What's Floating Around Clud 9? 12 November 2018

Welcome to another week and we're feeling a little fizzy here at Cloud 9 Towers as we have been organising drinks and activities for some of our clients Christmas Parties - as all good event planners know, its important to be organised as early as possible.

Although Proseco seems to be the popular choice for many an event these days, there are still clients around who prefer the real stuff and yes, we are talking the proper bubbly stuff, Champagne.It's been the drink of royalty going back to the 1800s and even Winston Churchill once said of World War II, “Remember gentlemen, it’s not just France we are fighting for, it’s Champagne.”

From Wedding toasts to celebrations it's been the staple, but what about those people who still want a cocktail with a kick but would rather avoid the Champers?

The current trend is to think different and what better time of year to enjoy experimenting with new

flavours, styles and cocktail mixes. But are you brave enough to try one of these for your next event?

One of the biggest holistic trends of the year has been to have a tablespoon of apple vinegar a day – believed to be excellent for digestion and weight loss and this trend has spilled, literally, into cocktails. Shrubs, and not the kind you find in the garden – but rather the fruit vinegary infused syrup – are the latest rage in cocktails. Often sustainable and local to source, shrubs cocktails are popping up in many trendy bar and restaurant. 

It might sound odd but but vegetable based cocktails are edging their way into the mainstream as well and its not hard to find a Bee Pollen Bellini or a Pumpkin Potion, and its an interesting way of getting your five a day! 

Turmeric adds a punch to many a dish and is regularly used in cooking so why not cocktails? You will notice an increased use of turmeric syrup or popular turmeric gin based cocktails including turmeric gin and ginger and the turmeric gin sour.

Never forget thought that not everyone likes a tipple but we can do so much more than orange juice when designing your drinks menu. Mocktails deserve to be creative and with an ever-increasing health conscious culture, take some inspiration form the non alcoholic section on your next cocktail list. 

Cheers, and have a great week!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 20 November 2017

Welcome to another week and it's all Food & Drink this week as we get set for the Warwickshire Food & Drink Showcase this Wednesday. 

The event, which here at Cloud 9, we are running for Warwickshire County Council, is part of their Tourism Framework, enabling partnership work and the ‘Gateways to the Countryside’ scheme across the county of Warwickshire.

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Being held at the Warwickshire Golf & Country Club, the event aims to showcase the quality and vibrancy of the local produce and visitor experiences all in one easy-to reach venue. 

We have an array of amazing suppliers on board including breweries,  cheese makers, and chocolatiers  and we want to encourage businesses to discover and use local suppliers, and additionally attendees will have the opportunity to meet, listen to experts and peers and find out how the county council is engaging with their tourism and food industry.

It's been fascinating working with all of the local suppliers on the event, and we are sure the day will be a great success as our buyer registrations is creeping up daily from local stores, restaurants and hotels all looking for new and interesting product ranges. 

And, despite the fact that its November and already feeling chilly, we also have two Gelato Companies taking part, the first of which is Hooray’s British Gelato Kitchen.

Hooray’s style and inspiration can be classed as a fusion of influences ranging from Classic

Cotswolds and the Best of British, to Cosmopolitan Chic and Global Gourmet. So you can enjoy a ravishing range of cool gelato and fruity sorbet made onsite, in their Gelato Kitchen, hot crepes and waffles, yummy cakes and locally roasted gourmet coffee. Hooray's has got something for everyone, plenty of seating downstairs, as well as the Lounge and Granita Bar upstairs which double as event room. Not to mention the children's corner and the Secret Courtyard!

The other is Swirls, who bring a touch Italy to Leamington with its Neapolitan coffee & authentic gelato handcrafted on the premises in small batches thus creating a creamier & velvety texture. They have been delighted with their customer reviews and having been noted for what they do by winning two Artisan awards so quickly has been tremendous. Their offering includes Panini’s waffles, sweet & savoury crepes, handmade lollies, gelato and semi freddo cakes made to order. 

One thing we will have to avoid is getting too involved in sampling though as we have a range of great distilleries, gin, beer and wine companies all taking part - and we are driving!

Registration for buyers is still open so if you fancy coming along, please see the website for more details and we hope to see you there.

Have a great week.

 

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What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 14 September 2015

Welcome to another week and now that the Summer Holidays are well and truly behind us, we're in somewhat of an educational mode.

With this in mind, we thought this week, it a good idea to mention essential reading this week for event people. Don't worry, we are not into all of those huge Self Help books, but we do firmly think that inspiration can come from a variety of sources and we like to be well read!

We do get a lot of Industry Magazines here at Cloud 9 Towers and we do like a quick flick through them over our butties at lunchtime, just to make sure we are keeping up to date and we even featured some of our suggested essential reading on our latest YouTube post a couple of weeks ago - which if you haven't seen we suggest you watch!

However, we also like a good book here and we mentioned Judy Allen a couple of weeks ago and her brilliant book for event planners. Event Planning: The Ultimate Guide to Successful Meetings, Corporate Events, Fundraising, Galas, Conferences, Conventions, Incentives and Other Special Events is a bestselling all–in–one guide to the event planning business  and has been  fully updated and revised to reflect the very latest trends and best practices in the industry. This handy, comprehensive guide includes forms, checklists, and tips for managing events, as well as examples and case studies of both successful and unsuccessful events and some of content we are sure you will find particularly relevant!

Another great read by Judy is the Marketing Your Event Planning Business book, which is a must for any event planner looking to start up their own business – mostly because it contains every bit of advice to follow if you’re going to become a known brand. Established firms should also give it a read; it’ll be a godsend if you’re looking to expand your client base.

Given that corporate meetings are pretty much an integral part of the events industry,  there are plenty of books on how best to plan them. Thing is, most of those works focus primarily on logistics – something which most event planners are fairly capable of dealing with so Into the Heart of Meetings by Mike van de Vijver’s book instead delves into a number of core questions and practical issues involving meeting design; most importantly, it teaches how to tailor content so meetings deliver the best results possible.

 'Rework' by Jason Fried and David Heinemeir Hansson is also on our list. With chapters like 'Meetings are Toxic,' 'Fire the Workaholics,' and 'Planning is Guessing.', it's a great, short read and certainly some of the content will stick with you.

 

We also like 'Boring Meetings Suck: Get More Out of Your Meetings, Or Get Out of More Meetings' by Jon Petz as its a very lighthearted and engaging book and is anything but boring! 

 

So there you have it, a little reading about reading! Enjoy and see you soon!