Simply Mumtaz nominated for 3 ISES LA SEA Awards!

Hey all! Simply Mumtaz Events, Inc. has been nominated for three ISES LA Special Event Awards. Special thanks to our team members for helping us get there.

We are nominated for: Best Achievement in Logistics and Best Event Produced for a Non-Profit Organization for our Grand Opening / 20th Anniversary event for the Skid Row Housing Trust.

And for Best Event Design for our 15th Annual Treasures of Los Angeles Awards Luncheon.

Wish us luck! We hope to post our winnings on July 20th or see you that evening at the ISES LA Awards & Installation Dinner at the Sunset Luxe Hotel.

Dominguez Centennial Aviation Day!

Simply Mumtaz Events, Inc. was honored to produce the Dominguez Centennial Aviation Day commemorating 100 years since the 1910 Air Meet that was held on Dominguez grounds and was a major catalyst for Aviation internationally and Southern California. If you don't know about the Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum - please check them out. It's a California Historical Landmark and a non-profit org. They need your support to continue to bring California History to our community.

OK, so into the good stuff! Here's all that we had to celebrate. It was really a fun filled day with lots of great activities.

Let's start off with the Air Show! We had several different acts all day do passes over the event grounds! Robinson Helicopter, Stearman BiPlane, Bell 47 Helicopter, Van Nuys Condor Squadron with T6s, Golden Stars Sky Divers, P-51, RedTails, USAF Texan II and the Good Year Blimp! A special shout out goes to Carter Clark and Cliff Heathcoat for helping us! We could not have done this event with out both of you. THANK YOU!

Next, we had some amazing folks coming out to showcase their planes and automobiles! Special Thanks to the Western Museum of Flight and the Model T & A Clubs of Long Beach. Check out these amazing shots! We had models, a Bleriot replica, 1970's BD-5, 1940's Radioplane RP-5 Drone and much more!



We also had a lot of kids activities and fun food! Kogi BBQ, World Famous Tommy Burger, Funnel Cakes, Snow Cones, Pizza, Robins BBQ, and Lemonade... Ferris Wheel, Coloring Station, Soapbox Derby Display and Sid the Science Kid from PBS!

In addition to all of the fun activities - we have to say thanks to all of our event sponsors and elected officials that came out to support the event! In particular to our keynote speakers - Bob Gilliland, Legendary Aerospace Test Pilot & California State Librarian Stacey Aldrich.

Also to Clear Channel for helping us advertise the event to the local community - seen below off the 91 Freeway, exiting to the Dominguez Rancho. Plus, all of our community / organization partners - thank you!

Then, at the end of the day! It was all over... lots of fun and crazy tired. Thank God for Sid's hug! LOL!
Special thanks to the Simply Mumtaz team for making this one happen - 1 1/2 years in the making! What else can we say... Nuff Said

Simply Mumtaz Events at the Petersen Automotive Museum

Hey all! Hope you all are planning wonderful 4th of July weekend celebrations! We've made it through our busy Spring season and are looking forward to "Summer Time"!

Please see below some event design ideas and pics of one of our June events at the Petersen Automotive Museum. The team on-site was terrific and all of our vendors really made it a fantastic event. Special shout out Renaissance Catering and Classic Party Rentals.


So, to be honest, we had a real hard time determining how we would design the event... In the Grand Salon there was this "What were they Thinking" display - where vehicles that didn't make it were showcased and the signage was - of all colors - orange / grey and black! The cars on display were a mixed colors! So, for this pretty formal "lifetime achievement" celebration needed to be designed with those elements - but we had to be careful not to make it look like Halloween! So, we really had two ideas - 1) Create sections of the room by making the table decor / linen the same as the nearest car showcased... so, the room would be a mix of colors - you would be seated at the "blue" car section that was supposed to be a boat and car (but it didn't float) or 2) go with the theme and do a orange / grey... The easy way out would have been to do a black / silver design - but that was too basic / too easy. We ended up with the orange / grey design. We used Wildflower Linens, Classic Party Rentals, Chameleon Chairs, all with accents of the orange and grey (silver). It actually looked pretty good, elegant and not Halloween!

We used a simple gobo to welcome attendees and shot moving patters across the room to break up the room a bit... Special Thanks to J&M Entertainment & Event Production for their work on the honoree video and technical production elements.

Since the event was really about our honoree - we wanted to present a table favor that everyone would enjoy and not throw away the minute they got out of sight. So, our honoree's favorite candy - M&Ms... So, we had custom jars made with the client's logo and name of the event. We stuffed the jars with M&Ms and tied simple bows. It really gave each place setting a little bit more color. And, you should have smelled our office the day we were putting them together! LOL - it was like we all had chocolate on the brain.

