Yesterday we lead the Children’s Wish Exile Island event on top of Citadel Hill. In 3 hours $309,000 was raised and we granted wishes to 10 children.This is the second Exile Island for downeast and we hope the partnership continues well into the future. A tremendous charity and a truly unique and engaging fundraiser.

We kicked off Exile Island at The Fort today with a hilarious taping for Breakfast Television. The main event on September 23rd will be the best ever! Don’t forget to pledge for Children’s Wish. www.exileisland.ca

Event management can be a lot of hard work, but the results are amazing! And, how often do you get to have a Vanity Fair moment?

It is always great to discover a unique venue. We love being able to offer our clients something really interesting and completely outside the box. Last week Claudia and I went into the ditch surrounding Citadel Hill. Prior to this field trip I must admit I was sceptical. Turns out it is fantastic, and, a perfect fit. What a great discovery and an excellent starting point for what will surely be an incredible event experience for those in attendance.

“I would like to thank you for all your hard work  The service exceeded our expectations and the events planned could not have been better. downeast definitely elevated the social aspect of the meetings and we received wonderful feedback from all guests. We enjoyed working together as partners and hope we have an opportunity to work together again.”

Nancy da Rocha, Account Director,  Mark IV

“Meeting professionals can’t afford to leave anything out of the imagination. We hope these jobs intrigue and incite you to think more about your industry and how it’s growing. The only people who stay in the same place forever are dead. And this industry is anything but dead.”

I just read this article in Meeting Professionals International. Do you agree with the possibilities? Let me know.

As someone who works for a company that depends on the development of our city I see Halifax compete for association and corporate conference business very regularly against other destinations around the world. We are continually coming up against some of the most cultural and urbane cities. Moving forward on the Nova Centre development will enable us to achieve better positioning. There are many local industries and companies who are built on Halifax succeeding as a destination of choice, I encourage them to speak up and help push this project forward. A well thought out, new development such as the Nova Centre will certainly put Halifax at the top of the global convention map.

As an event manager who is ever cognisant of the uber importance of marketing and being in the know regarding trends and what  the public and  therefore our clients consider to be current, I consider this Trendwatching article a must read.

This years’ Canadian Society of Special Event Planners Conference is in Halifax. What a terrific opportunity for us to showcase our fabulous, friendly city. Last night Claudia and I played host to all Event Planners at a Dine Around in some of Halifax’s most notable restaurants. Participants were treated to a very creative presentation of invitation and downeast style restaurant trivia. The winning team received bottles of Nova Scotian wine compliments of ddm.

I’ve spent the last 2 days pitching downeast destination management’s conference services to a number of associations and organizations who have recently chosen Halifax to host their conferences.  In all of these particular instances local individuals pushed to bring the conferences to Halifax. It is incredible when people really get behind their city and make something great happen- like a conference for 800 people. We have some fantastic advocates bringing business  to our city. If you know someone who has done an extrodinary job consider nominating them for the Destination Halifax Ambassador Club .