Downtown Event Planning Services

July 2, 2026
TO: All Potential Proposers
SUBJECT: Downtown Event Planning Services
RFP #27-002
Proposal closing date & time: July 20, 2026, 5:00 p.m.
ADDENDUM NO. #1
The items contained in this addendum are added to and/or deleted from and become part of the
specifications and proposal documents for the above-referenced Invitation to Bid. Bidders must
acknowledge receipt of the Addendum on the Bid Form, located in the invitation to bid, when
the bids are submitted.
ADD/DELETE:
ADD: Please use the following Dropbox link for access to the 2025 Celebration of Lights
Booklet:
https://www.dropbox.com/home/27-002%20Downtown%20Event%20Planning%20Services
QUESTIONS/ANSWERS:
QUESTION #1: Can you provide estimated attendance figures for each of the signature events
(Celebration of Lights, Food Truck Frenzy, and Shop & Stroll)?
Answer: The City does not guarantee a specific attendance level for
any of the signature events. Available historical attendance
information and relevant event-planning materials may be provided to
the selected contractor. The Sip and Stroll will be a new event.
Respondents should use their professional experience, industry
standards, the nature and location of each event, available historical
information, market conditions, and reasonable forecasting methods
when developing their staffing plans, operating assumptions, and
pricing. Respondents should clearly identify any attendance
assumptions used in preparing their proposals. The selected contractor
will also be expected to establish reasonable attendance projections
and performance indicators and to measure and report actual
attendance, participation, engagement, and other relevant event
outcomes.
QUESTION #2: Can you clarify what staffing responsibilities are expected of the contractor versus
staffing that may be provided by the City?
Answer: The selected contractor will be responsible for providing the
personnel, supervision, and organizational capacity necessary to

successfully plan, coordinate, manage, and execute each event.
Contractor staffing responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
* Project management and event planning.
* Administrative and logistical coordination.
* Vendor, entertainer, participant, sponsor, and stakeholder
communication.
* Event setup and breakdown coordination.
* Event-day management and supervision.
* Volunteer coordination and supervision, when applicable.
* Guest and participant support.
* Site and operational management; and
* Post-event reporting and evaluation.
Respondents should not assume that City employees or volunteers will
provide the primary workforce necessary to execute the events. City
staff will provide contract oversight, review and approval of event
plans and communications, coordination with appropriate City
departments, and official governmental functions such as police, fire,
emergency medical services, traffic control, and road-closure
approvals. Any assistance provided by City staff or volunteers will
supplement, rather than replace, the contractor's required
professional staffing. All contractor-provided staffing necessary to
execute each event should be included in the proposed per-event
price.
QUESTION #3: Is sponsorship solicitation and/or sponsorship management anticipated as part of the
selected contractor's responsibilities for any of the signature events?
Answer: Independent sponsorship solicitation and fundraising are not
mandatory base-scope requirements under this RFP.
QUESTION #4: For each signature event, has the City established specific performance indicators beyond
attendance (e.g., downtown business participation, vendor satisfaction, visitor
engagement, economic activity, social media reach, tourism impact, volunteer
engagement, or other community outcomes), and if so, how are those currently
measured and reported?
Answer: The selected contractor will be required to provide a
comprehensive post-event report that includes clearly defined
performance indicators and measurable outcomes. The report should
capture the data necessary to determine whether each event was
successful, beneficial to Downtown Albany, and aligned with the City's
stated objectives. Performance indicators may include, but are not
limited to:
* Estimated attendance and visitor engagement.
* Downtown business participation.
* Vendor and sponsor participation.
* Stakeholder, vendor, and attendee satisfaction.
* Marketing and social media reach.
* Volunteer participation.
* Budget performance.
* Operational efficiency.
* Public safety outcomes.
* Economic activity, when reasonably measurable; and
* Recommendations for future improvement.

