Whenever we’re feeling the pinch of the sagging economy and the cutbacks associated with them – just take a look at what some larger corporations and industry groups are doing. Northwestern Mutual Financial Network/Oregon & SW Washington is holding an event at the end of the month (their annual banquet) at The Nines Hotel… the Entrepreneurial Organization’s website has events planned almost every month through 2010 with a regional event tonight in Seattle for 300+ featuring the Beatniks … and I recently read about a huge event in Canada with a “Bond 007″ theme complete with live models painted in gold and an auction that raised several millions of dollars. It’s good to see corporate event planning “alive & well” in the Pacific Northwest.
Not everyone may have the ability to afford such lavish events – so be creative with your event planning funds… cut back on the number of people, have a buffet instead of passed hors d’oeurves, host beer or wine only instead of a full bar and limit drink tickets to just a couple per person. Check with the facility or a decor company, such as Royce’s Prop Shop, Barclay Events, West Coast Event Productions or Hollywood Lighting to see if they’ve used a theme recently that you can “piggy-back” on. This will save the costs of creating items from scratch, plus it’s good for the environment too when you recycle items.
I came across a great article in Event Solutions Magazine – they also participate in our Bravo! Live Corporate Event Planners tradeshow held each October – check back with us later to sign-up. Back to the article, it says “This spring, let the fashion world help you infuse your events with optimism. Designers are pairing lively, hopeful colors with sophisticated, grounded hues to address the need for stability in times of economic undertainity, according to the executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. Here are the hot colors and color combos for Spring ‘09.”
“Green is bigger than before. Palace Blue adds sparkle to a classic tone, but pair it with warmer colors so it doesn’t come across as cold or depressing. Purple is a sophisticated color signaling a number of qualities such as luxury, romance & femininity.” Their suggestion is use just hints of purple, as found in nature.
“Yellow represents joy, gladness, delight and the promise of a new beginning. Gray is also suggested as a pairing with yellow to create a sense of grounded optimism. Their favorite color combination for 2009 is fushia and yellow.”
Join ISES (International Special Event Society) on Tuesday, January 27, as ISES Portland kicks off the new year with a fascinating discussion with top-level event professionals at Hollywood Lighting. Lunch will be provided by Crave Catering.
This month’s meeting at Hollywood Lighting Services will feature a very special educational panel: “Behind The Scenes: An In-Depth Look at the Anatomy of a Major Event Production.” The panel will be Bruce Goldberg of Bruce Goldberg and Company, Bob Zavada of Stages Northwest, and Gavin D’Avanther of Hollywood Lighting Services. Join ISES for what will be an exciting, interactive show-and-tell. The panel of experts will be taking you through the “how we did it” of turning a plain-jane space into a fantastic event venue that the attendees will never forget. They’ll tell you what went right, and what didn’t….and how they overcame every challenge in taking the dream to reality.
Date: Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Time: 11:30 A.M-1:30 PM
Where: Hollywood Lighting
5251 SE McLoughlin Blvd.
Portland 97202
RSVP HERE
