Blog

  Planning and hosting events in Anchorage and throughout Alaska can present a unique set of challenges that planners and hosts need to be aware of. For starters - the state is huge and things are really spread out. Because of the remote location of the state, as...

  As an event attendee, the most common measure of success is - “OMG, that event was so fun!” And as an event planner, that is hands down the best response to ever receive from an attendee. But truth be told, there are dozens more details used to track success...

  In today's post-covid world, many people are more commonly seeking out healthy options and maintaining a work-life balance, while still pursuing their professional goals. This has led to a growing interest in wellness-centered events that focus on mindfulness,...

  With Summer just around the corner, companies and organizations statewide are ready to capitalize on our limited window of beautiful weather. Summer is the perfect time for a company bbq, employee picnic, or community arts festival. And because everyone wants...

  Anchorage is not only an important center for tourism but also serves as the gateway to some of the most breathtaking scenic drives in the world. The city is tucked between the Chugach Mountains and Turnagain Arm, which provides a perfect backdrop for exploring...

Wow! What an incredible last few weeks it has been, with the Toast of the Town team producing an incredible stretch of events and conferences around town.  But hands down one of the most exciting of them all has been the 2023 Arctic Encounter Symposium.  This event...

  Hybrid conferences and events are now more normal than ever, and often an expected option for event attendees. But planners should make sure to not cut corners on hybrid or virtual event production, and make sure to properly invest in your AV tech to ensure a...

  Conferences are incomplete without breakout sessions, and as a planner, it is crucial to make these sessions impactful for your attendees. Participation from attendees is imperative, and creating opportunities for them to share their experiences or ask...

  While pretty much doing ANYTHING during the Summer months in Alaska is exceptional, there are still a few must do's that locals and visitors alike clamor for any time the sun comes out. Here are a few of our top picks:   OUTDOORS Mountain Biking at Alyeska...

  While the last few years have certainly been challenging in the world of live events, event planners and attendees have adapted and continued to flourish. The remarkable ingenuity and resilience of organizations and planners has proved significant results with...

  Whether you are looking for inspiration for your conference closing reception, or something unique and creative to impress your gala guests, food & beverage is an important part of the overall guest experience. Make sure your next event is memorable and...

  Events and communities are a hot topic for 2023, and event attendees are putting a high value in face to face connection with a whole new set of expectations on accessibility. Quite possibly as a result of the pandemic, people have grown to expect digital...

DOWNLOAD NOW       To read the full report Download NOW  

Grand Entrances Guests are enthusiastic to be returning to large in-person events, so make sure to greet and welcome them with that same energy, by designing grand, over-the-top entrance experiences. Color and light galore made possible with creative uses of many...

  Live events are surging back, experiencing fantastic and record registration numbers as people are eager to get back to shaking hands, socializing, and enjoying the interaction of an in-person event. As event planners, we have been experiencing this since...

  Whether your love is fresh like a spring dew, fleeting like an allegro jazz piano, or mature like a fine wine, it is always worth celebrating. Nice romantic meals, an exciting performance, enlightening art displays, or whimsical outdoor fun make for great date...

  With Lunar New Year (LNY), otherwise known as Chinese New Year, coming up on January 22nd, we decided to put together a quick how-to for planning a fun LNY event. The Chinese New Year is based on the lunar calendar and each year is represented by one of the 12...

2022, What a Year! 2022, what a year!  Like many of you, I can hardly believe it’s come and gone and all that happened in between. This year was a whirlwind of returning events that came back bigger and better from their long slumber and flood of new events that...

Fun New Years’ Eve Trraditions from All Around the World  Be more active. Eat less junk food. Spend more time reading books and less time on social media. These are some popular modern-day New Year resolutions, but where did the practice of making resolutions come...

Event Invitations: Best Practices for Success! The first impression you can make on your attendees at any event is in your event invitation. Let’s talk about three basic considerations you will need to make before designing your invitations. This crucial element sets...

  If you are considering hosting a conference, congratulations! As you are getting started, there are many factors to consider! All the different tasks you need to take care of can be overwhelming, so it’s a good idea to break them down into small steps so that...

  With the holidays just around the corner, and Covid restrictions getting longer in the rearview, companies, employees, friends and family are all excited to gather and celebrate this year. Some in fact have been planning and anticipating this moment since...

