Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with event

How to set up an Event/RSVP system in Drupal 6.x?

nokry56 — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:42:42 -0800

I'm setting up a website for a Community Service group that I am a part of. I have Drupal 6.4 installed on my server and need something set up where we a user can add an event, and others can RSVP for that event. The RSVP module doesn't work with Drupal 6.x, so am looking for other solutions.

This is my first experience with Drupal so semi-detailed steps are appreciated.

A solution that would also allow users to sign up to bring something to the event is a plus, but the main concern is being able to create an event that other users can RSVP for, so the creator/users can see who is planning to attend.

Event listing software or service.

Unsomnambulist — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:35:53 -0800

Recommend to me event listing software or services for a website, that can list events by categories, allows user submitted listings, and is easily customizable. Bonus points if this can be easily integrated with Wordpress. I'm looking for something like LA Weekly or most major newspapers entertaiment sections use.

Cheap or free always preferred! ;)

Fun, easy and cheap ways for contestants to "buzz in" to answer quiz questions?

VeniceGlass — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:28:51 -0800

Our corporate outing next week is going to include a few trivia questions, and we need a good way for people to answer. There will be 10 teams and a captain on each team. Money's a little tight, so those cool electronic buzzers are out. I'd prefer not to suffer the chaos of shouting out answers and figuring who is quickest. So I'd like a method that's fun and accurate. Any ideas?

Inexpensive venue in NYC

GilloD — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 08:29:40 -0800

Where's a decent -- and most importantly, inexpensive -- venue for 50 exchange teachers for a four-day orientation in the NYC Metro area? I'm working with an intercultural exchange organization that requires students and teachers in certain sponsored programs to attend orientations before and after their stay in the US (from other countries).

One of the events I'm working on is for about 50 teachers from Thailand, China, and Brazil. For four days--their first 4 days of their year teaching in the US--they'll train with us in New York. Not really any time to sightsee. Just lots of training sessions and discussions.

Anyway, we're a non-profit, so we don't have a great budget to work with. In fact, this is one of our lesser-funded programs. We'd like to host the event at a college in the area, but the dates are from August 19-23, right when a lot of schools are going back into session. We can't change the dates--arrangements have already been made and tickets bought, volunteers recruited, etc. etc.

So, what's an inexpensive alternative? We don't mind going out to Newark and the Jersey suburbs, and the the first half of LI wouldn't be terrible, either. Teachers will be flying in and out of JFK, so LI might be better than Jersey, in terms of getting folks to and from the airport.

Any suggestions? We're starting to feel the lack-of-hosting-venue heat!

Thanks for any recommendations/insight you may have!

Tipping etiquette by the event planner at a catered event

sarahnade — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:07:59 -0800

Who and how much should I tip at a catered dinner event that I planned? I'm planning a dinner event for two collaborating groups. It's at a local restaurant in a separate party room, and each guest gets to choose their entree selection from a choice of 3 (seafood, chicken, vegetarian). It doesn't look like the preliminary invoice I was sent includes any tip, although it does include a 19.25% service charge, along with charges for facility rental, food, drink, and set-up of the event. There will be a bar with free wine. We're also going to give a presentation.

Who should I tip, if anyone, and how much? Should I tip each individual as I see fit, or should I try to include it in the total cost of the event? I assume there will be bartenders, servers, and at least one host, who may or may not be the catering manager. The Catering Manager, by the way, has been extremely patient with me as I have never planned an event before in my life. There might also be someone to help us set up for the presentation.

If you have any personal experience (from either side of an event like this), I would love to hear it.

Question To All Event Planners

seiryuu — Sun, 11 May 2008 16:29:26 -0800

If you are an Event Planner/Wedding Planner, how did you get to be where you are? What would you recommend to gain experience in this field?

Is an appreciation gift appropriate here?

Ruby Doomsday — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:09:11 -0800

Two parts: 1. Is it appropriate to give a gift to someone to thank them for donated services? 2. If so, what kind of gift? My organization, a nonprofit, is having a grand opening event for our new location next week. We had planned on hiring a musician (something we've had at past events) to play background music while guests mingle, eat, etc.

