Download The 20 Best Practices for Safety at Community Events

A Community Guide to Best
Practices for Festivals and
Public Events in Appanoose
County
Appanoose County Collaboration Council
Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant
SPF SIG of Appanoose County is a collaboration of community
members and business people whose goal is to see a reduction
in underage alcohol consumption and adult binge drinking.
The SPF SIG Project is funded by the Iowa Department of Public Health.
The Purpose of this Booklet:
Public festivals and events are an important part of the culture of
Appanoose County. When ran effectively, they can be a place for kids to
play and family and friends to gather and celebrate the heritage found
within our community. However, when alcohol is a major part of the
celebration, community events can be marred by alcohol-related
violence, vandalism, traffic fatalities, injuries and problems associated
with underage and binge drinking.
The first question to be addressed is why is the public event/festival
being held? Is it a party whose intent is to celebrate a community event
or cultural event? Is the event serving as family entertainment? Is it a
holiday celebration? Is it a sporting event that highlights physical
achievements and teamwork of young people?
Public events often unintentionally support and encourage alcohol use.
With beer tents, signage and sponsorships, alcohol can easily
overshadow the purpose of these events and become the main
attraction. Youth are particularly at risk for involvement in alcohol related
problems at public events.
While most of our festivals in Appanoose County are designed as
celebrations, there are serious issues underlying the production of
festivals and events. Some of these issues are risk management,
insurance, health, safety and licensing requirements.
Although organizers may worry that placing any limits on alcohol will
result in smaller crowds, a national survey of adults showed that over 80
percent of those who responded to the survey were in favor of alcohol
restrictions at events. The intent of this publication is to help organizers
ensure the safety of all those attending the event by instituting small
policy changes and integrating some simple environmental strategies,
helping to make “community” the main attraction for festivals and events
again.
The 20 Best Practices for Safety at Community
Events
The Alcohol Epidemiology Program at the University of Minnesota’s
mission is to conduct advanced research in order to discover effective
community interventions to reduce alcohol-related social and health
problems. Through this research, they have identified the 20 best
practices for safety at community events. They are as follows:
Planning and set-up:
 Establish non-drinking areas for families and youth.
 Establish designated drinking areas where underage youth are not
allowed; prohibit people from leaving these particular areas with
alcoholic beverages.
 Limit alcohol sponsorship.
 Have alcohol-free days/nights.
 Establish enforcement procedures for all policies.
Alcohol providers and sellers:
 Require alcohol license holder to have liability insurance (check your
state laws for specific legal requirements on liability).
 Require responsible beverage service training for alcohol sellers and
event coordinators.
 Require alcohol sellers to be at least 21 years old.
 Require a manager to be on duty at the alcohol booth at all times.
 Establish age identification checking procedures.
 Prohibit drinking by servers.
 Require signs indicating the illegality of providing alcohol to minors
and obviously intoxicated persons.
Security:
 Establish procedures for handling intoxicated drinkers.
 Require that security staff be adequately trained.
 Ban alcohol consumption in parking lots and monitor the lots.
Food/Beverage:
 Limit cup size to 12 ounces.
 Use cups for alcohol beverages that are easily distinguishable from
non-alcohol beverage cups.
 Limit number of servings per person per purchase to one or two at a
time.
 Stop serving alcohol at least one hour before closing.
 Sell food and non-alcohol drinks and provide free water.
The Rathbun Lake Area Chamber of Commerce is a group in Appanoose
County that is able to host events, which are not only fun for the
community as a whole, but also safe because they have implemented their
own guidelines. Below are the Best Practices that they have identified:
Policies:
 Everyone gets a wristband. Different colors for under 21 and over 21.
 Define the festival area. No alcohol beyond the fencing.
 Servers, ID checkers and ticket sellers should be over 21.
 No drinking while on duty for event workers.
 Sale of alcohol ends 30 minutes before the end of the event.
 Anyone intoxicated will not be served.
 Dedicated law enforcement for the event.
 No more than 2 tickets for alcohol beverages are sold at time.
 No glass bottles to the public.
Pre-Event:
 Hire at least two law enforcement professionals who will be present during
the entire event. More for events that exceed 1000 attendees.
 Make posters that designate where alcohol is prohibited.
 Determine the method for alcohol sales (i.e. drink tickets)
 Set hours for when alcohol will be served and when events will stop
selling drink tickets and serving alcohol.
 Secure ticket sellers, id checkers and bartenders who are committed to
following the law.
Set up for event:
 Make sure fencing is secure.
 Post signs for drinking age and alcohol boundaries.
 Set out trash receptacles.
 Train workers regarding how to check ids. Make sure they have a
flashlight if there is not adequate lighting.
 Make sure all workers understand the guidelines.
During the event:
 Have an event manager who oversees all stations.
 Patrol for no wristband or someone with the wrong color wristband
consuming alcohol.
 Watch the fencing for people trying to sneak in or for alcohol being passed
over the fence.
 Be on alert for attendees that are intoxicated. Alert bartenders and ticket
sellers if there is a problem.
 Communicate issues with law enforcement.
 Stick to the pre-determined hours for the event.