How to Choose the Right Entertainment for your Events

Guest Blog by Sean Brettle | Events Executive at Luna Park Melbourne

So, you’re planning a special event and you think you’ve got everything covered… the perfect venue (tick); a great theme and decorations (tick); food (tick); beverages (tick)…. You’re feeling satisfied that this event is going to be a huge success, but suddenly grey clouds loom overhead…. What about the entertainment?! You’ve forgotten an all-important factor that you know will take your event to the next level and leave your guests with amazing memories.

All you can picture at this point is some of the cringeworthy entertainment you’ve endured at events you’ve attended in the past. Our advice? Avoid the lack-lustre and go for the spectacular!

To do this you need to know a few key factors about your event before you start researching entertainment providers:1. Be clear of the style and tone you want to project at your event: burlesque dancers might not be the most appropriate entertainment for the company annual meeting.
2. Know your audience – who will be attending and what are their ages and demographics: do you have a range of ages and interests or are you hosting a law conference?
3. What is the theme of your event: how can you choose your entertainment to match your chosen venue or the theme of your event?

Outlined below are some ideas of how you can create lasting memories for your guests by choosing the right entertainment at your event…

Entertainment ideas for Corporate Family Days

Corporate Family Fun days by their nature need to be fun and this involves organising a lot of entertainment to amuse a wide range of people. You have the kids (from little ones to teenagers) and the adults too.

Luna Park Melbourne hosts LOTS of corporate Family Fun Days for obvious reasons. Here you can easily offer amusements for everyone from dodgem cars to water slides and roller coasters. Our carnival rides are the base of our offering but even those are not enough to entertain everyone when you are hosting from 250 to 3000 guests.

For large scale events, we always recommend roaming entertainment and this can be themed to your event. For Christmas events why not have Bouncing Elves on stilts handing out goody bags with Santa? For other occasions maybe some balloon artists making balloon hats for the children? Roaming actors and performers are great at creating a festive and carnival style atmosphere and are absolute experts at encouraging even the grouchiest of guests to smile and laugh.

For events with a range of ages it is important not to forget the teenagers. A petting zoo will keep the smaller children excited but what about an inflatable basketball ring and simulators for the teenagers?

Entertainment ideas for Gala Dinners

Organising entertainment for a gala dinner is the perfect opportunity for your imagination to run wild. Gala dinners are generally set with a stage, so any entertainment can arrive and be ready to go.

The obvious choices for this style of event are vocal bands to play background music and then get the dancefloor kicking post-dinner. Magicians or caricaturists are also popular to roam during pre-dinner drinks and give an icebreaker as guests mingle.

Getting creative and using the venue’s existing theme or style to help shape your entertainment can create stunning results. At Luna Park, many of our function rooms already have a colourful Carnival backdrop so it is easy to continue the theme (with a twist) in the venue. Just think, the ‘Greatest Showman’, the ‘Moulin Rouge’ or even ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’.

One of our premier function venues, Luna Palace, has a fantastic backdrop where through the 5m-high windows guests can admire a large stretch of the park, which at night looks spectacular with the lights of the fairground twinkling in the background.

I’ll never forget working at a corporate dinner where graceful silk artists hanging from the roof poured champagne to guests and there were human dessert stands in the form of Ring Masters and Showgirls dotted throughout the room. It was spectacular!

Entertainment ideas for Conferences

The common question people who are organising a conference often ask themselves is, how can they take the boredom out of the boardroom?

At Luna Park it is an easy choice to add in some free time to enjoy the rides. Short on time? Why not bring the theme park into the conference space! We have a selection of carnival games that can be located within our venues.

For a small conference in our Luna Park Stardust Room recently the client wanted a little fun and team building for the group after a lunch break. So, they used one of our carnival games which encouraged competitive spirit. Sticking to the theme they also added a popcorn cart for dessert. It certainly broke the day up nicely and cut the ice between delegates for the afternoon session.

Entertainment ideas for Corporate Team Building Days

Choosing a venue that has existing activities available is an easy and simple option for team building days. Be sure to create an experience that works for your group.

At Luna Park this might be a Dodgem Car challenge – group racing with a difference. We can also offer a theme park treasure hunt or a mirror maze timed challenge to get the team working together

One of our most memorable team building days was when we mimicked the famous 90’s UK Challenge Show, ‘The Crystal Maze’. Various timed puzzles and games were set up for small teams of delegates to complete. You can read more about this challenge in The Importance of Fun at Business Events.

Final note…

When planning your event, don’t leave the entertainment to last. By using your venue as a creative backdrop you can shape an entertaining experience that will heighten the atmosphere and create a lasting impression on your guests. Be creative and have some fun – your guests are sure to enjoy it much more.

Guest post by Sean Brettle | Events Executive at Luna Park Melbourne

Sean is native to the UK and has worked in several well-known hospitality companies here as well as overseas in London and Paris.  Sean’s second event season at Luna Park Melbourne is looking to be as busy as ever.  Fun for All!

Sean would like to thank Paola Ghirelli for writing this piece on his behalf.