Tag: event planning
ABCey’s #TechTuesday Fly Another Day
#TechTuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world. Today’s #TechTuesday, features Fly Another Day, a software that will ensure the highest event participation all within seconds!
Fly Another Day
Events profs ever wonder why attendance numbers are low? Fly Another day makes date selection easier by choosing ideal dates and locations that encourage participation. The software does this by analyzing potential issues that may affect the availability of your audience!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcIwCrlZ5dU
Fly Another day can be used for various events like business functions, product launches, marketing releases, or even private events!
We are always looking for innovative ways to make event planning more efficient for us and our clients. This software saves us a lot of stress as well as increasing participation for our clients!
Do you use Fly Another Day? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!
ABCey’s Weekend Lineup 6/16-6/18
It’s almost Friday! ABCey brings you the Weekend Lineup for the best upcoming events in the Bay Area! There is everything from music and food festivals to a relaxing Father’s Day bike ride through the San Francisco Zoo!
Weekend Lineup: San Francisco’s World Refugee Day
Friday June 16th | 12-3:30pm | Free Admission | Mission District, 1850 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA
You don’t want to miss San Francisco’s World Refugee Day! It’s fun and it’s for a good cause! The days consists of cultural performances, international food, music, speakers, a talent show, a costume show and more to commemorate the bravery and contributions of refugees!
Phono Del Sol Music and Food Festival 
Saturday June 17th | 12-7pm | General Admission $29 | Potrero Del Sol Park (La Raza), 1500 Utah Street, San Francisco, CA
Phono Del Sol is a music & food festival that has an awesome lineup with 10 bands that will be performing all day long! There will also be 10 food trucks with an assortment of different types cuisine as well as a skate park! This festival is an all-age friendly event that will be the highlight of your weekend!
Presidio Kite Festival
Saturday June 17th | 12pm-5pm | Free Admission | Main Parade Ground, 103 Montgomery St, San Francisco, California 94129
Make your dad feel extra special this year and take him to the Presidio Kite Festival! This family-friendly event is the perfect way to celebrate Father’s Day Weekend! Get your whole family together and head out to Presidio Park for some fun in the sun!
Raise the Temple!
Saturday June 17th | 2-10pm | General Admission $20-$27 | The Midway, 900 Marin Street, San Francisco, CA 94124
This day filled with music, art, and wellness is a fundraiser for the 2017 Temple at Burning Man! Come and show your support the build of the 18th Incarnation of The Burning Man Temple! All profits go to The Temple Build!
North Beach Festival
Saturday and Sunday June 17th-18th | 10am-6pm | Free Admission | Washington Square Park, North Beach District, San Francisco, CA
Don’t miss out on San Francisco’s 63rd annual North Beach Festival! There’s obviously a reason it has been going on for this long! There will be all sorts of foods, a variety of drinks and amazing live entertainment!
Father’s Day Bike About
Sunday June 18th | 8:30am-11:30am | $30 per peddler | San Francisco Zoo, Sloat Blvd & Great Hwy, San Francisco, CA 94132
Bring your family and celebrate Father’s Day with an exciting hour-and-a-half long bike ride through the San Francisco Zoo! Everyone will enjoy seeing all of the exotic zoo animals! Make this Father’s Day one your family never forgets!
Will you be attending any of these Weekend Lineup events? What other San Francisco events are you excited about this weekend? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!
Behind the Scenes: UpStart 10x Event
On Wednesday, May 10th, 2017 nearly 250 people turned out to the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco to honor UpStart Founder Toby Rubin for the UpStart 10x Event, and celebrate the future of Jewish innovation! ABCey Events had the honor of producing this exciting evening filled with live art, important discussions, yummy food, interesting people, projection mapping, amazing music, and much more! Here’s our Top 10 countdown of all of the amazing things that contributed to this successful San Francisco event!
