Insider Events – Gourmet on the Gridiron

Chic & Swell Team Members:
Carole Saad
Cathy Montopoli
Rebecca Trafford
Alyssa Yemensky

Basic details of the event:

Title: Gourmet on the Gridiron Presented by Site Preparation Limited
Date: Friday August 24th 2018
City, Country: Ottawa, Canada
Host Venue: TD Place Stadium, Lansdowne Park

Organizing Team:

• Ottawa Sports & Entertainment Group (OSEG)
• Levy Restaurants and Catering
• Chic & Swell Creative Meetings and Events
• LouLou Lounge Furniture Rental

Number of Attendees: 400

Who was the target audience?

The target audience was sports enthusiasts and local football fans, who wanted to indulge in the unique experience of dining on the field with the entire Ottawa REDBLACKS organization, all the while supporting a great cause.

Hosted by TSN’s Kate Beirness and CTV Ottawa’s Henry Burris (Honorary President of the OSEG Foundation), the evening included a photo-op with the Grey Cup, a chat with CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie, a spiral throwing lesson with REDBLACKS QB Trevor Harris, a kicking demo with REDBLACKS kicker Lewis Ward and a delicious four-course meal courtesy of Levy.

What was the main objective of your event?

Aside from a memorable fun evening, the main goal of the event was to raise funds for the OSEG Foundation. The sponsors and guests helped to raise close to $200,000 which goes towards getting children and youth from our community off the sidelines and into the game.  

What was unique/different about this particular event for you/your organization?

Not many can say that they had the opportunity to participate in the planning for a unique dining experience on the field within the TD stadium, where Chic & Swell helped to design the event, inclusive of décor and furniture.

What was the biggest obstacle you/your team had to overcome?

The largest obstacle was the gamble on weather. The premise of the entire event was dinner on the field where guests could toss & kick footballs and interact with the players. The rain plan was to host the evening on the rink inside the stadium, which wouldn’t quite have had the same effect. The weather call was made Wednesday morning, for the Friday evening event based on the weather forecast. From there, we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best!

What was your biggest triumph?

Aside from the weather gods working in our favor, when you set out to design an event you take into consideration all of the elements – how the room (field in this instance) is going to be laid out, what will your guests experience, the food and beverage, the flow of the evening, the décor, etc. – our biggest triumph was that it all came together beautifully and that the energy on the field that night was electric.

Did you do anything new or innovative? If so, how did it go?

Guests each received a standard game size CFL football at their seats. The footballs were used to participate in the various football skills and drills, sharpies were left on each table to encourage guests to obtain autographs from all the players – a memento from a fabulous evening.

What challenges did you have putting the features together?

As we were setting up on a football field, careful care and consideration went into the placement of the elements. We needed to avoid damaging the field as there was a home game the very next day.

What were some things that you improved on this year over last year?

This is the first inaugural event.