Wetlook World Forum

Message # 5617.1.1.1

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Dunk Tank Entertainment – some questions

Date: Thu 04/09/03 19:38:32 GMT

Name: waterman

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By MK - wamtec@compuserve.com Mon 01/09/03 03:10:41 GMT

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This just happened to a dunk tank video producer I know last month. This amateur video producer/lady whom I know, wanted to stage a dunk tank event outside the night club where she works...and she thought it was a simple matter of just renting the dunk tank, and getting all the flyers printed up, and she knew loads of girls who would go in it...and so she planned for this dunk tank event in the parking lot outside the club. She and her husband spent over 10 grand in expenses to get this event advertised and staged, and laid on all kinds of side stalls for a barbeque and food and drink stands....and they had the full support of the club and lots of girls ready to do the event. And the event started just great....for about 20 minutes....AND THEN THE COPS SHOWED UP...demanding to see the permits for staging an outdoor event like this. The club thought it was ok, cos it was not held in the street, but in the parking lot belonging to the club...but the cops said it was not ok...cos the club's licence did not permit it to stage events outdoors. What made matters worse, was the food and drink being sold outside, cos it is against the law in the USA to be drinking outside, unless you have a special permit for this. Anyway...the cops raided the event and shut the whole thing down and made everybody leave....causing a huge loss to the organizers of the event, cos the event never got off the ground. This all happened last month...and now the finger pointing has started...cos the dunk tank producer had a deal with the club to sponsor the event, and they say it was the club's responsility to get the necessary permits..which they failed to do....so the dunk tank producer got totally let down by the club that forgot to apply for the permits to stage an event in their parking lot.

So...much planning is needed whenever you are doing something that is not in your own back garden. As Leonmoomin will tell you..events like this need to be run by professionals organizers who know what they are doing...and permits and liability insurance are a must for starters. Unless you have all the experience at doing this...you are better off just hiring a professional dunk tank operator instead.

Now to your questions...

>After aquiring a dunk tank (which might be the least

> problem) I need a concept for the entertainment. Will I

> have to find my own crew of volunteers to start and make

> the business running?

Renting the dunk tank is the easiest part....they can be rented for about $250 a day in most cases if you do everything yourself -- or for $500 a day if you hire a profressional dunk tank operator to operate and organize the event for you. I would only recommend doing things yourself if you are going to install it in your own back garden and throw a private party. If you are going to do this outside in a public venue...then you are better off just hiring the services of somebody who knows how to do such things.

Creating a concept for the event and finding volunteers is what a professional dunk tank organizer can do for you...it is no different to hiring a "wedding planner"....would you organize all your own wedding yourself...or would you want it planned properly.

>Who will be likely participating in this? And if I do find

> two or three girls, how  should they make the tease?

Those are also the kinds of questions a dunk tank organizer can guide you with.

>How much should a throw cost and how can I tease people to

> throw anyway?

It all depends on what the "purpose" of the event is for. If this is for charity...then you need to work with a local charity to determine those things...i.e. how much you hope to raise as a fundraiser. In the USA, most charity dunk tank events  give folks 3-4 balls to throw for $1-$2

If this is not for charity and just for fun...then you should not charge anything for the balls.

>Whats to win if you hit somebody down to the waters?

Again...it depends on the purpose of the event. If this is a charity event, the dunkee does not win anything...they just have the satisfaction of knowing that they are doing something for charity.

The girls at Leonmoomin's events do not win anything...they just do it for fun....but then...Leonmoomin is Leonmoomin and few others could do what he does.

>What's a good/fair ratio between hit and miss?

Dunking is a random thing....you cannot predict what will happen....and when it will happen...thats the entire thrill of the dunktank phenomina. However...if you find that the girls are not getting dunked very often....as sometimes happens at american county fairs...cos they make the throwers stand too far away from the target....then it is a simple thing to just either use larger throwing balls or have the throwers stand closer. Basically...if a girl gets dunked every 30 seconds...the throwers are standing too close...if the girl only gets dunked every  10 minutes..then you are making things too difficult...the girls should get dunked about once every 3-4 minutes.

>How to keep up "logistics", i.e. the girls need to shower

> hot and change wet clothes every ten or 15 minutes cos the

> ambient air temp. is about 15 to 20 degrees these times. I

> have a motorhome, this could help a lot, anything else?