However, due to our small budget it didn't look like it was in the cards this time - but a co-worker talked to a musician friend of hers and has gotten her to agree to play for us at no charge. It's a lunchtime event, about an hour commitment. There will be 75 to 100 guests in attendance.

So, since we are not able to pay her (and she understands that), I was thinking we could get her some kind of appreciation gift. We give public recognition to businesses that donate money and/or raffle prizes for our events, but since this is an individual who is giving her time (and doesn't really stand to gain anything from public recognition, though she is acknowledged in our program) it feels like something else is in order.

Any thoughts on whether it's appropriate (or even expected) that we get her something, and what kind of gift to give?

Introduce an NYC artist to corporate America.

glibhamdreck — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:47:11 -0800

I'd like to send my favorite cousin to an NYC-area conference for a college graduation present. He's studied poetry, film, philosophy, economics, and media studies. He's also a musician/filmmaker/designer/artist of sorts, and his tastes are pop, political, and antagonizing--talented but occasionally perceived as hostile. He's admitted he's worried about finding gainful employment once he graduates this spring.

I'd like to get him a ticket to some sort of conference, seminar, or workshop for some Networking 101. Can you recommend any NYC-area event where he'll fit in that takes place during the next two or three months and won't cost me more than $200 or $300?

Malevolent Mazel Tov?

bluekrauss — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:06:44 -0800

Must I invite my husband's evil relatives to our son's bar mitzvah? I can only think of 2 people in this world that I truly hate- and they happen to be my husband's aunt and uncle. I actually refer to them in conversation with my husband as Uncle Bastard and his Bitch Wife. This does not insult my husband at all as he agrees with me 100%.

UB is my father-in-law's brother. He used to be an OK guy, apparently, until he married BW, an evil, shallow, materialistic witch. Over the years (they're both around 60 years old) he took on a few of his wife's characteristics. He became more asshole-y at times, though most of the time he was nice to his family, and was on good terms with them.

That all changed about 5 years ago. You see, for the past 30 years or so until then he had been working for my father-in-law. FIL provided him with a good job which included a nice house as a perk. Uncle Bastard isn't a dumb man, but without FIL he certainly couldn't have done as well for himself.

But 5 years ago FIL's company went under. He had no choice but to lay off UB. He provided UB with a very generous severance package, but it wasn't good enough for UB. Instead of realizing how lucky he had been all those years to have a brother that provided him with such a good job, he started demanding more and more money. FIL, being a nice guy and wanting to avoid a squabble, did pony up some more cash, but there was only so much he could give. This still wasn't good enough for UB. Egged on by his Bitch Wife, he harrassed FIL for months, even involving their mother in this mess- he constantly complained to a 95-year-old woman who had recently been put in a nursing home after a debilatating stroke and certainly didn't need the added stress of one son constantly badmouthing the other.

It even got to the point that UB threatened to go to the press and the courts and expose a business deal of FIL's that had skirted a few illegalities. It wasn't anything all that terrible, really, but not something FIL wanted made public.

At that point, FIL gave up trying to make nice with his asshole of a brother (which he had been doing, trying to mend fences even though UB didn't deserve it) and stopped talking to him. So did the rest of the family, who are genuinely nice people. UB and BW stopped coming to family events for a while. Maybe the pressure worked, because UB stopped asking for more money and never again mentioned going to the press.

Well, time heals most wounds, and little by little UB and BW have started ingratiating themselves back into the family. Guess they were lonely. And the family is, as I've said, very nice and little by little they've all "taken them back" and by now UB and BW come to all the family gatherings and talk to everyone like nothing happened. The family knows what they are and no one trusts them or even likes them very much, but they're just too nice to ignore these 2 evil shits anymore.

