Outdoor Event

Summer is just around the Corner – Don’t Wait to Plan your Outdoor Event

Some of the best events take place in the warmer weather. Make yours one of them!

Are you thinking about planning an outdoor event in the coming summer months?  Here is some food for thought. Working outdoors means working with unpredictable elements. You want to make sure you’re 110% prepared or you could pay a big price.

Top Ten Tips on Planning an Outdoor Event

1: Consider the OPTIONS: what kind of event are you aiming to plan? The summer opens up tons of possibilities from golf tournaments and barbeques to outdoor sampling, concerts and special events. A personal function is clearly different than a corporate event – but the logistics of an outdoor event are largely the same. Just make sure you determine what your guests or consumers would appreciate – and go from there.

2: Choose a Suitable VENUE: for obvious reasons, venue is a huge part of planning an event, outdoors or otherwise. If you’re thinking of a public park, make sure you have adequate permission. Many government run parks have a special set of guidelines you need to follow – for example, the event can only be not-for-profit and open to the public. If this is not what you want for your event, you will need to consider a privately run facility or a federally run park vs. a provincial or city park.

3: Plan on various ELEMENTS: yes, plan for rain! While we all hope for sunshine, there is a 50/50 chance (or higher) that the rain could spoil your day. How can you combat this? One of the best solutions for an outdoor event, depending on the type of event, could be tenting. Some companies require alot of time to get tents up but others are portable and can be set up in a flash. Again, this depends on the size of your event but it’s always better to be safe than sorry. You can also buy weather insurance just in case you need to cancel your event due to a crazy thunderstorm that wouldn’t be safe for guests to attend anymore.

4: Have SUPPLIES Available: whether rain or shine, you want to make sure you have adequate supplies for your guests. On a hot sunny day, complimentary cold water, sunscreen and even hats would be greatly appreciated by your guests. On a rainy day, you could bring some rain ponchos and umbrellas on hand. If you have an evening event, mosquito repellant and citronella candles would be a blessing. An epi-pen may not be a bad idea to keep on hand in case anyone has a bee allergy as well. Additionally, ensure you have a first aid kit available. You never know when you may need a band-aid. An outdoor event can be full of surprises

5: Choose your FOOD Carefully: summer temperatures can be unpredictable sometimes. You need to make sure you keep meats cool until they are ready to be cooked and no food should be left out in the hot sun for any extended period of time. There would be nothing worse than food poisoning your guests! If you’re using a caterer, ask them what they do to make sure the food temperatures are regulated before and during the event.

6: Don’t Forget about LIGHTING: during a daytime event, you won’t have to worry about this but as day turns into dusk, you will need to consider lighting options. Candles may not be the best idea so consider spotlights, lanterns etc. And in keeping with these options, you’ll also need to consider a power source and a generator if power isn’t available at your venue of choice. You don’t want guests tripping around because they can’t see, especially at an outdoor event. Who knows what could be lurking in the darkness!

7. Arrange FACILITIES: there is nothing worse than a long walk to – or a long line up – when you have to use the, ahem, little boys or girls room. Make sure your venue has adequate washroom facilities – and if not, arrange for portapotties with a wash station. You should also have someone on your team responsible for keeping these cleaned and fully stocked. Sanitation is a huge part of any event and should be planned on properly.

8. SOUND Makes the Setting: when you have an event outdoors, the sound travels because it is not contained. If you have an outdoor music event, social function or even a barbeque, it’s a great idea to not only provide music that your guests or consumers will enjoy – but also have appropriate speakers to carry the music – and ambience throughout the event. Music enhances any event and can make the different between guests staying for an hour or two – or until the wee hours of the morning.

9. COMMUNICATE with your team! If you’re event is up north, there could be a risk that your cell phone(s) won’t work – or could die mid-day. To combat this concern, you could arrange for walkie-talkies or head sets to stay in regular contact with your entire team (potentially on different channels for different groups) so everyone is 100% accessible, especially in an emergency situation. Depending on where your outdoor event is located, cell phone signal may not be strong so you have to plan on back up.

10. ENTERTAIN your Guests: there are only a few short months of summer, so aim to plan an event that will entertain your guests. During the day, you may want to include inflatable games, clowns and sporting activities for kids. For the adults, you could arrange live entertainment such as a band or DJ. Fireworks are also a great enhancement but be sure you have approval and safety measures in place.

Summer comes and goes. If you’re planning an outdoor event, it is never too soon to start planning. We hope some of these tips were helpful. Please share this if you found it informative!

