The company summer party: music outdoors, power, weather and a plan B
3 min read
A summer party looks easier than a Christmas party: outdoors, in the afternoon, everyone relaxed. Organisationally it is the opposite. Outside there is no socket in the right place, no roof and no walls to hold the sound – and the weather often only decides the day before which party it is actually going to be.
Power: the first question to settle
The sound system and lights need a socket close to the setup that is not on the same circuit as the coffee machine, the refrigerated trailer and the patio heaters. When too many devices share a fuse, it trips at some point – and in our experience not during setup, but in the middle of the party.
Cables across the grounds are fine, but only if the walkways are covered or taped down. At a party with children, doubly so.
Ask facilities beforehand which sockets are on which fuse. It takes two minutes and saves hunting for the fuse box once it is dark outside.
Weather: the equipment needs a roof
Speakers, mixer and laptop belong under cover – in the rain, obviously, but also in full sun, where a DJ booth quickly heats up to the point that equipment gives out. A gazebo with one side wall facing the weather is usually enough.
The real plan B is not the tent, though, but the decision: who decides, and by when, whether the party happens indoors or outdoors? Leave it until the morning of the event and it is too late to set up in the right place.
Agree a fixed time for the weather call – ideally the day before – and tell every supplier in advance.
Volume and the neighbours
Outdoors, music carries further than you notice on site. On an industrial estate that is rarely an issue; on company grounds next to a residential area it is. In North Rhine-Westphalia night-time quiet hours begin at 10 pm, and a call from a neighbour ends a party faster than any downpour.
In practice: point the speakers away from the houses, move them closer to the guests rather than turning them up at the edge – and plan the evening so the party peaks before 10 pm or carries on indoors afterwards.
A party for every age
Unlike the Christmas party, the summer party is often a family day. That changes the afternoon: children run across the space in front of the booth, parents chat at the edges, and nobody dances at four o'clock.
So the music follows the day. In the afternoon something light plays in the background, and a sing-along is fine during an activity for the kids. The dancing starts once the families are heading home and it has cooled down.
- 3:00 pm – start, music quietly in the background
- 4:00 pm – welcome and a short speech
- 4:30 pm – activities for children, the barbecue opens
- 7:00 pm – families leave, dinner for everyone staying
- 8:00 pm – the music gets louder, the dance floor opens
- 10:00 pm – the end outdoors, or moving inside
Checklist for the site
- A socket close to the setup, on its own circuit
- A roof for the equipment – gazebo, tent or canopy
- Firm, level ground for speakers and booth
- Vehicle access for unloading close to the setup
- The weather call: who decides, and by when?
- An indoor fallback room in case the weather turns
- The time from which things need to get quieter
Vehicle access sounds trivial. Carrying speakers and lights two hundred metres across a lawn doubles the setup time – and that time has to appear somewhere in the schedule.