by Teeebone
After the last party at the Center on September 9th, 2016, I took a well deserved break from the heavy activity for about six weeks. Then I started to miss the Hump. Wednesdays just weren’t the same after that. And then of course, I began to miss the other parties I used to work at, too. Power Play Mixed-Tape, OMG-SX!, The Poly Social, sometimes even Monday Madness– Typically I would find myself at the CSPC two or three times a week.
With all this experience, I sat down and thought about what made The Hump so successful:
An EC/Champion/Host must learn how to delegate tasks because you can’t make the party happen by yourself. It was tough enough to do strike and clean up by myself, and I don’t recommend it. The CSPC has a lot of information and experience on “how to” put parties and events together and trusting others to do the tasks that you assign them can require an uncomfortable leap of faith if you don’t have experience in delegation.
Online ticket sales FTW! Back in the day, cash was handled at the door and we had a registration program for handling admissions. To be honest, about half the time the EC on duty had to hang around the cashier’s desk to resolve issues that regularly came up using the old system. These days, ticket sales are done online in advance and this is a much smoother way to handle admissions.
Many hands make everything more fun. On the topic of ECs, The Hump got to experiment with a three ECs/Night schedule for a while, which helped divide the labor so that all three ECs had the option to work and play at the party. As our volunteer corps continues to grow, I hope we can get back to this best practice. #worklifebalance
Consent matters. The growth of consent culture (and classes on consent) has helped our efforts in educating our new members on scene etiquette, boundaries, and consent in a much more immersive and effective way. Explicitly elevating consent as a core value within our community has caused remarkable positive change.
Listen to attendees and try new things. In the first couple of years of its existence, The Hump did a lot of experimenting with music themes, different setup options, various snack spreads, monthly special events like “Whump at the Hump” and “Cuddle Huddle,” classes taught by members like Swing Dancing, Tango, and Belly Dancing and even the occasional “Hump Town Hall” during the social where we asked the attendees what they would like to experience at The Hump. While we had to scale things back after the fourth year, we were able to streamline things to help us produce a better Hump for the attendees.
The volunteer team is Fam. Build that crew and keep it together. It can be the greatest challenge you may ever experience, but I found it rewarding, especially when watching The Hump grow as an event. Always remember that the CSPC is a community!
I think that covers the most salient points. I seem to remember telling many a new member when they first attended a Hump that they had taken the first step in what would be a very interesting journey… And it most certainly was! :^)
Want to be part of the volunteer team that starts the Next Great Party? Become a volunteer today!
