Sunday, April 24, 2011

Happy Easter, Happy Spring!

Here's hoping you had a wonderful Easter weekend and that Spring is off to a good start for all! Check out this creative Easter project featured on the Martha Stewart website... The Incredible Egg!



Click here to find out more about the project, as well as other neat, crafty finds!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Washington D.C.’s Top Ten New and Anticipated Venues in 2011

1. The Hay-Adams Hotel Rooftop: with a panoramic view of the White House and downtown Washington, the new space opened in January after undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation. It features floor-to-ceiling windows, a wraparound terrace and has five additional separate rooms to for customized events for groups of 15 to 300.

2. Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel: Less than one mile from Reagan National, this space opened in March in the Arlington section of Crystal City. It features 15 meeting rooms with more than 17,000 square feet of meeting space.

3. Graffiato: A two-level restaurant seating 150 people will be Top Chef Contestant Mike Isabella’s first restaurant coming in the spring and offering an Italian-inspired menu. Groups can reserve the second level for events.

4. Lincoln: Recently opened this spring, this 210-seat space includes private dining, a main dining room and a bar area.

5. Todd Gray’s Watershed: this 6,500-square-foot restaurant space on the second floor of the Hilton garden Inn in Washington, D.C. will feature a seafood menu. Initial plans are for the dining room to sit 80 people including a 20-seat bar, a patio, and several banquet rooms to seat 165 people.

6. Fiola: Slated to open this Spring in the Penn Quarter, the 140-seat restaurant will offer what Chef Fabio Trabocchi calls "gourmet but accessible" menu that will a huge difference from what he offered at his previous restaurant, Maestro.

7. The Virtue Feed and Grain: Coming to the Town of Alexandria in the spring of 2011 will boast a two-level, 316-seat Irish-American pub with views of the Potomac River, Waterfront Park, Wales Ally, and Union Street with an additional 60 seats on the elevated deck on Wales Alley.

8. The Hirshhorn Bubble Museum: Designed by Diller Scofidio & Renfro of New York, is scheduled to open its new space on the mall sometime in 2011 but the 145-foot tall inflatable auditorium is scheduled to be inflated during the summer of 2012. Within the bubble, the courtyard will accommodate 500 to 800 seats for an array of public events.

9. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial: Designed by the Roma Design Group, the new $120 million is scheduled to open on August 28 featuring a 30-foot statue of Dr. King called the "Stone of Hope" created by sculptor Lei Yixin of China.

10. Italian Cinema/Italian Shirt Laundry: Mark Weiss, the restaurateur collaborating with ABDO Development will open two new Italian-themed restaurants in the 14th Street Corridor in late 2011, Italian Cinema and Italian Shirt Laundry. Stay tuned!

Thank you, BizBash Media.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

2011 ISES Northeast Regional Education Conference Recap

A few weeks ago I attended ISES Northeast Regional Education Conference (REC), which was hosted by the New Jersey South and Greater Philadelphia Chapters, for event professionals from throughout the Northeast Region and around the world at the Bally's Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, N.J.

This was an amazing conference: the education was great, the speakers inspiring and it was wonderful to see and networking with colleagues from near and as far as Sydney, Australia.

All the services and décor were donated by ISES members who all worked very hard to make this conference a success; but again, we never expect anything less from ISES members – we work hard, party harder and put out the best events! Moreover, we cannot forget to thank all the sponsors for all the in-kind contributions.


The opening luncheon was spearheaded by David Merrell, AOO Events who was fabulous and shared the newest design trends, which were all amazing. On Monday night, we enjoyed a fabulous luau with great food and entertainment at the beautiful Harrah’s Resort poolside. The conference concluded with a lavish brunch and a phenomenal presentation by Brett Culp where he shared his award-winning filmmaking approach as an effective and profitable marketing technique. He was brilliant!

Education session topics included:
  • Event Technology Trends You Can’t Ignore in 2011
  • Catering Events at Hotels – the Inside Information on Negotiating the Best Deals
  • The Perfect Event Redefined: Build Your Reputation One “Moment” at a Time
  • CSEP Exam Preparation Tips, Techniques and Changes
  • Get You “Creative” On The Art of Being Creative & Working with Creative People
  • Marketing Trends and Best Practices to Generate Business Success
  • But Don’t Green Events Cost More Money? Top Ten Tips for Greening Your Events AND Saving Money
  • Is it Possible to Achieve a Design “WOW,” in Today’s Economy?
  • Strategic Partners – Making the Connection
  • Master Tricky Sales Situations
  • How to Get and Stay in The Event Planning Business
  • Sexy Tents: A Peek Under The Covers
  • Scentertainment®! Celebrating the Senses!
  • Branding – What Your Image Says About You!
  • Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Fire Marshal?
  • Tips to Ensure Your Event is Safe Without Compromising Creativity
  • Get in the Spot Light of Social Media
  • Dealing with Event Disasters, Are you the Problem or the Solution?
  • WWSF…The WOW World of Special FX
  • The Facts of Light: An Event Professionals Guide to Understanding Lighting
  • The Newest ISES Member Benefit – Learn the “Insider Secrets” of Credit Card Processing
Already looking forward to the next REC in 2013!