Liberty Social Hour’s Noche Caliente

Outside may have been freezing rain but things were heating up for the 7^th Liberty Village Social Hour, at Williams Landing! On Thursday Jan 26^th. Liberty Villagers bundled up and headed out to network, socialize and most importantly have fun!  Planned by Rod Ponce of RPC and Deb Lewis of CityEvents, Liberty Villagers were treated to a night of relaxation, amazing door prizes, and a signature Liberty Village cocktail courtesy of Williams Landing at Noche Caliente.  For one evening the January gloom melted away into the chic urban glamour of the neighborhoods’ hottest new restaurant. If you missed out on the action, the next Liberty Social Hour is in the works for April 2012.

8 Tips on Planning and Hosting Winter Events

The days are shorter, the night are longer but don’t let old man winter stop you from hosting your most fabulous event yet! Follow these CityEvents tips to create a Winter Wonderland on any budget

1. Pick a Theme and Stick to it!

For a winter event let the season inspire you and all your décor, theme, activities, and food options. A fun festive tip to try is pick one winter item, anything from a crystal icicle, a snowy forest, or a roaring fire and from that item recreate the feel, smell, taste, touch and sound that object brings you in all your event’s details.

2. Stay Warm!

The temperature may be dropping but your parties are heating up!  Make sure your guests stay warm, and bundle up coming and leaving your event. It can be anything from having a heated area when lining up to enter the venue to as simple as offering extra mittens and scarves to your guests when they leave (bonus points for having your event logo on the accessories!). For smaller parties have your guests brave the cold with a cup of Goodnight Hot Chocolate!

3. Make Outside Inside

Why let the seven feet of snow outside your door limit your options. Make outside inside with different heating setups. Try installing a tent area to take advantage of a larger lawn. Small budgets are no problem, as decorating a yard with fairy lights and having folded blankets on chairs creates a winter wonderland while giving your guests a chance for a breath of frosty fresh air.

4. Safety First

Safety should be a concern for all savvy planners year round but winter presents its own unique challenges. As much as possible check the weather reports for the day of your event and shovel, salt, and snow-blow all walkways! Always do a run-through of your whole floor-plan to make sure there are no slipping and sliding risks. Have enough coat racks (or coat check) as well as mats for wet boots and shoes. As always, for any guests who were feeling the festive winter spirit and consumed have alcohol, insist on a taxi or have alternative transportation on standby. Two numbers for the Toronto area are: Beck 416-751-5555, and City Taxi 416-740-2222

5. Use the Season to Your Advantage

Winter is the best time to match your décor to the season. Ice sculptures, and ice luges (for beverages) are beautiful, reasonably priced, and an impressive visual for your guests. The lower light of the afternoon sets any candles and lighting aglow. Rich colours: crimson, snow white, pine greens pop against the drab background of the urban winter. The crisp air makes savoury smells more noticeable, and any warmth always draws people in off the street. Counterpoint the heat and energy of your party with the frosty outside and all your event choices will be that much more of a standout.

6. Try Something Different

As beautiful as the winter season is there is something to be said with doing the exact opposite! Vacation sales spike in the New Year for a reason – people want an escape! This is the perfect time to juxtapose a wacky or different theme to shake your guests out of their winter hibernation. Who wouldn’t want to try a January Hawaiian Luau or a Murder Mystery Dinner instead of a traditional February Valentine’s day party?  Get creative and try something no one else is doing! It’s sure to be noticed.

7. Timing is Everything

They’re called the “Winter Blahs” for a reason. Holiday season is very busy with Christmas, Chanukah, New Years and reunions. Guests may be worn out by January 1st, but there is a large empty period from Jan – March. This is the perfect time to plan your winter party and give your guests something to look forward to! Half the trick in creating a good buzz is standing out from the competition, and with little else going on even the smallest party will shine.

8. Make it Fun!

This is the most important thing to remember! As planners we can get caught up in the detail and forget to see the big picture. People come to events to have fun, so think critically. Is this something I would have fun at? Spontaneity is the key to fun; why not whip up a snowball fight at midnight? Drop snowflake confetti? Keep your guests guessing and keep it fun! Happy Planning!!

Event Fundraising Strategy & Planning

When it comes to your fundraising events, if you were starting over, how different would they look?

1. Become more data driven.
It is impossible to run a successful event fundraising program without understanding the characteristics of your participants and the linkages between those characteristics and giving.

2. Understand the difference between metrics and analytics.
Event fundraisers are talking about not just measuring more and better, but also predicting donor and participant behaviours. You can use your analysis as a blueprint to think strategically about how to improve your event’s future fundraising results.

3. Think in segments.
It’s essential to target your segments differently. Within each event there are definitely groups of participants that we should focus on more than most. It is essential that you identify up front how many segments you can actually administer.

4. Predict future activities.
This is basic segmentation developed from descriptive analysis. But while this helps to focus efforts, it is essentially reactive 3and does little to develop new gifts.

