Let’s do this! Here’s where we turn that vision into a reality. This page is curated by past event organizers to give you all the support you could possibly want, and more!
Remember, everything offered here is invitational.
Three months (or more) before the event
- If possible, find a person to organize the event with, as you may want to share the work load with someone and to bounce ideas off them.
- Determine the date and the location of the event.
- You may want to meet someone who works at the city hall of your town, maybe someone from the Recreation department if there’s one. Not only they will be able to suggest venues for the event, they should be able to see which date would be best (ie. not conflicting/competing with another local event)
- Decide how many hours the event is going to be. It mainly comes down to the availability of the volunteers, but there can be other factors (ie. when during the year the event take place, how long you rent the venue for, etc)
- The city hall may have some budget to cover the costs of such an event, feel free to pitch the idea of a repair café and ask them!
- Start looking for volunteers.
- You will need the help of people able to fix items of various kind, but also a few volunteers willing to be at the welcome table, a couple of others serving tea and coffee if you choose to provide such consumables.
- The search for volunteers is a continuous effort, you may find volunteers up to the day of the event!
- Choose or create an email address, as a main medium for your future guests to be reaching out to you and other organizers.
- Create a dedicated website or a dedicated page on a social media. Add your email address to it.
One to two months before the event
- Set a list of items to buy for the fixers.
- As fixers join you for your event, ask them what items they’d like to have at disposal, in addition to the ones they own and can bring over.
- Work on a poster design.
- Content may include the date, time and location of the event, the website address, social media and email address (if any)
- Make a list of popular venues where to put up posters: community centers, libraries, boards in supermarkets, coffee shops, town halls, etc.
- Create an event page on your website (or on nsrepairs.ca).
- If you have a website, create a post about your upcoming event. Then as details of your event change (eg. more fixers are coming, a specific station will be set up, etc), we will be able to add or update details in your post accordingly.
- If you don’t have website (and if your event takes place in Nova Scotia), we can help you create your own event page on this website with as much information as necessary, including a digital copy of your poster if you wish. As an example, here’s an event page on our website.
- Print out posters.
- Based on our experience displaying repair café ads in the South Shore, only two sizes can be considered here: letter-size and half-letter-size posters.
One month before the event
- Put posters up in your area: keep the list of venues you bringing a poster to, you may want to go to these same places next time you’re organizing another repair café.
- Request sandwich stands.
- You might want to place sandwich stands the day of the event on the sidewalk, to help guests to find where your repair café is happening.
- Your town hall or your community center probably has one or two to lend, feel free to ask them.
- Find volunteers for the welcome table and for the coffee table.
- It’s easier to find volunteers for these roles rather than for the specialized ones (ie fixers).
- To share the load at the welcome table, you could have two shifts, each one would have a team of two people, depending how long your event will be.
- If possible, provide coffee, tea, snacks for free or otherwise for a small amount of money.
- Keep publicizing the event. In addition to putting up posters, this may include:
- Reach out to your local radio stations
- Share event onto local community FB pages, or on other social medias
- Have the event promoted in local community newsletters
- Reach out to the mayor of your town and/or to your MLA and ask them to amplify the message
- Make sure the event venue has a first aid kit.
Two weeks before the event
- Send a reminder to volunteers about the event, make sure they’re still available to participate.
- Ask them also to bring a personal project, if they want to. You don’t know if guests are going right at the beginning of the event, and although fixers may be chatting between themselves in the meantime, they may also want to work on a project of theirs.
- Get your documents ready.
- Print out as many item tickets as you think you may need, if you choose to use this resource (see the Resources page for more details on item tickets)
- Print out waiver forms and feedback forms – if you are not using online forms
- Print out a blank mailing list to contact guests about future events
- “Call for donation” sign
- Signs for directions to the event (to display in the building) and for the sandwich stands
- Blank adhesive name tags
A few days before the event
- Make a list of all items to bring to the event: printed documents, equipment for the fixers, extension cords, garbage bins, etc
- Buy all perishable items you have planed to serve at your event (eg. food).
Further Resources
If you wish to learn more about starting your own repair café and are interested in getting more useful resources, feel free to check out partner organization resources
- Repair Café International. You will be able to purchase a stater kit with extensive information and lots of materials (eg. template documents) to get started.