ORT Party Planning Showcase

I spent a good part of the day on Sunday walking around at the ORT Showcase and got to speak to some terrific vendors about trends in Mitzvah planning:

DanceJock Productions - Owner Scott Neglia (pictured above) told me about a trend he's been seeing. The "club look" is very big. He is able to transform the simplest rooms using LED lighting decor (as seen in the background of the photo above). People are going for simple understated looks and lighting can do a lot for a room. Great tip Scott!

I chatted with Evan and Bonnie from The Active Edge Clothing Company who told me he's doing a lot of straight-leg sweat pants and is still seeing a lot of tie-dye. He believes once your party is over there are only three things left: your photos, memories and the favors. Good point!

Lori Bellan from NY Lounge Decor had a cool looking set-up. She says, "Our inspiration is our very own New York City, where you will find some of the trendiest and classiest lounges that are imitated nationwide."

This past weekend, I attended our friend's son's Bar Mitzvah. Harry Kaye had his Bar Mitzvah at the North Ritz. It was a fun party and their DJ was Howie from Party Harty. As my friends know, people just don't remember me, but Howie immediately recognized me from the day before. I was impressed! His colleague Stephanie was showing me something brand new: their TV Truss. They are multi-colored LCD screens and they recommend using up to 4 for your party. Not only can your zap photos play on these cool looking trusses, but the kids can play WII and other video games. Talk about multi-functional!

Shira Younger was from Image Maker/Aarrow Promotions. They have designer inspired designs for sweatshirts, T-shirts etc. According to Shira, "Simple doesn't cut it anymore; kids don't want their favors to look like anything you can find at the mall." This fashion-forward company can even put personalized "thank you's" on the inside of the kids favors. Does that mean less thank you's for your child to write out by hand?! Their other very cool "thank you" alternative was a special ring tone card. What will they think of next?!

Jeff Yahney was there wearing his signature coat. He's been working at a variety of camps since 1991 and has a very warm way of dealing with kids. He represents the Northeast original Dance Head machines and had a long line of kids waiting to try it out!

Steven Dalsimer from Dalsimer Florist and I have a mutual friend and it was nice to finally meet him in person. His services include floral decor, atmospheric lighting, fine linens, custom theme decor, balloon sculpture and professional on-site supervision.

Double G Productions has a team of event planning specialists who provide a complete spectrum of services to fulfill all entertainment and party needs including photograhy, videography, theme/floral decor, extra entertainment and a party room for up to 150 guests. (I've been to their party room and thought it was great!).

Andrea from Calligraphy & Invitations Plus had a busy booth - she was so busy I wasn't able to stop by and say hello! She is one-stop shopping for all your printing needs for any special occasion. We featured her in our newsletter on January 12, 2009.

It's always great to see Ed Jacobs EJ The DJ. I loved his comment which sums up the day...."You can get married a few times, but you only have one Mitzvah!" he tells me. "Parents are being smarter shoppers, but don't want to miss out on giving their kids a special day." Well said!

Thanks to Sandy Aranoff and Debbie Bernstein for allowing MitzvahMarket.com complete access to the ORT Party Showcase. The next ORT Party Planning Showcase dates are:

Sunday, November 8, 2009, at the Huntington Hilton and Sunday, March 14, 2010, at the LI Marriott, Uniondale. Mark your calendars!

We will be attending another showcase on March 29, 2009. The Celebrate! Party Showcase will be held at the Hyatt Regency in Greenwich, Connecticut. We hope to see you there!