Startup Monday: TripIt

Startup Monday is ABCey’s weekly post that features some of the best and brightest companies in the Bay Area. They are often companies that we have our eye on or have worked with in the past that we would like to share with the friends and followers of ABCey Events.

As event planners, we are well aware of the frustration that turns up after attempting to organize a trip. With so many details to worry about, people often end up losing track of valuable information or forgetting to tie up all the loose ends of what they’ve worked so hard to plan.

Luckily, there’s a mobile app called TripIt that can help you organize all these pesky little details in one spot! Even if you’ve made arrangements on multiple travel sites, TripIt will still be able to organize all trip details into one master online itinerary. This itinerary includes maps, directions, and weather reports for the locations that you’ll be visiting. Besides filing all of your trip information in one convenient spot, you also have the option to book restaurants, theatre tickets, activities, and anything else you could possibly think of straight from the app.

We think TripIt could really lighten the stress load the next time you’re traveling for a conference, convention or meeting! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!

ABCey’s Cinco de Mayo Fiesta Checklist

We love all different kinds of events, but a Cinco de Mayo fiesta always seems to be near the top of the list when it comes to our favorite reasons to celebrate! There’s something about margaritas in May that just feels right. ABCey has compiled a list of things you’ll need this Sunday to throw the ultimate Cinco de Mayo fiesta!

1. Tasty drinks

There are countless variations of the classic margarita. Brit+Co put together an awesome list of ways to change things up with your margs this year!

2. Festive decorations

Not all of us are super creative, but here are decorating ideas to get you started!

3. Great food

There are TONS of great recipes all over the web! We found a site with 20 Recipes for Cinco de Mayo.

4. Fun games

No fiesta would be complete without a piñata. If you’ve never made your own before, this is the perfect excuse to get creative! Here’s 20 Creative Ways To Make A Piñata.

5. Mariachi music

If you’re really in the spirit, you can hire an actual Mariachi band to play at your house…or you could move the party elsewhere to hear some live music!

Check out the ABCey Cinco de Mayo Pinterest board for more ideas! Let us know what we missed in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!

ABCey’s Weekend Lineup: 5.2.13 – 5.5.13

Is it really May already?! The sunshine and warm weather insists that it must be so. It’s the season of weddings, concerts, graduations, and tons of other occasions celebrated through events. Not only that, but this Sunday is Cinco de Mayo! Grab your Coronas and margaritas and feel free to celebrate all weekend with these events ABCey has rounded up.

1. Creature Carnival NightLife | Thursday, May 2nd | California Academy of Sciences | Step right up for a night of circus fun inspired by the Academy’s marvelous menagerie of creatures. Play good old fashioned carnival games amongst roaming jugglers and gymnasts from Velocity Circus, and animal-themed Burning Man sculptures including Dusty Rhino.

2. Growth Hackers Conference | Friday, May 3rd | Broadway Studios | Join co-hosts Erin Turner and Gagan Biyani on Friday, May 3 at Broadway Studios in San Francisco to hear from new & returning speakers with track records of success building businesses using growth hacking techniques.

3. 2013 CASPA High Tech Job Fair | Saturday, May 4th| Santa Clara| All high-tech professionals in fab, semiconductor, software/hardware design, EDA, software development, finance, applications, sales & marketing, and so on are welcome. Hiring companies include: ARM, Contact Singapore, Hisense, HSBC, Intel, Lenovo, Marvell, MEMSIC, MediaTek, Microsoft, Sandisk, SK Hynix, SMIC, Synaptics, UMC, Beijing Delegation, Hefei Delegation, and more.

4. 2013 Kentucky Derby Day Bash & Hat Contest | Saturday, May 4th | Golden Gate Fields | Enjoy a day at the races, play the ponies, sip mint juleps, and bring a hat for the annual Run for the Roses Hat Contest.

5. SF Giants’ Free Cinco de Mayo Festival | Sunday, May 5th | AT&T Park | While the 2012 season provided plenty of reason to celebrate in the Bay Area, there is cause for yet another celebration: Cinco de Mayo! Bring your Cinco de Mayo celebration to AT&T Park and watch Los Gigantes de San Francisco, as they take on division rival Los Angeles Dodgers! Bring the whole family out for a day of fun, cultural celebration, and Giants baseball.

Which events will you attend? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!

Top 5 Springtime Apps

When you think about the word “spring”, your first thoughts are probably about flowers, picnics, baseball season, and the Easter Bunny! We can now add Top 5 Springtime Apps (app developers think of everything!) At ABCey, we’ve put together a short list of apps that’ll make your spring more enjoyable, fun, and…efficient.

1. Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder: Take advantage of the great outdoors while it’s still sunny (and before it become unbearably hot)! This app goes above and beyond usual search engines, such as Yelp and Google, in providing important information that can enhance your park experience like nearby attractions, seasonality, phone numbers, and even lodging and concession information if you want to make it an overnight trip!

2. Strava Cycling: We love San Francisco because there are plenty of beautiful trails to bike, like the famous Golden Gate Bridge. While there are hundreds of other fitness apps around, Strava Cycling was made specially for cyclists so you can be confident this app is a worthwhile investment. Strava Cycling provides users with not only more cool places to bike but it also tracks your fitness stats as you explore parts of your city or as work on your own health.

3. Eat St. by Food Network: Here in the city, there are a lot of great places to eat but sometimes, they’re difficult to find because they’re always moving around! Eat St. is a neat app that keeps you updated with the locations of mobile food trucks in North America so you won’t have chase that delicious Korean-Mexican fusion taco again.

4. CraigsPro+: Time to roll up your sleeves, because blooming flowers and bluer skies also mean springtime cleaning is near. CraigsPro+ is an amplified, sleeker version of the virtual ad board, Craigslist. You can use this app to find quick cleaning services (if cleaning really isn’t your thing), sell your old winter coats or promote your garage sale after you’re done.

5. Grill-It!: Pretty self-explanatory, but pretty helpful too! Our mouths all water at the thought of perfectly-grilled steak with the juicy, slightly burnt corn-on-the-cob on the side but let’s be honest, grilling is sometimes harder than it looks. Download this app to get tips and tricks, recipes, and detailed instructions to play host to your next barbecue.

We hope these apps will inspire you to try some fun, new things this spring! What are some of your favorite springtime activities? Would you ever use any of these apps? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!