A Good Neighbor - Events in Residential Areas

Having spent nearly a decade in Chicago, few things signify summer to me more than the beginning of “street festival season”. For you outsiders, Chicago sanctions dozens of street festivals throughout the city’s various neighborhoods during the summer months, often several over the same weekend. The size and scope of each event varies...some are music-centric, others geared towards one of the city’s many ethnic groups. Whatever their focus, the festivals are (mostly) well done, modestly priced, and a fun way to spend a Saturday evening.

That is, unless you happen to live near one of these festivals. If you do, your impressions may be decidedly darker - a weekend filled with unrelenting noise, impossible parking, rampant litter, and (undoubtedly) drunk patrons. These problems are standard fare for most event producers. For those living in the neighborhood, however, they may prove to be an frustrating seasonal headache. It may be easy to brush off their complaints as frivolous, or merely the grumblings of a few boring old saps. However, as anyone who has been caught in their sights will tell you, vocal neighbors are usually involved in (if not the leaders of) the neighborhood association. For an outsider conducting business in the neighborhood, the neighborhood association might as well be the mafia - please them, or face the consequences.

All of this is beside the point, however. As event producers, it’s our responsibility to not only produce a safe and successful event, but to act as good-will ambassadors for our company, our clients, and the profession. Without securing buy-in from (and protecting the interests of) your event’s neighbors, you run the risk of damaging your reputation, and potentially hindering the chances of future events at that location. To prevent such an outcome, taking the following steps will go a long way to ensuring harmony with the locals.

Involve neighbors in the planning process - from the beginning stages of your event, you should make every effort to include the neighbors of your event site in the planning process. You don’t need to brief them on every last detail. However, a courtesy meeting outlining the scope, timeline, and activities of your event should be held with your site neighbors early in the planning process, with ample opportunity for them to address any concerns they may have. They’ll likely appreciate the consideration, and may be able to offer a number of helpful suggestions to help your event operate better. After all, they LIVE there...you’re just crashing for the weekend.

Protect their interests and assets - Since you’re essentially holding an event in their back yard, it should be your responsibility to ensure that your guests don’t cause problems for the neighbors. Even if it isn't “necessary”, I highly recommend scheduling several roving, visibly-marked security teams to patrol the event parameter and surrounding neighborhood. Although their authority may be limited by law (that is, they’re unable to explicitly step in on situations outside of the event site), their presence will act as a deterrent to troublemakers. Similarly, I suggest placing garbage cans in the immediate vicinity, monitor them throughout the event, and send a housekeeping team around following the event to do a quick cleanup of any driveways and lawns (even if the trash isn't specifically from your event).

Reward their cooperation - If your neighbors have been gracious enough to contribute to the event process (or even if the haven’t), I recommend making an effort to reward them for their cooperation. Methods may include tickets to the event, event and/or company swag, or even a simple thank you card. Anything that lets them know that you appreciate them letting you set up shop for the night.

Even if you take these precautions, chances are you’ll still receive some complaints from a neighbor or two - some people are just hard-wired to complain. Be gracious and apologetic to these folks, listen to their concerns honestly, and make sure they’re the first people you contact when you begin planning your next event. Your attention to them will go a long way to winning them over in the future.