Expand It! Events Surrounding the Party

Lou posted a comment after the article Should I Be the One to Organize the Reunion? about all the fun activities he planned for the entire reunion weekend I agree. Why limit the reunion to four hours on a Saturday night? Make an entire weekend of it, making it especially worthwhile for those who have traveled a great distance and may be staying in the hotel.

Here are some ideas to extend the festivities:

1. A Friday night pre-party bash. It could be simply drinks at the hotel lounge or a pot-luck picnic at a local picnic grove. Perhaps you'll want to get together at a local hangout of 'yore. Create a simple "pay as you go" experience for those who wish to attend. No reservations. No money collected in advance. Keep it simple and have fun.

2. Saturday morning. Be creative. Plan a golf outing, a hike, a basketball pickup game at the courts, a brunch, a trip to the zoo or a botanical garden. Small groups can assemble for inexpensive get-togethers. Find creative, inexpensive ways to share time together.

3. Saturday afternoon. Schedule a tour of your old high school. You'll need to make arrangements to have a tour guide - someone with a key and permission to get you in. This is a great way to reminisce.

4. Saturday night - the big event. We all know what that's about.

5. Sunday morning - a low key get-together. Consider a nice brunch in the hotel or a place nearby. That would be a nice way to compare notes about the big party before sending people off on their way till the next reunion.

I'm sure you'll have many other ideas to share. Please let us know.

Comments

Lou Fink said…
Well, first off................" I " didn't do the extended party weekend stuff. " WE, "our committee did. I will tell you a few things in this regard. Your readers may be " very close" to their fateful upcoming event, but I'm sure they still have undecided folk out there. I attribute our huge response in attendees to that full schedule of stuff we offered. So, I'd consider making a couple of quick plans [ I'm happy to give you our details and template ] and announce those other opportunities to get together. I'll bet it will stir some " yes responses " from late fence sitters.

The Friday night deal and the Sunday brunch were a piece of cake to get done. The high school tour was a bit more in the planing to pull off.

Secondly, though all suggestions you've shown are good and fun, if you want ease of participation, the more you plan at the hotel proper, the more numbers I think you'll achieve. Remember, you've got a lot of travel-weary people who barely remember where their home town is, let alone trying to get them all to a certain ball field or picnic ground after they flew half of yesterday. And..........they're OLD !! (or at least some of them are.) This was all part of our thought process, which worked quite well. Our hotel was very accommodating in helping us spend money, so the more "add-ons" to the weekend, the better in their eyes.

Let me know if I can be of any assistance and best of luck to you all !!

Lou Fink
July 23, 2009 at 10:37 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Check-In Table at the Reunion

Don't forget to properly manage the reunion check-in table. It is very easy to overlook this important aspect. It is also very easy to understaff it, and the reason is simple. Nobody wants to "work" at the reunion. Who can blame them? They've waited all these years to see everyone, and don't want to be stuck at the table. There are a few remedies for this - all of them must be managed by one responsible person on your team. Find a person who would be happy to build a team of classmates who will greet people at the door and sign them in. This person must also establish and supervise the check-in process for at least the first hour and collect the money from people who pay at the door. Believe it or not, this job is very important. The check-in table, it is the first impression that your reunion guests will have and if the first impression is total chaos. That is not a good thing. Depending on how many guests there are, I've recommended two long tables
Read more

How Do I Find My Classmates?

Put on your Sherlock Holmes hat and sit down at your computer. You are about to become one of the best detectives ever! 1. Start with your yearbook. Look up the person who is lost and find out how they spell their name. Is there a middle name or initial? Full spelling is key to your success. 2. Start with boys' names because odds are they haven't changed their names over the years. Then try the girls' names. 3. Get referrals. When you find someone ALWAYS ask them who they are in touch with and get their friends' contact information. 4. Go to http://www.classmates.com/ to see if any of them are registered there. You will find that many of them are. You should also check for siblings who graduated before or after you to track lost classmates. 5. Go to http://www.google.com/ and type in the lost classmate's name. Some of them will have done noteworthy things and will be trackable. 6. Try http://www.whitepages.com/ People with odd or unusual names will be easiest to
Read more

Should I Be the One to Organize the Reunion?

Well, if not you, who else? I'm just saying, if the thought crossed your mind, then probably you're the one! But before you jump on board, be sure you can say "yes" to the following questions. 1. Are you sincerely interested in your classmates? Not that you have to communicate in detail with every last one of them, but are you interested in seeing them connect with each other? 2. Do you have an office at your disposal with a computer, access to the internet, knowledge to use it, fax, copier, and (ideally free) phone. These are all indispensible to being the point person. 3. Do you have an ability to delegate? You need to set up lines of communication and systems so that you understand how they work, and then teach others to do them, so things run smoothly. You do not have to do everything yourself - nor should you. 4. Are you organized? I am managing five teams of people: the search for lost classmates committee, the database team, the location finding team, the p
Read more