Over the last year we have been working with the Parker Chamber of Commerce on their largest signature event, Parker Days - it is a festival with 34 years history and a great following from the community.  

Over the years the festival has expanded and changed, as so many do, with more people attending, more booths, different building projects and more and the question is always "how do we get the crowd to go to all of the places on the festival grounds?" 

At this summer's festival we used street performers to help us move and manipulate where the crowd went at different times of the event.  We added three Busker's Stages (street performers like Kate The Great) and a Community Stage in key locations on the grounds where we wanted to have people stay longer, or go to for a period of time, so that attendees could see the different vendors and at the same time be entertained at the event. 

We know we were successful in this promotion because we got a lot of great feedback from the booth vendors about how busy they were, from the attendees about how they liked the entertainment, and from the entertainers themselves. 

In a future blog post we will share more ideas about how to make this happen in different ways at an event, but as the planners we are always looking for new ways to make entertainment and crowd control seem natural.

I'm not sure how many of you know this story, but it's our beginning...

One day, Steven was meeting with some friends for lunch and they mentioned that the Parade of Homes was looking for a contractor to staff and manage their event in the summer of 2007.  Right after the lunch, Steven called me and asked me what I thought about going in and interviewing for the position.  At the time, I was working as a teacher and Steven was working for the City of Northglenn as an event planner.  Without hesitation, I said, "ABSOLUTELY!"

A couple days later with glitter on my pants and paint under my fingernails, we met with the Vice President of the Home Builders Association.  In the interview, we were ourselves (you know, really funny and smart sounding...) and left knowing that we were coming in for a follow-up interview.

The second interview was quick and easy...basically, we were hired to take on this five week contract, hire 80 some employees, work with the 100,000 people who came to the event, and left with our heads swimming a bit.  (Seems a bit crazy, right?)  

I hopped in the car with Steven and we both basked in the thought that we were on the journey to creative a business....do something different....and be on our own.  We stopped at a coffee shop and reality set in.  We JUST started our own company...and we don't even have a name.  

One cup of coffee, a few minutes later, sitting on a bench, we decided on our name - Events Etc.  

The name is a fit.  Always has been.  Always will be.  

Entrepreneur?  Tell us your beginnings.

Since the Fall of 2008 I have been writing (nearly) quarterly articles for Colorado Meetings and Events Magazine.  It has been a joy as I get to educate the public about things I am teaching about, and I have developed my own skills as a writer in the process. 

Just last week I was informed that my new article "Forget Healthy, Go Candy!" article will be published in all nine meeting and event magazines in the US this summer.  How cool is that!  In an odd twist, in preparation for my wedding in June I am going on a really restrictive diet tomorrow and candy is not on the list. 

Hopefully by the summer I will again be eating the beloved candy represented in the article.  Printed below is the first paragraph of my article.  You will need to read the rest this summer in one of the nine magazines it will be published in (super exciting!):

"There’s just something about candy that encourages playfulness, a return to youth, and that feeling of awe.  While most of our adult lives are spent “watching what we eat” in a world consumed with diet plans and healthy food options, something about a simple piece of chocolate, pulled taffy, or colorful sugar candy change our mood, lighten our spirits, and creates joy."

It’s fitting that with one of the first blog posts for our website that I add something about the details.  For me, personally, every event is in the details.  A fine event one can have, but what will take it over the top…well, it is in the details.

This weekend we had a wedding at the Lodge and Spa in Breckenridge.  If you have ever considered getting married with about 100 guests and want to do it in the mountains in Colorado, check this place out.  It is REALLY one of the most beautiful venues I have ever EVER been to.

The bride and groom live in Maryland, so I thought being their wedding planner from a distance might provide a few small challenges but it really didn’t.

There were 5 details about this wedding that I adored.

·      Upon entering the foyer, each guest was asked to sign the antique skis that they used as their guest book.

·      Since the wedding was outside on the deck, there was a hot cocoa bar that lead outside….many filled up their cups with chocolate chips, marshmallows, and sprinkles prior to heading outside.

·      The main reception room has a large wall that has four wooden beams.  In two sections of the wall, we had an artist that we know paint two beautiful murals of aspen trees with purple and gold highlights (as these were the colors for the wedding.)  The really cool part about this project is that the murals were painted on canvas so that the bride and groom will be able to take them home and display them in their own home.

·      At each place setting, I took a piece of 1 inch think gold ribbon, hot glued a pinecone on the top, and then wrapped the ribbon held by a gold paperclip around each napkin.  (I love it when guests take my DIY projects home with them!)

·      When the bride and groom were taking pictures, the bride put on a half sleeve white fur coat.  Gorgeous!

As always, each event is special.  And, each time I learn a new tip that will help me the next time when planning.  For each wedding moving forward, I want to make sure that I have the exact names of all of the family and friends who get the flowers.  In this large family, yelling out that I had flowers for the Auntie only provided a bit of confusion….What, you mean Aunt xxx, Aunt xxx, Aunt xxx…and on and on.  Oy!  I learned my lesson…

Some 75% of us are expected to break our New Year's resolutions within 3 months, according to FranklinCovey Products' Annual New Year's Resolutions Survey.  Isn't that a bummer -- it isn't even New Year's yet and we are already doomed to failure in 2011!  We thought, if we started our blog in 2010 (which is really a 2011 goal) we can say we have had our blog for "over a year" and we will have somehow succeeded ... if you are not so sure that works, read how to set more attainable goals on eHow.com

Read more: Tips for Keeping New Year Resolutions - Set Obtainable Goals | eHow.com http://budurl.com/EventsEtcBlog