Blog
A Long Weekend in Anchorage & Girdwood
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...
Expert tips for planning an outdoor event in Alaska
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....
Cinco De Mayo: “Trendy New Cocktails & Ways to Decorate”
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...
How to Make Your Next Event a Green Event
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...
Why Hybrid Events Are Good For The Environment
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',...
Event Donor Appreciation: What to Know About Doing It Right
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
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...
Speaker Checklist, How to Make Managing Them One Step Easier
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...
3 Amazing New Event Tech Experiences that Will Blow Attendees Minds!
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...
Destination Management Welcome Packet
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...
Cheers to Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day!
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...
Destination Events: What You Need For Success In 2022
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...
10 Easy Steps to Reduce COVID-19 Risk at Your Next Event
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...
How to Leverage your Speakers to Increase Ticket Sales & Sponsor Support
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...
From St. Galentine to Celebrating Friend/ship, Everything you Need to Know to Make your Galentine’s Day Special for You and Yours
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...
Top 10 Event Trends for 2022
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 /...
How to Craft The Perfect Intimate Lunar New Year Party At Home
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 3 Biggest National Event Industry Trends of 2022
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...
The Event Planner’s Survival Kit “What Should be in Yours”
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’s Easy 10 Step Process for Basic Event Design
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...
5 Steps to Annual Fundraising Goal Planning
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...
15 of History’s Most Memorable New Year’s Eve Toasts
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...
Consider a Horse Drawn Holiday
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...
Letter from President
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...
Blitzed on Blitzen: Holiday Event Ideas in Alaska
‘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 Planning Tips
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...
Alyeska Holiday Ski Experience for Small Groups
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...
What does a hybrid event in Alaska even look like?
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...
Winter Festival on Ice
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...
Top 10 Features You Need in a Virtual Event or Conference Platform
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. ...
Gala Fundraising: How To Be Prepared
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!...
5 Major Benefits of Virtual Conferences
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...
Lights & Sights Private Holiday Tours
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...
How to Produce a Creative & Attention-Grabbing Annual Fundraising Campaign
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...
Team Building Foodie Experiences That You Can Take Virtual
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...
COVID, The Black Tie Virtual Event Experience
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...
Level Up Your Holiday (Virtual) Happy Hour
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
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...