Best of San Francisco Magazine Event was a Hit!
SAN FRANCISCO MAGAZINE EVENT
We were thrilled to once again get the call from Modern Luxury with the ask to produce 2019’s Best of San Francisco Magazine event, after blowing it out of the water last summer. Understanding a lot of the intricacies of the event from producing it last year meant we felt well-equipped to dive-in this year, which was important as we had only two months to bring the whole event to life!
The magazine once again partnered with NonPlus Ultra and we hosted the event at their newest facility, SVN West, a former car dealership, located at the intersection of Van Ness and Market. If you live in the city, we don’t have to tell you about all of the congestion the roadwork on Van Ness is causing, which will come into play on the event day. The venue also had an interesting peculiarity in that they have no elevators. All equipment and materials have to be pushed up a series of ramps with low ceilings or brought in by hand. There was also the option of a staircase which was a physical challenge, especially with heavier items.
After securing the venue, we set to work designing the event which was occurring in both the main ballroom and rooftop space. San Francisco Magazine is fortunate to have amazing sponsors. Figuring out how to design the floor plan while meeting each sponsor’s needs was hard work! We were able to delineate a VIP area inside the ballroom using hedging from our rental partner, Hensley Event Resources, and upped the VIP experience by adding an aerialist on a trapeze, and a magnificent sway pole performer who partnered with Celebrity Cruises, who also features sway poles on their ships!
On event day, our unbelievably talented A/V team, JL Imagination, were the first to arrive, and our lead producer, Karen, was woken up by a phone call from the owner, informing her that all of 12th Street which we had permitted for load in vehicles, was filled with construction cranes and lifts. This set off a series of early morning phone calls where we learned that city construction trumps any permits granted. Luckily, because of their location, the NPU owners have a good relationship with the construction company and were able to ask them to relocate their equipment, while we also tried to clear the opposite side of the street. By noon, we were back in business, minutes before the rental and decor trucks arrived.
One thousand guests attended the event and were treated to food by about 20 restaurant partners and drinks from ten wineries, multiple cocktail partners and some of Tenth and Blake’s beer brands, as well as amazing music from our band, The Party Starters, and a surprise Beach Blanket Babylon performance.
We’re so proud of our partnership with Modern Luxury and the events we’ve hosted with them, and we look forward to more to come!