Everyone except me, that is. I can't forgive them or even bring myself to talk to them (we almost never see eachother anyway except for the odd family wedding, bar mitzvah, etc). I remember how agonized FIL was all those months while those 2 were pulling that shit. He didn't deserve any of that. But even he talks a bit with his bastard of a brother if they see eachother at family events.

My son's bar mitzvah is coming up and I don't want to send these 2 an invitation. I don't want them there, thinking I've forgiven them and that I'm OK with them and what they've done. The thought of having to greet them, kiss-kiss, etc. makes my stomach turn. My husband isn't crazy about them either (though he does say "Hi, how are you" to UB if he sees him) but says we really don't have a choice, that it will be too obvious that they weren't invited and will cause an uncomfortable situation. He even thinks his father, who was the injured party in all this, would feel uncomfortable if they weren't invited. We've actually argued about this, which kills me.

I don't think most of the family will care if they're not there. I certainly don't care if this hurts our relationship with UB and BW as we don't have a relationship anyway. I know some of you will probably say to let it go and invite them, and I'm usually the type of person to do that, but I truly hate these people and don't want them at our special day.

Can I put my foot down on this one?

Help me make my Barack Obama event successful

brandnew — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 02:54:10 -0800

So, I have twenty-some unknown Barack Obama supporters coming to my house on Sunday, and I don't know what to do. So, I had this great idea. I wanted to host an event where local Barack Obama supporters could come together to meet each other and discuss various political topics. Easy enough, I just went to Obama's web site and posted a "meet & greet" event open to all. Great idea, right?

Now, I have twenty-some random strangers planning to come to my house this Sunday evening, and I have no idea what to do! Please help me!

The session will run from 5:30 - 7:30 PM Sunday evening. I want to make this event as enjoyable and productive as possible for everyone. However, I've never hosted such an event (or any event for that matter), and I'm not sure what to expect. I'm afraid that a bunch of people will show up, stand around in silence for 15 minutes, and then leave.

What are some things that I can do to make the event most enjoyable for all? What can I prepare? Should I have literature available? Should I have snacks? Are there ice-breakers tactics that I can use to loosen people up? Any tips or tricks would be helpful...

What fun summer event in Chicago can we have with all this money?

sargento29 — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:19:04 -0800

A group of us at our company have volunteered to organize our summer event. Our office is in Chicago, and in the past we have done several things such as going to a cooking class together, sporting events, bars, bowling, cruise, etc. So now we want to do something even more fun and outrageous if possible! Any good ideas for a corporate event in Chicago? Here are some more details:
- The group is about 60 people
- We have about 6K at our disposal
- It is a summer event
- Youngish, professional group
- Need to stay in the downtown area
- Out of this world ideas are acceptable
- Volunteering is an option

All suggestions welcome!

Socially conscious arts calendars in NYC?

brokekid — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 08:31:31 -0800

Does anybody know if there is one website that aggregates all of the do-gooder/socially conscious arts happenings and events in NYC? Or if there is not one mega calendar, are there smaller ones devoted to a specific art form ie. socially conscious films, do-gooder theatre, etc...? Thanks!

Where to go in the Northwest for a wonderful anniversary?

TochterAusElysium — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 22:03:32 -0800

What should we do and where should we go to make our 15th wedding anniversary one to remember? It's in early March, and we'd like to stay in the Pacific Northwest area. We plan to take a 3-day weekend, so a bit of a drive or short flight is in order. One of the thoughts we had was to take the Clipper up to Victoria and stay at a nice hotel. What else is within a day of Seattle that would be romantic and wonderful in March?

looking for texas wedding venue

madmamasmith — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 07:35:37 -0800

I live in Austin Texas and just got engaged. I am trying to find a venue that offers an outdoor ceremony site and an indoor or covered reception area. My budget is no more than 2,000 dollars. Our ideal setting offers seating for 80 people, allows us to bring in our own vendors and use decorations. I would also like something that either offers camping, cabins or is close to lodgings. We really want a country or hill country setting and recently I thought how cool it would be to have it in an old train depot or church or even abandoned old building with great architecture. There are alot of places listed online, but I am looking for something more unique, less fancy, less run of the mill. Does anyone have any ideas about cool buildings or locations that might be open to hosting a small wedding???Or know of any state parks with cool event halls? Thanks!

