tranquilosophy: 15 mos o' effort

 pig chalkboard from provence + heaps of pink gerbers filled the room

 moi + le beau taking a breather before the doors opened

 our amazing volunteers

 cutest table ever

moi snapping pic of victoria's book table

 moi, gena of choosing raw + victoria moran

last night was the long anticipated fête i was asked to host for pigs animal sanctuary in july 2011. naturally i was over the moon (i mean, anything for walter) to make the festivities happen and here's an idea of what goes into an event like this:

one year out

set date

secure speaker

secure venue

had 20th anniversary + i heart pigs logo created

secure entertainment (we had a piano player)

4 months out

creation of promo postcards

secure speaker lodging and travel

2 months out

 set up facebook invite

secure guest gift (we did lavender-scented locally made pig soaps)

secure volunteers (greeters, sales, floaters, etc.)

 reach out to many amazing individuals for silent auction donations

secure photographer

2 weeks out

set up online silent auction and promote heavily online

stamp + hand write a thank you on tags to tie around guest gifts

order flowers for the event

ongoing

promotion via social media

distribution of promo postcards

coordinate with speaker

communication with board

day of

create ambiance (flowers, music, signs)

set up square + paper system for credit card processing

volunteer orientation

create in person silent auction signs and bid sheets

prep and finalize speech

 haul heaps of items to event (books, tees, signs, gifts, auction items, flowers, vases)

finalize bill with venue

play hostess

 after event

heaps of bookkeeping: tally up ticket sales, product sales, in person and online auction sales

mail online auction wins

write and mail thank yous to silent auction donors

update board on event

distribute photos

pay final bills

whew! this was one of my biggest events to do solo and if it wasn't for the lovely marie champagne (bonjour best last name ever), it couldn't have happened. this morning i feel blessed, exhausted, and so very honored for the 40ish people who showed last night to support pigs and to the many (including mama wilson) who bid on the great online auction items. merci for assisting moi on this journey of causing less suffering and more compassion.

bisous. x