Sittingbourne Christmas Lights and Sleigh Rounds - User contributions [en]

Main Page

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__NOTOC__

Welcome to the Sittingbourne Christmas Lights and Sleigh Rounds "knowledge base" wiki.

Our group of volunteers organises and fund-raises for three main activities:

# Installing and removing the Christmas Lights in Sittingbourne High Street
# The Christmas Lights [[Switch On Day]] event with entertainments and associated festivities.
# The Father Christmas [[Sleigh Rounds]] which visit residential parts of Sittingbourne and the surrounding villages, bringing music and Christmas cheer to families.

We also run a few smaller activities:

# We present a trophy for the house with the best exterior Christmas lights, called the [[Residential Gardens Competition]].
# We hold a thank you gathering for all our volunteers and anyone who has given us any kind of support, which usually takes place in early February.

Our activities benefit all sorts of people and cover large parts of Sittingbourne and the surrounding area and villages.

This wiki is intended to collect information on the organisation of all the activities, for the use of volunteers in this group but also other volunteer groups across the country.

The author hopes that this might one day be of use for other voluntary groups throughout the UK who are planning to organise Christmas Lights and other public events.

The main pages so far:

* [[Management Committee]]. The group of volunteers responsible for organising all the activities.
* [[Switch On Day]]
* [[Switch On Day Letter to Residents]]
* [[Residential Gardens Competition]]
* [[Sleigh Rounds]]
* [[Santa Sleigh]]
* [[Collection Licence for Sleigh Rounds]]. Apply to Swale Borough Council for this.
* [[Unmetered Supply Certificate]]. This is needed to apply for the [[Street Column Attachment Licence | street column attachment licence]]. It is needed to pay an energy supplier for the unmetered electricity taken from street light columns. In south east England this can be obtained from the UMSO contact at UK Power Networks.
* [[Streetlight Attachment Permit]] to attach Christmas lights to street lights in Sittingbourne High Street. Apply to Kent County Council for this.
* [[Grants and Fundraising]]
* [[Supporter Information]]

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Permits required
|-
! Name !! Obtain from !! Date needed by
|-
| Streetlight Attachment Permit || Kent County Council || Technically at least 6 weeks before the lights are put up (not the switch on date)
|-
| Public performance licence (PPL/PRS) for switch on day || PPLPRS || Before Switch On Day
|-
| Public performance licence (PPL/PRS) for sleigh rounds || PPLPRS || Before start of sleigh rounds
|}

Welcome to your new wiki! You may find the following link useful: [[mw:Help:Contents|Help:Contents]] on mediawiki.org.

Santa Sleigh

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Drivers bring their own spare numberplates and attach them to the back of the sleigh.

File:Road Closure 2024.jpg

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== Summary ==
An example of a road closure notice issued by Swale Borough Council.

Road closure order

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The following is an example of a real road closure order. This is a public document issued by Swale Borough Council.

After receiving it, we need to deliver notification letters along the High Street to all properties affected. We should post letters (using stamps) to any flats or other properties where we cannot get access to the letterbox.

[[File:Road Closure 2024.jpg|thumb|alt=A scanned copy of a road closure notice, which is a single side of A4 paper with text on.|Road Closure Notice]]

Grotto

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= Santa's Grotto =

We operate a Santa's grotto during most of the Switch On Day event.

We charge a low entrance fee (£3.50) so that residents on lower incomes can take part. We have previously had a family rate of £10.

We give books as presents to each child that visits. This is because they are universally acceptable (no worries about food allergies etc) and because children on lower incomes may not have many books and we would like to encourage reading.

Grotto visits are on a first come first served basis. We previously tried getting parents to book and pay in advance but this caused a large amount of admin work both when taking the bookings and also when letting people in when running the event.

Volunteers required:

* Father Christmas
* One or preferably two people to manage the queue and let one child or family in at a time

Streetlight Attachment Permit

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The URL for the page to apply for this is:

[ https://kentcc-self.achieveservice.com/en/AchieveForms/?form_uri=sandbox-publish://AF-Process-b0d7b6dd-bc42-4c79-b830-96bdd9c3ccb0/AF-Stage-e7c587fb-8405-4a99-8201-75dad5535bbb/definition.json&redirectlink=%2Fen&cancelRedirectLink=%2Fen&consentMessage=yes ]

The cost is currently £39.