The reporting framework should also assist the Downtown Manager's
Office in evaluating the effectiveness and added value of engaging a
professional event-planning contractor compared with coordinating
and executing the events internally with City staff. Where prior
information is available, the contractor should use historical event
data to establish benchmarks and measure improvements in
attendance, event quality, operational efficiency, stakeholder
engagement, marketing reach, and overall event performance.
QUESTION #5: Are the listed signature events intended primarily as community celebrations, economic
development initiatives, downtown revitalization efforts, tourism drivers, or a combination
thereof, and how does the Downtown Manager's Office currently evaluate their
contribution toward those broader objectives?
Answer: The signature events are intended to accomplish a
combination of community, economic development, tourism, and
downtown revitalization objectives. The City's goals include:
* Providing safe, inclusive, and family-friendly community
experiences.
* Increasing visitation and pedestrian activity in Downtown
Albany.
* Supporting downtown merchants, restaurants, vendors, and
entrepreneurs.
* Strengthening Downtown Albany's identity as a destination.
* Creating opportunities for community participation and
engagement.
* Encouraging shopping, dining, entertainment, and repeat visits;
and
* Maintaining consistent downtown activation throughout the
year.
The Downtown Manager's Office will evaluate each event based on its
operational success, attendance, stakeholder engagement, downtown
business participation, marketing effectiveness, contribution to
downtown activity, and alignment with the City's broader
revitalization and economic development objectives.
QUESTION #6: Can the City provide historical attendance estimates, event budgets, vendor participation.
counts, sponsorship participation, and any post-event reports from previous Celebration
of Lights, Food Truck Frenzy, and Shop & Stroll events to assist respondents in
developing realistic staffing plans, operating assumptions, and pricing models?
Answer: The City will provide available historical information relevant
to the Celebration of Lights, Food Truck Frenzy, and Shop & Stroll
events. This information may include prior attendance estimates,
planning documents, event layouts, schedules, and post-event
information. The selected contractor will be expected to review the
available information and use appropriate performance measures,
forecasted data, industry standards, and recognized event-planning
indicators to establish reasonable benchmarks for each event.
Respondents should clearly identify the assumptions, methodologies,
anticipated performance indicators, and forecasting tools that will be
used to develop their staffing plans, operating approach, pricing,
marketing strategy, and event-evaluation framework.
Please note that the Sip & Stroll is a new event.

QUESTION #7: Beyond the required post-event summary report, does the City have interest in receiving
standardized performance dashboards that may include attendance estimates, vendor
participation, stakeholder feedback, marketing analytics, volunteer engagement metrics,
and recommendations for future event improvements?
Answer: This component of the proposal provides respondents with an
opportunity to demonstrate why their firm should be selected.
Respondents should clearly explain how they will collect, analyze,
evaluate, and report event-performance information. They should also
describe the tools, methods, dashboards, surveys, technology, or other
resources they will use to measure results. The proposed approach
should explain:
* Which performance indicators will be measured.
* How the information will be collected and verified.
* How stakeholder, vendor, business, sponsor, volunteer, and
attendee feedback will be obtained.
* How marketing reach and promotional effectiveness will be
evaluated.
* How results will be presented to the City.
* Why the proposed information is important; and
* How the City can use the information to improve future events,
allocate resources, increase attendance, strengthen marketing,
expand business participation, and evaluate the value of
professional event-planning services.
The post-event report should provide meaningful and actionable
information that allows the Downtown Manager's Office to evaluate
the success of each event, identify areas for improvement, measure
progress over time, and make informed decisions regarding future
downtown programming. Unless otherwise identified as an optional
service, the cost of the respondent's proposed reporting approach
should be included in the per-event price.
QUESTION #8: What role does the City expect downtown merchants, restaurants, and property owners
to play in the planning and execution of these events? Are there existing engagement
expectations or participation goals for local businesses?
Answer: Downtown merchants, restaurants, property owners, and
other stakeholders are important partners in the successful planning
and execution of the signature events.
The selected contractor will be expected to develop and implement a
practical downtown business-engagement strategy that may include:
* Communicating event information and participation
opportunities.
* Encouraging coordinated business promotions and activities.
* Identifying opportunities for merchants, restaurants, and
property owners to participate.
* Coordinating with businesses regarding access, parking,
deliveries, setup, and event operations.
* Collecting stakeholder feedback.
* Addressing business-related concerns in a timely manner; and
* Incorporating business participation and feedback into the post-
event report.
Business engagement will be particularly important for Shop & Stroll,

