A big charitable gala can be a spectacular event to plan. Like any event, you want it to be unique and memorable, but unlike corporate events, your guests are not required to attend. That means your approach needs to be imaginative and distinctive. Event Lab designer, Pete Nelson, knows how important it is to focus on originality when planning a charitable event. Now he lets us in on what’s trending, along with how to make your gala highly appealing and the talk of the town.
Q. Briefly describe what you do at Event Lab.
A. My official title is designer. What that means is I have the fun task of coming up with the look of an event.
Q. What’s the hottest trend for charity events now?
A. Themes are coming back in and there are lots of different ways to do that. Of course, many organizations use their brand to create a theme, instilling their logo and brand colors into the décor. I like to try to make the event stand out by doing something a little more fun. For example, at the Big Brothers/Big Sisters event this past year, we created a Motown theme. The invitations, the décor and all of the media materials incorporated that theme. For the Tubman Starlight Soiree, we did a Night in Bloom. It was almost like a flower show; like art in bloom. The point is you want to do something that’s going to entice people to attend, so you need to add a twist that differentiates it from a typical gala.
Q. Are charitable events moving away from the more formal, black tie setting?
A. It depends on the organization. Some are still really black tie, but a majority now are more business-or cocktail-casual; in other words, suits and cocktail dresses instead of tuxes and ball gowns. The more casual atmosphere not only makes it more fun, but easier for guests to attend because they don’t need to rent tuxes or shop for expensive gowns.
Q. Do you prefer formal over casual? If so, why?
A. I’m not really into black tie. I am very much in favor of an appealing look and theme; in creating a feel for the event. I really want to develop something that gets guests excited to attend. With a corporate event, you know your guests are going to include your employees and their spouses. But with a charity event, you don’t know who’ll be there. There are quite a few charity events in the Twin Cities, and often, a lot of the same people are invited to them. That makes it especially important to put together an event that will entice them to attend yours and also, to return next year.
Q. Do you have any additional tips for planning a charitable event?
A. If you’re using an event planning company like Event Lab, get us involved from day one. We can help with décor, color choices, invitations, marketing and more. Too often, we’re brought in after some of those decisions have already been made. That can be limiting when we’d really like to do something fresh and exciting.
It’s also important to get a venue right away and to concentrate on booking someplace that’s unique. While I love the convenience of putting on an event in a hotel, it’s more appealing for guests to see a new venue in town; something exciting that will make them want to attend.
Finally, it’s important to remind people why they’re attending the event. That can be done in a number of ways. For example, for the Minnesota Groves Academy, the theme was “The Faces of Groves.” Instead of concentrating on decorating the room, we took photos of the kids who attended the school and put them on 12-foot banners all around the room. In essence, they became the décor. What it did was remind the guests why they were there.
The Tubman Starlight Soiree was another example of how we reinforced the charities’ message. We placed a 40-foot wooden table holding 1500 votive candles right at the entrance. Above that we placed a sign that said that Harriet Tubman Center had helped 1500 families in the past year, each one represented by a votive candle on the table. It had a lot of impact and really worked well to reinforce their message.
