First, there was FOMO. Which then led to JOMO. And now thanks to a global pandemic, FOGO, or the Fear of Going Out, has taken on a whole new meaning. At the beginning of isolation, I felt an incredible reprieve from my hectic event-architect-chief-everything-officer-mom-of-four life. There was a momentary joyful liberation during lockdown (said the big introvert). I was free of expectations and obligations to

While no one envisioned this uncharted time to last as long as it has, many areas are slowly and carefully coming out of isolation and wanting to get back to the business of tangibly connecting again. But how? Less than 25% of events moved to a virtual platform in North America since the beginning of the pandemic, according to industry research. The rest were either

Now that most provinces are loosening up on some restrictions, people are anxious to do something other than grocery shop and bike ride. Here are our top 5 summer outdoor party strategies for gathering in a small group and having a bit of “safe pandemic” fun! Tip # 1 - Let your attendees know what precautions are being taken on the invitation. What are the

Like so many event professionals , in a matter of seconds we "lost" all of our clients due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We’re speaking figuratively here.... they're still our clients, but everything we were working on came to a screeching halt. While many events were switched to a virtual platform, that wasn't in the interest of my clients, and they postponed or cancelled. What to

As an event manager living in a small-ish Canadian city, I was curious if bigger centers have events for men only. It’s quite common to see events exclusively for women… you know “babes supporting babes” (I am a staunch women’s supporter and feminist, but when will this nauseating slogan die?? ?) Women gather and inspire each other, listen to each other, and build community. Quite

In a recent survey, 80% of event planners reported that they are required to provide more “experience creation” for their event clients than just 2 years ago. Simply getting the logistics down right, just doesn’t cut it now in the events industry. This is where experience creation comes in… Driven by millennials, today’s attendee expectations are dramatically shifting the focus behind meetings and events, and

Planning an event takes a lot of time and a myriad of talents. It’s not for the faint of heart! Perhaps you have attended an event recently and have left feeling like it was not only a waste of money, but also a waste of your time. What was missing? What would give the experience more value? Was the event engaging? Did you learn anything?

  Fundraising events can be costly and will add significant work and stress to staff. There is usually no guarantee of increasing profit from year to year, as donor loyalties change, the economy tanks, or your event is planned on the same busy weekend as everything else in the city! How do you know when it’s time to put your fundraising event to rest? Here

Businesses are competing for their market share now more than ever. The internet is continuously bombarding us with thousands of bits of information, with new virtual and turn-key businesses popping up daily. Humans now have the dubious distinction of having an attention span lower than a goldfish –  less than 8 seconds! How does a business, especially a small one, grab a potential customer’s attention?

Last week I attended the GoWest 2018 Conference in Edmonton, Alberta. It was an amazing experience, and well-attended by 350 industry professionals from across Canada. A constant flow of speakers was featured over the two days including David Merrell of AOO Events in Los Angeles, Shannon Boudreau of The Lazy Gourmet (Vancouver), and Derek MacDonald of Boom Goes the Drum (Calgary). Innovation and inspiration was