which is intended to encourage shopping, dining, pedestrian activity,
and increased visibility for downtown establishments. The City has not
established a mandatory numerical participation quota for downtown
businesses. However, respondents should recommend reasonable
engagement goals, explain how those goals will be achieved, and be
prepared to implement the proposed strategy effectively and with
minimal administrative burden on City staff. The Downtown Manager's
Office will retain final authority over official communications, policies,
participation requirements, and stakeholder-engagement activities.
QUESTION #9: To what extent does the City expect the selected contractor to provide marketing
strategy, content development, website support, social media management, advertising
coordination, and event promotion versus operational event planning services?
Answer: The selected contractor will be responsible for developing and
implementing an intentional event-marketing and promotional plan
designed to increase public awareness, encourage attendance,
communicate important event information, and promote Downtown
Albany, its businesses, vendors, and attractions. The marketing plan
should include, as appropriate:
* Identification of target audiences.
* A detailed promotional timeline.
* Event messaging and content development.
* Draft announcements, press information, and participant
communications.
* Social media content and promotional recommendations.
* Coordination of advertising and media outreach.
* Vendor, sponsor, merchant, entertainer, and stakeholder
communications.
* Event signage and on-site messaging.
* Promotional partnerships and community outreach; and
* Methods for measuring marketing reach and effectiveness.
All draft announcements, event information, promotional content, and
participant communications must be submitted to and approved by the
Downtown Manager before publication or distribution. The City will
retain final control over its official website, social media accounts,
branding, logos, and public communications. The selected contractor
must coordinate closely with the Downtown Manager's Office to
ensure that all marketing activities are accurate, timely, consistent,
and aligned with the City's communication standards. Respondents
should clearly identify the marketing services included in their
proposed event prices and separately identify any anticipated paid
advertising, media purchases, printing, graphic-design expenses, or
third-party promotional costs.
QUESTION #10: Does the City currently secure sponsorships for downtown events internally, or would
the selected contractor be expected to assist with sponsorship development, sponsor
fulfillment, and sponsorship reporting?
Answer: Independent sponsorship solicitation or fundraising is not
currently identified as a mandatory base-scope responsibility under
this RFP. When sponsors have been secured or approved by the City,
the selected contractor may be asked to assist with reasonable
sponsor coordination, including:

* Obtaining approved sponsor logos and recognition information.
* Incorporating sponsor recognition into the event plan.
* Coordinating approved on-site recognition.
* Confirming fulfillment of approved sponsor benefits.
* Communicating with sponsors regarding approved event
logistics; and
* Including sponsorship participation and fulfillment information
in the post-event report.
The contractor shall not make sponsorship commitments, establish
sponsorship benefits, collect sponsorship funds, or represent the City
in sponsorship negotiations without prior written authorization.
Respondents may identify sponsorship-development services as an
optional or value-added service. Any substantial sponsorship-
development campaign requested after contract award would be
separately defined and authorized by the City.
QUESTION #11: Does the City maintain an existing volunteer network for downtown events, or should
respondents assume responsibility for volunteer recruitment, training, scheduling, and
event-day management when developing staffing plans and pricing?
Answer: The selected contractor will be responsible for providing the
personnel, supervision, and organizational capacity necessary to
successfully plan, coordinate, manage, and execute each event.
Respondents should not assume that City employees or volunteers will
provide the primary workforce required to execute the events. The
contractor's proposed price must include sufficient qualified personnel
to perform "all" required planning, coordination, parade registration,
setup, event-day management, supervision, breakdown, cleanup
coordination, and post-event responsibilities. The contractor's staffing
responsibilities may include:
* A designated project manager or lead event planner.
* Administrative and planning support.
* Vendor and participant coordination.
* Setup and breakdown personnel.
* Event-day supervisory staff.
* Guest and participant support.
* Volunteer recruitment, coordination, training, and supervision.
* Site-management personnel.
* Communications support; and
* Post-event documentation and reporting.
The City may provide available volunteer contacts or limited assistance
when appropriate. However, any City employee or volunteer
participation should supplement, rather than replace, the contractor's
required professional staffing. The selected contractor will be fully
responsible for determining the appropriate staffing level for each
event and ensuring that sufficient personnel are present to execute
the approved event plan safely, professionally, and efficiently.
QUESTION #12: Can the City clarify which public safety responsibilities remain under City management
versus those expected to be coordinated by the selected contractor, including police,
fire, EMS, traffic control, road closures, and emergency action planning?
Answer: The City will retain final authority and direct governmental
responsibility for official public safety functions, including:

