Come Check Out Dominguez Centennial Aviation Day!

Hey Everybody! We've got a great event for you! It's the Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum's Centennial Aviation Day! June 12th - Saturday - Tomorrow at the Dominguez Rancho just outside of Carson - off the 91 freeway / Alameda Exit. Air Show, Static Displays, Kids Korner, Museum Tours and much more!

We will all kinds of fun stuff. Aerial Acts include:

• Van Nuys Condor Squadron
• P-51
• Tomorrow's Aeronatuical Museum - Red Tails
• Celebrity Helicopter
• USAF Texan IIs
• Stearman / BiPlane
• Golden Stars Skydiving Team
• Good Year Blimp

Static Displays include:

• Bell 47 Helicopter
• Western Musuem of Flight's Radioplane / BD5
• Bleriot
• Lighter Than Air's 18 ft Blimp
• Robinson Helicopter
• SoCal Hot Air Balloon Tethered Balloon Rides

Kids Korner Activities include:

• Ferris Wheel
• LAX Flight Path Learning Center Flight Simulators
• KCET's Sid the Science Kid & Activities
• California Soapbox Association Display

Plus Keynote speakers Bob Gilliland, Legendary Aerospace Test Pilot, CA State Librarian Stacey Aldrich, Carson Mayor Jim Dear, Tuskegee Airmen and much more! Our Master of Ceremonies - KCAL's Derek Bell. We hope to see you out tomorrow from 11 - 5. Guests are invited to park at CSU Dominguez Hills Lot 1 or 2 and shuttles will be available to event. $5 total to get parking and shuttle - no event admission fee.

See you there!

We're on Chameleon Chair's Blog! Check it out...

Hey there. We're so excited... We made Chameleon Chair's blog. Their chairs can really make a difference to the overall feel of your special event. We will be posting in about a week last night's event with Chameleon at the Petersen Automotive Museum.

We look forward to seeing you then!

Special Guest Blogger: Lisa Hurley, Editor at Special Events Magazine

Hey everyone. We're so very proud to have Lisa Hurley from Special Events Magazine as our guest blogger. Lisa and Joella (Simply Mumtaz President) have been friends for some time now and Joella always says that Lisa has been the most gracious and amazing colleague. It's with complete honor that we present her guest blog below... She writes about How to get your special events / meetings covered... Now this is real expert advice!



Since having your own blog means you can publish anything you want, anytime you want, why should you still try to get coverage in the media?


Because media coverage is a lot more powerful than the coverage you give yourself—that's why.

As my PR friends say, when you are quoted in the media, it's an "implied third-party endorsement." The media works to get the best quotes from the best minds. And if you're quoted or your work is covered, that means you are someone worth paying attention to.

A colleague who edits another of my company's magazines has a section on her Web site for new product releases. Some are written by the editors and some are posted by manufacturers. The ones from the editors always get more hits than the ones from the manufacturers because readers think the editors' choices are newsworthy while the manufacturers' posts are self-promotion.

The best way to get the media—Special Events and everyone else—interested in you and your story is to think about the essential elements that reporters are looking for. The more of these you have in your pitch to the media, the more likely you are to grab their attention:

Information and Advice: Sample story ideas might be "Five New Design Trends," "How to Cut Your Floral Bill by 15 Percent" and "How to Please a Demanding Client"


Human Interest: Who could ignore "How I Created a Dream Wedding for a Destitute Widow"?

Celebrity: Parties for the famous are fabulous hooks, both for trade and general media.

Controversy: This is not for the faint of heart, but if you’re willing to talk about controversial issues—kickbacks, sloppy industry ethics, etc.—you are more likely to be quoted.

For event media specifically, having good photos of unique event treatments is a must. And if the publication just covered some pretty pink bat mitzvahs, don't send them more of same. Strive for something new.

And never, never forget: If a reporter ever tells you, "This is interesting—get back to me," then do it. Now. Right now. The No. 1 reason a great idea never turns into a great article is that the contact didn't respond to the reporter in time for the story deadline.

Lisa Hurley has been editor of Special Events Magazine since 1999. She joined the magazine after stints with foodservice publications and as director of publications and communications for the California Restaurant Association. She is a member of ISES, MPI and the International Foodservice Editorial Council.

Time Lapse - JW Marriott at LA LIVE 2010

Check out the Time Lapse Video of us at the JW Marriott / LA LIVE for the 2010 Treasures of Los Angeles Awards Luncheon.

Simply Mumtaz at the JW Marriott at LA LIVE producing the Treasures of Los Angeles

So, we are very excited to have blown out the JW Marriott at LA LIVE this past week for the 16th Annual Treasures of Los Angeles Awards Luncheon. It was a lot of fun. We had a great team to put this baby together.

Our inspiration was the blue from the exterior of the new JW Marriott / Ritz building and the LEDs in Nokia Plaza. We tried to bring that outside nightime feeling into a square ballroom. But, we had to keep as much of the client's purple in the room... so we hit a good balance. We also had Andre Miripolsky update his iconic downtown LA (VIVA LA) skyline with Nokia Plaza, Grammy Museum, JW Marriott / Rtiz building... It ended up being our event backdrop! Everyone was raving about this amazing design, his actual work is amazing!

