Crowd Control for a Large Party
How to Safely Card and Bounce Unwanted Guests
Your Teenage Rave Party can be easily held in your home, but there are some additional logistical issues that must be addressed to stage this party safely.
Read the first and second article in this series, and then conclude with this final piece.
Crowd Management
- One of the most critical elements of this style of party is crowd management. With the advent of cell phones, partygoers have been known to invite additional guests during the event, and the Rave quickly goes from large and fun to frenetic and stampede-producing.
- It is very important to have 3 or 4 non-partying adults managing the crowd.
- Only have one point of entry to the party, where a responsible adult is checking for signs of intoxication and turning away potentially problematic guests.
- Use brightly colored signs to direct the guests to the point of entry, to the pathway to the dance area, to the F&B area and to the restroom.
- Use ropes or ribbons to tie off private areas of the home, and post signs saying “Closed to the Public” or "Private Party".
- An effective way to stage the entry to the party is to have guests arrive through the garage (with no cars in it). If you have a walk-through door to the garage, use this as the solo entry point.
- The guests will be processed by the responsible adult (i.e. bouncer), they can take off their shoes, receive a wristband for admission, and go in to the party. The “bouncer” can limit the number of guests at any one time, based on the count of the wristbands.
- As the party gets filled, post signs saying that the party is closed and that the maximum capacity has been reached.
- By requiring wristbands, the adults circulating throughout the party can quickly identify if there are non-invited guests present. The total number of guests can also be regulated, if the bouncer collects used wristbands from early-departing guests, and keeps a running count of the number of wristbands in use.
- Decide upon the end time of the party, and post it throughout the party space. Give 60 minute, 30 minute and 15 minute announcements to the guests, so that nobody is surprised when the lights come on at the party close.
- To expedite the departure of so many guests, shuttle them to the garage as quickly as possible, where they can linger getting their shoes, and saying their farewells. At this point you can open the overhead garage door to encourage the flow of 100+ people.
Final Thoughts
- The invitation process will set the stage for whether your Teenage Rave Party gets out of hand or not.
- Many teens will simply want to post a party notice on Facebook. While this method is quick and far-reaching, it can lead to many unwanted guests.
- A more effective way is to post on Facebook, but require an RSVP to create a guest list. If people are not on the guest list, they are not given a wristband to enter.
- Alternatively, you could personally invite a smaller group of friends, but allow them to bring up to 5 additional friends.
The copyright of the article Crowd Control for a Large Party in Entertaining is owned by Janice Benoit. Permission to republish Crowd Control for a Large Party in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
