Week 11: Spring Semester

During Easter Break, I completed tasks in regard to the After Party. One of my main goals was to secure entertainment, catering (including food and dessert), as well as tech for the day of the event. I scheduled a call with Kelsey, the manager of Hell's Kitchen. I wrote up a list of questions to ask her so I could make sure to get everything covered in our phone call:

1. Television Tech: I asked her to update me on whether we could use the televisions in the bar and she told me yes. We would just need to be able to put the televisions back the way we found them. In order to find out exactly how those televisions work, I asked if I could have a member of my team come down and check out how the televisions are set up and she told me that would be fine. 

2. Entertainment: Kelsey said Hell's Kitchen is totally available to have a DJ but we will need to bring all of our own tech, from the speakers to turntables. 

3. Catering: I officially placed the Hell's Kitchen order with Kelsey and was able to get a total that I could add into my purchasing spreadsheet, which is located in the V6 After Party folder of the Drive. I also made the changes to the cupcake order and received the invoice to pay for them. All information regarding purchasing can, to repeat, be found in the Google Drive.

4. I also received confirmation to use outlets as well as the projector light. 

On the lines of entertainment, I contacted Aaron about VJ/DJ with a techno/space theme and he said that the most space sounding DJ that he knows is Free Waterfall. He gave me his contact information. I also decided to bring up to the class the option of working with a previous DJ and having him customize a very spacey-themed playlist. Overall, I am very excited and believe that it will be a great event!

Week 10: Spring Semester

I have had a pretty busy week but I am happy that many of the details of the after party are winding down! Finalizing the budget has been quite fun and informative! During our departmental meeting, I had my department go through my budget for the after party and see if they approved of it all. I explained each item's use from decoration to catering. They helped me change up the catering list a bit to account for people with a variety of taste buds. With their finalization (which worked out well because I really wanted other people's opinion), I put in the request for the cupcake order for dessert with Hot Pink Cupcakes and I ordered a Kaleidoscope Projector Light from Spencer's Online. I also emailed Hell's Kitchen's manager to inquire on when I should put in the catering order. The rest of the purchases will be made in stores.

A member of my department also asked me for my advice on how to ask approach people for donations and it felt really nice to be needed by my department, which I think is something that we should all take into account moving forward in Visions and any similar work. Being there for your department makes you feel wanted as well as helps your team out!

Week 9: Spring Semester

Last week was Spring Break so I didn't make a post. I see after reading my fellow classmates blogs that I should have for the previous week. I apologize but I will move forward from here and speak of what I have done over the break! I was excited for all of the fun party planning (especially decorations) for the after party. I really wanted to stay more on a space/galaxy theme for the party rather than just icons of famous aliens or sci-fi characters. With that in mind, looking for decorations was challenging but fun. One of the my favorite finds is the Kaleidoscope light projector that I found on Spencer's Online. It is a fairly small and inexpensive light that creates out of this world colorful light design on walls. I think it will be perfect for the after party. Upon inquiring about bands/performers for the night, I asked the class as well as my contacts in the concert committee of ACE. Both contacts offered me a few names, which led me to my top choice: The Smoothrays. I have contacted them to see if they are interested in performing but since they are also UNCW students, they may take a little after Spring Break to respond. I also met a local band called UNITY who I checked out online. They are very eager to play events in Wilmington, which is great for us to work with. Due to Hell's Kitchen being free, they want us to purchase some food for the party from them in order to make something out of it. I have been working with the manager Kelsey on details about the after party and she has been helpful.

Week 7: Spring Semester

This week I confirmed our after party location, which will be at Hell's Kitchen right after Visions6's last block. I am very excited for this location, seeing that it is downtown, will hold all of our guests, and there is a stage area as well as a small back room with a pool table. I have been working with Hell's Kitchen's manager Kelsey to confirm or private event. She has been very helpful. She gave me the name of the owner to get in contact with first, who never responded to me, so I called her back and we have been working on the details together since. We have exchanged phone numbers and email addresses for maximum communication and clarity. The lesson that I have learned out of this process is to not be afraid to reach out again to those you have already talked to if things go wrong. Make sure to let them know that you are struggling to communicate with the proper party and they will be able to sympathize and help you out. As I move forward, I am looking into a band for the night of and am doing further research on decorations. I will be working with the necessary Visions6 staff to make sure that the party is a hit!