1. The Question of the Night: How Will We Build The Jewish Community We Want To See In 2027?
2. Live Artwork/ Visual Thinking by Melinda Walker of One Squiggly line, asking the question of the night!
3. The gifts for attendees, An UpStart flipbook & seeds generously donated by Urban Adamah.
4. UpStart Founder and Honoree Toby Rubin takes the stage and gives a heartfelt speech!
5. UpStarter talking about his experience and tossing around a Catchbox microphone!
6. Illuminated bars by Blueprint Studios honoring the evenings sponsors.
7. Projection Mapping with the company’s vision, timeline, goals, history, and more! Artwork created by Melinda Walker of One Squiggly Line, and animated and projections from Immersive Pro.
8. Music and Beats provided by DJ Chris Clouse and Sax Player from M83.
9. Yummy Desserts by Tout Sweet, Choux Bakery, and 49 Square Catering.
10. Photobooth by The Bosco and our fabulous custom props!
On behalf of ABCey Events, we’d like to extend a huge thank you to Jaime Rappaport Barry, Aaron Katler, and the whole UpStart Team for working so hard along side us to make this event a successful one! What was your favorite part of UpStart 10x? Leave us a comment here or find us on Facebook or Twitter!
ABCey’s #TechTuesday – Social Tables
#TechTuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world. ABCey would like to recognize these up and coming technologies for their innovative ideas and impact on the event world! In today’s #TechTuesday, we present to you Social Tables, an awesome event planning software!
What is Social Tables?
Social Tables is event planning software that streamlines the floor plan and guest list creating process. We love Social Tables because of all its customizable features as well as their dedication to helping users maximize the software. It is cloud based so you can access your diagrams from anywhere and those shared on the event can get up to date changes as they are being made. Social Tables provides a customer success planner which helps you with any problems you might be having with the software. They can also coordinate with venues to get a floor plan if the software does not currently have it. We love that all these features truly let users personalize events to their needs and create very accurate representations of their upcoming event!
Creating Floor Plans
An awesome feature on Social Tables is their floor plan creator. You can take floor plans from the actual venue site and pull furniture etc. from the menu bar to create a realistic depiction of the floor plan. That floor plan can also come to life in a 3D rendering. Once you add tables to your layout, Social Tables also gives you the opportunity to create a seating chart. If you tend to work with a specific furniture company your customer success planner can also coordinate with the company to upload their furniture to the floor plan creator. If you choose to share the floor plan with vendors you can give them a handy equipment list.
Managing Guest Lists
Social Tables also allows you to upload a guest list. You can use that guest list to seat people around tables on the floor plan. Additionally, you’re able to tag guests as “VIPs” or group certain guests together that you know should sit together. This guest list also proves helpful the day of the event. Using an iPad, you can check in guests as doors. If there are multiple entrances the guest list will automatically be updated to all tablets so you can see if guests have checked at any other entrances. If you have any VIP members you can receive texting notifications when they check in as well.
Have you tried Social Tables? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!
Create a Customized Snapchat Filter for Your Event
As Snapchat continues to be a dominant avenue for social media, it is a great tool to use for event promotion. As you may know, Snapchat has an awesome feature that allows you to create your own snapchat filter for an event, On-Demand Geofilter. This allows anyone at the location of your event to use the filter during a designated time frame. At ABCey, we like to keep you up to date on all the latest social marketing tactics. So, here is a simple step by step on how to create your own filter!
** Note: to create an On-Demand Geofilter you must have a Snapchat account.
Create a Customized Snapchat Filter for Your Event
Step 1: Go to Canva.com
Once at the website, create a design using custom dimensions 1080px x 1920px.
After setting the dimensions, start designing! Keep in mind you want to leave room for people’s faces – so try to stick to customizing the top, bottom, and frame of the space.
Step 2: Download Your Finished Product
After you finish designing your cool new filter, click the download button and download the file as a PNG.
Step 3: Download GIMP
Download the computer application GIMP.