  Planning an event is a lot of work and for many of the events around town, they couldn’t be possible without their valued event committee members. Building and maintaining a highly productive and high-functioning event committee is not easy and takes time and...

  Many think fondly of their company's holiday parties as a great way to let their hair down and mix and mingle with their favorite co-workers. Don’t let the casual nature of this celebratory event fool you though, there are ways you can have a great time and...

  #1 Stay Focused Probably the #1 thing to start from when jumping into conference planning is to identify the target audience and the event theme and the overarching message of the event. Who is this conference designed to speak to and attract? This will...

  Día de Los Muertos or Day of the Dead, also commonly referred to as 'Mexican Halloween', is actually not like Halloween at all. Día de Los Muertos is a completely different holiday, full of its own vibrant history and traditions, and a few shared roots with...

  Curious what other companies are doing this year to stay ahead of the curve and make sure their employees know they are appreciated? ‘Tis the season to show your gratitude and create your corporate gift giving plan. Many of our clients, including ourselves, use...

  Fall is here! It’s time to plan your year-end fundraising campaign. 30% of annual giving occurs in December so you want to be sure you’re ready to take full advantage of the opportunity to connect when folks are feeling the most generous. The hard work begins...

  For the last 50 years, the Big Twelve Alaska Native Corporations have been a significant driver of the State’s economy and equally impactful on their shareholders' lives. Both in terms of receiving annual dividends and the employment opportunities that they...

  So long Summer, it's been great having you around. It's safe to say the last few months have been incredible, and anyone who gets to experience Alaska during the Summer would agree. The long sunny days, the smell of the forest when it rains, and incredibly...

  Conferences can be an incredible place where new ideas can emerge and people come together to breathe life into them. As conference planners, we are constantly working to find new and creative ways to capture the ideation in a room. When doing this we always...

  It is no surprise that fall is one of the most beloved seasons of the year. It may be the anticipation of the holidays, or that feeling of being warm and snug with a hot beverage, your favorite throw blanket, and all while sitting in your favorite chair. Either...

  Whether you’re looking to understand your current donors or prospects, expand your reach or build your pipeline of qualified prospects, you need a well thought and well-executed strategy. The most often overlooked tool in small fundraising departments might be...

Looking for a mini trip while you’re in Anchorage? Here are some great options to choose from. From sightseeing, small-town culture, to wildlife tours and gourmet food. You can truly do it all.    Alyeska Resort / The City of Girdwood A quick (and gorgeous) hour...

  We have seen it a million times and will see it a million more, with a little creativity though you can help your event stand apart from the rest. The traditional go-to for any stage backdrop because it’s easy, cheap, and accessible is pipe and drape. Good old...

  We love events of all kinds, but we can’t help but get excited about blended events because they are so dynamic, offering tons of variations and flexible options to create just the right mix of elements to best match any organization, any mission, any...

  Fundraising is a team sport! Team members are very busy and need to work together to accomplish their fundraising goals. Working closely with your Board will help your organization meet its fundraising goals. In this piece we provide simple steps to getting...

  While Alaska technically does experience all four seasons, any local will tell you that there are pretty much 6 months of winter. Although the Summer is short, Alaska makes up for it with the midnight sun and our locals soak up every minute of it. Concerts,...

  Live in-person events are back with a vengeance! And how is that translating to decor and design? In a word - “BAM”! Event designers are putting more effort and budget into large installations than ever before. Curious about what trends are really taking off as...

  A well-organized event will minimize stress on volunteers at events, ensuring that they have a positive experience. Establishing a thorough, comprehensive volunteer program and corresponding policies helps to ensure focused, productive, happy volunteers....

  Many of you have experienced the benefits that virtual events can bring, maybe it surprised you to see your attendance grow higher than ever, or that people were willing to engage in a virtual setting. As we are all able to start hosting events again in person...

  It's Summer - the weather is gorgeous, people are traveling again, events are happening again, and as people are rediscovering their social lives again, there is one common theme permeating the zeitgeist, as everyone is realizing - drinking is FUN again! No...

  Our Toast of the Town event planners have been knee-deep in planning and orchestrating virtual events since early 2020, and suffice it to say - we are virtual event pros by this point. We see that virtual events, or blended hybrid style events, are going to be...

