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Now that you have your date…
Find your city or town's communications person, or whoever handles community events. Tell them what you are planning, where, and when. Ask whether you need a permit for the gathering location (you probably will), whether you’ll need insurance (you probably will and it might be $200-$500), and whether there are any conflicts that day.
If you can, find a champion at City Hall who can be the conduit in case things get stuck. They might be able to help you coordinate a welcome from the local Indigenous nation.
A note on framing: None of these calls should be framed as "we have a problem we need help solving." They should be framed as "this exciting thing is happening, it will directly benefit your members, here is how you might want to be involved."
It would also be a good idea to book the Mayor for The ‘Family Photo’ day in case they want to say a few words. (They might also have pins they can bring to give out! If they offer to give them to you in advance for you to hand out, remember, that will become another task on a to-do list; instead, try to encourage a city councillor to come and do that.)
Remember, you aren’t asking for permission, but communities have logistical things they handle (washroom service, parking enforcement, garbage collection) that you do not want to discover by accident on the day.
These are the people who represent the local businesses your visitors will be spending money at. You want them to know in advance that hundreds of people are coming. They will spread the word to their members. Members can prepare.
Tell them that participants will be asked to wear Red Lanyards, and those people might be good to have promotions for.
Some Chambers will offer help (some might have a budget to help you with park fees or insurance costs). Some will be skeptical. Either way, we recommend you tell them.
Alors, vous avez décidé de la date…
Repérez la/les personne(s) qui a/ont le dossier des communications dans votre municipalité. Expliquez ce que vous planifié, où et quand. Demandez si un permis est nécessaire pour l’endroit où l’évènement aura lieu (la réponse sera probablement à l’affirmative) et si une assurance sera demandée (probablement oui et le coût entre $200-$500). Assurez-vous qu’il n’y aura aucun conflit à ce moment-là.
Si ça s’avère possible trouvez-vous un champion de la cause à l’Hôtel de Ville, qui peut agir comme intermédiaire au cas où vous rencontreriez un obstacle. Il pourrait aussi vous aider à coordonner une cérémonie de bienvenue avec les Nations Autochtones de votre régions.
Un mot sur les fondements de ces conversations : Aucune de celles-ci ne doivent se fonder sur une base de demande d’aide à solutionner un problème. Il vaut mieux les appuyer sur le fait que cet évènement excitant va apporter des bénéfices aux membres de la communauté et que vous recherchez leur participation.