Scotiabank Caribana Festival on Now in Toronto
July 18, 2010
Filed under Whats On
Scotiabank Caribana Festival is an exciting two-week cultural explosion of Caribbean music, cuisine, revelry as well as visual and performing arts. In its 43rd year it has become a major international event and the largest cultural festival of its kind in North America. As Carnival is an international cultural phenomenon, the great metropolis of Toronto and its environs will come alive as the city explodes with the pulsating rhythms and melodies of Calypso, Soca, Reggae, Hip Hop, Chutney, Steel Pan and Brass Bands. This colourful exhibition and display of genius is truly a musical panorama that is certain to bring a pleasing smile to the ancestral titans of Pan and Calypso music.
Scotiabank Caribana Festival is an expression of Toronto’s multicultural and multiracial society. An increasing number of attendees and participants come from the US and overseas. The events are planned months in advance. The costumes and mas band displays are elaborate and oh so delicately worn and designed for movement. Move they do, in a breath-taking spectrum of colours that is best reflected in the King and Queen Showcase on Parade Day. No Scotiabank Caribana Festival is complete without African Drumming along with the Arts and Crafts displays celebrating “Things Caribbean”!
In 2010, Scotiabank Caribana Festival season is destined to be six (6) weeks culminating in the pinnacle of Parade Day on the Lakeshore with a kaleidoscope of music, colourful costumes, theatrical mas band displays, steel bands beating intricate orchestrations coupled with mouth watering feasts of Caribbean cuisine and delicacies. http://www.caribanafestival.com/pagedisplay.aspx?i=233
Vancouver’s Host to MPI This Week!
July 18, 2010
Filed under Whats On
WEC 2010 comes to Vancouver this week and it looks like Vancouver will be back on the map for event planners world wide. Thousands of planners, suppliers and vendors hit the coastal city for what promises to be a stellar education conference.
Never been to WEC? There is so much to do! MPI WEC has plenty of opportunities for first-time attendees to connect with peers and get to know more about MPI. Be sure to bring your business cards and get ready to increase your connections to ideas, relationships and marketplace resources.
There are dozens of exceptional sessions such as Green Meeting Standards Training Workshop powered by Green Meeting Industry Council, sessions on ROI, increasing your conference attendance, Virtual events, an in depth look at the planning of the Olympics and so much more.
What industry conference would be complete without social events? MPI WEC is the mother ship of conference social events. From receptions to galas, creative networking events, mixers and more. If you want to connect, get educated and make your mark in the international event scene… this is IT!
http://www.mpiweb.org/Events/WEC2010/Information
May 17, 2010
Filed under Whats On
On June 4th ISES Vancouver presents The Spectacular.
Store & Speak -a Plum Idea
April 28, 2010
Filed under Whats On
If you have ever left yourself voicemail reminding yourself to "pick up dry cleaning and Season Three of Dexter" chances are they have too. This next gen dictaphone is a flash drive that doubles as a digital voice recorder to help them streamline their to-do list and data. And we thought the iPad was brilliant! $27.95 for 1G drive, minimum order 100 units. http://www.plumgiftco.com/home.aspx
Foursquare: It’s All in The Tips!
April 26, 2010
Filed under Jared Golberg, Whats On
There’s a new Social application in town (Really? A new one? That’s weird) and some are seeing it as a rogue cowboy – Intrusive, deceiving and a little eratic! It has the ability to connect people through venues, clubs, restaurants and interesting sites around major cities. It can provide easy directions to that swanky club you always wanted to go to and also lets you know which friends are there. A little creepy? I dare you to actually try it – Foursquare that is!
We have a terrible flaw embedded in North American culture, but I am not here to discuss the sociology of the technological revolution – although, that would be incredibly fun for me! We judge and ridicule things before we actual know anything about them. I understand lack of time to research EVERYTHING. In the digital sphere, things change way to fast, but before you judge Foursquare as an intrusive no no, listen to what I have to say. There may be great possibility for your business – Especially with large public events!
What is Foursquare anyway?
Foursquare is a ‘Location Based Social’ network that helps you link to friends and newbies using GPS through your mobile device. With easy accessibility through Social mobile PDAs, this application has taken huge strides in major city hubs across North America in the passed eight months. As Twitter before it, many don’t understand the point to this genius! People always thought Twitter was pointless! Who wants to know what people are doing every moment? But something morphed – enter the content highway and the ability to connect through content snacking! Foursquare has entered the same drama! Who cares where people are? Check ins? Points? Explorers? I don’t care that you’re at the AMC seeing ‘She’s Out of My League” for the third time (great movie by the way). What Foursquare has done is created a game. Yeah, so you check in, but the question has always been, now what? 2009 saw huge rise to the personal brander. People focused on showing their online communities that they were busy, what they were doing and where they were at any given moment! The unique twist with Foursquare, is that you gain points for exploring your city, gain badges once you reach different stages and meet new people as well. Yes, many think this is a joke, but it actually has caught on extremely well and has integrated itself into the push of Facebook and twitter seamlessly. I won’t get too much into the different badges and levels you can reach because I feel there are other useful points to Foursquare that are more relevant to our industry as #eventprofs… The Tips!
Leave tips for your friends and become a trustworthy connection!