* Police services.
* Fire and emergency medical services.
* Official traffic control.
* Approval of road closures.
* Permits and governmental approvals.
* Emergency command decisions; and
* Decisions to delay, modify, cancel, or suspend an event due to
safety, weather, or emergency conditions.
The selected contractor will be responsible for coordinating with the
appropriate City departments and supporting the public safety
planning process. Contractor responsibilities may include:
* Providing accurate event schedules and site plans.
* Identifying expected attendance and operational risks.
* Coordinating vendor, participant, pedestrian, and emergency
access.
* Supporting the development of an emergency action plan.
* Communicating approved safety instructions.
* Incorporating public safety requirements into the event layout
and run-of-show.
* Maintaining clear emergency-access routes; and
* Promptly reporting incidents or concerns to the designated City
representative.
The contractor will not direct or exercise command authority over City
police, fire, emergency medical, traffic-control, or other public safety
personnel.
QUESTION #13: As the City evaluates this contract, is the primary objective maintaining existing event
operations, improving event quality and attendance, expanding downtown activation
opportunities, or establishing a scalable framework for future downtown programming
and special events?
Answer: The City's objective is not limited to maintaining prior event
operations. The City seeks to:
* Improve the quality and consistency of event planning.
* Increase attendance and community participation.
* Strengthen accountability, communication, and coordination.
* Improve the participant, vendor, sponsor, business, and
attendee experience.
* Establish clear event plans, schedules, timelines, and
responsibilities.
* Increase downtown activity, visibility, and engagement.
* Improve marketing, documentation, data collection, and post-
event evaluation.
* Identify opportunities for continuous improvement; and
* Develop a scalable framework that may support future
downtown programming and special events.
At the same time, the selected contractor should preserve the
established purpose, identity, and community value of each signature
event. The contract will be administered on an as-needed, per-event
basis. Any services for additional events must be requested and
approved by the City in writing before work begins.

QUESTION #14: Has the City identified any specific challenges, recurring operational issues, stakeholder
concerns, attendance trends, vendor feedback, or lessons learned from previous
downtown events that respondents should consider when developing their proposed
approach?
Answer: The City is seeking a contractor that can strengthen advance
planning, communication, coordination, marketing, staffing,
documentation, data collection, and accountability. Respondents
should give particular attention to:
* Clearly defining roles, responsibilities, and lines of
communication.
* Beginning vendor, participant, entertainer, sponsor, merchant,
and stakeholder communications sufficiently in advance.
* Developing and maintaining accurate timelines and run-of-show
documents.
* Providing adequate contractor staffing and supervision.
* Coordinating across City departments and external stakeholders.
* Managing vendor access, setup, event operations, breakdown,
and cleanup.
* Addressing traffic, parking, pedestrian flow, accessibility, and
road-closure requirements.
* Preparing contingency, weather, and emergency procedures.
* Maintaining effective communication before, during, and after
the event.
* Implementing an intentional marketing and promotional
strategy.
* Measuring event performance and stakeholder satisfaction; and
* Completing timely post-event documentation and
recommendations.
These areas are provided to communicate the City's expectations for
continuous improvement and should not be interpreted as a
representation that every listed issue occurred at every prior event.
Respondents are encouraged to identify anticipated risks, operational
challenges, and opportunities for improvement and to present
practical mitigation strategies as part of their proposed project
approach.
QUESTION #15: In the RFP it is mentioned that this service is on an as needed basis, but it also
mentions that there are three signature events. What should be base our proposal cost
on?
Answer: Our three signature events has grown significantly over the
past few years and is primarily why we issued this RFP. We are mainly
focused on our three signature events, but we are interested as to
what the selected contractor will offer further and how they can
expand on our events.
QUESTION #16: Can you give an estimate number of how many Food Truck Frenzy events there are?
Answer: We typically do our Food Truck Frenzy events in series based
off four quarters out of the year, so at minimum we typically do six
Food Truck Frenzy Events throughout the series.
QUESTION #17: Going into the third quarter of the year what does the turn time look like for the next
Food Truck Frenzy and Celebration of Lights? Has it already been planned?