NYC Location for Hip Young Woman's Celebration Needed!

citystalk — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 10:42:07 -0800

NYC Location for Hip Young Woman's Celebration Needed! Help me find the perfect place! A super exciting moment in my BFF's life is happening in the winter, revolving around her career taking a mega leap. I want to throw her a 50-60 person party at a location that represents her - a wacky, loveable, beautiful, brilliant, accomplished feminist in her late 20s. The people who come will be anywhere from 16-30, so not-so-adult, quirky locations wanted (except the ultra played out Dylan's Candy Bar, lol...but along those lines) that will look good on an invite and will be an enjoyable experience, too. Interactive experiences a plus but not a must - there will be lots of high heels, more than likely, but also a lot of sporty women! Doesn't have to be a restaurant, can be a shop, an arcade, a quirky store, a bar...wherever celebration, "girlie" and fun can be one!

How to find out about art shows in San Francisco?

boygirlparty — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 18:05:44 -0800

Where are the best places/sites/calendars/listings/oracles to find out about art shows in San Francisco? I'm an out of town painter heading up to San Francisco next week for my first SF solo art show! I know the gallery has a presence in the city, but just wanted to make sure I did all I could to properly list my art show in SF.

I've already contacted or listed on SFist, Upcoming.org, going.com, craigslist, the squid list, about.com, funcheap.com, juxtapoz, fecal face, myspace,...

Any other recommendations?
Feeling kinda helpless and last minutey and nervous.

Open Source Event Management Software?

breaks the guidelines? — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 06:54:57 -0800

Are there any good, open source event management software packages available? Specifically, I’m looking for attendee registration capabilities; other event management features are a plus. PHP and MySQL are preferred.

Brilliant recurring calendar events?

electric_counterpoint — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 08:44:40 -0800

What brilliant recurring events have you set up on your calendar app? So I was thinking, as my reminder went off a few days ago signaling that it was time to recalibrate my Macbook's battery, that there are probably a lot of little "life maintenance" things I should be remembering to do on a regular schedule. Immediately, I set to compiling a list of important things that I wouldn't normally think/remember to do, but that would Enrich My Life in some way.

I got one item — "Replace alarm clock battery every year" — down before I decided to just decided to ask MeFi instead.

So? The lifehack-ier the better!

Conferences for Dummies

divabat — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 03:08:48 -0800

How do you organize a conference? I've heard that the first thing you need to do is to work out a venue. Then what? How do you work out the programming? Do you contact people you're interested first, see who's available, and then schedule the programming around them, or do you just schedule everything first and then see if they're feasible? What hidden costs are there that may not be totally obvious (security, food, first aid, transport, advertising, insurance, materials, licenses...)? Do you write up a proposal first, and then ask for advice, or vice versa? How long before do you start planning? What resources are good?

There doesn't seem to be a Conferences for Dummies book, and for some reason my uni Events & Festivals class doesn't seem to give me enough information. I've downloaded guide after guide but it still feels like I'm missing something - essentially how do I get past the idea stage into action. Where else can I go?

Get Paid To Attend Workshops

divabat — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 20:34:08 -0800

Is there a job that will pay me to attend workshops and conferences? Where can I find such a job? I'm a young person and I LOVE going to different workshops and conferences. I just came back from one in Sydney and I'm going to a UN Youth Assembly event in New York next week. I love anything to do with young people, social change, culture, and travel, and I have had many great experiences with these sorts of things in the past few years.

The main issue, though, is money. Some of these events are all-expenses-paid (the Sydney one even covered flights AND gave a $50 honorarium) but most of them cost quite a bit of money, especially on flights. Right now I'm studying in uni, so getting a job that allows me for time to travel is a bit tricky, especially since I have to maintain a certain level of attendance for visa purposes (I'm an international student). I try to find ones that are near to me and those I can afford, but the best ones are often far far away.

