eventproductioninspiration

10 Ghoulish Halloween Catering Ideas

Halloween is a holiday sadly saddled with misconceptions. Often dismissed as being exclusively for children, it is also ridiculed for being a corporate holiday . Well, what s wrong with that? Can corporate events not also enjoy a touch of the spooky? We think so.

While the vast majority of Halloween decorations or event themes are aimed at younger generations, catering is one area where a touch of ingenuity can be warmly-received around Halloween. While allowing professional corporate event organizers to maintain the vibe they want for an event, the dishes below will provide a dose of levity and a break from the catering norm, pleasing to both the eye and the palate.

Provide these ideas to your catering supplier and see what wonders they can whip up.

4 Original Fundraising Event Ideas

Fundraising has become a necessity for many companies, and particularly smaller start-ups, and thanks to popular crowd-sourcing websites, asking for money to fund your campaign or project has lost much of the stigma it once had. These unique fundraising ideas make great add-ons to any larger event.

Once-in-a-Lifetime-Experience Groupon Auctions

Nowadays, it s easy to buy online coupons for original experiences, from hang-gliding and weekend retreats to a day training with the Cirque du Soleil. Start the bidding at the Groupon price, set a minimum number of opt-ins, and if you can get enough takers, any money over the listed price is yours. If you don t, no harm, no foul.

Speed Dating for Dollars

This one s a cinch to organize. All you need to set up speed dating are some tables, some chairs and a station to collect entrance fees. Bonus: any singles that might normally feel too embarrassed to participate in speed dating
can chalk it up to supporting a good cause.

Making Casual Classy

Organizing a black tie event for a client with a sense of humor? Consider mixing it up by allowing attendees that pre-pledge to donate over a certain amount dress down or wear sneakers. Whoever said Chucks-n-tux wasn t a good look?

Beautiful Fall Centerpiece Ideas The Ideal Way to Herald the End of Summer

Sorry we have to be the first to break the news, but fall is just around the corner.

Labor Day is coming up, after which the little ones will mercifully head back to school, Congress will return from summer recess and campaign event production will whir back into life. And of course, all those leaf-peepers will head for the Blue Ridge, Shenandoah, and New Hampshire.

But professional event managers out there will see the turning of the seasons as the chance to unveil some new tricks. Outdoor trestle tables will burst forth with autumn colors as centerpieces and floral arrangements make full use of nature s most beautiful season.

As this happens every year, it may be tricky to still surprise or delight guests with autumn arrangements as the staples of seasonal decorations remain the same. However, a few variations on traditional themes will help remind you of how fall centerpieces can fit any tablescape from political fundraisers to birthday parties.

Pumpkin Candle Holder

Event Organizer Blog: Autumn Seasonal Decor Ideas
Why restrict pumpkins just to Halloween? A delicate hand to carve them and a well-chosen floral accompaniment can suit any formal gathering.
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Pumpkin Vase

Event Planner Blog: Pumpkin Table Decorations
Bring a look of surprise to guests faces with a handy and attractive pumpkin vase for a seasonal flower arrangement.
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Pitcher Vase

Event Planning Blog: Party Decor Table Centerpiece Seasonal
Fall is also about the harvest and home-cooked food. Note the lovely addition of wheat and other farmland ingredients.
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Leaves and Candles

Event Planning Blog: Table Decor Autumn Leaves
While we don t suggest you pack up for New Hampshire, the stunning foliage of autumn is a perennial favorite. Scattered around a table cloth or bringing attention to an attractive candle arrangement is a sure winner. Just make sure they re away from any naked flames.
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Leaf Bouquets

Event Planning Blog: Fall Party Decoration Ideas
For those event planners with a deep contact book, find a skilled florist who can twist and fold leaves into a deceptive bouquet that is sure to delight.
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Pinecone Arrangement

Event Manager Blog: Pine Cone Bouquet Centerpiece Ideas
Often used only as a complement for fall decorations, pinecones can actually be a stunning mainstay for a centerpiece, especially if still on the branch.
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Autumn Cornucopia

Event Organizer Blog: Autumn Seasonal Table Decorations
There is no more powerful symbol for fall than the cornucopia, representing the bounty of the harvest, fresh produce and good health. How better to symbolize a desire for cooperation and success at any business meeting?
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Summer vs. Fall

Event Organizing Blog: Autumn Centerpiece Inspiration
While some may be sad in the last days of summer, there s no reason to let the season go unmarked. As it blends into fall, why not turn to a centerpiece that brings together the best of both seasons?
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Inspiration: Great Rentals & Purchases for your St. Patrick s Day Event

Irish Dancers

Get a little Riverdance up that joint. The Seattle Irish Dance Company is available to perform at events of any size a great addition to a St. Patrick s Day community gathering lineup. Not in Seattle? No worries, Gigmasters.com has an entire section of its site devoted to regional Irish dancers-for-hire.

