Clipping Files: Party Planning

Loiter Galleries in Long Beach California "Food as a Social Construct," Salon

The trick? Hire a winery or mixologist to add a tasting with each course or have an open bar.

It gives each table something to discuss, and adding something interactive takes the focus off discussing work.

With the holiday party season starting to rev up, take cues from expert party planners, whether you’re throwing your fete or attending your company’s annual bash. 

I absolutely love glassware! However, the gallery decided to go with earthware for dinner instead.

Planning a party

If you’re the mastermind behind a big corporate shindig or an intimate gathering of friends, here are some tips from the pros to carry it off without a glitch.

Think location and space and build out of that. 

• An invitation initially sets the tone for the event to come. “Everyone should send one, even for the annual holiday party. At the very least, you should design a charismatic email (or flyer) if you’re set on using electronic invites. Plain text emails don’t make anyone want to celebrate!” 

• Quality food and good music are always the most important components of an event; Décor and atmosphere are next in line. 

• Add the “WOW” factor by enlisting an unexpected entertainer to do an unforgettable giveaway or adding one element/interactive activity that engages the guest. 

• Timing is everything. On weeknights, the guiding maxim is: “The earlier, the better.” On weekends, “definitely after 7:30 pm.” Sunday afternoons, 2pm - 5pm are good times for a Salon small intimate brunch.

• Create an “experience,” not a theme. Have an activity woven throughout the event. Parties involving adults tend to be more upscale in direction and tone. 

• Go all out. It’s increasingly popular for even more traditional corporations and associations to ‘buy out’ entire nightclubs and restaurants to host private company outings or momentous celebrations. Guests enjoy that VIP feeling when the boss closes down a Chicago venue. It leaves partygoers on a high that lingers well past the actual event.”  

• Lastly, and most importantly- have fun planning it.

AS A GUEST:

While the party is intended for you, you must follow some rules, especially if you want to be invited back. 

Know what’s fashionably late. The rules depend on the event, but generally speaking, you should “arrive within an hour of the invitation’s start time. Longer than that is rude. At a strictly corporate event, however, there’s no such thing as fashionably late. You miss the opportunity to socially connect with your host if you arrive too late than the time specified on the invitation. Regardless of the theme and location, the event is still a business gathering and should be treated as such. 

Bring Something:

First, don’t forget your identification. You never know if you’ll need it. And if you’re going to a person’s home, whether it be the partner’s swank pad or a co-worker's condo, don’t go empty-handed. Bring a bottle of wine, candles, or some other consumable product. It’s a good idea to wrap it up for them to open later so they don’t feel pressured to serve it that night. 

Please keep it in check. 

“Business is business, after all.” Arrive on time, dress appropriately, and don’t drink too much. Nothing is worse than embarrassing yourself- you will hear about it long after the party season ends. People need to remember that corporate is not your birthday party! Have fun, but remember that your reputation with colleagues is more valuable than your dance solo on the lounge tables. 

I copied this article, ' Tis The Season to Party,’ by Danielle Tuffier, a writer at the TCW, in October. 

The River East Art Center recently hosted a sit-down dinner for 250 stakeholders. With that many business-minded folks in one room, the caterer took on the challenge of helping steer the conversation away from focusing solely on annual reports and bottom lines. In effect, they wanted to inject some fun.

Today's Chicago Woman (TCW) is a magazine for professional women in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1982 and covers careers, finances, health, food, and wine. TCW also features profiles of notable Chicago women. 

Caryl Henry Alexander, Curator "Oasis in the Woods," Long Beach, CA.

Let's Explore Food As a Social Construct: Beginning the Conversation

Junipers Garden, Brandywine, MD, Oasis in the Woods, June 2023.

Hey there! Let's chat about the social aspect of food. I often bring this up when seeking funding for community engagement events at the museums and galleries I'm involved with.

 According to research, sharing food fosters positive feelings such as trust, empathy, and camaraderie among individuals. This is because eating is a primal need that evokes feelings of safety and comfort. When shared with others, it reinforces the idea of social support and belongingness.

Moreover, food has always been important in social dynamics across cultures. Meals are often used as opportunities for bonding among family members, friends, or colleagues. Food brings people together and creates a sense of belonging within a community.

Food rituals have existed for centuries, from ancient religious feasts to family dinners. They are about satisfying hunger, sharing experiences, and creating memories with others.

https://bowlsunset.com/unpacking-the-significance-of-food-rituals/

Closing of the Mess Hall in Rogers Park, Chicago, IL, with the International Art Group. Created a series of salons and gatherings around food to showcase artists' projects and have across-the-table conversations. 2010

"A La Blanc" White Party, located in Bronzeville at 43rd and Calumet Ave. in Chicago, IL, aims to transform alleyways into spaces for family-friendly community engagement. This event started during the COVID-19 pandemic, and five years later, neighbors continue to gather as caretakers of their community, using food as a means of social connection.

Supper Club- How to Start Your Own

I'm proud to announce that my daughter, Jazmin Davis, has found her niche. She loves entertaining, cooking, and fellow-sipping with her friends. So she thought, "Why not open my own business?". If you are in the Baltimore area and need an event planner or want to join her for supper, give her a call, (410) 834-1534 or by email, JDEvents7@gmail.com. 