This application has a lot of great features, but I want to focus on what has been successful for me. When I started with Foursquare, I realized very quickly how to give tips. As a user, you can leave tips for your friends on various locations that you have been to. Say you have been to an incredible restaurant with your significant other, you can leave a tip for anyone else who checks in to this restaurant. For example, “This restaurant has an incredible clam chowder! Also, ask for a seat in the upper level, the atmosphere is perfect for a first date.” Now, anyone who checks into this restaurant or any location in the Foursquare network near by, will see this tip pop up – Friend or not, and will also let them know who said it. Are you aware of really obscure places in your city? Well known as a connector? These tips are perfect to promote yourself, your brand and your city to your online community.
Large events and connecting the city
Canadian Music Week, NXNE, SXSW, Molson Indy and other major events have an opportunity to really engage fans, conference goers and business folk using this application. All of these public events use multiple venues around major cities. The integration of Foursquare sponsorship, check points and contesting can really make their conferences interactive. Imagine being able to see what shows your friends are at while also having the ability to meet them through GPS tracking, all while gaining points to win a major prize (Canadian Music Week and NXNE/SXSW). Venues and businesses are already finding ways to connect with their patrons by offereing deals and free gifts just for checking, making tips and yes. becoming the mayor of their facility! Enter the new age of 'Travel Marketing'. The possibilities are enlightening!
I leave you with this…
Location Based Social Networking is here. These types of applications and technology were inevitable. The intrusion is yours! If you feel you don't want people to know where you are, then may be this application should not be a platform you choose. I personally use it for event purposes to let clients, staff and others know where 5th Element Events are happening and always follow up with live Tweets, pictures and video to accent the campaign. Foursquare is great in conjunction with other tools you are using. The possibilities to promote yourself and your company can be great if you develop a strong startegy of placement and integrate useful tips for your network. Build trust as a suburban connector and you'll see the amount of people who try to connect with you not only on Foursquare, but other platforms you repersent your personal brand on.
Interact, Engage & Inspire
DUB- Say Goodbye to Business Cards
February 23, 2010
Filed under Whats On
The easiest way to exchange contact info
When you and another person open the DUB app on an iPhone, BlackBerry or Android and click the locate button, DUB will find both of you and prompt you to exchange info. The contact information is saved directly to your mobile address book.
If the other person doesn’t have DUB or is in the next city instead of next to you, just type their email address or mobile number and push send. They’ll get a message with your contact info and a link to create their card. Once they do, your info is saved to their mobile address book and theirs to yours.
It’s super easy and its always current. All your DUB contacts appear both in your existing mobile address book and under Contacts in DUB. Any time any one of your contacts updates any field (phone, email, address, adds LinkedIn, etc.) in DUB, the update is automatically made on your phone’s existing address book and under Contacts in DUB. You don’t have to do a thing!
Your back-up
Phone meets an untimely death or disappears? Just download DUB to your new phone and all your DUB contacts return to your mobile address book and under DUB Contacts.
Spectacular!
Need Snow Inside in June?
February 22, 2010
Filed under Stacy Wyatt Blog, Whats On
Planners in need of snow inside in June have lots of options but what about the chill that goes with that white fluffy stuff? introducing Snowmasters new CO2 Jets. The cool part of this product is that it not only snows on your event wherever and whenever you want, but it also chills yourr event down to a nippy 30 degrees in 6 seconds. Cryo Jets instantly creates special effects plumes of icy mist going up 30 feet high. These small effective machines can be hung from truss or mounted on just about anything. You can create mist, fog and snow and when you release the control the fog is gone in seconds. No need to worry about alarms because it leaves no trace in the air. Those worried about chemicals need not be concerned. Carbon Dioxide, CO2, is a tasteless, colorless, odorless, nonflammable, liquefied gas. Carbon dioxide is an integral part of the basic life cycle in nature. It is exhaled by humans and animals, then used by plants to help them grow. Plants, in turn, release oxygen, which people depend on for survival. The nozzle sprays the liquid up into the air causing the surrounding humidity to condense into fog.
Socialbees For Buzy Business Owners
December 30, 2009
Filed under Whats On
Spotme Participant Communication Tool
December 30, 2009
Filed under Whats On
Spotme combines social networking via a searchable photo database, messaging, people radar, unique "Spotting" function and electronic business card exchange,Serving events since 2001 and now in its 3rd generation, Spotme… opens new lines of communication and empowers people
is extremely intuitive – it takes less than 5 minutes to learn how to use. It is used at the highest-profile meetings in the world and is
is configurable and customizable to match any event's needs. Spotme delivers the highest feedback form completion rates with the least hassle for the organizer and includes the fastest photo-registration process. Spotme serves a broad spectrum of events and at an average event is used by more than 95% of participants, 20 times a day.
www.eventiq.com
December 29, 2009
Filed under Whats On
Online Event Planning & Tracking Software to help you easily and affordably manage your event. Eventiq is a creative, exciting new online tool for the busy event planner. the Faster-Better way to invite guests and track RSVPs & registrations. They offer custom solutions for planning tasks, timelines, elegant, effortless and affordable e-newsletters, managing messages and membership lists, planning fantastic nametags, lanyards, brochures and professional on-site services, easy event software, organizing guests and get-togethers and even free wallet-sized team rosters. This site is state of the art, totally user friendly and basically reduces the need for using many different programs and websites. Its all here in one great website. Click www.eventiq.com and get started today.
