Finally—it's here! Your months of planning will pay off with a fun, educational, and memorable event. Try to get plenty of rest the night before. You should be able to sleep like a baby, knowing that everything is organized and ready to go.

With that in mind here are some things to remember to maximize the day ahead.

Set up the health fair well in advance. If at all possible and the health fair is in a secure location, set up everything the night before. (Hint: If you set up the night before, don't blow up helium balloons, they may be floating on the floor in the morning!) If you can't set up the night before, get there EARLY—at least two to three hours early!! Make sure some of your other volunteers or staff arrive early too—you probably can't set up large tables by yourself.

Greet the Providers

Make sure providers arrive at least one to two hours in advance so they can be set up before the fair begins without a last-minute panic. Greet the providers as they arrive and show them to their locations. If you did not have a pre-event meeting, give them a quick overview of your expectations, the procedures employees will follow, where the restrooms are, where food, water, and coffee are located, and who can help if they need anything during the fair. Thank them for their participation and let them know you appreciate them.

Take a deep breath, take a look around, and smile. What you see around you should be a festive room, totally set up, organized, and filled with smiling, enthusiastic people ready to provide education and services to the participants. Announce to everyone there is only five minutes to showtime, so they better take a quick restroom break, get their water bottles filled, and be ready.

Make sure everyone is in their place. Open the doors, direct the participants to the registration table, then relax. Your role during the health fair is to make sure everything runs smoothly. If you have done your job, trained your staff and volunteers well, and communicated clearly to your providers, the event should go off without a hitch.

Try to participate in as many of the activities as possible. Make notes about what you liked and what you thought could have been done better. Watch and listen to other participants. Watch how the providers interact with the participants—remember that the providers might treat you differently from other participants knowing that you are in charge. Talk to the providers about how they think it is going.

Make sure someone is taking photographs of the event and/or capturing it on video. You will treasure the memories. Get a picture of each of the providers at their booths interacting with participants. An extra print of the photo sent to the provider with a thank you card is a nice touch. Be sure to get your staff or volunteers together for a group photo too. They will also like to get an extra print.

Consider getting someone with a video camera to tape portions of the event. Be sure to get attendees participating in the activities and perhaps the providers talking about what they are doing at their booths. Talk on camera with some participants and get their perceptions of the fair. Get a manager or two to talk on camera. If you can edit the video to highlight the best parts, it can be a great selling tool when looking for support and budget for next year's fair.