James Ember is a professional magician who performs at events from corporate parties to weddings.  When Covid-19 started to surge in early March, he had to make a decision to either change career paths or change how magic is presented to his audiences.  With encouragement on a phone call with Sarah Davidson, he chose to perform his first virtual show on March 27^th through Facebook Live. From that experience, he started performing virtual magic for organizations who were continuing to work to host events online.  From the Madison Children’s Museum’s Virtual Summerpalooza event to Monona Terrace’s Lakeside Kids event (and a whole slew of other events in between), there was a lot to be learned about the immediate and potentially distant future of entertainment at events.

James will talk about how his specific corner of the events industry has had to be altered to encourage ideas on how your niche may be evolved.  He will also go over the transition back into live events from the perspective of interacting with people and the importance of keeping an open mind to the sensitivity and diversity of emotions people may be experiencing while attending events.  And lastly, he will touch on what the future of Fusion Events may look like and the benefits of an events world containing people trained in using virtual technology.

Geoffrey Sandler, the owner of Celebrations Entertainment, has been working in the event industry for over 30 years.  While growing up in Madison, Geoffrey’s family was very involved in the arts. This influenced his love for performing. While he loves music, Geoffrey’s passion is guiding an event through all its phases. Whether it is a wedding reception, a fundraiser, a virtual event, a corporate event, a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, just a simple picnic or even being Santa, Geoffrey personalizes each unique event for each individual client.

Geoffrey will talk about the direction of events in the future and how virtual events are here to stay. He will introduce his new virtual platforms, both Zoom and Hopin and end his discussion with a game of BINGO!

DATE: Tuesday, December 15th 
TIME:

• 9:30-10am: Coffee Chat for those able to attend

• 10-11:00am: Program 

**A fundraising raffle will take place and is $5 per ticket.  Raffle Prizes include $75 Orange Tree Imports and two bottles of wine**

COST

Program 
Members - $15   $10 Member ticket price reduced in thanks to a grant from the Foundation of NACE!
Non-members - $25

If you are a furloughed or laid off NACE member and are unable to pay for NACE meetings, please reach out to Marcia Terrones at [email protected] to request payment assistance.