After pulling off a successful festival, one critical next step is to ensure the entire team feels truly appreciated. Festivals are massive undertakings, and every staff member and volunteer contributed to the event’s success. Instead of immediately rushing into planning the next event, seasoned festival producers advise taking time for human closure – to celebrate the achievement and reflect on the journey. This not only shows gratitude, but also builds a positive team culture and boosts retention for future festivals.
Beyond a Simple “Thank You”
Sending thank-you emails or messages right after the festival is a great start, but recognition shouldn’t end there. A quick note of thanks is appreciated, yet actions speak louder than words. To go above and beyond:
– Handwritten Notes or Certificates: If feasible, send personal thank-you cards or certificates of appreciation to key team members and volunteers. A tangible token can mean a lot.
– Public Shout-Outs: Acknowledge the team publicly on social media or the festival’s website. For example, a post listing the volunteer crew or a “meet the team” highlight helps everyone feel seen by the community.
– Festival Swag Gifts: Consider gifting leftover festival merchandise (t-shirts, pins, etc.) or special “crew edition” swag to team members as a keepsake.
These gestures set the tone, but the real impact comes from face-to-face appreciation and shared celebration.
Host a Post-Festival Celebration
One of the best ways to recognize hard work is by bringing everyone together after the event in a relaxed, fun setting. Organizing a casual post-festival gathering allows the team to unwind and revel in what they accomplished. This could take many forms:
– Thank-You Dinner or BBQ: Arrange a simple catered dinner, potluck, or barbecue for staff and volunteers. Breaking bread together helps people bond.
– After-Party with Highlights: Host a low-key party (even at the festival site during teardown or a nearby venue) where you play a highlight reel or slideshow of festival photos. Reliving the best moments on a screen – from crowds cheering to backstage candid shots – reminds everyone of why their hard work was worth it.
– Department Meet-ups: For very large festivals where a single all-staff party is impractical, encourage departments or volunteer teams to hold smaller gatherings. Each team (e.g. security, stage crew, vendor management) can celebrate their own wins intimately while still feeling the appreciation from leadership.
The key is to schedule this celebration soon after the festival while excitement is still high. Even a gathering a day or two after teardown can serve as a well-earned reward. Make it convenient – if many team members traveled in for the festival, consider holding the celebration on the final night or next day so they can attend before returning home. A timely thank-you party ensures the positive energy of the event carries over to the team.
Celebrate Successes with Fun Awards
During the post-event gathering, it’s powerful to spotlight individual and team achievements in a memorable way. Many veteran producers create informal awards to add laughter and recognition to the celebration. Think of playful award categories that fit your event’s culture. Some ideas:
– “MVP Volunteer” – for a volunteer who went above and beyond with enthusiasm and effort.
– “Problem-Solver Award” – for the team member who tackled unexpected challenges (like sudden rain or a power outage) with calm and creativity.
– “The Rock Award” – for someone who was dependable and steady under pressure every single day of the festival.
– “Team Spirit” – to the person who kept morale high and supported others with a great attitude.
– Department Heroes – shout-outs to entire teams (e.g. “Logistics Legends” or “Sanitation Superheroes”) to acknowledge group efforts.
Keep the awards light-hearted and inclusive. A brief ceremony where leadership hands out these fun awards (perhaps small trophies, printed certificates, or even gag gifts) can spark cheers and smiles. It’s not about fancy prizes – it’s about publicly recognizing those shining moments and saying “we saw what you did, and it mattered.” Make sure every area of the team gets some love; even a simple verbal acknowledgment of each crew’s contribution during the party goes a long way.
Encourage Storytelling and Reflection
Beyond formal awards, give everyone a chance to share their favorite moments or “war stories” from the festival. In a relaxed setting, team members often love recounting the surprising, funny, or challenging incidents they experienced:
– Invite volunteers and staff to share one highlight of the event from their perspective. It could be an interaction with an attendee that made their day, or how they improvised when a problem arose.
