A Fair Price?

[LSS]

Seems like there was a similar thread somewhere in the site but I could not find it.....so I said I'd start another....

Whats a fair price to ask a Pow Wow Committee for a one day event within a couple of hours driving distance? Two days? Three days?

What about when you have to drive outside the state?

What about when you get to talking about including Gourd?

[LSS]

Oh yeah....

I started this thread to post it out in the open why groups charge the way they do. Often, people don't realize what all it includes to sing.

This is not to say that when people gripe they don't have a valid point because each situation is different. And I'd love for those from a Pow Wow Committee's position to post their ideas/thoughts here as well.

Lets let this be about awareness for everyone!

[hobbs49]

I'd imagine that the answer to this isn't straightforward. It's kinda like that uneasy feeling you get when you're interviewing for a job and the interviewer asks, "So what kind of salary are you looking for?" That question is a bbuster IMO. You ask to much and they wonder what planet you came from and the deals off. You ask too much and they wonder what's wrong with you (though they may still hire you).

If I were on a committee I'd look at several things...

1) Available budget - this is a hard limit I'd expect. I'd also expect that I'd done my homework and understood what the "going rate" might be and planned for that.

2) Experience - Has a drum hosted before if so, when and where? I'd then use those as potential references. If a drum hasn't hosted, where have they sang?

3) Capabilities - Do they have have a large enough repertoire to carry the powwow if no other drums show up? Will they powwow be a success with only them.

4) Skillz - Do they sound good? Have I heard them?

5) Relationships - Will having this drum as host, result in more people coming to my powwow? This may or may not be related to the previous three items.

Now I started the above list with *if* I were on a committee. And since I'm not, I have no idea if anything I've written makes sense or even matters :-)

[WhoMe]

I'd imagine that the answer to this isn't straightforward.

1) Available budget

hobbs,

This is the bottom line - budget.


Some university, institutions and casino powwows have a really great budget to work with. They can afford to fly full host drums in, put them up in a really nice hotel, feed them, provide ground transportation and give them a "generous honorarium" .... plus extras.

But this is not the norm.

You have to figure there are an average of 10 powwows taking place, 52 weekends of the year - in areas where there is a concentration of Indians (or Indian enthusiasts).

Of these powwows, 95% are on a very limited budget. It seems the MEGA powwows get all the attention. But it is also important to recognize the local, community powwows that are the staple of keeping powwow tradition alive!

At some of these local powwows, top local drums will set up for nothin!