30 City Trees
Logo for Party for the Planet
Party for the Planet
Five years ago, the City of Surrey, BC was determined to rev up its annual
Earth Day/Arbor Day event and planned an extravaganza that would attract a
larger and broader demographic than its traditional audience.
The event was put in the hands of Surrey's Special Events Team, who brain-
stormed with technical staff from the various environmentally-related depart-
ments about messaging and opportunities for public engagement in environ-
mental activities. A day-long event was developed that included children's
entertainers, a rock concert, nature play components, subsidized tree sales,
and many displays associated with trees, the environment, and sustainability.
The budget for the now-annual event, called Party for the Planet: Earth Day
Celebrations has averaged $250,000 since inception, well beyond the City's
available funds for putting on the event.
Surrey's Special Events Manager put together sponsorship packages and made
pitches to many organizations in the year preceding the first event. Since that
time, staff have nurtured the sponsors, who have developed a strong liking for
the event and many of whom attend personally to enjoy the festivities.
Since the inception of the event, annual sponsorships have been:
In-kind services and supplies $20,000
Media in-kind advertising (10 media outlets) $175,000
Cash sponsorship $75,000
Building on a successful five-year annual sponsorship partnership of Party
for the Planet by TD Bank, Surrey staff were invited by TD to apply for a grant
for the construction of an environmentally-related project in Surrey's inner-
city area. Staff designed an all-ages nature play area at Forsyth Park, which
is intended to be a regional destination facility for families and children. TD
was impressed with the proposal and announced in February 2017 that a
$500,000 grant will be provided to the City of Surrey to build the TD Nature
Play Centre.
A rock concert is a popular feature of Surrey's
Nature-based activities for kids at Surrey's Party