Question: Should we apply for a new permit or a renewal?

Answer: If nothing is changing on the application, i.e., columns you wish to use, types of lighting you wish to use then this is a renewal.

Switch On Day

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Switch on day officially opens at 10am with market stalls and the final lights switch on at 5:30pm.

The actual road closure starts earlier (06:00) and goes until 7pm since the road closure needs to be in place while the many market stalls pack up and leave.

For the volunteers, the morning starts at 6am or earlier and goes on until after 7pm because any remaining litter needs to be cleared up before leaving.

We operate a [[Grotto | Santa's Grotto]] during the main hours of the day.

We should prepare identity badges on lanyards for the main volunteers.

We should tell Sittingbourne Police Station about the event in advance because we have had cases where they did not know the event was happening even though Kent Police themselves are one of the consultees on the event planning.

===Pre-meeting===
There is a pre-meeting of all volunteers and the marshals on the evening of the Thurday before the Saturday switch on.

===Switch On Day Timeline===

This is the rough timeline for events:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Timetable of events on Switch On Day
|-
! Time !! Event
|-
| 06:00 || Road closure order takes effect
|-
| 06:00-07:00 || Arrival of fairground
|-
| 07:00-09:00 || Arrival of stallholders, stage, ambulance etc. All vehicles that do not form part of a stall must be removed before 10:00.
|-
| 10:00 || Start of event
|-
| 17:30 || Lights switched on
|-
| 19:00 || Road closure order ends
|}

===Roles on the Day===

Generally all the committee members are present at Switch On Day in a general capacity, although some roles are more defined:

* Site manager - the person who is legally responsible for the road closure. Is not supposed to leave the site throughout the entire event.

* Treasurer - Needs to prepare a float for the grotto so that they can give change. Typically about £30 of cash will do. Also collects the grotto takings and pays them in to the bank.

* Stage and arena manager - Overall responsibility for the entertainment acts that are going on on the main and second stages.

* Welfare lead - Checks on and looks after the needs of other volunteers. For example if people are unable to leave their posts then can bring water, food or ask others for assistance etc. Can also offer to stand in for single stall-holders who need to leave their stall to go to the toilet, although this is an unofficial function that is entirely at the discretion of the individuals involved.

* Welfare support volunteer - assisting the welfare lead and other volunteers.

===Things that need to be arranged in advance===

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Things that need to be purchased in advance of Switch On Day
|-
! Item !! Typical Cost !! Description
|-
| Stage || £1,100 + VAT || Includes Stage, PA, Lights, Engineer and Crew
|-
| Fencing || £200 || Need to include delivery on the Saturday morning and pickup on the Saturday evening
|-
| Event Insurance || ~£1,100 || Insurance cover for the day
|-
| Ambulance and two staff || ~£800 || Medical and fire cover given the size of the event.
|-
| Lanyards with Id badges || Minor || Worn by volunteers on Switch On Day
|}

===Permissions Required===

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Permissions Required
|-
! Item !! Obtain From !! Typical cost !! Description
|-
| [[Road closure order]] || Swale Borough Council? || ? || Required to close the road for the event
|-
| Premises licence || Swale Borough Council || ~£500 (but see description) || Required for entertainment events. Note that Swale Borough Council have their own Premises licence and are willing to allow us to use it so that we do not have to pay the cost. We must let them know of this when discussing the event plan.
|-
| Event management plan || Swale Borough Council || ? || We prepare this in consultation with Swale Borough Council and the Safety Advisory Group which includes Kent Police. However, we have previously been told that it is not a "permission" as such so is more a collarborative working with local organisations.
|-
| Public liability insurance ("Event insurance") || Private insurance company || ~£1,100 || The document for this is also required to get one of the Swale Borough Council permissions.
|-
| Public performance licence (PPL/PRS) || [https://pplprs.co.uk/themusiclicence/sectors/charity/ PPLPRS] || (TBD) || Needed for playing live music. We request the Charity and Community Discount to keep the costs lower.
|-
| Street trading license for market stalls || Swale Borough Council || £20 ? || Each individual market stall operator must apply for their own street trading license if they are selling anything. Stalls not selling anything may be exempt but need to check.
|-
| Street collection license || Swale Borough Council || ? || Two organisations are allowed to have collection pots for donations at the event.
|}

===Stalls===

Some of the types of stalls that we have in the Switch On Day market:

* Fairground
* Food vendors
* Christmas related vendors
* Charity stalls such as Cats Protection
* [[Grotto]]

===Entertainment===

The main stage has a large performance area in front of it so dance groups use the ground in front of the stage and singers use the stage. The performance area is fenced off with crowd control barriers.

