The day-of kit and the first hour
Module 10: Event Day · 15 min
What is in the bag, when to arrive, who to meet, and the walk-through that catches 80% of problems.
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Module 10: Event Day
Day-of kit, running the room, managing vendors, real-time problems, working with performers.
Event Day is part of the free Event Planner Academy. It has 6 lessons, about 1.5 hours of study in total, and every lesson comes with a narrated video, a printable worksheet and a short quiz.
How to work through it
- Watch the narrated video at the top of each lesson, then read the lesson itself. The video covers the key points; the page has the tables, examples and checklists.
- Complete the worksheet for your own event, or for the running Harbour Gala example.
- Take the quiz and mark the lesson complete. Your progress is saved in this browser.
- Finish all twelve core modules and pass the final exam to print your free certificate.
Running the room
Module 10: Event Day · 15 min
Positions, radios, cue calling, watching the clock and the crowd, and the quiet fixes that keep a program on time.
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Managing vendors on the day
Module 10: Event Day · 15 min
Arrival checks, the pre-event briefing, problem escalation, and paying balances on site.
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Working with performers
Module 10: Event Day · 15 min
Green rooms, timing, intros, sound checks, audience management and what performers need from planners to do their best work.
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Real-time problems: the fifteen most common
Module 10: Event Day · 15 min
Power trips, rain, no-shows, drunk guests, medical incidents, double-booked rooms, missing cake. The fix for each, in the order you do it.
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Module 10 workshop: tabletop simulation
Module 10: Event Day · 15 min
Run the gala from the run of show with injected problems every ten minutes. Decide, act, record.
Read moreWho this module is for
Event Day is for anyone who will be the person in charge when the doors open. That might be a professional planner, a venue coordinator, a corporate events lead or a volunteer running a community event for the first time. The module assumes you have a plan and a run of show already, ideally built in the logistics module, and teaches you how to deliver it under pressure. It is the most practical module in the Academy and the one many learners return to the week before a real event.
What you will be able to do
- Pack a complete day-of kit and arrive with a clear plan for the first hour on site.
- Position staff, run a radio channel and call cues so the program stays on time.
- Check in vendors, brief them and escalate problems without losing control of the room.
- Look after performers so they can do their best work, from arrival to final bow.
- Recognise the most common event-day problems and respond in the right order.
- Record incidents and decisions as they happen, for the debrief and for insurance.
How the lessons build
The lessons follow the shape of the day. They start before guests arrive, with the kit and the walk-through, move into running the room, and then focus on the two groups planners manage most closely: vendors and performers. The lesson on real-time problems gathers the incidents that come up again and again, from a tripped circuit to a guest who needs medical help, and sets out a calm sequence for each. The workshop then puts you inside a simulated gala with problems introduced at intervals, so you practise making decisions rather than just reading about them.
Time and connections
The lessons take around two hours, and the tabletop workshop is best done with a partner or a small team who can play vendors and guests. This module draws directly on Module 7 for the run of show and staffing plan and on Module 8 for the emergency plan and risk register. It leads into Module 11, which starts the moment the last guest leaves. Before a real event, print the day-of emergency kit checklist and the vendor contact sheet.