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Event planning not for the timid

Glam, glitz -- and lots of hard work

Fundraising events at the Royal Ontario Museum are usually glittery, exciting affairs. In fact last fall's CANFAR fundraiser was so exciting, John MacBride and his students from Seneca College spent four hours at the event stuck in the basement.

DAVID CHILTON

[ 2008-01-30 ]

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Seneca students worked with Sinclair Russell (a well-know event designer and Seneca instructor) on the opening night gala of the Titanic Exhibit at the Ontario Science Centre. The team created an underwater cocktail lounge where guests sipped drinks under a sea of bubbles.

They were evacuated there, says MacBride, program co-ordinator of the Event and Exhibit Design program at Seneca, following a bomb scare. It turns out a student from the Ontario College of Art and Design had chosen that same night to plant a fake bomb at the ROM as part of a final class project.

That stunt cost the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research $100,000 in lost donations, and MacBride's students the chance to mingle and get a well-deserved pat on the back for their hard work -- all done free -- decorating the venue.

Not every gig, whether paid or unpaid, will set hearts racing like that one, but MacBride says event and exhibit designers can expect long irregular hours and in some cases plenty of tension. “October, November and December are insane,” MacBride says. “I would say it is not a career for the timid.”

The program at Seneca is still new, entering its third year this spring. It's for post-grads, says MacBride, who points out the full-time course runs from May to December. The reason for the uncommon start date is twofold, he explains. It allows graduates of degree and diploma programs to move directly from their respective schools to Seneca; and it also lets students visit various venues during July and August when event business has slackened off a bit.

To get into the program applicants must have a design background, says MacBride, noting he's had students from such schools as the University of Guelph, York University and OCAD. Applicants also have to submit a portfolio of their work.

Centennial College's Event Management - Festival and Conference post-graduate certificate is even newer than Seneca's program. Bob Dallas, its co-ordinator, says the festival and conference program runs from September to April, with the first class hitting the books this year. Dallas says he expects to admit about 30 students in the fall, and the college is taking applications now.

The courses at Centennial will include such subjects as volunteer and team building, sponsorship and funding, and risk and security management, which “in the post 9/11 world is really, really important,” Dallas says.

Many colleges in Toronto and around the province offer events-centred programs, but Dallas says Centennial's new certificate is unique because it's based on festival and conference management rather than that of events. As he explains, the city's popular Taste of the Danforth is a festival that plays host to numerous events during its three-day run.

PREDOMINANTLY FEMALE

Dallas admits he doesn't know whether his classes will be male, female or a mixture of both. Not so long ago women dominated the sector, Dallas says, but in recent years men have started to return to the fold. At Seneca, where the Event and Exhibit Design program has been running for two years, MacBride knows who his students are: women. “In the last two years we've had one male per class,” he says.

And they weren't there for the money. Neither Seneca nor Centennial grads will earn huge amounts to begin. In fact, event and exhibit designers usually freelance and will have to hustle to make a buck. Still, once established, grads of both schools can earn a pretty decent living and rub shoulders with plenty of A-listers.