To come up with a design for a pharmaceutical company meeting's farewell dinner, Dominique Kennan of Montreal-based event firm Mina Martini didn't have to search far for inspiration. Indeed, it was right there, in the bounty of Montreal's world...
Debra Lykkemark, president and CEO of Culinary Capers in Vancouver, British Columbia, describes a caterer's nightmare: “Food gets cold, sauces coagulate, and dinner guests wait.” To avoid this, fundraising dinners require caterers to show...
Daunting challenges, amazing results: This describes the work of the Gala Award nominees listed below. Members of the Special Events Magazine Advisory Board spent hours poring over hundreds of entries before selecting these companies. Watch for...
If you worry that you missed the deadline to enter the Gala Awards, take heart. You can still enter this year's competition by the "late-bird" deadline of Sept. 14. The Special Events Magazine office will accept entries until 4:30 p.m. Pacific...
For formal fêting, galas are often the go-to event for high-end fundraisers. But sometimes sit-down dinners just don't suit the scene. “Any nonprofit that has a venue with ‘things to see,’ like a museum, botanical garden or zoo, should let their...
Sometimes when you need something done right, your best bet is to do it yourself. Los Angeles' Event Eleven took this advice to heart with its work on the March 22 Promise Gala. The fundraiser — which honored superstar Tom Cruise — benefited...
A first-time event challenges any professional tasked with its design and production. But when the event involves headline entertainment, an attendee count forecast that could be off by 1,000, and guests that rank from just-your-average-high-price...
As summer heats up, Special Events Magazine's offices fill to the rafters with Gala Award entry binders — a whopping 388 arrived last year. Since your tireless Special Events editors have the happy task of organizing, logging and shipping the...
Hosted by the Women's Committee of the famed Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, the annual Corcoran Ball offers its guests — 1,000-plus invited museum donors — a rare chance to dine and dance among treasured artworks. With its grandeur...
Fundraisers create a conundrum for event producers as high style must be paired with low production costs. “A challenge, as always with not-for-profits, is how do we make a statement with a small budget,” says Shai Tertner, president of New York...