Step 4: Open Your Filter in GIMP
First, open your new filter by going to File → Open → Select Filter PNG. After, go to Select → By Color and click the white portion of your filter. Proceed by going to Colors → Color to Alpha. Finally, go to File → Overwrite nameofyourfilter.png.
Step 5: Go to Snapchat
Login to Snapchat.com and follow the steps on their website to upload your filter, select the location and time you want your filter to be active.
Happy Snapping!
Do you plan on using a custom Snapchat filter for your events? Let us know in the comments below and on Facebook or Twitter!
7 Tech Gadgets for Event Professionals
Welcome to the digital age! Yes, robots taking over can be scary, but technology can also be used for good. With so many gizmos and tools on the market, we want to keep you in with some of the top must-haves for event tech. ABCey Events has compiled a list of 7 great tech gadgets and apps for all event professionals to help make your job just a little bit easier!
7 Tech Gadgets and Apps for Events
1. Measuring Tools: Camera measuring app
Whether you want to know the measurements at a site visit, or see if the venue will fit a certain event prop, knowing exactly how much room you have is important. Instead of struggling with a regular measuring tape, turn your iPhone into a measuring tool with the EasyMeasure app! This app uses your camera to measure your distance from an object and dimensions of an image. Simply point your camera, click, and get very accurate measurements!
2. HD Livestream Broadcaster
It sucks when guests can’t make it your event, but they can still be part of the event action with livestream broadcasting! Event tech gadgets, like Livestream’s Broadcaster Pro, allow you to broadcast your event live in HD! You can easily attach this to any HDMI camera or your smartphone’s Livestream app. Then, click play and you’ll be recording live! Help guests who couldn’t make it, get your event noticed, and let people see how tech savvy you are!
3. Lightwave: Biometric sensor-equipped wristbands
Did you ever want to know how your guests are feeling? Now you can with Lightwave wristbands! These sensor wristbands pick up on a person’s body temperature, movement, and other biometric data. You can then use this data to adjust your event in real time. Change everything from the lighting brightness to music tempo and mic volume to create the perfect balance!
4. Digital Portable Scanner
If you’re an event professional on the go, it’s hard to keep track of documents, floor plans, proposals, and more! And, now that we live in the digital age, having hard copies of papers is almost pointless. To help fix this problem, try a digital portable scanner! With this magic wand, you can take physical copies of important docs and scan them to make digital copies. This way you won’t ever lose a contract, bank statement, or receipt ever again!
5. Crowd Mic App
It’s great to hear from your audience, but walking around to each person in a crowd with a microphone can be a hassle. Crowd Mic’s app lets any event guest’s smartphone become a microphone. Tap to request to speak, and the presenter can accept it, mute you, and let everyone speak with the open mic mode. Also, this app lets you have live polls and text, so you can directly connect with your attendees. Don’t make your staff run around and engage your guests with this fun event tech!
6. Google Chrome Work Devices
Make your virtual meetings a breeze with Google Chrome Devices! Google has devices and packages that can include everything from speakers, a remote control, a mechanical pan and tilt HD camera, tech support, and the physical Chromebox system/core processor. In addition, the box is equipped with Google app software which makes it easy to share docs, spreadsheets, Google invitations and more! Next time you have a virtual conference call, use this event gadget to help your video conference run smoothly!
7. Portable Projector
As an event prof, you have to be prepared for the worst, like your projector breaking down! Instead of having a massive projector, get a small portable projector. These are great for both meeting presentations and displaying videos or images at your parties! For a great all purpose projector, check out the Epson PowerLite Multimedia Projector. Not only does it project high quality data, videos, and photos, but it also connects directly and wirelessly to phones, computers, tablets, and USB memory drives. Give attendees a great presentation with a remote or a mouse control, and easily carry this 3.7 pound projector in your bag!
Do you plan on using any of these event gadgets for your events? Let us know in the comments below and on Facebook or Twitter!