Big Parade-watchin Screens

Showing the St. Patty s Parade to a few thousand attendees? You ll be needing a jumbotron, like this one from Mobile Technology Graphics. You get pick up one of these bad boys on its own for outdoor and indoor use, or mounted on a truck with a foldout stage for outdoor viewing. Screens this big will make sure the guys all the way in the back can see every leprechaun on every single float.

Custom Pot o Gold Coins

Chocolate Impressions and plenty of other swag providers does bulk personalized coins made from quality chocolate. Customize the front and back of the foil with your event s logo or your own art / message, throw everything into some gold mini-buckets, and you ve got a sweet, easy, over-the-rainbow giveaway.

Green Beer

All ya gotta do to turn your beer green is add a couple drops of food coloring to each glass, but if you want your beer to stay fresh and frothy, this might be difficult to do in large quantities in advance. One way to spare your bartender the hassle of adding the drops to each pour: you can purchase powdered dyes and add a tiny amount to the bottom of each beer glass in advance. This doesn t work in high-humidity areas in that case, you ll have to go drop-by-drop.

LED Inspiration: Innovative, Clever and Beautiful Event Lighting Ideas

Decibel did a little review on the 2014 Country Music Awards a few months ago, drawing attention to the LED video wall behind Dierks Bentley during his performance of Drunk on a Plane . We said it and we meant it: get ready to see a lot more LED-everything, and particularly LED wall backdrops, in 2015 and beyond. We dug up some videos showing some interesting, experimental or just plain pretty approaches to LED walls get ready to get inspired.

Po-motion Interactive Projections

Ripley Window Display in Peru from PO-MO Inc. on Vimeo.

The folks at Po-motion have created software allowing event producers to create custom interactive projections. The video above shows a window display in Peru with an shattered rippling effect that engages when someone walks by, but you could just as easily project games, smoke, and other neatness on your surface. The possibilities for engagement and staging are endless.

Notevarp Design VJ

Oslo Trend 2014 LED Wall from Audun Notevarp on Vimeo.

Created by Notevarp for the Oslo Trend 2014 Digital Fashion Festival, this ultra-modern, monotone line-art video graphic reel is a great backdrop for a high-fashion event.

Pavegen

Pavegen Video Compilation II from Pavegen Systems Ltd. on Vimeo.

Pavegen is a floor tile that converts the weight of your footsteps into electricity. The video s a bit long, 18 minutes, but worth the watch if you re interested in cutting-edge ways to power spaces at your next event (sound cuts in at around 1:00). As the latter portions of the video shows, while Pavegen has plenty of practical uses, it can be integrated in ways that take it beyond the realm of practicality and into the realm of art. And the best news for event managers? It takes about an hour to install on a raised-floor system, meaning it can plausibly be hooked up and broken down quickly. Skip to 8:00 to see a few awesome event-ready applications.

GTEK S Series Flexible LED Panels

GTEK S Series Flexible Panel from Telematics Canada on Vimeo.

From Telematics, a GTEK manufacturer and distributor: GTEK recognized an inherent limitation in all flexible LED panels in the market. Pixels that begin a set distance from each other on a flat panel will spread apart to a greater distance when the panel is reconfigured to curved shape. To solve this issue, GTEK Engineers created a unique method to keep those pixels evenly spaced

Tent Rental Ideas for your Outdoor Event

I don t have to tell you that outdoor events can get a little risky, particularly during volatile seasons: can t no man predict the weather. But there s more than one way to keep the rain off a party: Here are a few types of shade and sun protection that might suit your shindig.

We can hook you up: the plug

Before we launch into the tentspiration, let us drop a reminder: if you re too busy to deal with tenting, you don t need to go this alone. Decibel s got a national vendor network of our own, and we know all the right questions to ask in terms of getting your event all tented up. Give us a call, and we ll happily oversee all the details for ya. Okay, onwards:

Clear Tents

Got a great view and don t want to obscure it? Get a tent that gets out of your way. If you re around CT or NY, Stamford Tents does gorgeous transparent structures that keep everyone dry and warm while preserving the great outdoors vibe. Their portfolio has some beautiful usages of see-through tenting, including a city skyline rooftop deployment and some lovely open-field tents with wood-paneled flooring.