We try to accommodate disabled and wheelchair-bound users by creating an additional fenced off area in front of the performance area which can be opened to allow wheelchair users to have a front row viewing experience. Otherwise they would not be able to see over crowds of standing people.

Some of the entertainments include:

* Local singers and bands
* Childrens and adults dance groups
* Signing choirs (i.e. sign language)

We do not pay for entertainers. Many community groups like the opportunity to perform and do not expect payment.

We have recently expanded from having a single main stage in Central Avenue to having an additional entertainment stage near St Michael's church at the eastern end of the High Street.

We engage local community radio stations who send along DJs who compere the event. Swale FM have recently started compering the second stage at the eastern end of the High Street.

Management Committee

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The current structure is:

* Chairman
* Secretary
* Treasurer
* 3 x Management committee members

Plus for Switch On Day:

* 1 x Welfare Lead - Switch On Day (looking after other other team members and volunteers and assisting if people need breaks during the day)

* 2 x Welfare Team Member - Switch On Day

* (others to be added)

==Welfare Lead==

The Welfare Lead Volunteer will be responsible for the following tasks.

Be on site at least 9am - 7:30pm. (Saturday 16th November 2024)

Check in with all volunteers and workers on site at least several times a day to make sure they are ok, are having breaks and have access to food and drink.

Particular attention should be paid to those in roles where it would be hard to leave their post. E.g. those monitoring the road closure gates or manning Santa's Grotto. Assist the Grotto with closing off the queue when needed.

Distribute food/drink vouchers and information on other food and drink discounts to volunteers.

Check in with all stallholders at the beginning of the event, making sure they know where the toilets and medical team are, and how to find and identify marshalls if they need help.

Make a note of all stallholders who are on their own and pay special attention to them, ensuring they are regularly checked on. They may need someone to cover their stall to enable them to go to the toilet or access food and drink.

Check in on all stallholders several times during the day.

Develop a system in advance of the day to enable all the above is covered and monitored.

Arrange and set up a 'green room' behind the Central Avenue stage with seating for stage volunteers and performers to take a break. Ensure this is equipped with water and snacks.

Find out any relevant medical conditions of volunteers and stallholders, where people are willing to share this information, and ensuring this information is kept securely and destroyed promptly after the event. If a volunteer or stallholder has medical needs, ensure they are checked on more frequently. In advance of, or at the beginning of the event, gather next of kin data on all volunteers, single stallholders and single performers who are willing to provide i. This should be kept securely and destroyed promptly after the event.

Being a driver and having access to a vehicle to transport the gazebo etc would be helpful.

==Welfare Team Member==

The Welfare Team Member Volunteers will support the Welfare Lead with their tasks.

Supporter Information

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We believe that we are exempt from having to register with the Information Commissioners Office or having to pay a fee. The following website shows a set of questions which determine whether a fee and registration are necessary:

[https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-fee/data-protection-fee-self-assessment/y/Fee/Y/Y/DC/N/N/N/Y/No-letter ICO Data protection fee self assessment with negative outcome]

Residential Gardens Competition

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Each year we publish an invitation on our Facebook group for people to nominate houses with nice Christmas lights on the front of their houses for an award.

As of 2024 we have renamed this competition to "Best Dressed Christmas House".

The award is in the form of an engraved trophy which is presented by us on the doorstep of the relevant house.

Volunteers look through submitted photos and may visit houses to form an opinion if there is time.

On the trophy the following message is engraved on a plaque:

<blockquote>
SITTINGBOURNE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS<br/>
AND SLEIGH ROUNDS 2024<br/>
BEST DRESSED CHRISTMAS HOUSE
</blockquote>

Grants and Fundraising

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Grants can be requested from the following:

* Swale Borough Council members' grants - to do these first contact those councillors representing wards in Sittingbourne and ask for their support. We can then submit a grant form naming at least one councillor in support. Swale have always let us add more supporters later.

