The First Logistical Domino: Venue
Learning from Before
When we were ideating about the Ampersand Gathering in DC, we circled around the venue options for months debating location, accessibility, size, vibe, cost, and more. The big ‘we’ was a mix of NOVA scribes co-organizers, a paid event planner, and varying voices from a few local organizations (small) we wanted to collaborate with on the event that became the Ampersand Gathering.
Trying to make decisions by committee - especially informal ones - leads to a long stumbling road of inaction until the eventual death of momentum under the weight of circling conversations.
Eventually, I took all that advice and information from the group into consideration and just made a decision, signed a contract, and we were officially doing it.
I paid that venue deposit out of my bank account.
Kicking off the Search
The venue is the first domino that needs to fall into place to make the idea for an event real. And the choice of venue has a major impact on how the gathering is designed, delivered, and experienced.
I moved a lot faster with the venues for the Solo Together Summit. In huge part because I’m the solo engine spearheading this conference.
Another part is that before I started looking I dialed in on what I wanted, needed, and didn’t want in a venue.
I knew I wanted to do the summit in downtown Cary. I wanted it to be walkable, playful, and full of natural light.
I needed one big space that could hold the entire summit for plenary sessions and where I could stash stuff overnight, set up gathering and HQ spaces, and stage the snacks and lunch.
I wanted three other locations big enough for workshops and in close proximity to the main hub. I needed mics, screens, and projectors hopefully included or the space for them to be added.
I’ve hosted various workshops and events in the Cary Founded classroom and knew that would be a great workshop space. A bit of googling and online sleuthing turned up a few other options in downtown Cary with various pros, cons, and price points.
Exploring Venues:
Cary Arts Center was an option with a large theatre and various conference rooms available to rent that would have had space for everything.
The Cary Theater can also be rented and also might have worked as a plenary space.
Downtown Cary Park has two spaces that might have been cool as workshop spaces - the Pavilion Space and the Gathering House.
Chatham Station is a big open event venue space with brick and lots of light.
Narrowing the Options
One nice thing about coordinating an event down the street from me is that I could easily pop over for a mini-site visit, checking out the options and getting a feel for the spaces and how they might work for the Solo Together Summit.
I reached out for a few official venue tours and walked in or peaked in the windows of a few of the public spaces. Which is a cool way to discover new places too!
After gathering information over a week or so, I updated my spreadsheet with the estimated venue pricing, then considered rental constraints (like static theatre seating - which I didn’t want), what’s included or excluded, the vibe & experience, ease of coordination, and proximity of the spaces.
The venue costs are the most expensive and often upfront cost for an in-person event. And unlike food costs, this one doesn’t flex based on final attendance.
There are a lot of variables and tradeoffs to consider when deciding on a venue for an event and never one right choice, yet I still need to make a choice for this to actually happen.
So I did.
The Decision
I decided to book Chatham Station as the main hub and plenary space and use a cluster of three other super-close and walkable venues - including the classroom at Cary Founded, the private room at Bond Brothers, and the Arcane Cafe in the Williams House - in downtown Cary, NC.
The first logistical domino on the list is done.
The Solo Together Summit has a venue, a date, and a location. And now all the other logistical dominos can start falling into place too - like the programming.
Chatham Station
Welcome to the Solo Together Summit!
110 N. Walker St, Cary, NC
Rachel Thompson is the founder of the Solo Together Summit. She is also the founder and CEO of Daring Studios.