ABCey’s Weekend Lineup: Top 5 Bay Area Events 8/19/16 – 8/21/16
Happy Thursday everyone! Are you as excited for the weekend as we are? From the Pokemon World Championship Viewing Party to the Pacific Sound System Summer Boat Party & After Party, there are so many events happening. To help you plan the perfect weekend, ABCey Events has compiled a list of the top 5 Bay Area events for our Weekend Lineup!
Top 5 Bay Area Events
1. Pokemon World Championship Viewing Party
Fri, 8/19/16 | 12pm – 8:30pm | Free | Razer Store San Francisco
Even with all of the Pokemon Go coverage, we still miss the good ol’ days. What are they? Pokemon cards of course! This Friday, you can watch the Pokemon World Championships and relive your childhood. Although the championship isn’t open to the public, you can check out the action at the Razer Store’s viewing party! In addition, this party will have tons of raffles and giveaways. If you’re a Pokemon fan, dress up in your best costume and play Pokemon Go with the masses!
2. Startup Basecamp Motel Launch Party
Fri, 8/19/16 | 6pm – 8:30pm | $10, buy here | Startup Basecamp
As you grow older, it’s harder to find and connect with like-minded people! Thus, Startup Basecamp was created to give entrepreneurs, startup professionals, investors, and digital nomads a place to both live and work! Not only is this a cheap alternative to hotels but it also gives professionals a way to connect. To celebrate the opening of their newest motel, Startup Basecamp is hosting a launch party with an open bar, refreshments, and a DJ. Come join in, network, and connect!
3. Noise Pop’s 20th Street Block Party: Food & Music Festival
Sat, 8/20/16 | 12pm – 6pm | $5-10 suggested entry donation, $95-Headliner Experience tickets | 20th Street Corridor
Do you like music? Love great food? Want to support a great local cause? If so, head over to the Mission district and hangout with 15,000 people at this SF block party hosted by Noise Pop! On 19th & 20th Street, between Bryant and Harrison, this block party will fill the streets with alternative indie music from a variety of artists. There are 17 neighborhood food vendors, 29 craft business/artisan vendors, a cooking demo and more! You can get the VIP treatment with $95 Headliner Experience tickets or pay the $5-$10 suggested entry donation. But these funds are going to an amazing cause: the Mission Language & Vocational School! Also, if your 21+, go to the pre and after party for even more fun!
4. Bloom Festival & Campout
Sat-Sun, 8/20/16-8/21/16 | Sat, 11am – Sun, 7pm | $50 – $130, buy here | Lake Sonoma Resort
If you love electronic music festivals and camping, then this is the event for you! The Bloom Festival will have artists performing all day long, so break out your camping clothes and gear to stay warm. In addition, Jeno & Garth, DJ M3, DJ Sharon Buck, and Harry Who are just a few of the amazing performers at this festival! This event is all ages, but don’t forget to bring your ID! In addition, CalGang Thai Eatery will be there to give you amazing food and beverages. You can also take advantage of Lake Sonoma and bring a boat, or rent water equipment. Best of all, parking is free! Come enjoy the music and camp out under the stars this weekend at one of the top Bay Area events!
5. Sunset Sound System Summer Boat Party + After Party
Sun, 8/21/16 | 5pm-11pm, after party: 10:30-2am | 21+ years old | $70, buy here; after party $5 with boat ticket, $10 without | Pier 3
Climb aboard the San Francisco Spirit this Sunday for an evening of great music and lots of partying! On this boat party, you’ll get to hear tons of great beats from DJ’s Galen, J-Bird, and Solar, and special guest, Chez Damier! Then, head over to Monarch for the official after-party. Don’t miss this opportunity to mingle, lounge, and dance the night away!
Which one of these Bay Area events will you be attending? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!
How to Use Instagram Stories for Events
In this day and age, Social media is arguably the most useful tool for event planners! Recently, Instagram has come out with a new feature, Instagram Stories, that rivals Snapchat Stories. At ABCey, we want to keep you updated with all of the newest social marketing developments and how they effect the event world. So, here are our tips so you can use Instagram Stories for your next event!
