Planning Your Event
Contact us for information and advice
Reserve your rooms or outdoor locations
Request set-up services for your venue
Ensure that your event is in compliance with College policies
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Contact us for information and advice
Have you considered:
- Parking needs?
- Whether people with physical, sensory and other disabilities can attend and participate in your event?
- Reserving space for your caterer to work in?
- Checking to ensure that other events will not compete with yours?
- Audiovisual needs and placement of tables?
We will be happy to walk you through the event planning process to help ensure that important details are addressed. Please contact us for information and advice.
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Planning a Virtual Event
Please visit our virtual event planning guide for instructions and reservation information.
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Reserve your rooms or outdoor locations
All indoor and outdoor on-campus spaces must be reserved through Conferences and Events, with the exception of Athletic Facilities and spaces within the Tuck School.
To request a space from Conferences and Events, please choose from the following:
Room Request Form for Dartmouth sponsored events (authentication required)
Room Request Form for non-Dartmouth sponsored events
Your request usually will be processed within 48 hours.
To help ensure space availability, please submit requests at least two weeks before your event date. Some locations must be booked months ahead of time.
Consider whether the facility you are requesting is appropriate for your event: Is it large enough? Do you need a smart classroom? Is food allowed there? Please contact us if you are unsure.
If an outdoor venue is preferred, consider reserving a rain location as well.
Please note: No reservation is final until you receive confirmation via email from our office.
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Request set-up services for your venue
Conferences and Events will coordinate your set-up needs for items such as tables, chairs, lecterns, microphones and PA systems, audio-visual equipment, electricity, trash cans, tents, and custodial services. In addition to having items delivered, we will arrange to have them set up in the configuration you require.
To request your set-up needs, please fill out the "Additional Information" section in the Room Reservation Form (ABOVE) at least two weeks before your event. Please fill out the form as completely as possible. Charges do apply for labor, trucking, custodial charges, and rental of equipment.
We offer on-site consultations to help you determine how best to arrange a room or outdoor area for your event. Please contact our office to arrange a meeting to discuss your specific event.
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Planning an accessible event
As the event planner, it is your responsibility to plan for and provide required services for people with disabilities. It is important to consider the accessibility of your program to presenters, participants and guests with physical, sensory and hidden disabilities and to anticipate the possibility of providing auxiliary communication aids and services such as assistive listening devices, alternative print materials, sign language interpretation, captioning, accessible food service, and other accommodations. All promotional materials should include both a phone number and email contact information for people with questions or special requests. See Samples Below The College is committed to facilitating the participation of people with disabilities in all of its programs and events. Conferences & Events and the 504/ADA Coordinator in the Office of Institutional Diversity & Equity can assist.
Sample for the bottom of a poster:
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Promoting your event
The Room Request Form allows you to indicate whether you would like your event posted to the College Events Calendar. In promoting your event in other ways (fliers, advertising, departmental postings, Vox Daily, registration materials, etc), please be sure to provide both phone and email contact information to enable people with disabilities who may have questions or requests to communicate with you in advance. If they do so, consult the 504/ADA Coordinator as to how best to respond. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~accessibility/who/
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Staffing your event
Staff from the department hosting the event should be prepared to serve participants in a variety of ways. In addition to insuring that the event runs smoothly, staff should be prepared to respond to questions about venue features such as the location of restrooms (including accessible restrooms), drinking fountains, and seating, and about the availability of event materials and assistive listening devices. Staff should check the path of travel from the building entrance to the event venue to insure that there are no obstructions. They should also be prepared to respond to emergency situations with emergency contact numbers and emergency procedure information appropriate to the program and the venue. Again, please contact us so we may assist you in advance.
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Outdoor events
Outdoor event permits are required for any of the following: amplified sound, outdoor gatherings of more than 20 people, tents, blocking of roads or sidewalks, parades, or races. Please download and fill out the permit and return it to conferences.and.events@dartmouth.edu or to our offices at least THREE weeks before your event. Once approved, the permit will be forwarded to the Hanover Town Offices, which need a minimum of 10 business days before final approval.
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Using a Tent on Campus
All tents to be set up on campus property must be approved through Conferences and Events. Please place your request at least four weeks ahead of time to help ensure availability. It is the client's responsibility to contact, hire, and process payment for the tent vendor. An outdoor event permit will be required for all tents.
State law requires a Dig Safe to be performed prior to the set up of any tent. Conferences and Events will arrange for the dig safe through FO&M. There is a cost associated with this service and it will be journaled to the event organizers chart string.
Typical information needed for tents:
- What size tent do you need?
- Will you want sides on your tent?
- Will you want heat, fans or lighting?
- By what time would you like the tent set up?
- When can the tent come down?
- Are there other events in your proposed location prior to or after yours that need to be considered in determining the location of the tent?
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Catering information
A list of insured caterers can be found on the Office of Risk and Internal Controls Services web site. Caterers not on this list are not allowed to cater on campus. The catering list is updated on a monthly basis. Catering restrictions apply to certain venues on campus. Please ask what restrictions may apply to your location.
Some things to think about when talking to your caterer:
- Does your caterer supply tablecloths? What about centerpieces?
- Are you aware of their cancellation and guarantee policies?
- Be sure to ask their arrival time before the event for set up as the building/room needs to be reserved for this time as well.
- Remind them that they are responsible for removing trash and their equipment from the venue at the end of the event.
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Ensure that your event is in compliance with College policies
College policies are searchable through the Dartmouth Policy Portal. Please contact our office for policy concerns or questions, particularly if your event involves use of the Green, Baker Lawn, blocking of Tuck Drive or Webster Avenue, outdoor amplification, a tent, or late hours.