Hey everyone,

My names Antar. I'm from Seattle,Washington. And I'm putting together a bhangra competition here in Seattle around mid January. I'm leaning towards having Manak-E, Lehmber, and Imran Khan as singers at the competition along with at the afterparty. I've never organized anything like this before, at the moment all we've got finalized is the place where its going to take place, along with the name lol. So lots of work needs to be done. I was hoping you guys could help me out with the processes involved in organizing such a big event. I'm thinking of having about 10 teams from across the U.S. With 1st prize winner winning around 4500$, 1st runner up 3000$ and 2nd runner up about 1500$. Any kind of input or information would be highly appreciated. Thanks=)

yeah there is already a comp called Muqabla, it actually just happened this past saturday, the same day as BBC....

think of switching the name

also, yeah i mean with those artists plus all that prize money...I mean if u can truly make it happen, go for it, but sounds a lil too high up there

No way to tell till you figure out your sponsorship possibilities. Take was bash does and subtract 500-1000.

Privately contact every competition you know of because you are in over your head right now

No way to tell till you figure out your sponsorship possibilities. Take was bash does and subtract 500-1000.

Privately contact every competition you know of because you are in over your head right now

good advice. get as much information as you can from other competitions. also, use BTF to your advantage- read competition reviews and threads about what teams want in a competition, etc. also, as swi said, we can't really tell you much about prize money or guest artists yet. get sponsorship first, and go from there. i can tell you one thing: getting all three of those guests artists will cost a lot of money and take up a lot of show time. have you booked the venue yet (or at least put it on hold)? do you have an organized committee? have you looked into possible dates (again, use BTF to check what other comps are in January).

Yeah I've got the sponsorships and everything taken care of=) So thats no problem! I've got the venue as well..But again I would like to thank you guys for the help. Very much appreciatedd=) The only thing I need to work on is getting teams to come here..Which seems the hardest part to me:S

if you have enough sponsorship, maybe offer teams an incentive to come; pay for their hotels for a night, give a cash incentive for teams that come from 400 to 500 miles away, etc. what's your status on a website and team registration packet? you can use BTF, POL (if anyone uses that anymore), desidanceteams.com, and facebook to advertise/inform teams about your competition.

also, what type of competition are you leaning towards (modern or traditional)? have you thought about judges?

Bro I kinda scares me that you are coming on here looking for advice on how to throw a competition.... There is a lot that goes into it, and a lot of it you wont get answered on here...  It takes a team of hard working people dedicated 12-15 hours a day to making it happen...  Just from reading your post, it doesn't seem like you have the parts in place to run a successful competition...

LOL thankss=) umm well I'm not doing this by myself..I know the people that do this..I'm just trying to get info on how it all runs..I'm just sorta the producer of the thing and the rest is upto my friends to do all the work!! I know its going to take lots of dedication..I just want this to be the best show till date..I want to do things differently then most competitions..I know im flying high..but you gotta aim high if you wanna achieve a certain goal! And this is just a fundraiser thing I'm doing cuz I've got some time on my hands=) And my family wanted me to run this=) You've probably heard of Manak E; hes my uncle and I'm doing this event from his encouragement=) and btw antar is not a guys name..its a girls name=)

Good luck to you man!  I'm Seattle pretty often, I would love to come out and see this...

Thanks Kush=) The only thing I need help with at the moment is getting this team registeration started!.! How does that work?

I think Janurary is WAY too close!! Maybe if you push back the date of your show things will be a bit easier for you, I mean theres no rush right?  As long as you have your venue and hotels under your belt it gets easier from there.  And if you already have enough sponsors lined up, and I'm talking you NEED at least 30K ASAP bc venue, hotel, promotion items, website, insurance, afterparty venue, team accomdations etc. cost a lot more than we always think so just keep that in mind.  $$$$$$$$$ is a big issue and you def. don't want to be screwed a few weeks before the show if you don't have your finances in order.
As far as singers, I'm really starting to reconsider how I feel about them.  They preform for 20 minutes and they get upwards of 5-10k and I'm not sure thats justifiable anymore.   Manak e is cool as long as he isn't on DRUGS while at your show (seriously).  And Imrahn Khan and all of them are going to be pretty expensive.  I know the promoters for a lot of big time artists so if you would like I can give you their contact info.  Another thing you might consider is Bhagwant Mann I know his kids and wife all live in Seattle and I'm sure he wouldn't charge you much to come out and host the show, everybody LOVES that guy!
Also, if you need any help let me know, I'd be more than happy to send you our packets and stuff, I know what its like to start from scratch, good luck

reg fees vary from comp to comp.  The reason some of them are so high is because they help the show pay for the hotels, BUT if you guys are not going to pay for the team hotel rooms (2 rooms per team is normal) then I don't think a reg fee is even necessary.  Also if you don't make teams pay some type of collatoral then they will drop out.  If they know they've already paid the fee then they have something to loose if they don't show up bc its non refundable. 
Being from Seattle, I'm sure a lot of BC teams and local Seattle teams will apply.  I think you should get a website for your comp made that helps you get a lot teams interest, (talk to Swi, who's on BTF he did an EXCELLENT job for us this year) also make pages on facebook and myspace etc. to get the word out.