Blog Beginnings

So here I am blogging about my business. Not sure how I am going to find the time to keep this up but I thought it would be fun for those of you who are interested in how events are created from start to finish.

At this moment in time, I'm right in the middle of planning for our Desert Dreams 2009 Holiday Boutique. This is our 3rd annual Holiday event and I'm very excited about it. Last years event was a bit of a disappointment due to location, economy and advertising restrictions. So to try to improve the outcome for this years event, we have moved our location to the Boys & Girls Club of the East Valley - Gilbert Branch. It's a larger facility in the heart of the Historical District. We have the whole facility for our event. The best part is - "No Advertising Restrictions"!!! Hooray!

Being a professional event planner in the town of Gilbert has proved to have it's challenges when looking for proper venues. So far, I have really enjoyed working with the B&G Club. Their rental prices are fair and they are very laid back. I can't tell you how much easier this makes my job. I also want to give a shout out to Lily Davis from Farmers Insurance (ldavis2@farmersagent.com) for an amazing quote on event insurance. It's surprising how quickly expenses add up.

So what have we added this year to improve attendance and make this a Fabulous event???

We have brought in Santa! Yep, Santa will be on hand for photos with the children (or children at heart) from 10am - noon. Briella Photography (http://www.briellaphotography.com/) is taking the photos so they are sure to be high quality.

Dolled Up Sing and Dance studio will be performing from 10 - 11 on the stage and Capoeira Arizona will be there to show off their martial artist skills.

Admission is FREE and we will be holding hourly drawings. There is also a canned food drive to benefit Open Arms Care Center of Gilbert. Please remember to bring your non-perishable food items!

I get a lot of questions regarding the cost to participate in these events. To be honest, it costs quite a bit to put on something like this. This is not someones home (although I have been to many great boutiques in homes around the valley). I have to pay to rent the facility, pay for insurance for the event, advertising (which includes posters, postcards, listings on various websites and newspapers, flyers and a sign walker - yep those guys who stand on the corner twirling big signs to direct you to special events), santa and elf suits, printing for all the paperwork and all the little items for the day of (coffee and donuts, parking signs, banners, decorations, sound system, etc.). I believe that our prices are very reasonable for our vendors who participate. We don't charge hundreds of dollars (but you won't see pipe and drape or provided tables. backdrops, or tablecloths either). We have to keep it affordable for our local small business owners.

This should be a great event. We still have some indoor booths left and plenty of outdoor booths left so if you know of any interested vendors or small businesses, send them my way. Thanks to everyone who has had a hand in planning this event. Annette, Sandra, Bobbi, Stephanie, Wade, Iris, Barb, The GSBA and to all my vendors. You Rock!!!