Overview:

 

Party for the Century was a celebration of the Brooks Museum's centennial birthday. I have been on fairly large committees for grand events such as the National Civil Rights Museum (NCRM) King Day, NCRM Public Forum, NCRM Freedom Awards, but this was the first major event I was primarily in charge of. I worked in partnership with the Director of Education at the Brooks Museum (Kathy Dumlao), but most of the behind-the-scene work, planning, and coordinating was my responsibility. 

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We did not have much time to plan this event. We started meeting mid-December. I organized a team at the museum, getting colleagues on board with the event and giving them opportunities to volunteer for components of the party that suited them best. Responsibilities of the Director of Education and I included:

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• Creating a sophisticated centennial birthday party for all ages and demographics through aesthetics and experience

• Ensuring performances, art-making, and even food options highlighted and celebrated the museum's collection

• Contacting performers, securing contracts, check requests, scheduling, and parking for them

• Securing, scheduling, and providing training for volunteers

• Contacting and scheduling an EMT

• Contracting food trucks

• Purchasing snacks and beverages for performers and a volunteer hospitality station

• Renting a stage, tents, and professional sound equipment and working with the vendors to ensure all needs were met

• Securing in-kind donations including confetti cannons

• Ordering a custom birthday cake to look like the 1916 portion of the museum

• Placing a large order for cake truffles for guests

• Planning, ordering supplies for, and drafting instructions for art-making activities

• Writing copy for signage and ensuring it was designed, printed, and placed 

• Writing copy for multiple social media postings and providing the in-house communications coordinator with a schedule to market the event

• Plan a ribbon cutting ceremony for Inside Art (which occurred at the start of Party for the Century) and provide parking and refreshment for VIP guests and donors

• We also developed a contingency plan in case of rain which we fortunately did not have to use.

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Design:

Working with the "o's" in Brooks, the "0's" in 100, and Kurt Perschke's Red Ball Project, we planned activities and decor to emphasize circles and spheres including (birthday) cake truffles, hula hoops, and giant bubbles.

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Each indoor performance and art making activity referenced the collection or gallery in which it took place.

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Challenges:

Soon, we learned that Overton Park (where the Brooks Museum is located) had scheduled two other major events for the same day as Party for the Century! We brought those organizations (Memphis Zoo, Overton Park Conservancy, and Latino Memphis) to the table. Each group was expecting 2,000+ attendants to their events. With parking as an issue, we worked with the Brooks Museum's security and facilities manager and the other organizations to establish a plan. We worked together with Latino Memphis to schedule traffic and security officers from the Memphis Police Department.

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About a month before the event date, we also learned that the museum booked a facility rental for the day before our event. We changed our plans for set up to accommodate this unforeseen rental and clearly communicated with the museum facilities staff the set-up needs on Friday evening and Saturday morning for Party for the Century.

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A week before the event, we held a meeting with the entire Brooks staff to share the plans and event schedule. At the end of the meeting, the museum director applauded us. She later shared with the board that if they were in need of invading a small country to call Kathy and Jody to plan it!

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