5. Think relationships.
All aspects of the event marketing relationship are changing. Social media is perhaps the most obvious change, but there are other choices you can use. Rather than treating social media as a standalone channel or replacement for traditional tactics, event marketers should be looking for ways to use social media to support and enhance the successful programs they already have in place.

6. Drive fundraising productivity.
In some organizations fundraisers spend too much of their time doing tasks that the marketing should be doing for you. We’re seeing some organizations use their CRM and personal fundraising systems to take advantage of automation, email and social media to make personal fundraisers more credible with their donors and shorten the cultivation cycle.

7. Use social media to connect and facilitate dialogue.
You’re are accountable for your events’ participation in social media—even if your aren’t engaging in those conversations yourself. You must train, educate and support your event participants who fundraises on behalf of the organization.

8. Remember the 80/20 rule.
Do you treat all event participants equally? You shouldn’t! The most effective events focus the majority of their efforts on the participants with the highest potential return, which typically constitutes only about 15% of the participant base.

9. Give your donor database the respect it deserves.
We recommend that you not overlook an analysis of the structure of your data gathering itself. This is an area all-too-often ignored. This includes administration of hundreds of thousands of participants and donor records and millions of transactions.

10. Be different.
The audit and evaluation of your events should include comprehensive participant, donor, market and competitive analysis. Understanding how you will compete and differentiate your events is critical to success.

Fall Wedding Ideas

Need a little style inspiration for your fall wedding? Design an elegant fall wedding that pays homage to the season with some of our favorite new ideas. , It’s all about texture, deliciously rich colors, glamorous touches, and a few elements that say “fall”.

1. Textured Linens
Tablecloths in tactile, visually intriguing materials like quilted or ruched silk, linen, or velvet. Use fabric with a crimped look or multiple textures, or layer two tablecloths, sheer velvet on top of taffeta for instance.

2. Bright Accents
For an of-the-moment look, mix subdued neutrals with surprise pops of bright color. One stylish bride ordered custom-made napkins in natural linen with magenta silk undersides, which peeked just slightly when they were folded on the table.

3. Seasonal Napkins
Tie them with a small bundle of millet or a crab apple accent for a fall feel. Look for inexpensive seasonal napkin rings at places like Crate & Barrel or Pier 1. You can also make your own napkin bands using velvet or grosgrain ribbon.

4. Fall Aisle Style
Add a seasonal touch to your ceremony by using shafts of wheat or bunches of grapes as aisle markers. It’s harvest season in the vineyards, so say your vows under a pergola covered with grape vines.

5. Metallic Details
Metallic accents continue to be huge, from classic silver and gold to more unexpected (and fitting for fall) pewter copper and bronze. Mercury glass vases will add glamorous pops of silver to cocktail tables and centerpieces. Gold and silver leaf accessories will liven up any table or place setting. Beyond vases, think napkin rings and framed photos telling the story of your relationship.

6. Dramatic Glass
Black glass or crystal will add a fashionable and unique touch to tabletops as onyx crystal goblets or vases. Fill the vases with champagne-colored flowers to heighten the drama.

7. Classy Chandeliers
Add flair to any space with chandeliers. Consider a modern piece dripping in Swarovski crystals, or vintage varieties filled with candles.

8. Indoor Foliage
If the weather requires you to stay indoors for the reception, but you want to add a natural element, rim the room with potted deciduous trees showing off their most electric fall colors.

9. Fall Gobo Effects
Another way to bring the season indoors: Illuminate the dance floor or the ceiling of a tent with a branch pattern and warm amber light. It will look as if the early evening sun is streaming through the trees.

10. Mood Lighting
By using LED light fixtures, you can easily change the mood for different portions of the party. Start cocktails with a sunny effect; move to pink and purple sunset tones on the walls and ceiling during dinner; and then slowly morph into a deep blue with white “stars” as you and your guests take to the dance floor.

Incentiveworks: The whole world in Toronto!

August 23rd and 24th at Incentiveworks was something I hope you didn’t miss. The Metro Toronto Convention Center was full of event planners, professionals and travel enthusiasts. The perfect fit for companies looking to take their meetings to new places and cultures and allow themselves to be immersed into a world of dreams, entertainment and much more!

While walking though the different aisles we all had a sense that we were travelling the world without having to leave Toronto.

The first thing to do after we enter the hall was enjoy a huge amount of international food samples, like home made nachos from Central America, cheese from France, sushi from Asia, tiramisu from Italy, soufflés and other fruits, cupcakes and candies. Of course, you need to match this food with a drink: wine, beer and special martinis were provided in some both that you got to discover for your own interest and pleasure.

Finally after a good dinner what is better to do than discover the wonders around you. Travelling across the provinces of Canada, the states of America, to Eastern Europe then of to the Pacific and Atlantic Islands.
Of course you could stop in at the best hotels here, and finish your journey with a special massage offered by one of their masseuse.
What else would you need?

Travel all around the world and enjoy the best places for free?
IncentiveWorks was the place to be last week!!!

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