Scott O’Hara Senior Event Planner at Plan It Green joins Janette Lampe, Corporate Event Manager at Kaiser Permanente at the 2009 San Diego Special Events Show

Plan It Green joined event professionals from throughout the world on January 29th and 30th as they gathered in San Diego for The Special Event 2009 at the San Diego Convention Center.

What we found was an amazing display of innovative event props, solutions and ideas. However, our search was to find the greener side of things. As far as the behind the scenes goes with the actual production, we don’t have much to go on. There were some workshops/seminars conducted on greening events and how to think more green as an event planner. However, our impression of the majority of vendors that were on display at the exhibit hall was one of surprise. We had to look harder than expected and really as the question, “How is your service or product green?” The surprise was that most of the vendors struggled to answer the question. While a few select vendors were readily informed to provide those answers we really wanted to hear.

The vendors that said, “YES” we are green thinking and have products that support Plan It Green’s efforts were happy to see us there. We saw illuminated dance floors and cubes that glowed of colored LED lights that operated on batteries which are charged using solar power. There were great inflatable props that use energy efficient fans as well as a selection of eco-friendly growers of flowers. We also learned something about a popular furniture rental company, CORT Furniture. They rent all kind of furniture for residential purposes and events. They are currently working on integrating eco-friendly and durable fabrics into their furniture, but they have been “recycling” their rental products for some time. Once furniture has reached its limit as a rental, instead of throwing it away, they sell it at a discounted rate. Overall, we were happy about the green elements we did find. We truly hope the rest of the events industry begins to think greener for The Special Event Show 2010. If Plan It Green can be there, we will once again be looking for the green!

Plan It Green was invited a great after-party on Thursday, Jan 28th at the New Children’s Museum. It was hosted by Classic Party Rental and they presented us with a green themed party. It included a variety of organic cuisine offered by Water’s Catering which was served on either bamboo plates or china. Linens were made from natural fibers and reusable glassware was used by the bar. Visit Classic Party Rental’s site and click on “Classic’s S.A.V.E Initiatives”.

Thank you Classic Party Rentals for a green party!