City Clerk | Special Events
Special Event Permit InstructionsThe City of Topeka is happy to hear you are planning a Special Event in our city. We are very interested in helping make your event experience a delightful one, right down to the smallest detail. With this goal in mind, we’ve prepared a Special Event Packet and Application to help you identify the services, equipment and activities needed early on in your planning stages. We hope by doing so, we will minimize last minute surprises for all parties during your upcoming event. Please do not be alarmed by the size of this packet. Its contents were created to handle all events from the smallest neighborhood block party on up to the largest of parades. Please read through it carefully
Once you have completed and submitted your application, City staff will review your application, approving or making recommendations to it. Once this review is complete, your application will return to the City Clerk’s office. You will be notified at that time on the approval of your application and a “Public” or “Private” Event Permit will be issued for your event. If you have any questions during your application process, please contact the City Clerk at 785/368-3940 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
A Public Special Event is any infrequently held activity such as an outdoor festival, carnival, parade, fundraiser, racing event, bazaar, swap meet, celebration, commemoration, occasion or activity held no more than twice a year by any one organization where the public is invited or admitted or it’s sponsored by a club or organization. These events occur in whole or in part on city right-of-way and involve the participation of individuals or any group including but not limited to social, private, professional, philanthropic, and charitable, education, or religious entities. Certificate of Insurance, listing the City of Topeka as an additional insured in the amount of $500,000 is required for a Public Special Event.
Public Application
A Private Special Event means any infrequently held activity that is held in whole or in part on public property such as a public street and where members of the public are not invited or admitted, for example a Block Party. This event is limited to placing chairs and tables in the street, serving food and meets and greet. If you are requesting to close the street for any other purpose, it will be considered a Public Special Event. A Hold Harmless agreement is required for a Private Special Event.
Private Application
To help in identifying routes, these websites can be helpful:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/
http://maps.yahoo.com
