The Main Event

Through the first half of my placement I was working towards to 2010 Oasis Ball. The Ball was held on the 19th March. It is a fundraiser for the Oasis Committee that is also the annual Campaign Brief Awards (for Perth's advertising and media personnel).

I got to Burswood at 9am and worked through until 2am the next morning.

My first job for the day was putting painters tape on the bottom of the shoes we had borrowed for the fashion show (so the bottom of the shoes wouldn't scratch.) I then got to sit in on the Technical brief and the beginning of the tech run down. It was great to see this side of an event, as this experience is so important but rare as most PR graduates working in events would be doing stage/entertainment management or floor management.

After sitting at the tech desk for a while, I then went to help set up the pre-function area. I helped the decorator put together some of his decorations, and followed up Burswood staff on missing staging and other equipment.

I got to see the ballroom and the pre-function area come together. there was so much detail in everything from the menus, to the bars, and even the tables. Everything was perfectly themed. It was easy to see why this ball is known as one of the most extravagant events on Perth's social calendar.

I had to do more little things throughout the day such as checking each table had raffle tickets and a bag with the correct table number on it, and placing lists of auction items on each table. It was really interesting to be a part of all the things that seem so small but are so important for ensuring the event goes smoothly.

There was a near drama, an hour before the pre-function was set to begin we realised we had left our hostesses dress at the office in West Perth. I had to drive back and pick it up.

Once the ball had begun, I was acting as a runner for the entertainment manager. I had to help the stylists with anything they needed (which turned out to be quite a bit). I found myself calling Burswood staff asking them to clear hallways so the models could get through. There was also a miscommunication between the consultancy and the designers whose fashion was in the show in regards to what time the designers were required. I had to call some of Perth's top designers, apologise for the mistake and ask them to come earlier. This was very confronting for me!

I spent most of the night running back between the stage, the green room and the catering staff ensuring all entertainment were where they should be at the right times, and making sure everyone had any food or drink they needed.

Once we had everyone through to the after party, we could relax and have a glass of champagne.

It was a very stressful, tiring night but it was the best experience I could have hoped to gain from my placement. I realised that despite the hard work, I love events management.

I learnt how important being overly organised in events is. We had check lists and briefs for everything and we definitely used them! The other major thing I learnt was how important is is to keep calm and collected during an event- even when things are going wrong! It was a great learning experience for me to see what the consultancy staff were doing on the night and how they handled everything that happened, and I feel that any pre conceived notions I had of events management have been blown away and been replaced with a better understanding that it's all the little things that make the event work.

If any of you have the opportunity to volunteer for a major ball or event, I really recommend you do it because University cannot teach you what it is actually like to be involved in such a big event.