Keep Your Guests Pumped Up!
While we're sure you and your friends have sparkling personalities, it's always fun to have some sort of entertainment to bring your party to life. How do you do this? It's simple – entertainment can be anything you think people will like. Your party is limited only by your imagination. Music is an obvious necessity, but you don’t need to limit yourself to a boom box and a mix CD. There are a number of ways to incorporate tunes into your event. Such as:
- Live Music – Concerts are a lot of fun, but people often have to spend money and travel to see good live bands on stage. Why not bring the music to them? Chances are, your town has a few up-and-coming bands looking for the chance to perform for an audience. Ask your friends if they know anyone with a band. Go to local music stores and look for fliers advertising local acts. Call them and see if they would be willing to donate their time to perform at your party. Hey! You get a band…they get free exposure. Everybody wins. If there are a number of bands in your area, try to organize a "Battle of the Bands," which offers your guests a whole night of live music.
Local DJ – If your town has a popular music radio
station, try to arrange for a DJ from the station to emcee your event. They can
play music, run contests and generally keep the crowd smiling and dancing for
the entire night. Or, you might try contacting a local nightclub and see if
their DJ will spin a few discs for your party. You can promote the party as if
it were a major club event, which will surely get the attention of your peers.
You may know of friends who want to be DJs and have their own equipment. If you
do, consider having a DJ contest.
- Theme Music Night – If you look in your local newspaper, you'll see that most of the major clubs and hot spots sponsor theme nights (such as "80s Night" or "Disco Night") to bring people into their club. These are proven themes that always draw a big crowd and guarantee a great time. One idea would be to host a "Salsa Night," where you play Latin dance music, serve Latin American appetizers and tropical fruit juices such as guava or mango, and decorate with a Latin theme. With so many styles of music and dress, you're bound to find something great.
- Local Celebrity – OK, so maybe you won’t be able to land your favorite TV show babe or stud on your guest list (not that you shouldn’t try). But there’s a good chance that people with some degree of local fame would be willing to show up to your party, sign a few autographs and maybe hang out for a dance or two. Good sources are local sports teams or television and radio stations that have a community relations department willing to donate time to a good cause. You can also contact area theaters and even talent agencies. Maybe a Hollywood superstar grew up nearby. You’ll never get them to your event if you don’t ask. If there are no celebrities in sight, try a celebrity look-alike contest.
- Karaoke Night – Karaoke is always a party favorite. Who needs outside celebrities when your community probably has a bunch of stars just waiting to be discovered? Karaoke is always a fun time, as people young and old just relish the chance to sing a few oldies for an enthusiastic crowd. All you have to do is rent a karaoke machine from your local entertainment supply store and plug it in. This is an option that doesn't cost a lot of money and is a whole lot of fun.
- Sports Tournament – Get your boom box and get out to a nearby park to stage your own olympic-sized sporting events. Have everyone sign up in teams to play volleyball, basketball, tennis or whatever you like best! Those who don't want to play can cheer on their friends and help serve food and drinks to the weary players.
