And what better way to engage your community than by hosting a salon? That said, many poorly coordinated hands will make a mess, so read on for all of The Salon Host’s tips for how to host a salon with your community.
And please visit our past salon hosting articles for key tips like avoiding overhead lighting and making your guest list interesting by inviting guests from different backgrounds.
Two is fine, three is great, but we don’t recommend more involvement than four when it comes to co-hosting. Our brains are not only keeping track of our relationships to each other, but also everyone else’s relationship to one another. After four connections in small group processing, communication begins to break down.
Please see our past articles on how to prepare food and drink for your salon and if you need inspiration, read all about the magic and power of cooking for others. And don’t sweat dietary restrictions too hard, everyone invited to your salon is very lucky to be there and we can’t please everybody all the time. Coordinated potluck salons are also encouraged.
We recommend a topic of conversation or guest speaker to be interviewed and respond to audience questions. If you decide to host a music or poetry salon (which we highly recommend), then go ahead and collapse salon department #2 with #3.
We love a little live music or perhaps poetry at our salons, whichever one of your friends is the most artsy and knows the most performers is probably best suited for the role. And having a dedicated party to make sure all technical aspects of the performance and run of show are on time, and of course to introduce the performer, takes logistical stress off of the co-host in charge of salon programming.
This final yet critical department is easy to neglect or turn into a group effort, but we highly recommend one person be responsible for sending out all co-host invites and recording RSVPs. No matter how informal your salon, you’ll certainly want a headcount and vibe-check for who is coming and if they’re bringing anything (potluck salon-ing is totally allowed, but you’ll have to coordinate with your Food + Drink department head).
A few days for some, weeks for others, but we recommend at least 4 to 8 weeks to ensure there’s enough time to curate the programming, guest list and figure out food and drinks. A salon can seem like the sort of thing that’s easy to put together, and while it is simple, salons inherently require much more thought and planning than your average dinner party.
What we mean is don’t get ahead of yourself – being a salonista is a lifestyle and there’s always the next salon for you to execute your next big idea.
8-20 guests max is a good amount for first time salonistas and salonierres. You and your co-hosts can certainly scale up from there, and if the first one goes well your community will be clamoring for you all to host more, but limit the number of variables to be managed for your first salon.
Take the lead by getting your co-host-capable friends together and plan your first salon!
And again, don’t get ahead of yourselves – have enough time to host regular planning meetings, establish roles and assess and manage any associated costs, in a way that works with everyone’s schedule.
And as long as that’s the focus, your salon is going to be pure magic. For more inspo, read TSH’s Recipe For A Delicious Salon.