This past weekend, we provided lighting and production for a bar mitzvah that embraced the racing vibe right down to the black and white “flag” tablecloths and racing red chairs. All the different settings and backdrops, many of which look like street scenes and urban landscapes, are dramatic when we light them up! Truly, a very cool spot for a party.

For more information on hosting your event at the "track" ~ check out the Simeone Foundation Museum.

Just a few fast shots from the first day of a three-day conference hosted by Pilot Freight Services in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Each day there are meetings at the Borgata Casino and Resort, followed by evening parties and award celebrations at various locations along the New Jersey boardwalk. After tonight’s meetings, we’re providing custom-built LED screens and branded signage, as well as lighting and audio visual services. In fact, we’ve hooked the producers up with a total of 23 wireless microphones.(Below is a photo of the antennas for the mics)

After the meetings the conference attendees will head over to One Atlantic for a cool cocktail party that we’ve lit up with 22 intelligent lights and 24 LEDs. Not a bad way to start the conference…

Eventions Productions is proud to announce that after searching high and low throughout the region, we’ve finally found the amazing person we’ve needed to take on the role of Production Manager!

Introducing JASON CONRAD. He brings a wealth of production experience to Eventions from his past life, including being responsible for all of the production and technology for three different cruise ships that traveled all over the world. Additionally, Jason also lead production teams for Disney and Six Flags and has degrees in Theater and Lighting Design.

From now on, when you reach out to Brian Toner pertaining to events and bookings, please also copy Jason Conrad on the communication via jason@eventionsproductions.com. 

Please join the Eventions Productions Team in welcoming Jason Conrad, brave soul, to the Eventions Team.  We look forward to producing more incredible events over the busy Spring and Summer seasons!

Featured in Bride’s Philadelphia Magazine, Danielle and Michael’s wedding was an elegant, romantic celebration filled with rustic chic decor and glamorous details. Their wedding took place at one of the most spectacular event venues in Philadelphia, the prestigious Franklin Institute. Filled with grand halls, elaborate architecture and dramatic rooms, The Franklin Institute is a lighting designer’s dream property. Collaborating with Brian Kappra of Evantine Design on the wedding design, the Franklin Rotunda was lit in shades of purple with dramatic results. We added in pops of white light to bring out the dramatic tablescapes and other high lights of the room.

{Event Photographer: Marie Labbancz}

This past January the fifth annual outdoor regular season National Hockey League game, the Bridgestone Winter Classic, was played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies with the host Philadelphia Flyers playing against their long-time Atlantic Division rivals, the New York Rangers. In the days leading up to the Winter Classic, several events were planned for players, both current and retired, with the most prestigious being the VIP Party at the Marriott Hotel. It was that cool VIP event that we had the opportunity to work on, providing lighting, draping, and audio visual services. From light up bars and tables, to sleek modern white and chrome furniture and once ice carving after another, the VIP event was the place everyone wanted to be!

Photo Credit: John Armich

When Electronic Heath Resources (EHR) was founded in 1997 with just a handful of employees, no one, not even their CEO would imagine that fifteen years later they would be celebrating the holidays with over 500 employees! Nor could they imagine being named one of the “Best Places to Work” for four years in a row by The Philadelphia Business Journal. As the leading provider of medical necessity compliance solutions to more than 2,000 hospitals across the country, EHR prides itself on creating a work environment where employees feel respected and valued while enjoying a healthy dose of fun. Nothing keeps the work culture happier than starting off the New Year with a holiday party! Since 2005, EHR has hosted their holiday galas at Drexelbrook. Each year a new playful theme is put to the test, and this year was no different! With over 1,500 guests attending the holiday party, every square inch of Drexelbrook’s party venue was transformed into a festive celebration! One ballroom hosted Club Odessey, another, the EHR VIP Lounge, and the last a Happy Days Diner. Our friends at Drexelbrook enlisted our event production assistance for thematic event lighting and audio visual services. 

