Insights from the World’s Greatest Music Festivals

As the people who ran the first Woodstock festival discovered, large music and art events can be chaotic if you don’t know what you’re doing. Whether in a city or a field, you have a lot to lose if everything goes south with a million plus people running around! With that in mind, if your part of a group putting together your first festival or your twenty-first, you want to make sure you’re doing everything right. We always say learn from the best. So we looked at eight of the world’s greatest music festivals and thought about what it is […]

Tasty Meal Ideas for Your Next Networking Conference

Let’s talk about food! One of the more fun parts to plan of any event is the food. An event planner must find the perfect caterer for each unique event to keep your guests happy with food and drinks. Networking conferences are great for attendees to meet potential clients, customers, and business partners. Networking conferences are often all about moving around and meeting new people, and mini-events like meals, round table discussions and cocktail hours often help create an environment conducive for meeting others. We’re going to skip over the itinerary phase and assume you have a schedule that includes […]

How Woodstock Changed Event Management

Way back in 1969 at a farm outside of White Lake, New York, four young men hosted a music festival. Hundreds of thousands of fans attended, and what followed was one of the most legendarily debauched events of all time, one that ended up being an icon of the 1960s. We called it Woodstock. From an event planning perspective, Woodstock was also one of the most poorly planned, poorly executed events of all time, fraught with missed deadlines, legal blunders, and a trail of liability. The festival was originally organized by John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfield, and Mike Lang. […]

Conquering Common Wedding Planner Challenges

Navigating Wedding Planner Challenges

Wedding planning is unlike any other event planning due to the intense emotions involved. While organizing a wedding shares similarities with other events, the emotional stakes make it uniquely challenging. These wedding planner challenges can range from managing demanding clients to balancing budgets.

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Five Crucial Factors in Running a Video Game Trade Show

It’s official – Gaming has gone mainstream. These days, it’s rare to meet someone who hasn’t played at least one game. With gaming’s popularity has come a lot more game-industry events, conferences, and trade shows  – all being covered by mainstream media. If you’re in event management you may be thinking about opportunities in this growing space. There’s a lot that goes into making a trade show successful – and gaming trade show is no exception. Here are a five factors to take into account when running a video game trade show. Does your event focus on players or developers? […]

Do’s and Dont’s of Hosting Video Game Tournaments

Gaming is not what it used to be. It’s no longer a niche, and most of the time you don’t even have to question if someone’s a gamer—it’s more like, what games do they like play? Welcome to the popular world of Esports, where professional gamers are well on their way to being considered on par with professional “traditional” athletes, both in earnings, and in fanbases. We’re even starting to see universities offering League of Legends scholarships.

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What Was Your Last Event Missing?

What was your Last Event Missing? Tips for Finding the Answer. When you look back at your last event, would you consider it an across-the-board success? You may agree that things went really well, but that you also came up short in some key area. While there is nothing you can do about the past, you are in position to change the future. For this reason, you must know what your last event was missing. With this information in hand you can address any concern, but most importantly, you can make strategic adjustments when planning your next event. How to Pinpoint […]

Six Best Open-Source Event Management Applications

The best part about open-source applications isn’t even that they’re free – it’s that open-source applications are community-driven; anyone can access and modify the source code in whatever fashion they choose. As an event management professional, you should relish that sort of freedom; in the right hands, open-source is an incredibly valuable tool. Unfortunately, the open-source event-planning scene is still in its infancy, so there aren’t a great many event management applications that fall squarely under the open-source umbrella. Even so, there are five open-source applications that tech savvy event planners with an interest in tinkering about should check out. […]

How to Throw a Great Trade Show After-Party

Hosting an after-party at a trade show can be just as critical as the event itself. Attendees are often looking for a relaxed yet engaging environment to unwind after a day filled with networking and presentations. As an event organizer, you have the chance to create an experience that leaves a lasting impression.

