2010 Calgary Stampede - Were you there?

Calgary’s greatest networking show of the year has just wrapped up and what a ride!  I’m talking about our famous Calgary Stampede and its never-ending party circuit. The competition to be at the best party in the city is more fierce than the finding a ticket for the rodeo finals. The Stampede is Calgary’s version of the Oscars, where you are defined by the people you are seen with and the parties you attend. Well…almost. Trade in your limo for a chuck wagon and your Chanel dress for a denim mini and cowboy boots.

Our company, e=mc2 event management, produces many of these high-profile events. It’s like planning every company Christmas party in Calgary in a 10-day period! Luckily, we have the support of our trusted and tireless partners. DotCom Your Event, we would have “fallen all to pieces without cha”.  With your exceptional registration tools, we were able to process thousands of guests over stampede week. With your system, we registered people quickly, easily and weeded out all those pesky, would-be, party crashing varmints…a very important matter for our clients.

Much obliged DotCom Your Event and happy trails.

Guest post by Joann Chatterton Director, Conference Production/Registration at e=mc2 event management.  To learn more about e=mc2 event management visit www.emc2events.com.

How to Pick the Perfect Venue

How to Pick the Perfect Venue

The setting for an event can make or break its success.  The perfect location can set the tone, make a statement or simply be a fitting backdrop to the occasion.

So, how do you pick the perfect venue?

It’s not an exact science, but following these simple tips should help you to choose the ideal setting for your event.

Define the Purpose of Your Event

You should know and understand what your company is trying to achieve with your corporate event.  You may want to improve your corporate image, network or generate more business.

A great business event will in some way add to your business strategy and move your company forward.  Even an internal event may aim to improve morale and increase productivity.

All the questions that follow will relate back to what you want to get out of your event, so you need to be clear about it now.

What Do You Need From Your Venue?

Before picking up a brochure, or even sitting down to write a budget, decide what you need from a venue.  Here are some things to consider:

• Type of event.  Unusual locations can create memorable events, but you still need a venue that is fit for purpose.
• Number of guests.
• What are you going to do?  Do you need somewhere that people can work and play, space for simultaneous meetings, or an exhibition hall?  Which activities are essential and which are optional extras?

Practicalities and Specifics

Now that you have an idea of what you need from your dream venue, it’s time for the reality check.  Look at the practicalities of what you are proposing.

Budget Set a clearly defined budget and look at your plans and objectives again.  If your budget accommodates your plans, excellent; if not, look to see where you could make savings.

Location Who is your event intended for, where will they travel from, what time of day will it be on?  An out of town location may not work for a breakfast briefing, but may be perfect for a black tie event.

Transport If you choose a venue that is inaccessible, you may need to provide transport for your guests.  If this isn’t affordable, rethink your location and pick somewhere with good transport links.

Prioritise and Compromise

You’ll now have a list of criteria, and should be able to draw up a shortlist of venues that meet your needs.  And now we get to the hard part – picking the perfect venue.

But, armed with your event objectives this should be easy.  Prioritise your criteria based on what you are trying to achieve and rate your shortlist accordingly.  Hopefully one venue will stand out, but if not, choose the one that matches your most important criteria most exactly.

Finding your ideal venue can be one of the most time consuming aspects of event organisation.  But if you’re clear about what you want to achieve from the start – and stay true to this throughout – it will be much easier.  Good luck!

Guest post by Claire from Staffordshire Conference Bureau, a UK-based free venue finding service to help businesses pick the perfect location for events in the Midlands, England.  Find out more on their website: www.conferencestaffordshire.co.uk

Happy Birthday Canada & the U.S.!

Today is of course Canada Day (Happy Birthday Canada!) followed shortly by the USA's birthday on Sunday (Happy Early Birthday USA!).  Which leads me to believe there are a lot of people taking a very extended long weekend.  Which also means there likely aren't too many people reading this post.

So, with that in mind, knowing nobody will be reading this post I mean, do I reveal the secret recipe to my Grandmothers famous Mars-Krispy squares?  Or, do I simply wish these two great countries a Happy Birthday and get back to the BBQ?

I'll choose the latter!

Enjoy the festivities...I like my steak medium;)

57th Annual Community Living Ontario Conference & AGM

From May 25 to 29, 2010 I once again had the pleasure of working at the 57th Annual Community Living Ontario Conference and AGM. DotCom Your Event was involved in both the management of the conference as well as the online registration for all of the 450 attendees and speakers.

Community Living Ontario is a non-profit, provincial association that advocates for people who have an intellectual disability to be fully included in all aspects of community life. The goal of Community Living Ontario is: That all persons live in a state of dignity, share in all elements of living in the community, and have the opportunity to participate effectively. Community Living Ontario envisions a society where people who have an intellectual disability belong and feel respected.

As a provincial association Community Living Ontario:

• has over 12,000 members across the province
• represents 117 local Community Living associations across Ontario

The first time we were involved with Community Living Ontario was back in 2006 when the conference was held in Sioux Lookout in Northern Ontario.  This was a unique experience as most conferences are not held in a small town like Sioux Lookout, which totals 3000 people and sits northeast of Kenora and northwest of Thunder Bay. To my delight, the town rallied around the conference and turned out to be the perfect hosts.

Over the past five years, I have felt privileged to have had the opportunity to work with the people at Community Living Ontario, their local associations and the self-advocates that they support. I have got to know, at least by name and by face, many of the regular attendees to the conference. I have learned a great deal about the individuals in our communities that care so much about others who are less fortunate than ourselves. It has been a real eye-opener for me and I feel that it has made me a better person.

This year’s conference was held in Richmond Hill, Ontario, just north of Toronto. It was a great success once again. Many of the topics that are presented and discussed are provocative and important to our society and the way we treat and view others.

You can read more about the conference at http://www.communitylivingontario.ca/news-events/news/citizenship/full-inclusion-all-citizens-main-theme-57th-annual-conference and follow Community Living on Twitter.

The biggest event of them all!

It's that time again, the biggest event of them all will soon be taking place.  Yes, I'm talking about the 2010 FIFA World Cup!  Has it been four years already?  Indeed it has, and I for one have been waiting anxiously since the last World Cup.

This years World Cup is of course being held in South Africa.  The event will be taking place in multiple stadiums across multiple cities, which means coordinating with hundreds of people.  Imagine being an event planner on this committee!  While this may not be the type of event you're used to planning, I believe there is a lot to be taken away from watching how an event of this scale is executed.  Especially when you consider so many involved speak different languages and come from very different cultures.

It's simple really, an event such as the FIFA World Cup can teach us all how to work as a cohesive unit with people of different backgrounds and personalities to put on arguably the worlds greatest event.

While I'll be eagerly cheering on the Three Lions, tell us who your favourite to win is in the comments.