JD Events presents A Supper Club. Explore the delicacy that is Baltimore's food scene.

The first in a series of stops at local restaurants. Try local gems and hidden treasures. 

The Olive Room opens its doors for the first Supper Club gathering. Enjoy an exquisite culinary experience for $35 per person. Stay tuned for menu details

An underground restaurant, sometimes known as a supper club or closed-door restaurant, is a social dining establishment operated out of someone's home, generally (though not invariably) bypassing local zoning and health-code regulations. They are, in effect, paying for dinner parties. They are usually advertised by word of mouth or guerrilla advertising, often on Facebook, and may require references to make a reservation. An underground restaurant is also known as a GUEST restaurant, which is a hybrid between being a guest at a dinner party and a restaurant.

Underground restaurants are popular in Latin America, where they're known as either a paladar or a restaurante de puertas cerradas (closed-door restaurant). Depending on local licensing laws, they may or may not be illegal; either way, they've been built into the culture for decades, and often have higher standards than many licensed establishments.^[1] They are becoming increasingly popular in the U.S.^[2]

The attraction of the underground restaurant for the customer is the opportunity to sample new food, often at low cost outside the traditional restaurant experience,^[3] which can be expensive and disappointing—underground restaurants have been described as "anti-restaurants." They also generally provide a more intimate, dinner party-style experience. For the host, the benefit is to make some money and experiment with cooking without being required to invest in a restaurant proper. "It's literally like playing restaurant," one host told the San Francisco Chronicle, "You can create the event, and then it's over."^[4]

101 How to Organize Your Own Supper Club- Cooking Light.

Organize. Take a little time at that first meeting to agree on your club's basic structure. Will you rotate houses and have potlucks? Or will you cook all or some of each meal together? Remember to exchange contact information.

One idea is to have your first meeting on neutral ground: a restaurant or coffeehouse where you can relax together as you get to know one another. Early topics for discussion: How often to meet? Where to meet? Where will recipes come from? Talk about whether it makes sense for your group to cook together at meetings or to divvy up the work and each bring a course.

Plan to meet when you have more time to relax, such as a Friday or Saturday night. That way, you can relax and visit some. And keep in mind that anyone, regardless of skill level,l can join in the prep work.

Be flexible. All members may not make it to every gathering, so some meetings could be small, intimate affairs, while others will be bigger events. And although it's called a "supper club," consider other types of meetings, such as a Sunday brunch, a casual weekday lunch, or a weekend cocktail-and-appetizers fete. Less formal affairs may be easier to fit into some members' busy schedules.

Remember why you're there. What makes supper clubs most enjoyable is how supportive the members are of one another's cooking.

Tips from the Pros.
We checked in with long-running groups to find out their tips for starting a club.

Allow time for the group to click. It may take supper club members up to three meetings to feel really comfortable.

Keep talking. "I think communication is key, and the nature of a supper club makes it imperative that everyone has a functional e-mail," says Diana Wilder, a member of a club near Hartford, Connecticut.

Set standards. "It's important to have some nearly set-in-stone things to work around," says Wilder. "In the Hartford supper club's case, the second Tuesday of the month is meeting day, and as it approaches, people can start considering what to do."

Remember that dividends pay off. "We now all bring empty Tupperware dishes to each dinner so we can take home all the yummy leftovers," says Becky Molloy of her Cincinnati supper club.

The menu selection is a democratic process for Nicole Van Doren and her group in Annapolis, Maryland. "The host suggests three menus by e-mail, and we vote on our favorite."

Keep the overhead low, like Peggy Cawley's club in Rocky River, Ohio. "We share costs by keeping track of expenses and dividing evenly at each meeting," Peggy says. "This is less complicated than you might think and prevents any one person from absorbing too much of the cost."

Have fun with themes. Andrea Myers and her San Diego group allow the host to determine the theme. They've had French and Italian. "However, we're not limited to cultural choices. Other ideas include finger foods -where every course can be eaten with your hands -and things your mother used to make -but only if you can find a lighter version from the CL Web site, magazine, or cookbooks!"

Want to learn more about wine? Theresa Bober of Franklin, Massachusetts, and her group use their gathering to learn more about pairing wine and food. "We have all brought new wines, and I have found several new wines that I like," Theresa says. "Keeping track allows us to buy a new wine for other occasions."

Take a night off. "Our rule is that the host does not cook (unless she wants to)," says Elizabeth Fortune of Charlottesville, Virginia. "Typically, the host will provide beverages. It is enough work getting your house ready for guests without having to cook."

Thanks for the memories. Janie Vincente of Princeton, New Jersey, reports, "We take a group photo at every meal to commemorate our accomplishments. We're creating a memory book so when the year is up, we can look back and laugh at our menus, mishaps, and triumphs."

The Internet is a useful tool. "We use a website to manage the menu to make sure we have some of everything (appetizers, side dishes, dessert, and drinks)," says Alycen McAuley of San Francisco.