Tigris Personnel’s Outdoor Event Planning Services are Available at Top Locations including Calgary, AB | Vancouver, BC & Toronto, ON. For a free, no-obligation quote on how we can help you plan your next outdoor event, call us at 416.283.9119.

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Not even a Huge Snow Storm can get in the way of MotionBall’s Fundraising Development!

MotionBall’s fundraising development for 2013 kicked off  with a bash in Toronto. This past weekend, I had the tremendous opportunity to be invited to the 12th annual MotionBall Toronto Gala, with Tigris Personnel’s national account director, Serena Schwab. She was personally invited  to observe the evening for plans to potentially assist motionball with events in the future.

With a mandate of introducing next generation volunteers and donors to the Special Olympics movement, Motionball creates integrated social and sporting events to bring the fun back into giving. The gala is one of many that is executed  nationally to support fundraising for the Special Olympics. And so, on Fri., Feb. 8, Muzik Nightclub was transformed into a black-tie (optional) Winter Wonderland, presented by Air Miles as the title sponsor.  The organizer upgraded our general admission tickets to VIP so we could critique the entire event, from start to finish. This amazing upgrade allowed early access to the night with  sampling priority to the interactive gourmet food stations and exclusive entertainment.

Even being hit with the worst snow storm in 5 years, MotionBall’s fundraising development was bigger and better than ever – with over 2,000 people filling the venue. Guests arrived to the sounds of a 44-piece symphony orchestra performing a Beatles montage along with complimentary champagne. Morning show host Melissa Grelo successfully emceed the evening and detailed the highlights of the gala, magnifying the crowds anticipation.

Fundraising Development That “Pays Off” for a Great Cause!

After taking advantage of the open bar, “All Chocolate” buffet and Iceberg Vodka Lounge, charity supporters rushed to the “ice rink” dance floor to see Crash Dex, DJ’s Skratch Bastid and DJ Efsharp perform.

The fundraising development held not just 1 but 2 silent auctions! Auction items included spa packages, dinner certificates to Toronto’s top restaurants, a Cervelo bike and more. Dozens of guests were happy to participate, including our director who ended up taking home a print of Michael Jordan’s infamous slam dunk from the free-throw line. There were also raffle tickets sold, 3 for $100 or 10 for $250, with a chance to win an all-expenses paid trip to New York or Las Vegas.

This year’s 12th Annual Toronto MotionBall Gala raised $260,000 net profit.  A big thank you and congratulations goes out Paul Etherington, Chairman and Co-Owner & Director of Toronto Gala and his team for all their hard work and dedication. We were happy to attend and support such a wonderful cause. We look forward to being involved with future events in Toronto and across the country.

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Event Logistics for a VIP Experience!

Tigris Personnel teamed up with PR & publicity powerhouse Terrain Marketing to coordinate the event logistics for two impressive VIP Thank You Nights on Nov. 8 & 15. Tigris was contacted in August to lend their event planning expertise to the production value of the Moulin Rouge themed corporate dinners.

Over the course of three months, Tigris sourced all of the elements relating to staging, lighting and decor, as well as procuring singers, musicians, DJ’s and Burlesque troupes in both Calgary and Toronto. Although not formally hired for venue coordination, Tigris was heavily involved with this aspect of the contract as well, willingly taking on extra event logistics to transfer the Calgary function to a new location when the original date proved problematic for the client.

In addition to show production, Tigris was also responsible for such event logistics as sourcing memorable giveaways, photographers with onsite printing capabilities of branded souvenir photos, hiring and costuming Moulin Rouge themed promotional models. Tigris Personnel also booked event management in both cities to further assist with any onsite responsibilities such as checking in guests, providing their table numbers, cuing performers and distributing photos and giveaways at the end of the evening.

Enjoying the Execution of the Event Logistics

These two events were thrown for RONA’s most valuable contractors who spend $50,000 per year or more. This included 40 contractors and their guests from each city as well as RONA managers and head office executives. Guests got to enjoy a cocktail party, themed photo shoot, 4 course meal with an open bar complimented by ambient dinner music and the grand finale – the Moulin Rouge show! All of the guests who participated in the event were genuinely impressed with the event(s) and were touched by RONA’s gratitude for their business.

Both evenings were tremendous to be a part of – and Tigris relished the opportunity to lend their expertise to Terrain and RONA! For more photos highlighting elements from the contribution of our event logistics check out the photo gallery of our website.

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