Dia de los Muertos

Day of the Dead. It sounds ominous but it is actually a celebration. I have always been fascinated with this Mexican holiday and its traditions and festivities. I love the bright colors, fun music, decorated skulls, shrines with pictures and treats for their loved ones, and the food. My husband and I were in San Diego a few years ago for Dia de los Muertos in Old Town. Talk about a party! This is an event with multiple sub-events that span from October 28th to November 2nd if you celebrate everything.

Dia de los Muertos is a time when families gather to remember those they have lost and when the souls of the dead are invited to return to visit the living for a reunion, hence the celebration. Families create ofrendas (offerings/altars) to entice their loved ones back. These might contain a photo of the person, their favorite foods, orange and yellow marigolds, clothing, food, water, sugar skulls, tequila, toys, and other items. Each one having a specific meaning and purpose. It is a joy-filled time with music being played at all hours in homes and cemeteries.

One day is set aside to celebrate souls who died in accidentados (accidents). Another is dedicated to celebrate the souls of los angelitos (children). The altars of children are covered with toys, candies, and the child’s favorite snacks. Still another day is reserved to celebrate the souls of los difuntos (adults). Family members get together to reminisce, play games, and dance. The final day is the big celebration where everyone comes together in their cities for parades and parties, they get dressed up, and paint their faces. They may also visit the cemeteries of their loved ones and decorate the grave sites. This day is a public grand finale. Different parts of the world celebrate this day differently but it usually consists of a lot of food, drinks, and dancing.

When you see the calavera (sugar skulls) their faces are painted with smiles instead of frowns. This is done to laugh at death itself. Family members place marigold flowers on the altars to guide the spirits in. They are believed to be pathways for the spirits because of their vibrant colors and pungent scent. And why is water placed on the altars? Because the returning souls will most likely be thirsty after their long journeys.

As I was flying to England to visit my sister, I was watching a movie over the shoulder of one of the people in front of me. It’s usually how I end up watching movies on the plane. I know, odd, and a story for another day. Anyway, I was enjoying this silent film which was a cartoon that looked like it was about the Day of the Dead. Sure enough, it was! Disney-Pixar made a movie called Coco which was around this celebration. On the way home, I actually watched it for myself with sound. It was cute, as most Disney-Pixar movies are, and one I recommend.

If you have the chance to experience this celebration immersed in a Mexican-cultured neighborhood, city, or country you should! I’m certain you will come away with a new appreciation for all of the planning that goes into these few days, and have a great time while you’re at it.

Have you ever planned a Dia de los Muertos celebration? What did you learn? Share it with all of us or send it to me in a email!

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All information & references came from the following two websites:|
1.DayfOfTheDead.Holiday. https://dayofthedead.holiday/
2.DayOfTheDeadNYC.org. Meaning of The Day of The Dead. https://dayofthedeadnyc.org/meaning-of-the-day-of-the-dead/

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I’ll Gladly Pay You Tuesday…

A contract document with the word 'CONTRACT' in bold, accompanied by a calculator and stacks of cash on a desk.

…for a hamburger today (~Wimpy from Popeye). How many of you remember that statement? I had a conversation recently with a newer planner who was asking about different ways live musicians, speakers, or artists settle their contracts. When working with a touring band or multiple bands, singing or performing artists, speakers or other entertainers, especially for something like a large, multi-day event, there can be almost as many different payment arrangements as there are artists. If you’re not familiar with how your particular performer wants to be paid, you might end up with a budget deficit you weren’t expecting. 

First, most larger bands and speakers have an agent who negotiates the initial contract. Some smaller bands and solo artists have them as well, but it’s not as common. When working with an agent, the initial payment (usually a 50% deposit) is paid to the agent directly, and any final payments are paid to the band or artist (I’m going to refer to this group as performers). If you don’t read every single word of the contract and rider, this detail can get overlooked. Trust me, you must read EVERY – SINGLE – WORD (see my blog Read. Every. Word. for more). Some solo performers require a deposit and others don’t. Regardless, make sure that everything is spelled out in writing.

Second, there are two major types of payment arrangements: flat-rate and a percentage of ticket sales (also known as door split or revenue share). When paying a performer based on a flat rate, the terms are fairly straight forward. If the agreed-upon price is $10,000 for the event, then usually a 50% deposit is paid to the agent when the contract is signed, and the balance due is paid to the performer before they take the stage on the concert day or possibly within ten days of the show. One benefit of this arrangement is that you know what your budget will be for this portion of the event; $10K.