Yes...you have lots of planning to do....

>How can I win

You don't "win" ...you just have a good time.

>and involve volunteers from the crowd to make

> a game with the risk of getting dunked?

Thats why you need to hire somebody. For all the planning and costs that are needed....you would save money by just sending Leonmoomin a plane ticket and hiring him to stage the event for you.

>Special prices for the courageous? Or the throwers?

If you have the right approach to doing this...then no prizes are needs...cos either you do this for charity...and all proceeds go to the charity...or...you just do this for fun...and the dunkees do not get prizes...they just do it for fun.

>And at last for the moment: How does this come together to

> make a (at least small) win out of all of this?

Am not sure what you mean by "win"....if you are talking about doing  this as a business venture and making a profit from staging such events, then you need to do what Leonmoomin is doing...i.e. do lots of study to understand the local regulations, and enter into a partnership with a night club or sponsor.

This is not easy. Like I said...somebody I know tried to do a dunk tank event last month...and the cops showed up after 20 minutes and busted them and shut everything down and issued summons to appear in court for breaking the law.

My advice would be....unless you have the experience at managing events in public....it would be safer for you to just have a private party in your own garden and stage it privately instead...thats what I normally do...cos it is too much hassle to get permits for outdoor events.

HAVING SAID ALL THAT....in some countries you can get away with doing anything you like in public..and the cops will not hassle you....which is why Leonmoomin and I are considering to set up an outdoor dunk tank and hire and stage out own events in the streets of Chiang Mai in Thailand next year, for Songkran next April. In Thailand...during Songkran...anybody with a van can pull up on the side of the road and sell or set up anything he likes...everything from beer, to ice to food and they sometimes have dunk tanks in the streets over there too. Therefore we are considering to rent a dunk tank over their next year, and hire several campaign/promotion models...to man it for us for 3-4 days. You can get hundreds of people walking by to volunteer to go in it...so if you want to save all the hassles of doing something in your country...come over to Thailand next April and meet Leonmoomin, Wet Brian and I in Thailand, and we can guarantee you will see hundreds of tourists and local girls in our dunk tank every day.

MK

By leonmoomin - leonmoomin@ntlworld.com Mon 01/09/03 00:11:19 GMT

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When you see a dunk tank in a fair or an event, such as my nightclub nights, the dunk tank isn't provided by you.

The night clubs or fairs hire the dunk tanks from you, they pay you a fixed figure to have the tank at their fair or event.  So they hire you for say 400 Euros and then you just go along and look after it!  Set it up, make sure people are being safe etc.

In a fair, they will usually provide people they want to dunk and will charge people throwing balls a figure of their choosing.  At my night club events, people don't pay to be dunked or to throw the balls, the nightclub hires the tank and the people throwing and being dunked are volunteers from the audience.

My tank is available for half the price of others and I am specifically marketing to the clubs!

Any other questions, please contact me!

leonmoomin

By Waterman - Sun 31/08/03 20:28:35 GMT

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As it is only a few days to go when our yearly City Fest will be celebrated an old idea of mine recovers too. Since long I have been thinking about establishing a stand with dunk tank entertainment. This is quite rare in germany, I saw this only one time the last 20 years or so.

I don't have a dunk tank nor any ideas how to establish this at all. So there are some questions rising which may be answered by others who have experience with dunk tanks and entertainment with them on city fairs. Especially our wetlook friends from the US may help (and naturally Leon, who has significant experience with this in night clubs etc as we know here :)

Here are my questions:

After aquiring a dunk tank (which might be the least problem) I need a concept for the entertainment. Will I have to find my own crew of volunteers to start and make the business running?

Who will be likely participating in this? And if I do find two or three girls, how  should they make the tease?

How much should a throw cost and how can I tease people to throw anyway?

Whats to win if you hit somebody down to the waters?

What's a good/fair ratio between hit and miss?

How to keep up "logistics", i.e. the girls need to shower hot and change wet clothes every ten or 15 minutes cos the ambient air temp. is about 15 to 20 degrees these times. I have a motorhome, this could help a lot, anything else?

How can I win and involve volunteers from the crowd to make a game with the risk of getting dunked? Special prices for the courageous? Or the throwers?

And at last for the moment: How does this come together to make a (at least small) win out of all of this?

Every helpfull answer is welcome.

TIA

waterman