Around the perimeter of each party space, we placed our new four-color battery-operated LED light fixtures. After all was said and done, a total of forty fixtures were used but what an amazing light show they created! From entire rooms lit in midnight blue, to magenta purple washed walls and holiday red drama! All by remote control, timed to the rest of the audio-visual program carefully planned by the EHR staff. We also installed two large screens and projectors to flank the main stage that stayed active all night as EHR made presentations and announced awards and giveaways. One of our cameramen kept a live feed running of the presentations which allowed party-goers in other event spaces the opportunity to watch without having to leave the bar. 

Local DeeJay Bobby Morgenstein provided the entertainment for the event, as well as the LED lightup dance floor that kept guests hopping all night long. Dance sets included a full-on 1970’s discotheque vibe! We also installed eight intelligent light fixtures over the dance floor that allowed us to support the groovy entertainment with blasts of moving light. Photo booths were placed throughout the party spaces, as were food stations, bars and other holiday activities.

When coordinating such large corporate events, it’s absolutely crucial to install a sound system that can support the program from the main stage, as well remotely project the action to all the satellite event spaces. As the party guests mingled and moved from room to room, they were never out of touch or out of sync. 

One of the themed-party rooms was designed in a heated tent installed by Select Event Rentals. Light up monogrammed bars and light up cocktail tables gave the space a modern, hip vibe. Guests could stay a-pace with the presentations and dance floor action via plasma screens we installed on both sides of the tent.

Just another incredible corporate event at Drexelbrook we’ve had the pleasure to collaborate on over the years.

For tonight’s 2012 Atlas Award Gala at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, we’re using Skype and satellite uplinks to connect local families with their loved ones serving on the front lines in Afghanistan. Knowing how rarely these folks have the opportunity to speak with each other, we’re tremendously honored to be involved in such a cool event.

Like most event professionals, the moment I can grab a little rest and relaxation to recharge my creative batteries, I take it! Ordinarily, that means my wife and I head to a tropical destination where we can literally sail into the sunset. The sailing community is close knit and you hear all about intriguing places to go, celebrations to share and parties to attend. So, last Winter, after hearing about the lighting effects that take place at the Fireball Full Moon Party, we decided to head to the British Virgin Islands to do a little “research” of our own.

For many people around the World the moon has a powerful allure: it is full of beauty, romance, legend and myth. During the full moon each month, people gather together to honor and give thanks to the cycles of life. These celebrations are important times for reflection, meditation and for building relationships. In the British Virgin Islands hundreds of sailors gather at Trellis Bay, located on Beef Island, to celebrate the full moon at the Fireball Full Moon Party. If you’re not familiar with the islands, Trellis Bay is a beautiful and well-protected anchorage complimented by an artsy and hip shoreline. Sailors love to anchor here year-round, but on full moons they sail in by the boat-loads to enjoy the festive atmosphere of the Fireball Full Moon Party. This is the real Caribbean! You can’t get here by cruise ship or tour guide, you need a sense of adventure to journey here and experience the full moon party and all of its lighting effects.

The Full Moon Party is a joint production of Aragorn’s Studio and the Trellis Bay Cybercafé. Trellis Bay’s fetes feature local musicians, a top-notch barbeque buffet, and local artist Aragorn Dick-Read’s flaming fireballs. The parties are a good place to sample Tortola’s traditional music form, scratch-band music called “fungi.” Entertainment also includes mocko jumbies, colorful stilt-walking characters that perform impressive moves at heights of up to 10 feet. But the stars of the event are the fire sculptures on the water. Aragorn’s fireballs are a story unto themselves. Spherical metal sculptures about five feet in diameter, the fireballs are stuffed with flammable material, fastened on stands over the water, and lit afire. The effect is mesmerizing; flames dance over the crystal water, allowing glimpses at the balls’ intricate carved designs. So much awesome inspiration in one kickin’ party atmosphere!

However, in talking with Aragorn, we learned that the fireballs have a checkered past. Aragorn engaged in a very public dispute with the island’s Conservation and Fisheries Department in 2004 and 2005 over whether he had the required permission to station them on the seabed. (Local law states that land ownership ends at the high water mark; the seabed is controlled by the government). At the height of the dispute, the fireballs were confiscated and locked up at the East End Police Station. Luckily for us, the matter seems to have been resolved for the time being. (Imagine the photo op of the fireballs all locked up in a Caribbean jail!)