Another main issue is visas. Being on a Bangladeshi passport makes it a pain in the arse to get visas. The embassies' main concern is money - can I afford to pay for this? So far I've managed to be sponsored by my parents, but I really don't want to depend on them for money. Saying "I'll work out the money when I get there" doesn't instill confidence though.

So I figured that the best way to sort both issues out is to get a job or go into careers that involve workshops and conferences. What can I do and how do I get such an awesome job? I'm not particularly academic so I don't want to be a professor or Ph.D. or whatever, but I'm open to attending academic conferences if possible. Is there some sort of magazine that reviews conferences and sends people out, much like travel writing? How else can I get sponsored/funded/paid to attend workshops?

I'm also open to facilitating workshops and such, and the workshop-attendance doesn't have to be the core component of the job though I'd like enough flexibility to travel whenever I choose. Volunteering is an option, but money would be the main issue then. If there was some sort of "angel investor" who would sponsor me for a few years, or maybe a company that would sponsor me the same way some companies sponsors athletes, great - though I don't know how they'll get any benefit from sponsoring me.

Any ideas?

Test harness for SNMP traps?

kaydo — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 17:13:18 -0800

Is there a freeware or light weight tool (e.g. perl script) we can use to show us that the SNMP traps are received successfully? I'm implementing IBM Tivoli Omegamon XE for Messages within a Windows 2003 environment. One of our challenges is to integrate with other monitoring tools already within the environment, we've chosen to send SNMP traps. While we appear to be sending these traps successfully, the consuming application isn't quite ready to receive them (i.e. they havent installed it yet).

Is there a freeware or light weight tool (e.g. perl script) we can use to show us that the SNMP traps are received successfully?

I'm already investigating Net-SNMP (ref: sourceforge), but I was looking for recommendations. This is quite a restricted environment, so I'd prefer not to try to introduce new tools, but scripts etc are a-ok.

How do I quickly clean broken eggs off of grass?

Jenna Roadman — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 14:26:03 -0800

What is the best method for cleaning broken eggs off of grass during an event? This must be done in a timely manner over a fairly large area, with the help of 4 people. I am planning an outdoor event with a potential of 100 broken eggs on the ground after an egg toss event. The area used is too large for a tarp, and I must get the glass clean soon after the event. I 'll encourage people to clean up after themselves, but who knows how far that will go.

Where can I find potted flowers for a wedding in October in LA?

odinsdream — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 16:41:58 -0800

Where can I get potted daisies, chrysanthemums, &c for a 150+ wedding in October, in Los Angeles? I'm searching for flowers for our wedding in October and would like to avoid getting cut flowers as we plan on giving them to our guests as favors. We're also going for a low environmental impact. Please share any resources for this kind of thing in or around Los Angeles.

We're comfortable doing work ourselves to make them presentable (i.e., we don't need a florist, per say) if wholesale in plastic pots is the best option.

Event Liability Insurance Recommendations

curse — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 13:08:48 -0800

Wedding liability insurance. We're hosting a ceremony at a local school, and they require liability insurance for the day of the event at $100K. When I look online, it seems like some insurance companies will offer a one day policy option add-on for around $50 -- unfortunately my insurance company (Allstate) doesn't seem to offer that option. I've seen companies like Wedsafe mentioned tangentially in other questions, and it looks like their offering is $1,000,000 in coverage for about $195. There seems to be a ton of people offering this kind of insurance online, though, so I was wondering if anyone has had experience working with one of these companies, and if there might be a better deal out there, perhaps customized to the actual liability amount I need.

Need to create an online event registration system

strangeleftydoublethink — Tue, 29 May 2007 14:48:09 -0800

I'm looking for online event registration/management tools. Can be hosted or an app that I can use on my own server (prefer the latter). Should allow for easy registration form building, tie it to secure payment system, and be easy to export data for printing name tags and other such event tasks.