Additionally, be sure to review the contract to understand who is responsible to pay for travel, lodging, and meals. Occasionally these costs are included in the flat rate, but rarely. You are most likely going to be responsible to pay these expenses on top of the flat rate fee. Again, be sure you know exactly what you are paying for, to whom, by when, and write it down. 

If the payment terms are based on ticket sales or a revenue split, this can get very time consuming very quickly. This type of agreement generally requires you to guarantee a minimum number of ticket sales or a minimum amount you will pay the performer regardless of ticket sales. The performer’s representative will quickly become your best friend. They will be in contact about ticket sales monthly, then weekly, then daily as the event approaches. And when on-site, this person usually sits in the ticket booth and reviews reports, monitors ticket sales, and prepares to cash out at the end of the show. When the performer is on-site at the venue, they often travel with several different staff members, so be sure you know up front exactly who gets to determine their cut of the ticket income and how it will be calculated. Some payouts are calculated based on overall ticket sales (a percentage of the total sales) and some are calculated on the profit (the total less your expenses). Whichever the method, this should also be captured in writing in the contract so there’s no confusion at the end of the night.

Most payment agreements of this type don’t allow any reduction for cancellations or no-shows, nor does the performer reduce their take to account for platform service fees or credit card processing fees. These might be negotiating points when booking a performer so again, be sure to review the contract and rider carefully and offer an addendum with your own terms if needed. And, you’ll need someone from your organization who can cut a check the day of the event or provide you with a blank check as the performer’s representative will be expecting to leave with payment before they go. If paying a performer based on ticket sales, when calculating the ticket price for attendees, be sure to account for your ticket platform and credit card fees, factor in your income goals, consider all of your event expenses, and estimate what you will be paying the performer so you can cover all costs. If you underestimate these, you could end up losing your shirt.

It sounds more complicated than it is, but if it’s your first time contracting a performer using either of these payment methods, it can’t hurt to ask another event professional who has done this before. Also, it is wise to read and re-read the contract and rider, highlight parts that you need to remember, ask your legal counsel if there are portions of either document that you don’t understand, and walk slowly through the payment process. Don’t let an impatient performer’s representative rush you. That’s when mistakes can happen. Then, document your process and what you learned so you’re more prepared for the next time around.

Do you have any advice for this audience of a time when you worked with of either of these payment arrangements for a performer? Share something with us here or
send me an email!

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Simple Isn’t Always Easy

Image showing the phrase 'Simple ≠ Easy' on a yellow background, emphasizing the distinction between simplicity and the challenges of execution.

Just because an event appears to be simple does not mean it is easy to plan or execute. Dictionary.com defines simple as “not complicated, not complex, or easy to understand.” It defines easy as “not hard, requiring no great labor or effort, not difficult to overcome.” A simple event with very few components might look like: a general session with a keynote speaker, a couple of breakout sessions, and a quick networking reception at the end. No meals to plan and all of the AV, room rental, and internet is included in the price of your contract. Simple. The program itself is uncomplicated.

However, let’s break down how easy it is to pull off said simple event.

For the general session; a keynote speaker needs to be researched, vetted, and contracted. Then travel and accommodations planned, a host assigned, and an itinerary created that makes sense for everyone which includes arrival and departure times, when to arrive for a soundcheck, slide and content review, and scheduling a meeting to discuss the goals of the event and the audience they will be presenting to. Not only that, but you’ll need to know if the speaker prefers a handheld, lapel, or face mic, then compare their request to what is covered under the AV portion of your venue’s contract. You will have to determine the best chair setup for the room (it’s obviously theater, but with or without a center aisle?), and work with registration to understand how many people you can anticipate so you know how many chairs to set, ushers to recruit, and how many programs to print. This doesn’t even consider the order of service which might include time for a sponsor to speak or show a video, for someone to introduce the speaker, or for the host organization to welcome guests, provide housekeeping notes, or entertainment. And, we haven’t even touched production.

When planning the breakout sessions, again, speakers need to be researched, vetted, and contracted. The right topics need to be selected to support the event’s theme and overall goals. This may also include travel, hosting, soundchecks, and the like. Then the question is; do you have attendees pre-register for their breakout session or leave things up to chance? You need to know the room sizes and setups in order to prepare for the appropriate number of attendees for the speaker’s comfort level, materials they brought, and fire code for the rooms selected. You have to consider if you will video and audio record each breakout or not. A host should be available to welcome attendees, and if needed for continuing education, scan badges as everyone enters the room. Again, any AV needs required for the breakout sessions to be successful will need to be compared to your “all-inclusive” contract to make sure you don’t need to add any equipment to the mix.

