Year 5 of 24 – I was definitely on a promotional roll in 1992. Business was picking up! I promoted Bright Ideas Events continuously at the various networking breakfasts and association meetings in Vancouver. I was quickly learning the power of building relationships to generate business.
In the spring I exhibited once again at the annual Special Events Trade Show at the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre. I had received such positive feedback about erecting a tent in the middle of the trade show floor the previous year, that I had another “Bright Idea”. Why not create an Event inside of an Event? Sounded like a great idea to me! I built a stage area inside of our tent and assembled a great line up of talent. We had impersonator Tracey Bell, musician Ralph Shaw, and the Outriggers Polynesian Dancers. It was an action packed stage show! Actually, the results were a little too good. So many of the attendees gathered around our booth watching our entertainment that the show organizers came by and asked us to shut down our stage. Turns out there was no one watching the entertainment on the main stage. What a compliment!
Summer brought new business and new events – Company Picnics. Little did I know then, but Company Picnics would become our “bread and butter” event over the next 15 years. Since then we have produced as many as 50 corporate picnics in a summer season. Later in the year, we coordinated a Western Round-Up event for Finning Tractor, at the Cloverdale fairground. I was so proud that I was able to conceal the concession area of Shannon Hall – with bales of hales, window frames with checkered curtains, and wooden fencing. I even put fresh pies on the window sills, to add an authentic aroma for guests as they arrived. Of course they were apple pies!
Next, we started doing some work for Konings Wholesale and Subaru. The word was spreading. Bright Ideas Events was the company to call when you needed creative events and reliable service. Now things were definitely heading in the right direction!
During the Christmas season, I coordinated a HUGE Christmas Party for 700 guests at the Enterprise Hall on the Plaza of Nations. Looking back, I see now that it was an incredibly large undertaking for me at this stage of my career. The theme was a Traditional Christmas, so I went all out with oversized décor to fill this large, high ceiling-ed space. I brought in 15’ tall live Christmas Trees, flanking them with snow blankets and 20’ tall Snowman from Parade Floats. Another popular feature at this event was the Photo Op Station. I had rented an old fashioned sleigh and nestled amongst the live trees for guests to climb in and get their photo taken. The photos were gorgeous!
Looking at the photos now, the biggest accomplishment that jumps out of those pictures is the fact that I somehow decorated the pillars to look like Candy Canes. I don’t even remember hiring a genie lift, but I must have. Those poles are about 60’ tall. The effect was stunning! 1992 was drawing to an end and we were already booking events for 1993. There were two distinct seasons appearing in my target market – Summer (picnics) and Winter (Christmas parties). This seasonal trend would sustain Bright Ideas over the next decade, as I built my corporate event planning business. In my next post… on a roll and gaining momentum!
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