63 organisers + 3 speakers + 1 venue = Peatix’s second community event for organisers, Backstage Pass!
Given the diversity of event genres organised by the local organiser community gathered at Backstage Pass (i.e. arts and culture, business, technology, design, food, psychology, conferences and so on), it’s safe to say that hearing a pin drop would be few and far between as conversations gushed amongst the crowd over a scrumptious dinner by Foodology.
Come 730pm, the empty seats quickly filled up as our attendees took their places to give all ears to our three speakers of the evening at The Co: Florian Cornu of the Secret Cooks Club, Khee Shihui of OH! Open House, and Jillian Yue of Le Gluttony. Their task? To tell us how in the crazy world did they come up with and execute their crazy concepts! #crazy3
Florian Cornu of Secret Cooks Club
Florian is a developer by profession and not a chef by training. How did he end up being a co-founder of the Secret Cooks Club? Simply put, a passion for organising events that help connect different people through food!
The concepts: Three male chefs to cook for the ladies on International Women’s Day for a cause, Christmas dinner in the pool, ice cream speed dating, food intimacy amongst busy working couples, food tailored to suit the palate of the person’s DNA, and more. Sounds like some crazy concepts there!
The ideation: Florian gave us a run-through on his ideation behind the many wacky event ideas mentioned above. We’ll fill you in on the Christmas dinner one – the intention was to replicate a wintery Christmas in sunny Singapore but alas there’s no snow. How did he resolve that? Have people dine in a pool instead of course! After all, water and snow is really the same thing in a different state, right?
In a nutshell, this is what you do to come up with crazy concepts:
1. Put your thinking (chef’s) hat on
2. Think of what’s normal
3. Do the very opposite, introduce an alternative or create an exaggerated version to what’s normal and voila, you get a Secret Cooks Club crazy concept.
Adding a cherry to the cake, Florian whipped up 60 eggs the souse vide style with such finesse you could feel the rising excitement in the crowd to try some. The egg was manifique!
Khee Shihui of OH! Open House
The concept: OH! Open House is an art walkabout showcasing works of emerging local artists within private and public spaces in local neighbourhoods.
The execution: Recounting her days as general manager of OH! Open House 2012, Shihui gave us four cardinal rules in organising a large-scale crazy concept:
1. Always keep sight of the largest goal – Their goal was not to earn or break-even from the event but rather to allow people to interact with art in everyday environments. Having kept that main goal in mind helped them make decisions especially in their interactions with the various partners.
2. Manage expectations – Things may not go as planned but there’s a need to convey the issue to all parties and find creative ways to address it!
3. Be nice to people who help you
4. Don’t panic on the outside – As pop-culture would have it, “keep calm and carry on”.
And that folks, is how Shihui tackled the melee of logistical issues to pull off a local art feast for the eyes.
Jillian Yue of Le Gluttony
The concept: Le Gluttony acted as a breakthrough opportunity for local food entrepreneurs, filmmakers, and musicians over two emotionally charged nights at the Singapore Night Festival.
The execution: As Jillian’s first art and culture event, she brought away three learning points from the challenges of organising it:
1. Working with vendors and partners requires both fostering good relationships and managing the expectations of all parties.
2. Curating content is key to keeping people engaged and receptive to your event.
3. Passion is key. Part of the evening at Le Gluttony included an outdoor movie screening. It was difficult logistically but at the end of the day, her passion for film pulled the project through as she figured creative ways to set it up given the space and resource constraints.
Recognise the running theme here? Passion. That’s what all three of them have for the genre of events they’re organising, and that is what drives the ideation and execution of awesomely crazy concepts!
Enjoyed the talks from our charismatic speakers and walked away with some good takeaways? Watch out for our next Backstage Pass happening soon! In the meanwhile, check out more photos of Backstage Pass here.