For the networking session, there should be a discussion to determine what the best time is in the schedule, if you want attendees to pre-register or just show up, what room in your contract is ideal, how you’ll set the room, what, if any, organized activities you’ll include in the programming, if you’ll serve any food and beverages and what, and who on your team will lead the session.

On top of these logistics, the event itself needs goals and objectives, a budget, a full task list developed, people assigned to complete all of the tasks, a timeline set, milestones identified, decisions made about staffing whether you’re hiring or recruiting volunteers, a location selected, time of year determined, and maximum capacity for attendance set. There will need to be some type of marketing or communication plan in place in order for people to know about the event, a registration price determined, and a decision-making tree established so things can move ahead without being bottle-necked by any one person.

Other things most people don’t think about with their simple event include: safety and security based on the number of attendees, performing a risk assessment and creating a risk mitigation plan, and writing an emergency action plan. Don’t forget to consider the number of hours it takes to research the right venue that checks the most number of boxes, the right speakers for the audience and subject matter, and to recruit the right number of volunteers or staff members with the appropriate skills to accomplish the tasks that need to be performed to bring the event to fruition. Oh, and manage the project to be on time and on budget.

So when you work with a Certified Meeting Professional who makes everything look easy because they are a skilled, experienced planner, don’t be misled. A simple event and easy planning do not always go hand-in-hand.

Do you have an experience with a client confusing simple and easy?
Send me an email with your story, I’d love to hear it!

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Ripe For The Harvest

A wooden signpost with arrows pointing left for 'Hay Ride' and right for 'Corn Maze,' surrounded by a patch of orange pumpkins.

I love fall. The weather turns colder, frost finally shows up in the mornings, and the leaves turn orange and yellow. At least here in Illinois they do. School starts back up, football returns, and fun fall events get planned. All around me farms that support their whole year open their acreage in autumn to their neighbors with carnival rides and games, pumpkin picking, entertainment, food, and hayrides. Some venues plan for months because they’re only open these few weeks every fall. Year after year, new events and activities get added to the lineup to bring recurring guests back as well as attract new ones. What kinds of events would an event planner find themselves working on in the fall? Let’s take a look.

Fall Festivals – This term covers a wide variety of events with budgets from zero to infinity. They can be simple neighborhood or school gatherings with a few food trucks, inflatables, and face painting. Throw in bobbing for apples and a costume contest and you have the making for some great fun. It can also include city or town-wide festivals with carnival rides and games, BBQ vendors, delicious grilled ears of corn, nightly stage performers, and downtown parades. In the town I live in, we have a Scarecrow Festival where individuals, groups, clubs, and businesses all submit a decorated scarecrow, most often in a full-blown themed scenescape. For a weekend, the entire area descends on this little park to walk around and around the perimeter to judge which scarecrow wins the prize in different categories. We even used to have custom license plates with the scarecrow festival logo on them that we could have on our cars for eight weeks every fall.

Tailgate Parties – With the onslaught of high school, college, and pro football games, there are many tailgate parties to plan. These can be elaborate such as hiring a caterer to grill on-site and offer a magnificent display of meats, potato salads, and desserts. Guests are treated like VIPs before entering the stadium to watch the game, most likely from a corporate suite where they’ll wine and dine some more. The best tailgate parties, in my opinion, are hotdogs and hamburgers on the Weber with Sam’s Club coleslaw and ice cream sandwiches before watching the local hotshot quarterback slaughter the competition while trying to stay warm clasping a cup of coffee on the sidelines of a grassy high school field. 

Halloween Parties – enough said.

Trunk-or-Treats – Some schools and churches offer these events instead of Halloween parties. Here, those who may not celebrate Halloween, those who live in rough neighborhoods, or those who live in rural areas without neighbors can gather and have some fall fun as well. Children have the chance to dress up as their favorite cartoon or superhero character, run around a gym, a parking lot, or school hallways and gather a pail full of candy for themselves. There are often prizes for different costume categories, and floor games like Grand Prize Game, Hopscotch, or even a cake walk.

Craft Fairs – I don’t know about where you live, but here in Illinois, these are HUGE. Every weekend in October you can’t turn around without running into a craft fair at a school or church in the area. These are legit – some even have a cover charge. I know of ladies who plan which craft fairs to “hit” in which order to find the best goods and deals before everyone else. At these fairs, folks who have been working on painted wall plaques and yard decor, crocheted Kleenex box covers and pot holders, and sports-themed and other custom Christmas ornaments set up tables and pray to sell everything they brought. And every home-based business on the planet is available somewhere so you can find a holiday present for every member of your extended family and pick up your Pampered Chef Beer Bread Mix at the same time. Often the sports teams are raising money for something so you can buy cheap hotdogs, flying tacos, or participate in a bake sale. 