No doubt, the Fireball Full Moon Party was pretty incredible! We enjoyed the local band who kept us dancing all night under the full moon’s spell, to tunes such as their own cool version of Alicia Keys’ No One, Bob Marley classics, and other great Calypso, Reggae and Soca tunes. Combined with the fire, water and moonlight, it was an environment that just screamed “celebration”!

Seeing the World and sharing unique experiences like this gives us great inspiration for the production work that we do every day. Now, if we could just book an event where we can introduce the elements of fire and water into an amazing lighting design…

By Brian Toner, Owner & Lighting Designer

2011 was an awesome year for us here at Eventions! We couldn’t be more grateful for the incredible relationships we have in the event industry as well as in the Philadelphia community. On December 15th we welcomed 200 of our friends, clients, and colleagues to our new production facility to celebrate our 20th anniversary with a Winter Soiree! We decked out our new executive offices with plenty of shimmer and shine, but it was our new warehouse that brought the house down with some sexy holiday cheer!

As it's not uncommon for the Eventions Team to approach a party design with the question “wouldn’t it be cool if…?”, we decided to let our creative flags fly with our own holiday party! As guests walked through they saw a funky Christmas tree decorated with hundreds of “ornaments” made with gobos we’d used on parties throughout the year. We also built an entire wall of retro-fitted light bulbs wired under large plexiglass panels. We’re constantly looking for that “wow factor” that takes just a little bit of creativity! Which means, as lighting designers, audio/visual technicians and staging experts, we just had to build a floating DJ booth too!  (You can see lots of photos of the DJ Booth in our last post here)

But let’s not forget about the basics for every successful party: the food and drink! Tray after tray of festive cocktails, seasonal hors d’oeuvres and tasty sweets were provided by the awesome Starr Events. They hit it out of the ballpark and we couldn’t thank them enough for their gracious staff and delicious food.

But despite how fab the food and drink was (and it was, truly), the real show-stopping highlight of the party was the live ice carving performance from Fear No Ice! Think Blue Man Group with blocks of ice, chainsaws and techno tunes. Creeping into the warehouse in their white snow suits and blue goggles, the Fear No Ice artists put their micro chainsaws to work on the double-quick and carved a drum set, martini glasses and the Eventions logo!

Brian and Jen Toner, the owners of Eventions, enjoy some tasty beverages from their new GIANT martini glasses!

And, of course, a big thanks to our friends DJ Jon Gill for spinning the tunes all night and Cliff Mautner for photographing the celebration! {Cliff is seen here with the always dapper Phil Kramer.}

Eventions from CinemaCake Filmmakers on Vimeo.

If you’re going to throw a corporate holiday party for 2,200 employees from around the country, all of whom can rightfully claim they’re the coolest and hippest creatives around, you’d better plan BIG.  That’s just what URBN, Inc. did with their recent holiday jam held at their company headquarters in Philadelphia.

Employees from all five of their brands – Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, BHLDN and Terrain – arrived in style to incredible modern décor and a mish-mosh of festive activities. From the moment guests arrived into the already-eye-catching building, they were greeted by glittering paper stars, giant tinsel and crystal curtains, dramatic lighting, upside down Christmas trees decked out in tinsel.

A modern Elf offered bubbly all night from a suspended Champagne Chandelier, glitter and sparkle makeovers were available at chic white lacquered makeup counters, pool and air-hockey tables encouraged team building, and a live photo booth shared images as they happened on multiple screens throughout the huge space.

URBN provided modern holiday displays of food and beverage throughout the space, right down to their candy bar of nostalgic favorites. 

Two DJs spun groovy tunes from a custom-designed DJ Booth we designed specifically for the party.  Entirely constructed of metal truss and clear Lucite, the booth sat high off the floor and allowed dancers to look up through the floor at the DJs spinning above. The ceiling over the booth was filled with 2,000 mylar balloons which multiplied the lighting effects like mirrors. To light the dance area alone, we used 36 intelligent light fixtures including 12 brand new LED moving lights! Yeah baby! Incredible way to celebrate the season and ring in the New Year!

[Photos: Kevin York]