Ready to plan your company event? First thing’s first!
Make your event a massive success with these simple location guidelines.
You’ve just been tasked with planning your company event, but what needs to be done first? Great event locations, including many of San Diego’s beautiful parks, book up quickly starting at the beginning of the year. Once you’ve gone through the process of researching the perfect location and reserving a date, you can take a deep breath and jump into the fun parts of planning, but first thing’s first. Here are a few pointers to help you find the perfect location for your next event!
#1 – Knowing Your Group
When planning an event, the first thing to take into account is the makeup of your group – demographics, where they live, family structures, etc. This will help you make the best decisions on not only the location, but also the date and timing of your event.
Be aware of dates that might cause wide conflicts for your group. For example, if your group is primarily made up of families, consider school schedules, sport seasons, holidays relating to parenthood and any other factors that might affect the attendance of your event.
Think about where your guests live so you can choose a venue that is as convenient as possible for everyone. If your guests live all over the county, a location near your office or meeting place is usually the safest bet! Remember, one location is rarely convenient for everyone, but with forethought and a little help from your Picnic People Event Coordinator, you can find an amazing spot for your event!
Consider the activity level and general interests of your group as well to determine the type of venue that will work best. A more active demographic might lend itself to a kickball tournament as a team building event, requiring a baseball diamond. In contrast, a less active group might respond better to a fun Minute-To-Win-It team bonding event, where a nice shaded area at a public park would be a good fit. For more tips for choosing the perfect activities for your group demographics, see:
Activities & Games for the Perfect Event.
#2 – Know Your Event Type
Certain types of events work better at specific locations, where others can work in numerous places, depending on the event’s needs. A company with access to a parking lot, courtyard or open field could easily host their event on-site – saving money that can be used for more fun activities and food. This also typically increases the attendance of the event, due to the convenience for the employees.
In many cases, however, hosting events on-site is not an option. That’s why Picnic People has an extensive list of public parks, recreation areas and venues to choose from. Each location has its perks, but also many ever-changing rules and restrictions – knowing and following these is imperative to keeping your event on the right side of the law. With such a wide variety, the perfect option for you is out there.
If your group prefers a bit of privacy, consider a location partner of ours, where you can host your event on private property. For example, the San Diego Sportsplex has a variety of fields for sports or picnics and can be used for evening events, such as a movie night. Conversely, if your team prefers to mingle with the public, Mission Bay parks are always busy and vibrant! Here are a few parks we love that book up quickly, especially during popular summer weekends.
De Anza Cove
– Mission Bay’s most popular company picnic park books out well in advance due to its convenient location and great water access into a protected cove, perfectly fit for water activities. In addition, there is a covered gazebo area (available to be reserved separately) and a large, open grass area, ideal for any and all picnic activities.
Crown Point Shores
– Also located on San Diego Mission Bay, Crown Point offers the best parking and longest shoreline of any Mission Bay park. Crown Point also boasts numerous permanent picnic tables – while not reservable, these can be secured by one of our early morning equipment leads as soon as the park opens.
NTC Park
– Nestled down the street from the popular Liberty Public Market in the historic Naval Training Center is NTC Park, which is perfect for large and small events alike (NTC Park can host groups of 50 to 10,000 and has become the go-to park for large company picnics and public events).
Getting the right venue booked on the best day for your group is of utmost importance. Rely on Picnic People to help you navigate the entire complicated and time consuming process, from choosing the right date and location to processing the permit paperwork.
Once you have considered your options and established your preferred dates and locations, simply fill out a permit authorization form and let our team take care of the rest – from coordinating with permit offices to using the correct permit verbiage and providing proper insurance. This way your group can take advantage of the best of San Diego’s great locations, with useful amenities including kids play areas, water access, restrooms and enough room for all of your activities.
Finding the perfect location for your event is extremely important, but it can be tricky. Luckily, our team at Picnic People has been planning and executing hundreds of events throughout San Diego County each year for over 35 years. We know San Diego because we are San Diego.
Contact us here to learn more.
It's never too early to start. Give us a shout to find out how we can deliver the most scrumptious picnic catering in town and help you throw an epic event from start to finish.