Sail Cloth Peaked Tension Tents

Get some Camelot up in that biz with peaked tension tents crafted from light-passing sail cloth. The sail cloth material is ballin at night, when lighting fixtures set beneath the canopy create a gentle, warming glow. This is a particular looker around dusk, so if your event is going to span nightfall, consider splurging on this approach. Sail cloth tenting is often water-proofed (though you should still double-check this one), so you can have your cake and stay dry, too.

If you re in the northern or central GA area, hit up Goodwin Rentals (their picture above).

Moroccan Frame Tent

Alibaba Events specializes in nationwide rentals of Arabian-nights type tents for your Bollywood-style outdoor lounge area.

Tension Shades

Need to cover some square meterage with minimal central supports? Sperry Fabric does some ultra-modern Berlin-architect-y stretched sun shades in a variety of shapes. From the well-covered horse s mouth:

The use of turnbuckles, cables, and catenary curves allow us to cover large areas with little if any center support. Those three aspects of working with tension contribute to a uniformly taut finished product. Tensile structures can be free standing or incorporated into a building s landscape. Our tensioned covers whether large projects like that at Williams College, or small tensioned awnings for a home patio often use varying levels at the corner anchors which create a slight twist in the fabric.

Holiday Event Production: 5 of the Best Christmas Rentals for Large-Scale Events

December is upon us, and with it, the yearly infusion of last-minute holiday parties, winter fairs, holiday concerts, and all things Christmas. It s pretty easy to track down decor and extras for small-scale get-togethers, but the must-haves for commercial-level shindigs are a whole nother deal. Here are Decibel s tips on where to get the best holiday rentals for your end-of-year events.

Carolers a la Dickens

It ain t no Christmas without Christmas carols. If you happen to be in the New York or Tri-State area, you can call on one of the longest-standing Dickensian carol performance groups, who show up in full period-appropriate costume and Christmas the heck the out of everything with their fa-la-las. Their clients include Macy s, Bloomingdales, the Waldorf-Astoria and other seasonal heavy hitters, plus they get invited to the White House like, every year, so you know they re super legit. If they re all booked up or you re not near New York, check out The Christmas Carolers, a nation-wide caroler-booking agency.

Snowflake Backdrops

Need to add a Christmas vibe to your indoor or outdoor stage? Atomic Design, one of America s best stage design companies (and naturally, a Decibel vendor), brings the winter spirit with their Yeti Flake backdrop, a modular holiday special solution that can be assembled into panels, columns, or superwalls. Add backlighting for Christmas win! Not sure what to ask for? Call us we ll help you sort it.

Fake Snow / Winterland Environments

When you need a LOT of snow like, industrial-grade Christmas-in-July style snow you call Snowmaking by STURM. Snowmaking by Sturm sports an impressive portfolio of projects that includes work on major motion pictures, commercials and town-center events, so you know they got the chops to pull off just about any idea. They do clean-up free simulated falling snow, massive snow-fields, ramps and winter environments for marketing campaigns.

Rent-a-Santa

The big guy himself has his hands full this time of year, and event producers have to rely on temporary stand-in Santas to help spread all that joy around. The biggest Santa-for-hire agency in the US is actually a popular sub-service of the temping website Gigmasters. They offer Santas for just about every location in the US, and their website includes a great search feature where you can find the perfect Santa for your sleigh.

Ginormous Trees & other City-Center Decor

Epic department store trees, commercial properties covered in twinkling lights, giant plastic ornaments hanging from four-story ceilings yup, you will be needing a specialist. The Christmas Decorators have a lot (no really, a lot look at their portfolio) of experience decking the halls of restaurants, hotel lobbies and town square.

You Are Here: Pretty Wayfinding Maps

Did you know there s a whole field of study about how to help people get around? It s called Wayfinding . There are agencies that specialize in it, and it seems like one of those fields that you ve never heard of but when you think about it, of course it exists and of course it s necessary. How do people find their way around buildings and interior commercial spaces? Malls? Subways and airports? What do they need to know to get where they re going? When and where should signage be placed? The several times that we ve organized the National Book Festival, attended by over 100,000 people, it was vital that we clearly informed people how to get to the tents they wanted to get to, and we have garnered a special appreciation for nice You Are Here maps.

With Wayfinding, design must first give way to clarity. Something can be clear and ugly, but it must be clear. Obviously, the best projects are both beautiful and clear. Check out this collection of a few of the pretty and thought-provoking wayfinding projects from Behance:

Event Management Blog: Wayfinding at Events

Skyrim Riften Map, Chelsea Butts

Bless the gaming community and their endless enthusiasm. This exceptionally clear top-down 2d map was made of a fictional district from the video game, Skyrim.

Event Management Blog: Festival Map Design

Subic Map, Jo Malinis and Raxenne Maniquiz

Another lovely 2D creation, and a bit more complex than the first example, this area map was created for the 2014 Ad Summit.