  In part 1 of this blog piece we began by offering some structure to help with the initial planning steps for corporate and team retreats. For part 2 we now dive into the fun parts and explore some of our favorite themes and concepts for gathering teams and...

  Just hearing the words 'corporate' and 'retreat' paired together can send chills up the spine of even the most composed. Nightmares of forced team-building activities, corny icebreakers, and boring brainstorm sessions, that lead to booze-soaked evenings, and...

  Right now it’s hard to think of anything else but Summer time in Alaska and the land of the midnight sun but the holiday season will be here before we know it! This year, Alaskan companies are starting early and investing more energy into planning a larger...

  If you are new to Alaska, your first impression may be just how vast the state is. Put frankly -- Alaska is huge, and things are really spread out. Alaskans love it this way, with lots of room to stretch out, and explore. But continue to read between the lines...

  Having an outdoor event in Alaska, while wonderful, also means always planning to have either an indoor or at least, a covered, backup option. Even in Summer, the unpredictable nature of Alaskan weather can make planning an outdoor event quite challenging....

  There are many ways to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Whether it's going to one of Anchorage’s local restaurants, planning something authentic at home, or biking along the coast and having a cerveza with a friend. If you are planning for the first or considering the...

  We have all been to an event where as everyone is leaving you see all the trash and waste left behind. The scary thing is that event likely produced much more than what was visible to you as an attendee. Bringing people together is an amazing thing, but...

  In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the events industry by and large pivoted to virtual events in response to governmental gathering restrictions. And while this pivot was at the time viewed as an interim solution until things got 'back to normal',...

  The event has wrapped up, the last guest has left, and while all you WANT to do is head home and go-to bed, you are instead thinking of all the post event to-do's on your list and which ones need to be checked off first. Event donor appreciation might be the...

  Art Services North has contributed to the success of events in Alaska for 35 years. Working in the same industry for almost a decade, we have produced events alongside the Art Services North team and were sorry to see them go. The COVID-19 pandemic has been...

  For many event planners, speaker management alone can be a full time job, especially if they have 40 or more that they are juggling at one time. But this daunting task doesn’t have to be as time consuming as you might think. In this blog post we share our...

  Event technology has come so far, companies all over the globe are innovating their events through the use of new event tech. Some of which is nothing short of impressive. Here are three amazing new event tech experiences that will blow your attendees minds! Do...

  In our experience, a welcome packet and corresponding gift bag can make a big first impression of your guests’ expectations at your event. The welcome pack becomes a strategic tool to transmit brand, community and commitment image, but above all, it builds...

  With St. Patty's Day just around the corner, bars around Anchorage are stocking up on Guinness and Jameson, breaking out the green cups, food coloring, and Leprechaun-themed everything. But despite the pure fun of this celebratory holiday, there is actually a...

  For everyone, the post-COVID-19 world looks a bit different, and the meetings and event industry is no exception. As organizations look to get back to in-person events again, Toast of the Town wanted to provide a snapshot of some key elements that will set your...

  Many organizations are back to hosting in-person events and recognize the need of a mitigation plan for COVID-19. This guide will provide you 10 easy steps to reduce COVID-19 risk at your next event and help you take appropriate action based on the level of...

Many times when we think about speakers or conference presenters, we think about content and industry. If they are well known in their field then we consider them as possible keynotes. We negotiate a podium/honoraria, get their commitment to participate, communicate...

    If you’re wondering who Saint Galentine is, the simple and somewhat comedic response is that she doesn’t exist - but if she did it would be Leslie Knope from the TV show Parks and Recreation. In 2010 during Parks and Rec's second season, the episode...

  We love events because they are exciting, bring together community, and each one is unique in its own way. That being said, we’re feeling 22 and couldn’t help ourselves when it came to sharing the top 10 event trends to expect this year.   #1 Virtual /...

  If you’ve experienced a rocky start to the new year, you may find yourself eager for a chance to restart and fully embrace 2022’s Lunar New Year. If you’re not sure where to begin, but you’re hungry to celebrate with close friends and family, then read on for a...

  The last 2 years have been challenging for events industry professionals but there have been some incredible growth as well. And if the last couple of years has taught us anything, it's that while growth isn't always smooth IT IS always exciting. We have seen...

