Everybody needs a visit from their muse once in awhile. If you’re looking for some fresh thoughts for great event ideas, get inspired with these award-winning events, recently honored with Gala Awards at this month’s Special Event conference in Atlanta.

Best Event Marketing Campaign
The Lundquist Co., Sacramento, CA

To draw media attention to its commitment to its historic roots, the City of Rancho Cordova, Calif., staged a New Orleans jazz funeral-style parade at the re-dedication of a 133-year-old cemetery. The event team made savvy use of the media to locate descendants of those buried in the cemetery and staged a ceremony honoring the deceased. The event drew five times the number of guests originally expected while maintaining a balance of celebration and decorum.

Best Theme Decor: Total Decor Budget $20,000 To $50,000
AOO Events, Los Angeles, CA

A financial services company bid “aloha” to a conference in Hawaii with a final night dinner honoring legendary fire goddess Pele. The outdoor “Lava Lounge,” featuring an island bar big enough to accommodate eight bartenders, glowed beneath suspended flame pots and masses of yellow and red jamestory orchids. Custom red leather banquettes and distressed brown leather ottomans allowed guests to recline while watching the performances set against a lava rock stage glowing with moving fire projections.

Best Invitation
BBDO Detroit, Troy, MI. and Chrysler, Auburn Hills, MI.

“Camp Jeep” enticed targeted Jeep owners with a tin case invitation to an owner loyalty event in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. The case included a pocket guide to the event and illustrated cards with humorous camping scenarios, such as how to make “radiator burgers.” More than 10,000 participants gathered to celebrate the Jeep lifestyle.

Best Event Produced For A Nonprofit Organization Or Association
The Webster Group, Washington, DC

AirForce Memorial Dedication by The Webster Group

The Air Force Memorial Dedication took place in October with 40,000 participants, including U.S. President George W. Bush, to honor the millions of men and women who have served in the Air Force. The memorial took more than 15 years to design, fund and build, and the Air Force celebrated its reveal with the three-day event. Activities and entertainment included an air show featuring the Thunderbirds, displays of the latest helicopters, fireworks and the U.S. Air Force Band’s Singing Sergeants.

Best Multiple-Day Event Program For A Corporation Or Association
Circ Corporate Experience, Wiesbaden, Germany, And Wizcraft International, Mumbai, India

The “Volkswagen Mumbai Cross Culture Experience” brought 30 future top Volkswagen executives to India for five days to learn about one of the company’s future key markets. Instead of seminars, Circ immersed participants in Indian culture with a no-frills approach. Participants visited the Kamla Mehta School for the Blind; the dabbawalas, who deliver thousands of meals a day with no IT system; and Lijjad Papad, a cooperative of more than 40 million women responsible for baking all the bread for India.

Best Event Produced For A Private Individual: Budget Under $1,000 Per Guest
A Joy Wallace Catering Production & Design Team, Miami, FL

“MaxStock” celebrated the bar mitzvah boy’s love for classic rock of the ’60s and ’70s. To stay true to the theme, Joy Wallace produced the event like a concert: Tour buses transported guests from ceremony to reception, “state troopers” directed cars and buses to the parking area, and a 10-by-10-foot mosaic of rock ‘n’ roll posters welcomed guests. Everyone was welcome to music festival standards such as chicken fingers and sliders; parents dined in the “green room” on upscale fare such as beef tenderloin and root vegetable salad.

Best Event Produced For A Corporation: Overall Budget $250,000 To $500,000
The Event Co./The Companies, Munich, Germany

Turning away from motivational speeches, two companies that had recently merged used dramatic symbolism to show unity. The 350 employees of the new firm entered a gallery to find an astonishing array made up of each person’s portrait; they then hung the portraits as directed on a wall to spell out the new entity’s name. The group dined at three long tables to signify the company “family.”

Best New, Innovative Event Product/Technology
Get Flipped, Orange, CA

In order to provide a unique party favor for a bat mitzvah, Get Flipped created the Flip Strip. Guests posed for four pictures, which were then morphed into two animated pictures. The bottom cell of the strip featured the honoree’s name, the date and a horse jumping over a fence to match the bat mitzvah’s horsey theme.

To view the complete award list, visit the Special Event site.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!