We also gave everyone lapel pins - Donate Life in honor of our honoree's organization - OneLegacy.

As our guests arrived, they were greeted with tray passed wine and asked to tour their way to the main reception area and bar. It was really nice to have all of our attendees get to experience some amazing displays. At the Reception area we had a solo guitarist playing Jazz / Blues.
It was a fun night! Thanks again to the Simply Mumtaz team, another great event. Stay tuned for our next post - it's will be all about our Dominguez Centennial Aviation Day event! Photos taken by Michael Norwood - MNorwood Photography! Thank you so much for coming out. The shots were terrific!

Simply Mumtaz Events celebrates their 5th Anniversary

Simply Mumtaz Events, Inc. celebrated its Fifth Year Anniversary this June! Friends, clients and event colleagues joined together at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel on June 8th. Simply Mumtaz President, Joella Hopkins, CSEP, CMP gave a heart felt speech while thanking all of the attendees for the relationships they've created because it is because of those relationships that Simply Mumtaz Events, Inc has gotten to where it is now... And, we say that to you - our reader THANK YOU! It's been an amazing five years and we're excited to look forward to our next five years.

As part of the celebration, we displayed two table tops. It was a Hot Pink / Gold / Exotic theme. Table Linen was provided by (Pink - Tangier Fuchsia and Purple - Chiffon Velvet Wine) Wildflower Linens, Glassware / Chivairis by Classic Party Rentals and the florals were provided by Angelic Floral Studio. The second was an Elegant Purple and Silver. The "purple" table was stunning, the chair covers were outstanding as well. Check out the link here to see additional photos.

Joella Hopkins, CSEP, CMP with Lauren Klausen, VP of Business Development at the Central City Association. LOL! It's been an amazing few years and after my 8 with CCA - I have to say - you are great at what you do! Thank you for being supportive and such a fantastic partner in producing some great meetings and events. I look forward to many more...

Alison Bruesehoff, Executive Director of the Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum with Joella Hopkins, CSEP, CMP. Thank you for being such an amazing client! It's wonderful to love the people you work with...

Joella Hopkins, CSEP, CMP with Cecilia Mota, President of the National Latina Business Women Association and the Manny Mota Foundation. A proud and sincere Thank You to Cecilia for being a leader - it takes some guts and you have'em! We are proud to support you and the NLBWA.

Jahel Lara, Simply Mumtaz Graphic Designer with Joella and Adam Khalil, Image Security Services. Special thanks to Jahel for a lot of long nights producing numerous Tribute Journals after the next... I owe you a big margarita and much more one of these days!

Event Hall of Famer Bob Estrin with Joella Hopkins, CSEP, CMP. Bob has been an outstanding member of the team! He has also been an incredible source of advice. Thank you for your guidance and support of these past years! I'm thrilled you are back on your feet - you look very handsome and we love you very much!

The fantastic Jorge Lopez, President of J&M Entertainment with Joella Hopkins, CSEP, CMP. Special Thanks go out to Jorge for helping Simply Mumtaz produce this celebration! And, another personal thank you to Jorge and his team for always being there - a wonderful colleague who we can always bounce new ideas off of, for his ability to listen and to advise. You are really an amazing business partner and now familia.

I'm also thrilled to have had a chance to pose with Hal Bastian from the Downtown Center Business Improvement District. Hal has been a long time supporter and we will always be thankful for his advice. Thank you.

We were able to grab photos with all of our favorite people - but a special thanks also to the incomparable Sara Cameron, Director of Catering and Convention Services at the Biltmore. You've been an amazing pillar of support since the LAWAC days... I can't say much more, but Thank You for every single detail and most of all hug along the way.

Simply Mumtaz would also like to thank Exhibit Graphics - Mike & Mario. Always perfect and always on time, even when I'm not. Thanks for our step & repeat! Thank You Aaron - Angelic Floral Studio. Bryan Phelps - Classic Party Rentals: You are just fantastic... always a gentlemen and always on top of your game. You and your team are really great, you have a client for life. Mark Iles - the phenomenal Mark from Mark Anthony Printing Service. You outshine yourself every time we work together. Thank you for always making it work. Your print jobs always come back to me in pristine condition - we can't ask for more!

A special thank you to Tyrone Washington our event photographer! Thanks for the great shots!

And, to everyone else - Thank You! It's been an honor and a privilege to service, know and be in business with you.

Jennifer Kim, CMP / Michelle Bernard / Joella Hopkins, CSEP, CMP /

Jahel Lara / Angie Cortez / Jennifer Minzey

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.