Artwork: StudioBE

Between Summer 2024 and Spring 2025, I visited New Orleans three times—twice in anticipation of a Client event, and the third and final time for the event execution. One thing I love about the city is that it is so primed for hosting meetings and events, both large and small. We toured numerous spaces, including hotels, restaurants, museums, exhibition halls, and non-traditional venues. Here are some of my favorites:

Women’s History Month is as important as ever in 2025, when women are being removed from high-level positions across the government and many of our rights are in jeopardy. It has not been an easy month in many ways this year, but sometimes in the darkness a little light appears. That’s what it felt like to open LinkedIn and see my name amongst so many powerhouses on InEvent’s list of the Top 50 Influential Female Voices in the Events Industry.

I’m proud to be an advisor to event tech company Evenda, because I believe that their event sponsorship solution can help bridge the gap between event organizers and companies who are looking even more strategically and thoughtfully at their offerings in 2025. The team gathered all of the data collected in 2024 and created a digestible, actionable Event Sponsorship Trends insights report.

One of the main takeaways from their annual sponsorship report that actually surprised me, was that not only are hybrid and tech-powered events are here to stay—sponsors are, in fact, spending their budgets wisely in this market. In fact, virtual and hybrid formats accounted for 40% of sponsorship spend last year, and the figure is only expected to grow.

If you’ve followed on my LinkedIn journey, you know that I love polls. Why? I love to know what people are thinking, so that I can incorporate it into my Client’s decision-making discussions. After all, we utilize specific post-event data from their previous events, why wouldn’t we take additional data and feedback into consideration? My latest LinkedIn Event Planning Poll asked the audience their opinion on a hot topic: What do you want to do after a conference day?

A few years ago, at a major international airport, I was late for my flight and going through the long line at security. As a result of scrambling to arrive on time, I had forgotten to pour out the ice water in my Yeti Water bottle, covered with my favorite stickers. I had a choice: to allow the agents to throw away my water bottle or go back through security. I didn’t have time to go back through, so I begrudgingly hurried off to my gate.

The “Emotional Support Water Bottle” has become an extension of us, like our phones—and that fact doesn’t look to be changing anytime soon. From Yeti to Stanley’s climb to ubiquity everything in between, it’s rare to see someone out in public without one. When attending events, however, we typically see single-use plastic bottles.

While visiting Sarasota, Florida during the holiday season, I saw a sign at Baggage Claim that mentioned the Ringling Museum of Art. With a full day of freedom ahead of me, I decided to spend it exploring its vast grounds. Call me crazy, but I did not immediately link “Ringling” with the circus, although it’s arguably one of the most famous names associated with that industry.

When I arrived, I noticed that there were several buildings housing a variety of exhibits and event spaces throughout the property. The exhibits focused on art, history, architecture, design, and yes—the Circus—were spread across the acres. After about five hours walking through each of the experiences, I sat down outside and admired the Banyan trees that surrounded the property. It’s an absolute must if you’re in the Bradenton or Sarasota area, as there’s really nothing else that I can think of like it!

Every once in awhile, I am able to sit down and read some of the various industry publications that accumulate on my desk throughout busy season. In these magazines, I find inspiration and ideas that I can apply to Client events, to my own business, and to my Catalyst Call event planning consulting hours.

The events I work on vary, from private invitation-only conferences to public celebrations, but the desire to increase attendance is shared across the board. I was thankful to find an article full of ideas in this issue, and want to share in the hopes of filling the room with the right people at your next meeting or program.

2024 is almost over, and I can’t even believe I’m writing this! As you start wrapping up your events for this year, it’s tempting to take a little vacation, a long nap, or a hiatus and decompress. I’m here to tell you: Don’t let that critical time for feedback and ideation go to waste! On average, an event takes between 6-24 months to plan, depending on the type of event.

I’m planning events for the Fall, and this year, I’m considering Signature Cocktails—and, signature mocktails.

I polled my LinkedIn audience about their favorite liquor for a signature cocktail/limited bar menu event. Overwhelmingly, the answer was Vodka, followed by Whiskey and Tequila. In an open bar that serves beer, wine and a signature drink, a vodka-based beverage seems to be the winner—though I’d recommend polling your audience or looking at your previous bar tabs to see what was purchased the most.

Besides being crowdpleasers, both vodka and tequila beverages are easy to make into ‘virgin’ drinks, or what we now call ‘mocktails.’

One of the things I work on most with Clients is refining their sponsorship decks. As event organizers, we know that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to designing sponsorship packages, but it can feel exhausting trying to create custom sponsorship packages for each event or potential partner.

In getting down to the nitty-gritty of event sponsorship, it appears that two of the more popular offerings that I see in sponsorship decks, speaking opportunities and experiential or activation opportunities, are all but inconsequential to our potential partners.

Photo by Jakub Dziubak on Unsplash

With the rise of food and beverage costs, event planners like myself who manage multi-day conferences and conventions are looking for ways to save, while still offering a wonderful experience to their guests. 

Thankfully, I’ve had wonderful experiences with the hotels for my Fall events, and one suggestion that a Conference Services Manager made stopped me in my tracks.

Photo by Or Hakim on Unsplash

Are you an event planner, meeting planner or event host who is noticing an uptick in catering, food and beverage pricing? Well, you are not alone.

I was scrolling through Instagram a few weeks ago when I noticed the James Beard Foundation had conducted a survey of chefs on the effects of Climate Change on being able to deliver to their clients. Not surprisingly, they shared stories of temporary shut-downs due to weather-related disasters; increased prices on the items that event planners creating menus want the most; and less ability to source ingredients, among other consequences.