* Kent County Council members' grants - to do these first contact those councillors representing divisions in Sittingbourne and ask for their support.

* Parish councils - some parish councils cover areas that we do sleigh rounds in. We can send in applications for financial support. These can just be sent straight in and we don't need to contact individual councillors first. We normally offer to run a Santa sleigh round in the areas of parish councils that support us.

We offer to thank supporters in a letter to the local newspaper.

Sleigh Rounds

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We need a house to house collection license from Swale Borough Council. These need to be applied for each year and cover the whole sleigh round period for that year.

We typically start the sleigh rounds one week after Switch On Day in order to give time for volunteers to recover from that.

A sleigh round typically runs from 6pm to about 8:30pm in weekends and earlier on Saturdays.

We publicise each sleigh round on our social media account but we do not announce the exact routes, only the general area. We do not announce the starting point because we do not want large crowds to assemble because small children tend to run out in the road and in front of the sleigh. Also we do not want to disappoint children who arrive expecting to see Santa in the sleigh but instead see the sleigh being set up and Santa possibly arriving in a car first.

We also only announce rounds on the same day as the round and not before.

We do not do rounds on Sundays in order to give the volunteers some time off to rest.

===Equipment===

* The [[Santa Sleigh]], built from a converted trailer.

* Hand-held bell(s). Used alongside the music to remind residents that we are in the street.

* Collection buckets. Ours are red with a white lid with a slot for the coins. Most sleigh rounds need between 3 and 6 buckets depending on the number of volunteers.

* Reflective jackets - ours are red with silver reflective strips, and specifically include the word "VOLUNTEER" because we want it to be clear that we are not paid and are not working for the local council.

* Name badges with lanyards. Also printed on the badges should be the collection licence number as issued by the local council. The relevant text on our badges at the time of writing is: "House to house permit 24/501258/HTHCOL issued by Swale Borough Council in accordance with House to House Collections Act 1939. Pass valid only on 18.11.2024 – 23.12.2024"

* Towing socket adapter (13-pin to 7-pin). Our sleigh has a 7-pin plug for its lights, which fits most cars. However, some newer cars only have a 13-pin socket so we occasionally need an adapter.

* Credit-card reader for those people who want to donate but don't have cash on them.

* Printed maps for the driver and the sleigh round leader. We use [[https://streetmap.co.uk/ Streetmap.co.uk]] and not Google Maps because Streetmap produces maps with dark lines along the edges of roads which makes them much easier to read when printed.

===Roles===

Some of the organisation roles can be done by the same person.

* Sleigh round leader - is in overall charge of the sleigh round and walks alongside the sleigh with the collectors. This is a separate role and cannot be done by the driver or Santa. The driver cannot see what is going on behind. Santa is also too busy to give continual instructions and if surrounded by children cannot be expected to give instructions to move to the next street, for instance.

* Driver - drives the vehicle towing the sleigh.

* Collectors - volunteers who accompany the sleigh with collectin

* Route planner - draws out maps of the routes to give to the driver and the sleigh round leader.

* Driver rota - organises drivers to be available for the various sleigh rounds. Sleigh rounds will run for around 4 weeks and generally at least 5 nights a week so

* Santa rota - same as Driver rota but for the Santas.

* Sleigh storage and charging - when the sleigh is collected and returned from and to its place of storage there needs to be someone there to look after it. The drivers only have knowledge of towing and will not know about the tasks needed to maintain the sleigh.

===Sleigh Tasks===

When the sleigh is returned the following needs to be done by someone whose job this is. The volunteer drivers will not know how to do this.

* Putting wheel chocks in place.
* Turning off the power.
* Connecting the battery charger.
* Covering up the sleigh with a tarpaulin to protect from rain.
* Noting or doing any repairs needed.

Switch On Day Letter to Residents

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=Letter to Residents=

Everyone in the High Street must be notified of the date of the High Street closure at least 4 weeks in advance.

We produce a letter which is hand delivered to all those addresses that have public letter boxes and posted to those flats which do not have accessible letterboxes.

We need about 120 copies for all the addresses in Sittingbourne High Street.

Main Page

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