EVENT ELEMENT ENTERTAINMENT ENTERTAINERS THAT AWE
There’s a whole new group of entertainers that break the boundaries between seat and stage for the ultimate interactive event environment. There’s a fine line between whim and wacky. Good events walk the tightrope without ever losing their footing. They play with color. They buck tradition with menus. If said get-together ever wants to go from good to great, however, the live entertainment needs to be special. Done are the days when guests simply mingle over hors d’oeuvres while a boring cellist or cover band performs on stage. As a matter of fact, the coolest entertainers aren’t even on stages anymore. When companies like Event Performance are called upon to keep crowds engaged, the whole venue becomes fair game.
“We can lead guests from Point A to Point B with strolling musicians,” says Chip Lunsford, Event Performance (www.eventperformance.com) founder. “It could be a bag piper, a horn section, a dixieland band or any other type of attentiongrabbing musical movement. We frequently will create an improvised hallway with performing violinists lined up on both sides as guests walk through. The violinists can later take places on preset pedestals, interspersed throughout the room, for a unified performance that bathes the room in sophisticated background music.” One of the joys of interactive entertainment is that it’s so versatile. If you’re planning an intimate wedding ceremony, human statues could be sprinkled about, giving the venue a Venetian garden feel. On the flipside, if you’re organizing a corporate function, strolling magicians might be the answer for holding employees’ attention during an extended lunch break. And if you’re feeling particularly adventurous with things, Lunsford has a few more ideas up his sleeve: “For those who really want to wow their guests for the cocktail party, we also have a cirque-style aerialist that hangs from a chandelier and pours champagne for guests. It is a real eye catcher.” “The critical bottom line of my soap box speech is, ‘It’s all about the guests,’” Lunsford explains about weddings and other special events. “Music selection, for instance, should be focused on what their guests will respond to, what will bring them into the experience. The reception, I think, is really the ‘ThankYou Party’ for the guests that took their time and resources to help celebrate this monumental moment in your life. Their enjoyment needs to be the primary objective.” Of course, if said enjoyment can involve fire-breathing jugglers on stilts, all the better. -Demarco Williams
20 | THE MAGAZINE FOR CELEBRATING IN STYLE
PICTURED ABOVE An example of interactive entertainers : Strolling violinist and percussionists by Elan Arists at Engage!10, a luxury wedding business summit. Photography by: Mel Barlow Photography (www.melbarlow.com)