The Selkirk Gala 2011

Selkirk College Gala and live auction is one of the most important events of the year at Selkirk College, raising a large amount of funds for our college programs.With approximately 200 people in attendance it was an evening of fabulous food, student and attendee interaction, a tremendous amount of generous donations for the live and silent auctions and entertainment.

This year I was part of the team to organise this event, an event that went very sucessfully and we thoroughly enjoyed being a part of. 

Event Preparations

Long before the event began we had lots of responsibilities:

• Decorations  - One of the most important visual parts of the whole event, to set the whole style of the room. We chose classy and elegant ceiling lanterns with flickering and static battery operated tea lights to create a warm glow. Our centre pieces were deco artsy and spherical to match the circular lanterns, along with fresh flowers. Our table numbers were classically decorated to match the overall theme. These were all sourced/created prior to the event.

 

• Creating the auction - Auction items were generously donated from regular donors along with contributions from a number of student summer placement establishments. Our instructor took over the logistics of the auction but I created the visual aids for the live and silent auctions that would be displayed on the overhead projectors. During the live auction the packages would be displayed with images, package details and donor information and during the rest of the evening the silent auction repeated all the items until they expired. 

 

• Creating the floor plan - I used MeetingMatrix to create floor plans of Mary Hall, that way at set up we could hand the floor plans to our larger team for them to follow. 
• Assigning tasks and roles to the team - I assigned roles and duties for set-up and during the event for 4 managers (ourselves) along with approximately 20 staff required. Prior to set-up I had broken down everyone into three teams, one for decor, one for table set-up, one for auction set up. As soon as everyone arrived they knew what they were doing and set-up happened quite quickly.
  For service I made three serving teams with team captains, a bar team and a raffle/auction team. 
• Event night! - All preparations complete it was time for the event. The event opened with a reception upstairs from the function room with passed canapes, champagne and student booths showcasing the talents and work from various courses from the college.
  Once the guests flowed down to the large hall they were submersed into the evening of entertainment, auction and great food.
• I was in control of expediting food from the kitchen, with 24 tables with 8 - 10 people at each one. It was upto the serving team captains to find out about allergies and special requests prior to service. I had to ensure the correct items and correct number of meals went to each table. So calling over 600 plates from the kitchen was a challenging job, but great experience. 

 

• The event also involved music provided by students of the music program and dancers that were organized and paid for by the college.

Overall, it was a great experience. I would not hesitate to do this again and I am so glad we got to help organize this event.