How similar are Snapchat Stories and Instagram Stories?
If you recently updated your Instagram, you’ve probably noticed little circles above your regular feed. This new feature is Instagram Stories which is their version of Snapchat Stories. Like Snapchat, Instagram Stories can be edited with text and emojis and only last for 24 hours. In addition, you can see which of your followers (similar to Snapchat friends) have seen your stories. Although they may seem the same, there are some important differences that all eventprofs should know!
How are they different for events?
1. Social Media Marketing
One huge thing that sets Instagram Stories apart from Snapchat Stories are their audiences. On Snapchat, you have to be friends with someone to watch their stories. However on Instagram, it’s a whole different story! With a private account, all your followers can view your story. But if you have a public account, anyone can see it. This means your company and upcoming events can get tons of exposure from social media marketing!
2. Privacy Feature
In addition, only Instagram Stories have a privacy feature. This feature lets you block anyone from seeing your story. Take advantage of this for your events, and keep the event a secret from certain followers! Also, you can reward your followers by making your account private for a certain period. During that time, you can post special coupons or inside info on your story and only your loyal followers can see these prizes!
3. Permanent Posting From Your Story
Although Snapchat and Instagram Stories are alike, Instagram has some extra bonus features! Now you can easily take videos or images of an event from your story and post them permanently on your Instagram. This keeps the memory of an event alive, even when the event is over!
4. Audience Interaction
Instead of a chronological order like Snapchat, Instagram Stories are sorted by who you interact with the most. Now you can see who your best followers are and reward them with prizes! Also, it’s super important to engage with your guests! Encourage them to post event images and ask questions on their Instagram story. After, give your guests a unique event experience by answering their questions and giving them a shout out on your story or by directly messaging them!
5. Use Snapchat How To’s
Because this feature is similar to Snapchat Stories, you can use these Snapchat event tips for your Instagram! Instagram Stories give you great features of Snapchat and more of their of their own. You can post everything from behind-the-scenes footage of the event production process to shout outs from important speakers and sponsored advertisements during your events!
Do you plan to use Instagram Stories for your events? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!
Startup Monday: DoubleDutch-Live Engagement Marketing Platform
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 & would like to share with friends and followers of ABCey Events! In today’s Startup Monday, we highlight a live engagement platform and mobile app: DoubleDutch!
As event professionals, we always try to create better experiences for our event attendees. It’s also important we have right tools for the event to run smoothly. Afterward, we really want to learn from the event, so that our next one is even better! So, how do we manage all this information? With DoubleDutch, you’re able to do all those things and more!
DoubleDutch Live Engagement Platform:
This company’s main product is their live engagement platform, which helps everyone from sponsors, attendees, planners, exhibitors, and marketers! Under this platform, there are 5 different sections: Studio, Event App, Lead Manager, Performance Manager, and Exhibitor Portal. All of these applications help to improve the event process and the overall success of the event!
Studio
First, customize your app and plan your event with DoubleDutch’s Studio! After you create the perfect app that matches your brand, use Studio to send out event invites to promote your app and event. In addition, manage your event content including: agendas, interactive maps, event information, user profiles, and more. And thats not all! You can help your sponsors advertise their posts, achievements, and activity to your guests!
Event App
Having an app for your event will be sure to impress attendees, but it’s also great for event professionals and will make your guests’ event experience so much easier! For event producers, the DoubleDutch Event app lets you give out attendee lists, surveys, polls, Q&A’s, direct messages as well as set up gaming aspects and forums. Also, attendees can create their agendas, and see profiles of sponsors, exhibitors, and speakers!
Performance Manager
Learn what worked and what didn’t with their Performance Manager! During the event, you can easily see how the event is going, what your guests like the most, poll/survey results, and more. Now you have tons of info that tells you how your event went and valuable insight for the next ones!