  Many of us have seen it in the movies - the magic bag that event planners pull out with seemingly the kitchen sink in it. The reality isn’t much different. As planners do, we all have a bag, box, or tote with a little bit of everything that we think we might...

  Toast of the Town (TOTT) is fortunate to have the opportunity to work with many clients with a variety of needs. For some, that need is simply event design. For those of you that haven’t worked with us before on an event where event design is involved, we...

  With January around the corner many of us have been in the process of finalizing our goals for the new year. If you are a nonprofit and want to ensure you have all your bases covered we just made your life a little easier with our 5 steps to annual fundraising...

  The tradition of the party host giving the perfect New Year’s Eve toast has been one that has carried on for hundreds of years. You may be considering what to say this upcoming holiday to all of your friends and family that gather to ring in the new year. To...

  This season you may find yourself searching for a special way to treat your family, friends, employees, or guests to something timeless? Consider a horse-drawn holiday experience. We see it in all the classic Christmas movies we love, and the reality of doing...

  2021 - What a Year!   Here we are, feeling proud of another successful year! It has been one for the books, full of growth and development for the Toast of the Town (TOTT) team. After 6 years of vision and leadership, we supported our Co-Founder Carrie...

  ‘Tis the season to celebrate your favorite reindeer! We’ve compiled a great list of holiday event ideas unique to Alaska, for you to enjoy. As a fun option to accompany a holiday party consider Palmer, Alaska’s Reindeer Farm where you can create specialty...

  Thanksgiving is here! It’s one of the best times of the year. A time to gather together with family and friends, be thankful for one another, and feast on delicious food. See some of our Thanksgiving planning tips below on how to be a great host and easily make...

  Looking for a fun way to show appreciation to your team that feels special and unique to the traditional Holiday Party? For many Anchorage-based businesses the small trip to Girdwood, although only 45 minutes away, is somewhere close and accessible but feels...

  The definition seems pretty straightforward: A hybrid event in Alaska is one that uses a combination of in-person and digital elements, tailored to each audience for optimal experiences. But the reality is a little more complex than that. A hybrid event is one...

  As many of you may be considering options of how to celebrate this upcoming holiday season we thought we might suggest one of our favorites! We are so lucky to live in Alaska and with that are able to take advantage of the amazing outdoor scenery that it...

  The needs for any virtual event or conference will vary. After all, it’s natural for a small company’s virtual conferencing priorities to differ from those of a large corporate event. Despite that, certain features are essential for any virtual platform.  ...

  First things first, to ensure that nothing goes undone when planning a gala, you’ll need to create a schedule that delegates all of the necessary fundraising tasks by committee, subcommittee, and individuals. You will need everyone’s support to be successful!...

  Zoom meetings, remote teams, and virtual events which all started as a temporary fix, have turned into an absolute necessity over the last year. Unexpectedly, this prolonged absence of in-person events has turned out to be an amazing opportunity for brands and...

  Food, Drink, Lights & Fun for the whole team! Nothing is more special than the holiday time in Alaska, and at the darkest time of the year, we wanted to help brighten up the festivities. Toast of the Town has been working to create special holiday gathering...

The best year-end appeal letter in the world means nothing if it’s never opened! Many non-profit appeals are on the same timeline, with a big push at the end of the calendar year. This means there is a lot of competition for attention and donation requests in the...

  Over the last 18 months, off-site teams and remote work has skyrocketed and a question that comes up again and again is “How do you keep remote employees engaged so they don’t lose the sense of comradery?” According to a Gallup research poll conducted in early...

  For many of us who love to attend our favorite annual black tie events each year, the last year and a half has been filled with longing. What we would do for a chance to get all dressed up, see our favorite people, and get treated to an amazing meal and...

  The seasons are quickly changing, and with the holidays approaching it is time to start thinking about fun and creative ways to host those long overdue festive gatherings to be enjoyed with your team, supporters, and clients. Everyone enjoys this most wonderful...

Hospitality Boxes are otherwise known as "Corporate Gift Boxes" have been becoming more and more popular over the last 2 years, and primarily as a result of the typical in-person corporate event switching over to a necessary virtual event style. Whether they are...