Introduction

Not only am I excited to be graduating in May, but I am so really grateful to be spending the next few months interning in the Special Events Department at the City of Glendale learning from a team of 4 fabulous event planners. My first week was a whirlwind adventure, I began 1/12 and my first event, the Glitter and Glow Block Party was that Saturday, 1/17! Blogging is a completely new concept for me, so I am going to go ahead and write about that event for my first post.
Let me tell you a little about what Glitter and Glow is! The block party happens every January to send out the holiday season in Glendale (during which the city has over 1 million lights glittering every night), a few streets are shut down in the area of 58th Ave. and Glendale Ave., and 24 hot air balloons line the roads and light up (glow). Vendors have crafts and food for sale, the area stores stay open late, a Kids Zone is set up with bounce houses and a climbing wall and a few large scale rides (such as a ferris wheel) are thrown in as well. Going into last Saturday, I had no idea what to expect, all I knew was that I would be running around from 10am-midnight and I'd been told to bring an extra pair of sneakers so I could switch half-way through the day (great tip!), extra deodorant, a lot of water and to dress in layers. I arrived amid a flurry of vendors "loading in" their supplies to the tents that had been set-up the previous day, and was immediately put to work setting up "ped fence" to establish an area for alcohol. The event didn't begin until 4p, and I spent my morning and afternoon setting up signs and assisting vendors get set-up. At 4p I began checking in the hot air balloon crews, assigning them radios, giving them event shirts, and making sure they didn't have any questions.
I was lucky enough to have some time during the event to walk around and enjoy the atmosphere- soak it all in. One of the highlights for a lot of the attendees was the presence of 7 Cardinals Cheerleaders, who were there to sign autographs and perform. At the end of the night, everyone grabbed a pair of clippers and took off in different directions to take down all the signs (for restrooms, the kids zone, etc). We then moved the ped fence to a place it could be picked up, gathered empty soda cases and tied up other loose ends. The entire tear down process took a fraction of the time it took to set up everything- probably because it was 10p and we were exhausted!
For my first large event, it was a great experience, I got to do a little bit of everything and feel much more prepared for my next event- the Glendale Chocolate Affaire, February 6-8, if you're in Arizona, you should come by, it is going to be delicious!