– Allow some time for “open mic” storytelling at the gathering. This can lead to hilarious anecdotes (like how the decor team rescued a collapsing tent in the nick of time) and moving testimonies (such as a staff member describing the pride they felt seeing the crowd enjoy the show they helped create).
– Encourage cross-team appreciation: perhaps a security team member thanks the medical team for quick help during an incident, or the operations director praises the volunteer crew for staying late to clean up. Hearing peers acknowledge each other builds mutual respect.
These shared stories help the whole group reflect on both the hardships and triumphs of the festival in a positive light. It humanizes the experience—everyone realizes they weren’t alone in facing challenges and that collectively they created something special. Laughing and commiserating together about the tough moments and celebrating the victories strengthens bonds. This camaraderie is the fuel that boosts morale and motivation for next year.
Document the Journey (and Share It)
Reflection isn’t only internal – consider creating a public recap or case study about the festival’s journey. Crafting a blog post, article, or video that tells the behind-the-scenes story can serve multiple purposes:
– Team Recognition in Public: Shine a spotlight on the crew by name. For instance, publish a post-event blog thanking the volunteer coordinator, stage managers, crew leads, etc., and describing how their efforts made the festival possible. Being publicly acknowledged by the festival organizers can make team members feel incredibly proud.
– Lessons Learned and Human Stories: Share some challenges the team overcame and the solutions they found. Not only is this cathartic for the organizers to write, it also shows readers (and future team recruits) the passion and problem-solving that went into the event.
– Marketing and Transparency: A candid recap or short documentary video about producing the festival can engage your audience. Fans appreciate transparency and love to see the passion behind their favorite events. This content can double as marketing, highlighting the festival’s values and the dedicated people behind the scenes.
When sharing a public reflection, keep the tone grateful and celebratory, not self-congratulatory. Emphasize the collective effort, and don’t shy away from acknowledging hiccups – it shows authenticity. Importantly, get consent if you plan to spotlight individuals’ names or photos, and graciously credit everyone involved as a team.
Fostering a Positive Culture for the Future
All these recognition and reflection efforts feed into a larger goal: building a positive festival team culture. When staff and volunteers feel valued and enjoy being part of the team, they’re far more likely to sign on again for the next edition. That continuity is gold for festival organizers – it means retaining experienced people who know the event well.
Some additional tips to strengthen team culture:
– Gather Feedback: After the celebrations, solicit honest feedback from the team about their experience working the festival. This shows you value their perspective and helps identify improvements for next time.
– Stay Connected: Keep the team spirit alive year-round. Share photos, a recap video, or an occasional update with the team in the months between festivals. This maintains a sense of community.
– Recognize Milestones: If the festival wins an award or hits a milestone (like a record attendance year), share that success with the whole team. Let them know their work contributed to these achievements.
– Lead by Example: Festival leadership should model appreciation and reflection. When directors and producers actively participate in thank-yous, storytelling, and blogging about the event, it signals that this is a valued part of the process, not an afterthought.
By prioritizing genuine recognition and thoughtful reflection, organizers create an environment where people feel proud, connected, and eager to contribute again. Pulling off a festival is huge – everyone poured their energy into it – so taking time to celebrate that victory is essential. It’s the bridge between one festival and the next: a moment to recharge morale, honor the hard work, and carry forward lessons learned.
Conclusion: Celebrate, Reflect, and Reignite
In the hectic world of festival production, it’s tempting to mark the event “complete” and immediately move on to the next project. But great festival leaders know the job isn’t truly done until the team has been thanked and the experience digested. Hosting a celebratory gathering, swapping stories, and publicly praising the crew all send a clear message: the people behind the festival matter just as much as the festival itself.
This kind of human closure energizes your team. It acknowledges that what they did was extraordinary. As a result, staff and volunteers go home not just tired, but fulfilled – carrying positive memories and a sense of belonging. When planning kicks off for the next festival, those same people will be excited to jump back in, armed with lessons from last time and motivated by the appreciation you showed. In short, taking time for team recognition and reflection isn’t just a feel-good gesture – it’s an investment in your festival’s future success.
25th August 2025