And the Farm Events – Farms around me include things like carnival games, live entertainment, hayrides, pumpkin picking, apple picking, food truck festivals, corn mazes, haunted houses, pumpkin tosses, shopping, and apple cider donuts. Don’t forget events like hay bailing, pig racing, and punkin’ chunkin’. There are even special event weekends where certain activities are highlighted or there are discount weekends where larger families can save a few dollars.

There are any number of reasons for people to gather. The world of meetings and events is a trillion dollar industry and as varied as people on the planet. However, there’s something special about fall events, at least for me. I think it’s the drastic change in scenery and weather, and people seem to have a much better attitude than when it’s 100 degrees in the shade with 95% humidity. Just sayin’.

Do you have a favorite fall event? Share it here or send me an email!

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Prost Like a Pro

A group of people raising large beer steins in a celebratory toast at Oktoberfest, with festive decorations and a lively atmosphere in the background.

When traveling to Munich, Germany, recently, my husband and I attended Oktoberfest. It’s something I recommend you attend at least once. There are a zillion brewer’s tents to visit, but by far, the famous Hofbräuhaus was the place to be. It’s also a place where new friends are made, community happens, and a fun time is had by all. Plus, the food is great; pretzels, potato salad, and wursts, oh my! The star of this celebration….beer. Then there’s the band, people dancing on tables, and bad 80’s songs that just won’t die that are as popular here as Taylor Swift is in the US.

There is a lot of toasting happening. Like every two minutes. You might not know that there is etiquette and tradition to toasting in Germany. To kick off Oktoberfest, historically the mayor of Munich taps and opens the first barrel of beer with a wooden hammer. During this ritual, you will hear “O’zapft is!” meaning “It is tapped!” which is easily the most famous Oktoberfest phrase. And before everyone downs their first beer of the night, you will hear “Eins, zwei, drei” (1, 2, 3) or its Bavarian counterpart “Oans, zwoa, drei, g’suffa!” (1, 2, 3, drink!).1

As you toast, however, there are rules about the beverage with which you toast and how you go about drinking it. It’s a tradition to always toast before you start to drink. It’s ok to toast with wine or spirits if you’re not drinking beer, but if you’re the designated driver, do not raise your glass of water. It’s considered bad luck. Another way to curse yourself, this time for seven years, is to not maintain eye contact while you toast one another, so raise your glass with pride and look your tablemates in the face. Germans must really be superstitious, because after clinking during your toast, you must take a few sips of your beverage or risk the wrath of the hop and barley gods.1 One sip won’t do.

Steins are what the beer is served in and they look like thick, indestructible, barbell-worthy glasses. However, they’re thicker at the bottom than at the top. Because of their design, Germans “clink” their beer with the bottom of their glasses, not the top. Make the mistake by clinking with the top and you could end up with a pile of glass where a beer used to be. As the night wears on, if you’re the wine drinker, be mindful that your beer drinking counterparts might forget they’re wielding a weapon of mass destruction so be careful when performing the traditional clink.

Depending on which part of Germany you are in, you may hear different types of toasts being said. I have even heard some of these at the parties of my Polish and Finnish friends, so they’re not necessarily unique to just Germans. “Prost” (to life or to health) is typically used for drinking beer and is a very common phrase. Nowadays, you may hear “Cheers” more because English is being integrated more and more into the German vocabulary, especially by younger generations. “Auf’s Wohl” (on health) is usually used when drinking wine or spirits, and if you really want to score points with the native-speaking locals, say “zum wohl” (to your health).1

“Broscht” is a Swiss/German version of “Prost”, and the one I heard used most often in the beer tents of Oktoberfest was “zicke zacke, zicke zacke, hoi, hoi, hoi!” which means “ a toast, a toast, and a cozy place.”1 This phrase is then generally followed by the customary “Prost” and summarily chugging the entire beer. It’s definitely a sight to behold.

Now when your travel plans include a trip to Germany in September (which is oddly the month for Oktoberfest), you are prepared to join the worlds largest neighborhood party.

Have you attended Oktoberfest before? Did you learn a tip we should know?
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1. Fluent Forever. The Science of Language Learning. 7 Popular Ways to Say Cheers in German Like a Native Speaker. May 26, 2022. https://blog.fluent-forever.com/cheers-in-german/