Answer: It has not yet been scheduled. We were wanting to take a
pause to see what the selected contractor recommended. If we had to
forecast, the next time Food Trucks will be included in an event, would
be during out Paint the Town Pink Event which is held in October and
is a one-time event for the year. Celebration of Lights is held the first
Saturday in December every year. One of the most important elements
of this project and event is going to be the parade line up, set up and
coordination of the parade being that this is a big give back to our
community. We like for our community to see this part of the event as
seamless, and we are hoping the selected contractor will be able to
exceed upon this benchmark.
QUESTION #18: Is the Shop and Stroll a new event that you are looking to implement? What is the
footprint for the Shop and Stroll? Would it be based directly in the heart of Albany?
What are your high-level aspirations for this event?
Answer: It is very important for the selected contractor to become
very familiar and involved with the businesses located downtown. It
would be great to provide opportunities that the downtown business
owners can take advantage of and at the same time drive beneficial
foot traffic, dining, and sales.
QUESTION #19: Is there a site walk or visit?
Answer: We strongly encourage you to walk downtown and become
familiar with and build connections with the business owners. Our
Downtown Master Plan that is listed on the City website will also be
very beneficial.
QUESTION #20: Have all the events been produced internally? Is there an incumbent for this service?
Answer: Yes, all the events has been produced internally and there is
not an incumbent for these services.
QUESTION #21: What are some of your current marketing and promotion strategies that has helped
facilitate knowledge and awareness of these events? Is marketing and promoting
included in the RFP?
Answer: Yes, we are interested in seeing marketing and promotion
strategies from all who submit a proposal. We are hoping for the
selected vendor to exceed and expand on the strategies we already
have in place.
QUESTION #22: After choosing the selected vendor, what are the expectations in terms of meetings and
scheduling meetings?
Answer: We would like to hear your recommendation on how often
meetings should occur and what your timeline looks like. Being that
this is new, and as the Downtown Manager, I am going to want to
communicate with the chosen vendor regularly. I will also want
updated and reporting on a regular basis so that information can be
shared among with my board members.
QUESTION #23: Are there any additional plans we need to have in place for these events?
Answer: Yes, please be conscious of your safety plans. We like for all
our events to be fun, but we try to make sure that when we walk away
from each event, we walk away with everyone safe. Also, please be

aware of the how set-up's, break downs, and clean-ups of each event
will be executed.
QUESTION #24: Should there be an itemized budget for each signature event, in addition to the
proposed total price?
Answer: Yes. Each proposal shall include (1) a fixed proposed price for
Celebration of Lights, Food Truck Frenzy, and Shop and Stroll; (2) a
detailed itemized breakdown for each event; and (3) the total
proposed price for all three events.
QUESTION #25: How many days is Celebration of Lights?
Answer: Celebration of Lights is a one-day public event. For planning
purposes, proposers should assume a public event window of
approximately 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., plus all required setup, staging,
rehearsal, breakdown, and post-event closeout. The event is generally
held on the first Saturday in December, with a City-designated
weather contingency date occurring the 2nd Saturday in December.
QUESTION #26: Where is the Celebration of Lights event held, and where is the Christmas Village? Is
there an area layout map you can provide?
Answer: The anticipated historical footprint is Downtown Albany. The
Christmas Village is located on North Jackson Street between Pine
Avenue and Broad Avenue. Pre-show entertainment and the tree-
lighting ceremony are held in the vicinity of the Government Center at
222 Pine Avenue. The historical parade route begins near 724 Pine
Avenue and proceeds east toward the Dougherty County School
System building at 200 Pine Avenue. Historical maps and photographs
are available; however, the selected contractor will be responsible for
preparing a current event site plan, vendor layout, staging plan, and
operational map for City approval.
QUESTION #27: Generally, how tall is the tree used for Celebration of Lights, and is it historically live or
artificial?
Answer: For proposal-pricing purposes, assume that the City will
furnish the existing artificial Christmas tree and its primary location at
Government Center Plaza. The proposer should not include the
purchase of a tree in the base fee. Exact dimensions, installation
responsibilities, decoration responsibilities, and electrical details will
be confirmed during the planning kickoff. The contractor will be
responsible for coordinating the ceremony run-of-show, cueing, and
related event logistics. The tree is artificial.
QUESTION #28: Is there nightly entertainment for Celebration of Lights, and if so, does the budget have
to cover the entertainment fees?
Answer: Historically, the event includes one pre-show entertainment
period of approximately one hour, generally from 4:45 p.m. to 5:45
p.m., with approximately four to five acts or performance groups. The
contractor's base fee shall include entertainment outreach, scheduling,
communication, technical coordination, and day-of management.
Performers normally entertain at no charge.