Our intern, Sara, played an integral role in organizing the ever-popular Chefs’ Showcase at this year’s Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards. Here she shares her takeaways on making it a success:

On April 13th, we helped Vancouver Magazine celebrate its 27th Annual Restaurant Awards. Hosts Gloria Macarenko and Stephan Quinn from CBC handed out nearly 50 awards ranging from Restaurant of the Year to Best Food Truck. A panel of 18 judges spent the past year preparing for this event, tasting more than 2,000 dishes all over Vancouver and BC, narrowing their list down to 150 restaurants in 48 categories.

Elettra Communications (and its principals) has been the producer behind the event for 14 years. Their work includes everything from organizing the event set up (alongside the Sheraton Wall Centre, the host venue), to getting key influencers within the community to participate.

The Chefs’ Showcase is an opportunity for all nominated restaurants to share their work with their peers and local influencers. During the first couple weeks of my internship at Elettra, I had the responsibility of planning and executing the Chefs’ Showcase. Before my internship at Elettra, I had never planned an event. I had help organized events but I had never executed one from start to finish.  Looking back at the event, there are a couple tips that everyone planning an event, either big or small, needs to know that make your job easier:

1. Details are huge

People say that the details really make an event. Once the big things are booked, the details have to be taken care of. This could be everything from double-checking that the sponsors have everything they need, to making sure the flower arrangements are exactly how the client envisioned them. Having the details thought out before the event ensures you deliver exactly what the client wanted and frees you from worrying about any unexpected hiccups.

Before I called a restaurant to ask them to participate, I found out a little bit about the restaurant. The simple things such as who their Chef and General Manager is and how long they have been open. Just having a quick browse around their website before calling helps to get a feel for the restaurant and how best to approach them.

2. Organization is key

You may have a vision as to what the event should look like, but without having a plan, it makes the vision hard to accomplish.  Being able to put together a plan of what the event will look like will make it easier to connect with different vendors and have contract and contact available to you. Having this information will make the weeks running up to the event is less chaotic, and if there are any issues, the information is right there to access.  

Starting with just an Excel spreadsheet listing the restaurants who were nominated, I had to craft a system to keep participating restaurants and their information organized. If I received an email or a phone call from a nominated restaurant, I would have to input it right away otherwise I knew it would just get lost or forgotten about. Having this information printed out made the registration of the showcase go more smoothly.

3. Be a problem solver

Things will never go exactly as you planned. If something comes up, being flexible will help you think on your feet and solve problems in a creative way.

With 36 different chefs (and restaurants) with over 46 dishes there will always be some issues. Despite requesting otherwise,  of the dishes arrived on site the same time which made matching up the dish with its label challenging. Having critical information printed out before hand allowed me to match the dishes to the information. If something didn’t match up properly, I got creative and figured out ways to match the dish to the restaurant.

A big thank-you to all of the participants in the 2016 Chefs’ Showcase at the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards. You can check out all of the winners here. From having seen their work up close, I highly recommend you pay them a visit. 

Part of the excitement of working in PR is all the different types of events we plan. For example, last Thursday we helped BCAA show their valued Members how rewarding membership can be – by giving away free ice cream! We set up a team at the Marble Slab in Langley to surprise and delight BCAA Members with fresh, made-in-house ice cream. All members had to do was show their BCAA card and enjoy. Customers also had the opportunity to take photos with props at our photo wall and listen to QMFM live on location.

If you are a BCAA Member, check out where you can save at over 100,000 partner locations worldwide including hotels, shoes, travel insurance, and more. See at bcaa.com/savings for more details.

Check out these pictures from the event:

Earlier this week, Pacific Centre officially open its new retail expansion. New shops include Ted Baker, Kate Spade, TUMI, Weekend MaxMara, Hugo BOSS, and Vancouver's first AllSaints. More retailers will be opening later this summer and into the fall.

To celebrate the opening, Pacific Centre charged Elettra Communications with planning and executing an outdoor fashion event on Granville Street. Thirty stunning models walked our open-air catwalk and 300 ft red carpet, showing gorgeous looks from Pacific Centre's newest shops.

Here are some pics of Elettra's event set up and the fashion show. Enjoy!

We are told from a young age to “dot the i’s and cross the t’s”. The practical application for this expression has never been so clear in my mind until working on my first major event as an Account Coordinator.

On Tuesday, January 13, Vancouver International Airport (YVR) held the grand opening for the new A-B Pier Connector. This event unveiled a new space in the Domestic Terminal, including “new gates, an expedited baggage system, seismic upgrades and a bunch of new places for travellers to eat and shop.” The event also the featured the unveiling of a stunning work of art by First Nations artist Marianne Nicolson.

Here is what I learned while working on this event:

1)    Once the event date is set, create an event plan, including detailed budget, timeline, and event details. The more bases you cover leading up to the event, the more prepared you are to ensure the event is a success on the day.

2)    If there are technical requirements, do a run through. You don’t want to be on the other side of the building only to realize your walkie-talkies don’t work during a big unveil. For the YVR event, I watched the project leads test each tech detail before the big day.

3)    It matters how the room is arranged. When planning your layout, think about where you want most of the crowd to be and place something important there, such as food. Also think of where people should be looking; if there is a speaker, don’t use round tables so people have to uncomfortably crane their necks.

4)    Treat a speech as a highlights reel. Ensure speakers know their allocated time frame and give the key points only.

5)    A smile goes a long way. At the end of the day, everyone would rather work with positive people. Treat every challenge as an opportunity to do your best for the client, treat every guest like they are important, and receive feedback and compliments graciously.

One of the most exciting parts of event planning is that you can see your hard work unfold in front of your eyes. You can watch the crowd react, and witness the client’s expressions. It is rewarding work and I look forward to being a part of more events.