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Five Event Volunteer Tools You Need Access To

As an event management professional, you aren’t simply managing events – you’re also managing people. In order to run a conference and ensure that things are going smoothly, you need a team. You need vendors, partners and speakers. You need venue owners and security. Perhaps most importantly you need volunteers. To help them excel, it’s crucial they have access to the right event volunteer tools. 1. Robust Communication Systems Effective communication is the cornerstone of any successful event. Ensuring that your volunteers can communicate swiftly and clearly is paramount. Providing reliable communication tools such as two-way radios or dedicated messaging […]

Six Pieces of Advice for Running a Tournament

Planning to run a tournament? It involves more than just gathering participants, setting up brackets, and awarding a trophy. Successful tournaments require careful logistics and strategic planning. Ignore these details, and your tournament could fall flat.

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Essential Tips for Maximizing Event Media Coverage

Getting media coverage for your event isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a game changer. Whether it’s a trade show, conference, or tournament, maximizing event media coverage can significantly boost your event’s success. But how do you get journalists and bloggers to show up and cover your event? Let’s break down the essential strategies to help you grab the media’s attention and make your event the talk of the town. Identify the Right Media Outlets Start by identifying the media outlets most likely to be interested in your event. Who’s already talking about your industry? What blogs, websites, or publications align with […]

Effective Event Marketing Strategy: Five Key Elements

There’s a good chance as an event planner that you are often focused on promotion. If you are building killer events you want to see high attendance. This makes you completely invested in designing and executing top-notch marketing campaigns.

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6 Tips for Serving Alcohol at Events

Serving alcohol at events can enhance the experience but also introduces significant risks. Proper planning and precautions are crucial for a successful event. Here are essential tips for serving alcohol at events to help you manage responsibilities and minimize risks. So, let’s get down to business. How can you keep attendees happily buzzing along while also minimizing the risk in serving alcohol at your event? First, Know Your Plan Before serving alcohol at events, create a detailed plan. Consider the event’s size, the number of bars, types of drinks, and whether you’ll serve hard alcohol. Decide if the bars will […]

Event Catering: Tips for Perfect Food Options at Your Event

Planning event catering isn’t just about hiring a catering company. It’s crucial to delve into the details and ask key questions to determine the right catering partner. To ensure your menu is a hit, follow these essential steps.

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Five Awesome, Simple Pieces of Advice For Event Planners

Here are five awesome, simple pieces of advice for event planners that will have a mark an impact on whether you succeed or fail.

As I’ve established in the past, not everyone is cut out to be an event planner. It takes a very particular type of individual to excel in event management; the best event planners are quick thinking, charismatic, organized, and creative. Yet simply having the right personality isn’t always enough.

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5 University Majors That’ll Prepare You For Event Planning

If you’re certain you want to go into event planning—and don’t already have an Event Planning Degree or and Event Coordinator Degree—what’s the best educational background to possess?

Event planning is a highly dynamic field, with the demands and knowledge requirements that vary wildly depending on what specific event industry you’re in.

Unfortunately, because of that, it can often be difficult to determine the best path to take so you can break into event planning.

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Six Must-Have Gadgets for Event Planners

As an event planner, having the right must-have gadgets for event planners can make all the difference. With the right tools in your kit, you can streamline operations, enhance communication, and ensure a seamless event experience. Whether you’re managing a corporate conference, wedding, or festival, leveraging technology is key to staying ahead in the fast-paced events industry.

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Avoid These Top Five Foods at Your Event

This may seem like a lighthearted piece, but important non-the-less. When you’re planning what food you want to serve at your event, consider more than just what’s in season, or what your attendees might enjoy. You also need to take into account whether or not the food you have in mind is the most practical choice. Certain meals are better left to restaurants than conferences, while certain events may not work with a particular menu option. The problem should be fairly clear: if you serve the wrong type of food for your event, it’s going to be messy! Clothes will […]

Importance of Health & Safety Expertise in Event Management

I’ve touched on risk management before, but never to the degree that I should have. I’d like to remedy that with today’s piece. We’re discussing precisely why it’s vital that you as an event planner are well versed in both health and safety regulations and procedures. Although you are often outsourcing many services, keeping your event safe is ultimately your responsibility. We’ll start with the obvious. As the one running the show, you need to keep an eye out for any potential safety hazards, health code violations or threats to your guests. The companies hiring you are relying on your […]