My Top 3 Edmonton Event Venues
/0 Comments/in Corporate Events, Edmonton Events, Event Planning /by Courtney CoulombeMy Top 3 Edmonton Event Venues
Courtney, event planning professional and owner of Planit Events Inc., shares her top three venues in the city of Edmonton.
My Top 3 Edmonton Event Venues
Wow, I can’t believe we’re already a few weeks into the new year! I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday season and was able to spend some quality time with their loved ones and get a little rest and relaxation. I had a great time taking some well-deserved time off to spend quality time with my family and prepare myself for a new and busy year. So with that, I thought I’d start this year off by sharing my top three venues in Edmonton. This was a tough list to narrow down because there are so many great venues in the city.
Edmonton Convention Centre
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen a Follow Friday post in December about the Edmonton Convention Centre. I’ve worked with them many times in the past and trust me, I will definitely be working with them again in the future. The staff are amazing and super easy to work with and are very talented with handling special requests for any type of event. I love the Edmonton Convention Centre, not only for the services they provide but because they are so versatile! ECC is a great venue regardless of the size of the event you are hosting, whether it is a smaller business meeting, conference, tradeshow, holiday party, or even wedding! Other great factors include:
- Close to the heart of downtown
- Large space to accommodate guest lists of all sizes
- Beautiful view of the river valley
- Have experience hosting vast types of events
- Great accessibility
Edmonton Expo Centre
I’ve also done a Follow Friday post on this venue as well, the Edmonton Expo Centre. I recently planned an event there in partnership with CM Events, the Africa Day Gala. The team at the Expo Centre was so helpful and went above and beyond my expectations! Similar to the Edmonton Convention Centre, the Expo Centre is large enough to host functions like tradeshows, concerts, and corporate holiday parties, but they also cater to smaller events like meetings. The venue is located just off Wayne Gretzky drive and is close to the Edmonton downtown core, making it easily accessible from all parts of the city. Other great perks include:
- Lots of parking
- Multiple floor plans to accommodate all types of events
- Great accessibility
- Close to the LRT line
[Africa Day Gala 2022, hosted at the Edmonton Expo Centre]
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT)
In 2022, I helped coordinate the 19th Alberta Health and Safety Conference which was hosted at NAIT in the Productivity and Innovation Centre. The building was beautiful and comfortably hosted the event. NAIT isn’t always thought of as a venue, but let me tell you, they did not disappoint. They have the ability to host various sizes of events and their event services team is a delight to work with. Great things about NAIT as a venue include:
- Lots of parking
- Great accessibility
- Equipment rental
- Ability to chose or customize the menu options
- Central location
[Alberta Health and Safety Conference 2022, hosted at NAIT’s Productivity & Innovation Centre]
It’s been such a pleasure to work with so many different venues over my career and I’m so excited to try out new ones in the future. I, unfortunately, couldn’t list all of the amazing venues I’ve used in my past but if you need help finding the right venue for your event, send me a message and I’d be happy to learn about your event and recommend the right venue.
6 Mental Health Tips for Event Professionals
/0 Comments/in Event Planning /by Courtney Coulombe6 Mental Health Tips for Event Professionals
Burn out is a common occurence for those that work in the event planning space. Planit Events Inc. shares 6 tips to battle and prevent burn out!
6 Mental Health Tips for Event Professionals
As things start to pick up in the new year I wanted to talk about the importance of mental health for event professionals. Speaking for myself and many other event professionals in my network, mental health has been a prominent topic among us, especially with the rate of burnout increasing. While the pandemic posed new challenges for many of us and pushed us to think outside of the box to have events run differently, coming out of the pandemic was hectic, to say the least. It was so fabulous getting back to in-person events but with that being said, it has also been exhausting. I wanted to take the time to write this blog to share my thoughts so that other event professionals know they are not alone when they are feeling burnout and two, sharing a few tips I have found helpful to battle and prevent burnout.
Tips to Battle Burnout
Most of us can feel burnout coming on but we have made a commitment to our clients, families, and friends, and I know from my own experience, we don’t want to let any of these people down. So what do we do? It’s important to try and battle the burnout before it actually hits. Try using the following tips to help you.
Prioritize Tasks
When we have hundreds or even thousands of tasks to get done it’s important to take the time to sit down and prioritize these tasks. I like to prioritize the due date and size of the task. Once you have prioritized your tasks into groups, pull out your calendar and start to map out when you will complete tasks. Remember, you do need to get sleep so working 24 hours a day is not a solution. If you don’t have enough time for everything, this will bring you to the next tip.
Ask for Help
Asking for help may be one of the hardest things I have had to do but my team, friends, and family have really helped me out. Sometimes we take on too much, or the list is just too long, and as difficult as it can be, you have to ask for help! Consider who is in your support network and delegate some of your tasks.
Talk to a Friend or Family Member
Sometimes we just need a friend or family member to listen to our woes and provide support. I know it can be hard to reach out, especially when you are feeling low and overwhelmed but that’s what family and friends are for! I wouldn’t be where I am without their support and love.
Tips to Prevent Burnout
Now that I’ve shared a few tips on battling burnout, one thing I’ve learned is that it is best to implement certain habits to help you prevent burnout in the first place. Moving into the new year, let’s all prioritize our mental health using the following tips, or whatever works for you, to help us live a healthier year.
Stay Organized
A tip I will preach forever is the importance of staying organized. It’s been one of the easiest ways that I have stuck to my timelines, which may not relieve all of the stress but it most definitely helps. Here are a few ways I stay organized:
- Set aside an hour at the end of each week to plan the upcoming week and remind yourself of the important tasks you must complete.
- Use a calendar or agenda to help you map things out. There are lots of helpful digital tools as well such as Trello that help with project management.
- Set calendar or phone reminders.
Be Realistic with Timelines and Commitments
I think we’ve all been guilty of this, but we tend to take on too much work sometimes. I’ve really started to be a bit more realistic with my timelines and commitments to ensure that I’m not biting off more than I can chew. So, how exactly do I do this? When taking on a new project, I really like to project things that will take a bit more time to make up for any changed plans or when things don’t go exactly as planned (and we all know, it happens).
Practice and Prioritize Self-Care
I cannot stress the importance of practicing and prioritizing self-care. Self-care can range from small things to making the time to have a bath in the evening or taking some well-deserved time off. Regardless of the size, it’s best practice to implement at least a bit of self-care each day. What I would suggest is brainstorming ways that you can practice self-care and start making time for it. I promise it will make all the difference.
Remember, everyone is different and you will need to find the best ways to manage stress and burnout. I hope these tips can provide a bit of guidance if you are feeling lost. Let’s all work together to prioritize our mental health and prevent future burnout!
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