, have them confirm that they still need care, and if so, ask them for details about their children (age, gender, special needs, which days and how long they need care for).
Give them 2-3 days to respond to you.
Use Sitter City to find a sitter that would accommodate the children that need care. Be sure to coordinate how payment will work with the sitter.
- Be at the venue when the delivery arrives before Friday night.
- Welcome everyone
- Go over the plan for the day
- Go over any other logistics - e.g. where the bathrooms are, what's off limits (like anything in the venue kitchen), etc.
- Thank sponsors
- Remind about photography and the red stickers
- Have TAs form small groups
- Announce meals
- Lead or encourage frequent stretching in between sections
- Talk about next steps
- Encourage connecting with TAs and other attendees