Event Management Blog: Event Maps

Reynolds Performing Arts Center, Robert Eugene Sidwell

This one is lovely because its so adult. Designed in a slight perspective and using a lovely soft palette against a computer-generated-level-design feel.

Event Planning Blog: 3D Rendering Wayfinding Map

Norwegian School of Creative Studies Wayfinding System, 4 Collaborators

An interesting approach to the use of 3D renderings that draw a realistic sense of space in the viewer s mind.

20141030-wayfinding-map-5

Suburban Map, Anna Giulia Spagnulo

Ooh! Look at the great illustration on this one. This map walks a great line between beauty and clarity, without falling back on Swiss design.

20141030-wayfinding-map-6

Festival Map, Estel Martinez

A faux-3D illustrated map concept, showing each unique festival space individually. Larger-than-life extruded objects focus the eye on the important bits.

Five Fabulous, Creative Ways to Serve Fresh Fruit

With the season winding to a close, help your guests catch the last tastes of the summer fruit bounty. We selected five simple and unique ways to serve flavorful fruit, all of which are easy to make in large party serving sizes.

Skewer It: Fruit Bouquets

Those Edible-Arrangements-style fruit flower bouquets are much easier to create than they look, offer a healthy dessert option while doing double-duty as table decor, and everyone loves them. All you really need is some melons, some sticks, and some cookie cutters (a melon baller and some chocolate, too, if you re feeling fancy). You can liven things up with grapes or chunks of apple, strawberry or pineapple as well. Watch the video recipe.

Stuff It: Stuffed Figs

It s always such a score when you run across one of those foods that s both decadent and simple. Fresh stuffed figs taste like a Roman orgy is happening in your mouth, are easy to eat and even easier to make. They are not, however, incredibly cheap unless you or your food service vendor has access to fresh figs in bulk, and they don t keep for long periods of time, so they must be made day-of. See the delish.com recipe

Roll it: Fruit Sushi

Fruit sushi (yup, someone already combined those words into frushi ) has all the hallmarks of an outstanding party dessert. Sweet, unique, lovely to look at, and it makes great finger food. There s no one way to do fruit sushi some recipes use a marshmallow base for the rice, some recipes plop the fruit on top, some put it in a roll, some make real sushi and simply add fruit to it the possibilities are numerous, so we ll provide a few different links here.

Photo from Jamie Oliver

Jelly It: Fruit Jellies

Clear fruit jellies are one of those desserts that look so stylin , you think you need a PhD in Culinary Arts to approach them at all. Truth is, they only have a couple of ingredients (so they re cheap!), they can be made in advance (so they re convenient!) and they take very little time to make (so they re easy!). Most recipes call for a dash of Prosecco to be added to the gelatine mix for that neat bubble effect and a touch of flavor. They can also be made in small individual servings, or as one big, gorgeous fruit gelatin. Here are a few different recipes:

Grill It: Grilled Bananas and Pineapples

Already doing burgers or fajitas? Save a corner of that grill for the fruit. Grilled fruit particularly pineapples and bananas are suffused with a smoky, grown-up flavor. They also dry out a bit as they cook, making them easier on the fork (and on the front of the shirt). Here are a couple of neat recipes:

Mobile Media Tour Inspiration: Great Vehicle Wraps and Mobile Billboards

Vehicle wrapping is an artform. At its most basic, we re talking printing out a billboard on removable vinyl and cutting it to the shape of your bus, food truck, SUV, etc. Highly customized and creative work involves thinking with the shape and outline of the vehicle and using those shapes to create optical illusions or other attention-grabbing advertisements (Need something done? Give us a shout, we can wrap anything).

Event Management Blog: Vehicle Wrap Ideas

We re loving the stark, manly modernity of this Bacon Bacon food truck wrap, printed by Wraps1.com.

Hats off to the minds at YKCR / Y&R Advertising Agency, who came up with this genius wrap for a local Irish Music Festival. Using the natural structure of the vehicle as a canvas, YKCR created a natural accordion with articulated buses.

Printed at Australia s Graphic Art Mart, this clever mobile ad makes it appear as though the bus has backed into a street sign a sure way to attract attention.

This super eye-catching wrap concept was never actually printed, but was submitted to the (now defunct) 2007-2008 Rhino Rolling mobile ad awards.

Created by the vehicle-wrapping Einsteins at Vector Media, this whale bus isn t just wrapped on the outside: the inside was also painted pink like the inside of a whale s mouth, and the dangling passenger handle grips were shaped like whale teeth.

Tag: eventproductioninspiration

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