Exhibitor Portal
Your event exhibitors and sponsors will love Double Dutch too! Because the Exhibitor Portal lets exhibitors contact and understand their attendees, they are set to have a better booth and business! From customizing exhibitor’s app profiles and scheduling meetings to managing staff and giving offers to guests, there is nothing this app doesn’t do!
Lead Management
Finally, their platform has a Lead Management application to help you market your event! It looks at attendees’ actions, interests, and engagement, so that you can make informed decisions. Also, your attendees will love when DoubleDutch gives them recommendations on connections/sessions based on their activity at an event! Try their demo and see how DoubleDutch can improve your events!
Integration and Security
Are you currently using a different registration system? DoubleDutch has the answer! In addition to their platform, this company has added integration features that allow you to combine schedules, profiles, etc. from more than 100 other registration systems! They make it that easy!
You can also integrate with Salesforce and Marketo to have the best marketing campaigns and CRM services! Now you can use their platform with the info and work you already have. There are also security measures that make sure your data and event is safe!
Are you planning to use DoubleDutch? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!
How to Plan the Perfect Olympic Games Party
The Olympic Games are in full swing and it’s time to get into the competitive spirit! What better way to celebrate the games than by hosting an Olympic Games party? From food to activities, ABCey is here to help!
Entertainment and Games
Virtual Reality Games
Be a part of the games with fun entertainment and games to entertain your guests! Bring a high tech twist to your Olympic games party by bringing virtual reality. From basketball to tennis to volleyball, choose whatever sports your guests like most, and they can play on virtual reality screens and with goggles! Also, you can also get virtual and integrated sports floor technology, and let your guests enjoy playing on their favorite field!
Backyard Upgraded Games
In addition, upgrade your outdoor games with fully interactive games! Not only are games, like this Super Bowl hamster wheel, fun, but they are also unique twists. You can adapt this game for soccer, track and field, and tons of other sports for more Olympic fun! Also, guests will love that you compete with others to get the highest score. So bring the competitive spirit to your Olympic Games viewing party with games like this one!
Party Favors:
DIY Olympic Gold Medals
Another key element of a party is rewarding your guests for coming! Save money and stay with the Olympic games party theme thanks to these DIY Olympic medals. With some glue, glitter, bottle caps, and ribbon, you can easily make these great medals. Your guests will feel special that you spent the time to DIY making these fun party favors!
Olympic Games party food and beverages:
Olympic Games cake pop torches
Although you can’t be in Rio, you can still feel the electric vibe and feel like you’re right in the middle of the action! The celebrations start with the lighting and passing of the torch, so don’t forget a decoration to symbolize it. These decorative torches are not only festive, but they are also sweet! So let your guests make their own cake pop snacks and indulge their sweet tooth!
Olympic rings drinks
An Olympic party wouldn’t be complete without the rings! You can creatively show your Olympic theme with these fun cocktail glasses drink! Or, you can also add some sugar or salt to your glasses to liven up your cocktails and any drinks you’re planning to make! Also, you can use this trick for any drinking cup. Here is how to make them!
Colored ring ice cubes
In addition to your sugared cups, you can keep your refreshments cool thanks to these ice cubes! Not only do they perfectly fit with the Olympic Games party theme, but all you need is food coloring. Toss these rings into any clear flavored drink so guests can drink in style! Find out how to make them here!
Extras:
Ticket invitations
Invite guests to your party in style with these awesome tickets! Although they may be disappointed that they aren’t going flying to Rio, they’ll be excited to join in on the action at your party. These printable tickets will immediately load to your computer and let you customize it. This lets you add your own date, venue, and time. So feel special attending your top notch event.
Olympic rings backdrop
Create the perfect backdrop for your food/beverage tables and throughout your party venue! In addition, you’ll save money with these DIY Olympic rings. Also, you won’t believe how simple these are to make. Simply pin or glue colored crepe paper over polystyrene rings, and there you have it. An easy decoration that will impress your guests!
How are you planning your Olympic Games party? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!