 Fresh new event dècor ideas.
In the world of meetings, creativity is a crucial factor for meeting professionals who are constantly under pressure to come up with fresh new ideas for their events. When it comes to décor, it can be challenging to surprise attendees and ensure a memorable experience. Fortunately, there are seasoned décor specialists who can help. Some of the staff with Event Lab, LLC based in Minneapolis, MN shared some ideas that will hopefully inspire you for your next event.
 Conventions can be stressful: Traveling, rental cars and cabs, finding a hotel. But stress no more! Oshkosh has streamlined the convention experience. Visitors can now attend their conventions and stay in a completely renovated hotel, all without ever setting foot outside.
The Best Western Premier Waterfront Hotel and Convention Center, formerly the City Center Hotel, is now open following a $12 million overhaul that includes a skywalk to the convention center. Guests will enjoy 176 beautifully appointed river-view hotel rooms with upgraded amenities including microwaves, refrigerators and 42” flat screen HDTVs. They can also enjoy a complimentary hot breakfast before attending their meetings, free wireless Internet and a business center conveniently located in the lobby. It is the only hotel in the area located on the water complete with docks to provide access to the Fox River and Lake Winnebago. Named a Best Western “premier” property (one of just 25 worldwide) for its upscale décor and plush amenities, attendees are sure to be impressed by this brand new space.
Chef Schuster's Creative Cooking for Groups 
As a native of Minneapolis, MN, Steven P. Schuster attended Central Nebraska Technical College’s Culinary Arts Program and returned to his hometown. In 1989 he began working with Kelber Catering Inc. and has been their Executive Chef/Culinary Director at the Minneapolis Convention Center (MCC) for the past 24 years. To keep current, he has also been an active member of the American Culinary Federation Minneapolis Chef’s Chapter since 1993.
Inspire, Unite and Energize Through Teambuilding
 “Teambuilding is a broad spectrum, it can go from BBQ, bowling and beach Olympics, to a five day offsite event focusing on trust and accountability accompanied by a follow-up coaching session,” says Todd Demorest of Odyssey Teams.
Midwest Meetings spoke to Demorest, as well as David Goldstein (TeamBonding™), Heidi Edinger (MileNorth™, A Chicago Hotel) and Thomas Hyslop (Lake Lawn Resort). They shared with us some of their insights on teambuilding including: why meeting/event planners might choose teambuilding, challenges encountered and popular teambuilding activities.
Zero-Depth Sprayground to Open Summer 2013
 Li’l squirts visiting the Wilderness Territory this summer now have something new to look forward to. The resort announced today it is constructing a new Bear Foot Island Sprayground in its New Frontier outdoor waterpark located behind the Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort.
This splash-tastic area will have woodsy-themed spraying fountains, exploding ground geysers, shooting water jets and other fun water play features such as a giant drenching bull frog loop and a silly spraying water bug. It will also have abundant seating surrounding it making it an ideal spot for parents to relax and enjoy a warm summer day at the Wilderness.
 A new report conducted by the Virtual Edge Institute and commissioned by Freeman analyzes attendance trends at face-to-face and online events, and the numbers show that attendees are increasingly turning to their screens to engage with organizations.
The inaugural Digital Event Benchmark Report collected findings from more than 200 event producers and offers a tool to assess and compare the performance of events, marketing strategies and digital initiatives.
 One of the best ways to market a meeting venue is to share your story through digital and print magazines. For a larger brand, a media team exists at the corporate level/home office, but for hoteliers without these resources, what can be done?
In an interview with Randy Hennen, Publisher for Midwest Meetings magazine, he offers a lot of valuable advice for hoteliers who would like to gain exposure in trade press publications and increase group business. Here’s what he advises hotel properties to do so they can effectively market a meeting venue or hotel through story telling.
 Plan B. It can be the most important factor a meeting planner spends time on. This is confirmed from the moment Mother Nature decides to throw a temper tantrum. Sure, wind and rain might ruin outdoor festivities but fear not, there are plenty of creative ways to save the day.
As we’ll show you, taking the event indoors isn’t the end of the world. After all, the party must go on.
Spring getaways offer many options for fun inside and out
 The birds are chirping, the temperature is rising, and soon the landscape will be in full bloom. As nature wakes up to the new season, there is also an awakening taking place in the Lake Geneva area. Seasonal attractions are opening once again, the famous cruise line is in full swing, and the great outdoors anxiously await visitors. If you are looking for a relaxing getaway, spring is a great time for families, couples, or friends to visit the Lake Genera area. Here are some activities and attractions not to miss:
Update: Dealing with the following assertion: "Theater style seats are not preferable, but if required they should not be touching or in any way interlocked together"
is in direct violation of the 2012 edition of National Fire Protection Association 101®, Life Safety Code® (when in assembly settings accommodating 200 or more persons).
From Ron Coté, Principal Life Safety Engineer:Important Notice: This correspondence is not a Formal Interpretation issued pursuant to NFPA Regulations. Any opinion expressed is the personal opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the official position of the NFPA or its Technical Committees. In addition, this correspondence is neither intended, nor should it be relied upon, to provide professional consultation or services.
Some of the meeting room / ball room / restaurant chair interlocks permit an adequate gap between seating surfaces to accommodate some degree of body spread. I expect chair manufacturers, who are aware both of the code requirements to secure chairs together in groups and of the increasing obesity problem, to make available interlocks that will provide even more space between chairs. The manufacturers will need to balance the new need presented by the obesity epidemic against the danger of having the interlocks protrude from the side of a chair when it is not locked to another chair.
In the 2012 edition of NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code®, the subject is addressed in 12.7.9.1 and 12.7.9.2 for new assembly occupancies (also in 13.7.9.1 and 13.7.9.2 for existing assembly occupancies – using the same text but different paragraph numbers). The text follows:
12.7.9.1 Secured Seating.
12.7.9.1.1 Seats in assembly occupancies accommodating more than 200 persons shall be securely fastened to the floor, except where fastened together in groups of not less than three and as permitted by 12.7.9.1.2 and 12.7.9.2.
12.7.9.1.2 Balcony and box seating areas that are separated from other areas by rails, guards, partial-height walls, or other physical barriers and have a maximum of 14 seats shall be exempt from the requirement of 12.7.9.1.1.
12.7.9.2 Unsecured Seating.
12.7.9.2.1 Seats not secured to the floor shall be permitted in restaurants, night clubs, and other occupancies where fastening seats to the floor might be impracticable.
12.7.9.2.2 Unsecured seats shall be permitted, provided that, in the area used for seating, excluding such areas as dance floors and stages, there is not more than one seat for each 15 ft2 (1.4 m2) of net floor area, and adequate aisles to reach exits are maintained at all times.
12.7.9.2.3 Seating diagrams shall be submitted for approval by the authority having jurisdiction to permit an increase in occupant load per 7.3.1.3.
 Typically when meeting planners talk about accommodating attendees, they are speaking about providing accessibility for participants with a disability. But recently, I was tasked with coming up with a comfort plan to accommodate larger attendees, in terms of both girth and height. Instinctively, the first things that came to mind were to provide larger chairs and to account for less participants per table to allow for more elbow room. However, the intricacies and implications of providing a comfort plan are far greater.
|
RSS Feed
