Are you stressed out hovering over a list of possible entertainment options for your party? Well, you have come to the right place! Previously, we shared some tips on how to plan a children's party. So here's what's next!
It is widely known that entertainment is an essential ingredient in making or breaking your event or party. Hence, choosing the right entertainment for your guests is extremely critical if you are looking to impress them and bring out the immense joy from their faces! Think of finding the right entertainment like you are finding the last piece of the puzzle to complete your masterpiece.
Whether you engage a party planner or hiring an entertainer on your own, there are a few key factors to consider before investing in suitable and effective entertainers for your event! We have sussed out a quick list of helpful tips and questions you can ask yourself while making the call for hire.
Contents:
Is there a theme?
Who is your audience?
How old are your guests?
What's your budget?
How many people are you expecting?
Evaluate the needs of your entertainers
Fret not, you have time!
Is there a theme?
Understanding the type of event you are hosting is important before you proceed to book entertainment. First and foremost, what kind of event are you throwing? Is it a large scale, corporate team building event, or a scaled-down private family party? Are there any colour schemes involved, and how do you intend to approach your guests? These questions may allow you to focus on narrowing down to specific options that you and your guests may be interested in. Certain themes and decor may require certain types of entertainment to tie it all together.
For example, if you are hosting a children's birthday party with a wizard theme, you might consider hiring magic acts and be sure to engage a professional magician! Doing so would create a cohesive alignment towards your theme and assist with the success of your event. You would want to have your choice of entertainment complement the entire theme of your event.
Who is your audience?
Make sure your entertainment is appropriate for your entire audience. Catering specifically to your guests will help ensure a successful event that maximizes the engagement of everyone who's present, creating a memorable experience for everyone.
Choosing a precise form of entertainment for corporate events such as dinner and Dance (DnD) or company family days, for example, could be catered in their own individual ways. For an annual dinner and dance, you may consider hiring a magician or to engage the crowd. Choose from a range of services such as close-up or stage magic. For family days, on the other hand, you may opt for dinner table magic tricks, these are perfect for focused entertainment per table, ensuring that everyone gets a share of the magic and allows for interaction between the entertainer and your guests as well.
How old are your guests?
Riding on the topic of catering directly to your audience, primarily, identifying the age range of your guests could be a crucial game-changer when it comes to selecting the right form of entertainment. Are your guests, children, working adults, or seniors? Knowing this will help as you eliminate unlikely entertainments that would not suit your target audience.
If you are hosting an event for a group of children from ages 4 to 7, be sure to engage someone who specializes in children's entertainment! Kids of this age have a short attention span and are attracted to a very specific form of comedy, so leave it to the experts to entertain them!
What's your budget?
We are pretty sure no one looks forward to reviewing their expenses realizing that they have spent a bomb and burnt a hole in their wallet. Well, you won't have to be that person. As long as you map out a budget and plan within your means. Going overboard with entertainment will mean a lesser budget for other event essentials such as venue, decor, food, drinks, etc. Hence, you definitely would want to plan smart.
If you think that having a tight budget means limiting yourself from being able to engage a quality, extravagant performance, think again! There are definitely alternatives that are available and all it takes is good research to find what you desire for your event. It is important to do research prior to booking. Doing proper research and reaching out to people in such industries would help you along your path to finding the right entertainment at reasonable pricing. Word-of-mouth may also be a suitable route to get you on track with choosing the type of entertainment best suited for your event. Once you have decided on the kind of entertainment suitable for your event, search and compare prices of various acts to find one at the best affordable one for you.
Another piece of advice for you would be to book early! Certain companies do provide special entertainment packages that include early bird rates that offer a wavier of a certain amount. Furthermore, by booking in advance, you are guaranteed a secured spot for your event, meaning that you can move on to planning other things or even use the time to find backup acts just in case.
How many people are you expecting?
Taking the number of guests attending your event into consideration is equally essential when it comes to choosing the right type of entertainment needed. For larger events, it is sensible to invite a more robust, active performance to engage the bigger crowd. Having more people at the event would mean needing to amplify the space and the sound. Keeping that in mind, you may narrow down to performances such as bands, dances, and skits for a longer period of entertainment. With every large event, a big event space is usually required to go alongside. So don't forget to book a suitable event space prior to engaging the entertainer! There are several event venue vendors you can look out for that will settle your venue needs, so not to worry.
For smaller events, you may consider hiring solo acts and performances such as magicians and comedians to directly engage the audience and allow for better interaction on and off stage. From 'sleight-of-hand' to 'pick-a-card' tricks and even other larger-scale performances that require the participation of the audience, magicians are able to grasp the attention of everyone in the room, keeping your crowd entertained for hours!
You may also book additional fringe activities such as balloon sculpting, face-painting, and a caricature booth for your event. These make great additions to any event, especially ones for kids, these activities are guaranteed to keep your little ones entertained and well taken care of over the event.
Evaluate the needs of your entertainers
Once you have identified the type of entertainment for your event, the next step would be to match the right entertainer for you! The entertainers that you might be planning on engaging for your event will most likely have certain requirements related to the venue, and the necessary equipment needed. For example, stage size, layout, props, lighting, and sound equipment. Some may require the provision of microphones, adequate stage space, and certain types of proper cabling. Be sure to check out their website for any stated requirements or approach them directly to inquire. Most websites have their own 'Frequently Asked Questions' pages which you can refer to for such information. Certain performances and acts may also require licenses, hence it is important to evaluate and validate these requirements beforehand.
You may also consider requesting a sample demonstration video or performance from your desired vendor or entertainer to determine whether they are right for your event. The key to a smooth process is communication! Whoever you may choose to work with for your event, you would want them to be readily available and easily reachable, you would need them to be reliable and be able to help you navigate through the planning of your entertainment itinerary as well as address any of your concerns.
You would also want to be clear on how to engage your desired entertainer, have a thorough look through their services and quotations, if you have any enquires, feel free to drop them a message before booking.
It would be ideal to work with entertainers you know you can trust to deliver excellently. You would want to feel rest assured knowing that they will arrive on time, act professionally, and be able to accommodate to your requests.
How can you be sure of all of these? Well, truth be told, we are blessed to live in the era of online reviews. Simply search up your desired entertainer and have a scan through their website, head over to their featured reviews to read about their past customer experiences and ratings. This will definitely provide you an insight into their skills, professionalism, work ethics so on, and so forth. It would also be good to do some independent research through Facebook, Google, or other websites commonly used for entertainment reviews.
Fret not, You have time!
They are plenty of factors to consider when selecting the best entertainment for your event, but that is no reason for you to get frustrated or overwhelmed. There is an abundance of resources available out there for you and it should not be impossible that you find the perfect match for your event. The key is patience and determination, go in with an open mind, and stick to this list to guide you along, you will definitely be greeted with many options along the way, so ask yourselves these few questions to keep you focused.
If you are able to, do start thinking early, begin research, and source out for potential entertainers. This will provide you ample time to make the necessary decisions with time to spare before your event.
Taking these factors into consideration when hiring professional entertainers will help ensure a memorable and successful event for all involved.
That's it! Thanks for reading and we wish you all the best in your search for the best entertainment!
You may email us directly at info@truevinekidsmagic.com for further questions or engage us to provide entertainment services for your event. Our contact is +65 9234 6300
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