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[azwildcat96]

Just out of curiosity...Are you planning another SoCal games? Any general locations or areas?

[Steve Ashton]

One of the best, local, small games I have ever seen was held in a municipal athletic field.

The ball diamonds made for great heavy event venues. The backdrops came in handy for the hammer. There were bleachers to watch from.
The site already had power, lights, and good bathrooms. Some food vendors could use the existing hotdog stands.

Behind the bleachers of the ball field were trees and a park like setting with picnic tables. Perfect for setting up the vendor and clan society tents. Beyond them was ample parking.

All within a well known, secure, and well lit area. Lighting at night was important as these were two day games and the vendors wanted to keep their tents up overnight so security was on hand after closing.

One thing that many people overlook is access to the field with vehicles. Can the field you rent have cars and trucks drive on them. This is very important as you are setting up early in the morning and taking everything down at night. Time becomes critical and everyone is tired. The last thing you need is some idiot vendor who wants to pack up and drags his trailer pulled by his 3/4 ton ram truck over a mowed and tended field. The same can be said for a food vendor who want to pull a donut trailer over the same field.
But you do need some way of moving heavy stuff like tents, ice, equipment etc. around. And that stuff is too heavy to carry.

Lastly if you are going to have dance competitions or shows you will need a stage with a sound system and good sun and rain cover.

Prepare to rent 5-10 portable pop-up type tents for things like the weaving guild demo or the history and heritage lectures.
Also you will need lots of chairs and tables not only for the beer tent but for people to just sit down for a while.

Get your cadre of volunteers lined up early and have them well briefed. Where is the first aid station and the lost & found? Can they communicate with each other? Do they have t-shirts or vests so people will know that they are working and can find them easily?

And lastly but perhaps most importantly. There needs to be one person who is the central point of contact. That person needs to be in one place where they can be found at a moments notice and have easy access to an outside phone line and radios to all the areas of the field. There also needs to be a big sign letting people know that this is where to go if you need something.
This one central person, who does not move around, but has instant access to everything has saved more games than any other single thing. In some cases they have even saved a life.