Club Cabaret In Review

All photos by Andie Petkus Photography... click to see more photos.

Congratulations to The Northwest Academy on a great event February 27th. This year the organization made the bold choice to expand their event to allow for increased growth in head count. It was a bold move in a tight economy but one that was effective.

Their silent auction moved to the Sunken Ballroom at the Portland Art Museum where guests gathered for drinks, light bites, and lots of auction bidding. The theme was a 1930s super club set in Argentina. Guests came ready to Tango.




During the silent auction middle school students shined shoes and tapped their way through the room to the delight of many guests.

Gaucho stilt walkers roamed the room selling Wild Card Raffle tickets and doubled the raffle income from years past.

The wine wall was a huge success with over 130 great bottles of wine to select from.

By 7PM guests were ready for dinner and headed upstairs to the Grand Ballroom where music was playing and student ambassadors were greeting guests upon their arrival.













Vibrant Table served a fantastic Chicken Chimichuri that fit the theme of the evening.

Live auction bidding was fast and furious with three exciting additions to the auction this year. Big hits were:

1. Oprah Package - 4 tickets to a taping and hotel stay in Chicago.
2. Vocation Vacation Broadway Director Experience - with airfare and hotel to New York.
3. A Twilight Fashion Show - at the home used in the film as Edward's home, folks purchased tickets to attend a Twilight themed party and fashion show.

At the end of the Auction Karen & Skip Freedman were honored by board member Michael McCulloch with the Arlene Schnitzer Award for support in arts and education.

Then with a sputtering airplane crashing down in the jungle, the Northwest Academy Tango Cabaret entered for a show following the tango team through the jungles of Argentina in search of Carlitos, the King of Tango. Alison Irvine performed a beautiful love ballad with violinist Ardon Lee, and Noah Goldenberg and Kelsey Chapman Sutton were fantastic as the star crossed lovers.










The evening wrapped up with Tango lessons by Eric Zimmer and Erin Shannon. It was a fun event filled with lots of entertainment and passion for the school while raising funds for scholarships.

Congratulations to all the committee members on a great event and special thanks to Smart Tech AV & Vibrant Table on all of your support.

A a big special thanks to Karen O'Rourke & Kari Lackstrom for their committee vision and leadership!

If you missed the event but would like to make a gift to the scholarship fund at Northwest Academy... Click Here!

Event Solutions Magazine Talks To Us About Seating

Choosing the Right Seating
By Terah Shelton
Event Solutions Magazine

Have you ever paid close attention to where your attendees decide to sit at your meetings? Did you know seating configurations dictate the flow of your audience, the sociability of the event and the overall experience for the attendees? Unfortunately, most event planners leave seating arrangements and layouts up to chance, but where your attendees sit can influence the effectiveness of a meeting or event.

According to Paul Radde, author of Seating Matters, when you bring people from across the country and sit them in simple straight rows so that they can’t see each other, they get none of the value of non-verbal communication and it restricts and limits networking. “When you consider a great deal of seating at meetings is done in straight rows—which totally blocks the ability to see and be present to and other people—the last step in meeting execution is missing,” he says. “In certain respects, they would have seen more of the person if they were on a video seminar or webinar.”

Proper seating will and can enable successful event energy flow, says Eddie Diaz, owner and executive event producer for Encore Creations. “The placement of conversation areas, dining experiences and spectator’s arrangements will help with any event return on the objective and investment,” he says. “An event is an orchestrated experience with specific objectives. Knowing what you want out of the event can help with the selection of seating and placement.”

When considering seating for events, Samantha Swaim, a fundraising and event consultant, advises event planners to think about the two biggest elements you are trying to control with guest seating: program and sociability. “What configuration will best strike the balance of guests’ comfort and fun while also allowing for the focus and attention on program elements?”

Diaz suggests event planners ask questions and know exactly what they want their guests to feel and experience. “What is the objective of the meeting, event, party and so on?” he says. “Based on the answer, you can creatively and successfully design a seating plan that pushes the client’s desires to the edge and achieves the intended results.”

Moulin BRO
When Samantha Swaim was put in charge of the Moulin BRO, a Moulin Rouge-themed gala and auction in October 2007, she knew it would be a challenge. “Moulin BRO was a fundraising gala and auction for a political organization called Basic Rights Oregon. Because so many attendees in the audience are community leaders, business leaders and politicians, the audience is very engaged in networking and connecting to each other during the event,” she says. “This can be a challenge because the goal of the event is to focus guests on the mission of the organization and raise money for the cause.”

Her challenge was how to meet the needs of her audience of 700 people, getting them to socialize and to focus their attention on bidding. She decided to break the event into two sections and provide a unique seating arrangement. “First, we had an hour dedicated to socializing, A standing cocktail party with no seating allowed for guests to move freely among each other, talk, connect and network,” she says. “If there is limited seating and lots of activities, then you are forcing your audience to engage in the activities. This is great when you have a silent auction, a carnival, a casino, a cocktail reception. It forces people to connect and socialize.”

Next, she moved the audience into a ballroom with formal seating but kept the arrangement loose by seating guests at 8-foot-long tables. Swain typically uses 72-inch rounds that only allow guests the opportunity to talk to the person on their right or their left. This configuration gave them the opportunity to connect attendees to five other people within arm’s length, while keeping their focus toward the stage. “It eliminated the usual problem of half your audience having to crane around to see the program and gave guests more opportunity to connect,” she said. “The result was that the event felt like a huge celebration because people had so much fun connecting to each other.”

Read the rest of the article at EVENT SOLUTIONS

Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp - Passport Around the World

Mission Statement: The Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp provides excellence in outdoor experiences to individuals with disabilities, educational opportunities for students pursuing human service careers and facilitates personal growth and inclusion of all participants.

Vision Statement: We aspire to continue our tradition of excellent programming and opportunities for personal growth in a fun, caring and supportive environment; to expand our programming, research and training opportunities and base of community support; and to build improved facilities, richer partnerships and long-term financial security for our organization.

Support MHKC Today!

Oregon Partnership Celebrates - Night at the Museum

Oregon Partnership exists to end substance abuse and suicide.

Oregon Partnerships Annual Gala FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2010 Portland Art Museum 5:30PM For more information contact: Barbara Caplan 971-244-1373 . bcaplan@orpartnership.org

Northwest Academy's Club Cabaret - February 27th

The Northwest Academy's Club Cabaret
Coming on February 27th

Come out to support The Northwest Academy's Scholarship fund and enjoy a silent auction filled with art, wine, and fabulous packages. Students and parents will come together to entertain you and give you a flair for the taste of Buenos Aires.

Then enjoy the Argentinian sounds of Tango Cabaret and the NWA Tango band. Dinner service provided by Vibrant Table, wine provided by Ponzi Vineyards and a live auction led by auctioneer Johnna Wells. Get ready to bid on trips around the globe, including an opportunity to enjoy a week in a private hillside retreat in Yelapa Mexico. A short boat ride from Puerto Vallarta the Yelapa retreat is an amazing beach oasis.

Then sit back and enjoy the Tango Cabaret floor show. Staring the talents of NWA students and staff you will go on a journey through Argentina in search of the greatest tango club of all time. This year's show is written by Red Door Film's David Poulshock and directed by actor, writer, director Wade McCollum.

So break out your vintage tango wear and get your dancing shoes on... you won't want to miss this event!

Buy your tickets today at www.clubcabaretnwa.com