Episode seventeen, and the spotlight is on... Adrienne Giroux, a 20-year event veteran and founder of Chef In The House.

Adrienne started planning parties long before turning it into a career. Post-university when she worked in Film & Television, she found herself organizing the wrap parties. When she learned about event planning as an industry she founded her own event production company, but ditched that in favour of working on her dream event, Fashion Cares.

Then she was offered the golden ticket, spearheading the events department at the Toronto International Film Festival. Over her 10 year tenure there, she worked on hundreds of events for the organization, and 3rd party clients.

In this episode, we talk about the ability to forecast your event career moves, being open and ready to pivot and why change isn't always scary - it's just necessary.

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Episode sixteen, and the spotlight is on the amazing live event contractor Cheryl Izen, whom I've affectionately nicknamed The Event Closer.

With over 25 years working international film festivals and global scale events, we chat about charting your own path, the importance of self-awareness, why people are more important than money, and some juicy details about medal ceremonies at the Paris Olympics.

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Episode fifteen, the spotlight is on...how to create an event from scratch with nothing but a dream and a community!

You've heard me say in previous episodes that you cannot have a successful event without sponsors. Jam Gamble, a prolific voice empowerment coach and public speaker proves me wrong and is the exception to the rule.

For our first onsite podcast review, we hear from amazing speakers, watch family put in the work and hear from guests why the 4th year event was worth the 5 hour drive.

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Episode fourteen, the spotlight is on...sponsorship!
This is probably the most asked question I get from folks trying to do their own events, so instead of telling you what I know - I went right to the source!

Ed Byers, is the founder of CANRev Collaborative. In his 15+ years of association and NFP experience, he has created over $20M in new revenue through sponsorship & partnerships, creation of education programs, membership drives, events, fundraising, advertising and products and service enhancements.

Aka: he knows his stuff and what he's talking about. In this episode we talk myths, FAQS and the secret sauce to securing the bag (it's not what you think).

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Episode thirteen, the spotlight is on... speaking.

I'm seeing a lot of chatter online (thanks algorithm) from speakers about events trying to pay them in exposure, so I went to the source! In this episode, I chat with Tami Adams, founder of TA Speakers Management agency on how to become a speaker and how to book one.

With 13 years of meeting planning experience and 10+ years working alongside high-level professional speakers and her knack for human connection, Tami has seen it all. Providing unique insights into both the speaker agent and meeting planner side of the business, she brings her bubbly, energetic and passionate personality to all clients.

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Episode twelve, the spotlight is on... my top 4 biggest event pet peeves. These are the things I am not-so-silently judging your event on, sometimes before I even walk in the door. And if I'm doing it, so are your actual and potential guests.

From not knowing why, not having a budget , quoting Beyoncé, offering social media posts as exposure, and this new trend of not feeding people - here are some of the reasons why your event might not be selling and how to avoid biting off more you can chew.

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Episode eleven, the spotlight is on... the ball drop heard around the world!

If you haven't heard about the event (or lack thereof) that went viral last week, we're dropping this week's edition of the podcast early to catch you up on all the not-so-British tea.

You've heard of Fyre Fest. You've seen Willy Wonka gone wrong, next up in the event fail hall of fame is the (unlicensed and unofficial) Bridgerton Ball.

I’ll be guiding you through the who the players are, the timeline with twists and turns, what guests were supposed to get and how this could all go from comically bad to legally worse for the event promoters.

Sources:
BBC, Detroit Free Press, NY Times, Teen Vogue, Reddit & Twitter

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Episode ten, the spotlight is on... parents as event guests!

We'll talk about what current and future event planner people need to think about parents when planning their events.

From making sure your venue meets their specific needs, to broadening your views on who parents even are (breaking news, papas are parents too) and we clear the air on kids at weddings once and for all (or until the next situation goes viral on TikTok).

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