Dear Parks Day Event Hosts:
As the National Coordinator for Canada’s Parks Day, I would like to begin by thanking you for your work in organizing an event as part of the Parks Day celebrations for 2008. It is through the efforts of people like you that thousands and thousands of people are drawn to the beauty of Canada’s parks and historic sites, not only on Parks Day, but also throughout the year. First celebrated in 1990, Canada’s parks Day is an opportunity for park staff, friends and volunteers to invite park visitors and residents of nearby communities to join in celebration Canada’s parks and historic sites from coast to coast to coast! It is a day when park agencies focus attention on major achievements, announce new parks or launch new programs or services. It is also an opportunity to raise public awareness and increase support for parks in Canada and throughout the world. Similar to other years, within the Parks Day website (www.parksday.ca) you will find a variety of resources for assisting you with the planning and promotion of your event. New this year is the Interpretive Kit that provides information on parks and sites all across country that may be useful for inclusion in your Parks Day event this year. Other resources include: a planning guide and summary of events which are useful for the actual planning of your event as well as mastheads, sample news releases, pdf versions of the poster, a brief promotional piece, a brochure and banner which will all assist you in promoting your event. I hope you will find these are helpful. Please find these resources at http://parksday.ca/eng/resources.html. 1) Who does what? Parks Day is a collaborative effort of many people. Here are the roles of the key contributors: Parks Day Event Hosts - Plan and organize event at park or historic site - Promote the event locally and regionally - Register event by posting it on the Parks Day web site - Submit an evaluation, photos, clippings, etc. to CPC after the event Parks Day Coordinators (Provincial/Territorial/ Parks Canada) - Update lists of parks and organizations to receive Parks Day Kits - Review event registrations and be familiar with activities throughout agency - Brief senior management as required - Coordinate any launch events, parks day announcements, etc. for the agency - Coordinate regional publicity and media relations for Parks Day - Support and assist event hosts as needed - Review event evaluations - Participate in national planning and evaluation (Parks Day Working Group) National Coordinator / Canadian Parks Council (CPC): - Manage design and production of all promotional material and maintenance of website - Mail out of material to all parks / sites across country - Distribute news release to all NATIONAL MEDIA OUTLETS - Coordinate Parks Day Working Group Conference Calls, prepare minutes and provide support, as needed, to Provincial / Territorial and Parks Canada Coordinators - Collect Evaluation Forms and prepare Final Report.
2) Registering your event Registration of events will be done online at www.parksday.ca. The instructions are included in this package. PLEASE NOTE THE RESTRICTION ON THE NUMBER OF SPACES AND CHARACTERS IS 150 WHEN ENTERING YOUR INFORMATION. PLAN YOUR ENTRY CAREFULLY AND PRO OFREAD IT ONCE IT HAS BEEN POSTED. **If you do not have access to a computer or to the internet, please contact your Regional Coordinator (see enclosed contact list) for assistance. 3) Promoting your event
a) Posters
As usual, posters are provided in each package. If the number you received this year is not enough or too many, please make sure to let your regional coordinator know in order that this number can be changed for next year. Posters are designed in such a way that you can print your information on an 8 ½ x 11 and attach it on the white space or write your information directly in the white space.
b) Banner / Brochure
The generic banners (available in English only and bilingual versions) are in a format compatible with any printer / sign shop. Two sizes are provided, one designed to hang across the end of a picnic table and the other to hang across a roadway or in an outdoor theatre. Simply download and send to a printer / sign company in your area. The full colour, three panel, 8 ½ x 11, accordion-folded brochure is also available online. This brochure contains information on Parks Day and Canada’s Parks & Historic Sites as well a blank area where events taking place in your park / region can be added. c) Other Please help me in promoting Parks Day by sending out the news release you receive from your Regional Coordinator just prior to Parks Day, to any newspaper, magazine, radio, TV or any other promotional source you think would provide exposure to your event and therefore Parks Day. I will be making every effort to promote Parks Day nationally. Also, if you are coordinating a major event for your area that you think would be a highlight for your province / territory or jurisdiction, please send me an email telling me a bit about it in order that I can include information on it in the national news release that I send out. 4) Evaluation Forms Your feedback is an important part of measuring the effectiveness of Canada’s Parks Day celebrations and identifying ways of improving future events. An evaluation form is included in this package. It is also posted on the website. PLEASE FILL IT OUT AND RETURN IT BY EMAIL TO B OTH YOUR REGIONAL C O ORDINATOR AND ME AS S O ON AS YOU CAN AFTER YOUR EVENT. If you don’t have email access please mail it to us. Once again, thank you for planning one of hundreds of Parks Day activities across the country and good luck with your event! Sincerely,
Laurie Collette National Coordinator, Canada’s Parks Day naturalevents@sympatico.ca (705) 652-5159