Thanks to our great team of vendors - J&M Entertainment for Technical Production, Mark Anthony Printing Service for Printing our Super Fab Tribute Journal, Gorgeous Event Signgage from Exhibit Graphics & AAA Flag & Banner, our "Green" centerpieces that everyone went bonkers for from Swedish Accents, Wildflower Linens for our perfect table linens, Chameleon Chair / Classic for our Chair Rentals, Dreamworld Backdrops for recreating the backdrop masterpiece, our Graphic Designers - Jahel on our team & David at Vonderland Studios.

We would be remissed if we didn't thank Milko Rivera at the JW Marriott, Martha Saucedo & Michael Roth at AEG, My gals - Jennifer K, Jennifer M, Michelle & Angie! We also have to thank our staff & volunteers, couldn't have pulled 9 months of work without you to execute!

I was lucky and got to sneak a photo with James Worthy... :) Please stay tuned - we will be posting the time lapse video early next week!

Special Thanks to Dmity from Photography by Alexander. Great event shots! Photo directly above taken by Gary Leonard.

Simply Mumtaz Events at the San Diego Convention Center

Hey there. We hope you enjoyed the Guest Blog from Rob Carson at Patina. We got some good feedback.

We are excited to put up the following post about our recent time in San Diego. With a wonderful client and a great team we were able to put together a very cool "Monday Night Opening Reception" celebrating the client's 20th Anniversary at the San Diego Convention Center. It was a fun evening of interactive elements for attendees to partake in... although oversubscribe we had a very nice Meat & Potatoes and some Seafood added in menu. Since we were outside in the gorgeous San Diego weather - The coolest thing about the event was absolutely the Fireworks Display that we coordinated to close the speaking program. Then, the Fireworks concluded with a Set Piece lighting up with the organization's initials! Since we had the IMAG going we also had the fireworks playing on all of the plasma screens around the event. It was a lot of fun.

Thank you to all of the team members that help us put this together! San Diego Convention Center, Neon USA, J&M Entertainment & Event Production, Wildflower Linen, AV Concepts, Centerplate, A European Experience, Fireworks America, Joanna Herr Photography and us - Simply Mumtaz Events! We also have to give a shout out to our headquarter hotels - The Omni Downtown San Diego, Hilton Gaslamp and the Hard Rock. You all totally rocked! We appreciate all that you do!Above: Our General Session / Schoolroom Style at the San Diego Convention Center.
We held the "Monday Night Reception" on the outside Terrace facing the bay! It was a gorgeous day... Hope you enjoyed the photos and gained some insights for your next outside event...

Guest Blogger: Rob Carson from Patina at the Music Center

It's our total and complete pleasure to introduce our next Guest Blogger Rob Carson from Patina at the L.A. Music Center. He's been absolutely wonderful to work with and has been a shining star of what the hospitality industry should represent. He's been a part of the most exciting events that take place at the Music Center...

He's put together a great blog for you about Secret Tips when Operating with an In-House Exclusive Caterer. Please read on...

Catering Confidential by Rob Carson, Patina

Have a venue of choice with an exclusive caterer and your client or you have another caterer you want to use?

Consider this:

The in-house caterer is there for a reason, most likely their reputation so really consider using them, it will save you a lot of money. If that is not really an option then you can check if a catering buyout is available and negotiate that price.

But, keep these points in mind.

The higher the guest counts the lower the buyout cost should be.

The revenue the in-house caterer gets from buyouts is often to their bottom line so that gives you some leverage. Of course, there may be contractual obligations the in-house caterer has with their landlord but that should not stop you from getting the buyout cost to a reasonable amount. But remember, you will pay extra to have your way. If that is too much then see about getting your caterer to act a consultant with the in-house caterer. That way you use the in-house caterer avoiding the extra costs of a buyout, and you get your caterer to oversee for a consultant fee.

The in-house caterer does not want to give up their venue for another caterer so the deal you make has to be worth their while.

Tasty Tidbits

High end quality food is surviving and starting to flourish. Proof of this is the success Whole Foods has experienced with a stock price that has soared as consumers seek high quality, organic products. People are willing to spend more for quality and when you add the organic/green factor many can’t resist. In fact corporate spending on events is often justified when “green” is added into the equation.

Think lobster for your event. That may sound crazy but, lobster prices are low relatively speaking. In fact a recent report has lobster at a 30 year low adjusting for inflation. Last season, the wholesale or "boat" price of lobsters crashed from a peak price of about $10 a pound in the winter of 2006 to about $2.39 in some places-- average prices in recent years have hovered around $4.50 a pound. Some areas will have a higher costs so these are averages. A recent check on retail prices came in at $8.49 a pound in the LA Area. That is cheaper than beef tenderloin at $14.50 a pound.

So, when you're going down this road, take a moment to think about how to negotiate the best cost and meal for your client. The in-house caterer wants your business!

A little about Rob...

Rob Carson celebrates his 17th year with Patina Restaurant Group and as Director of Sales continues expanding PRG’s presence thought out Southern California. Rob’s credits include oversight of the LA Philharmonic and LA Opera Galas, the Emmy Awards Governors Ball, The Hollywood Bowl Gala and countless major events in the corporate, non profit and social realms.