| Q & A 04.02.09 10:00 AM |
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Virginia Gold Cup's Katie Snyder Adds Sponsor Categories for New Revenue Streams
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 | Virginia Gold Cup races at Great Meadow in the Plains
Photo: © Isabel J. Kurek |
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FROM WASHINGTON
The race never stops for Katie Snyder, director of development for the Virginia Gold Cup Association. Based in Warrenton, Virginia, Snyder and her full-time staff of four produce the Old Dominion’s largest twice-yearly horse race, with the leading purses for timber racing (jumping fences) in the country. The two race days in spring and fall draw a total of more than 85,000 fans to the 175-acre Great Meadow equestrian facility and event venue in the town of The Plains for one of the biggest social and sporting events in the D.C. area.
Before taking the Gold Cup reins in summer 2007, Snyder was the associate director of corporate development for the Sundance Institute in Los Angeles and also practiced law. Her efforts at Gold Cup have added new corporate-sponsorship opportunities, such as a Chairman's Box and JumboTrons, to an already action-packed day at the races. In addition to the ever-popular Jack Russell terrier races (sponsored by the Virginia Lottery) and tailgate competition (sponsored by Goodstone Inn and Estate), there are now nearly 25 sponsored programs and activities. We spoke to Snyder as she nailed down details for the upcoming Virginia Gold Cup race May 2.
When do you start planning for Gold Cup?
We start about 18 months out. This year will be the 84th running for the spring races, and our major vendors for tents, equipment, and catering have multiyear contracts to receive the best pricing. But so far this year we are seeing an 8 to 10 percent decline in ticket sales from 2008. Still, our attendance is very diverse, from young socialites to college alumni to business groups, as well as neighborhood families and friends. These groups annually book tailgate spots or buy the higher-end tickets on Members Hill for the spring tradition of seeing and being seen.
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Virginia Gold Cup Association, Sundance Institute, Facebook, Twitter, Virginia Lottery, Goodstone Inn & Estate, Fidelity Investments, Airbus Industries, Booz Allen Hamilton |
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| EVENT REPORT 10.28.08 4:28 PM |
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Sundance Institute Recreates Utah Scenes for Gala
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A slate of Hollywood stars came out for the Sundance Institute's 27th annual gala last night. As in years past, the nonprofit brought artists and alumni like Jane Fonda, Alec Baldwin, Christine Lahti, and Chevy Chase to a fund-raiser hosted by president and founder Robert Redford. This year, the institute's director of development, Emily Laskin, enlisted Overland Entertainment to mix rustic elements of Park City with some urban components of New York and create an intimate setting for the 400-person dinner at the Roseland Ballroom.
Designing a warm and cozy environment reminiscent of the resort town inside the expansive concert and event venue was a logistical challenge that Overland sought to overcome by separating the cocktail and auction area from the dinner space. Using wooden flats to enclose the dinner tables and stage, the production and design crew placed vignettes of items up for bid and a lounge around the perimeter. To evoke familiar scenes from Utah, the venue was furnished with props such as library shelves, leather couches, neon signs, director's chairs, weathered wooden cabinets, and pots of succulents.
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Sundance Institute |
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| TREND SPOTTED 08.04.08 12:56 PM |
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Events Get Tagged With Graffiti
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 | A muralist at Angeleno magazine's summer release party.
Photo: BizBash |
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Whether it’s as entertainment, decor, an activity, or an art installation, graffiti has added an edgy vibe to several recent events.
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Angeleno Magazine, The Dark Knight, Warner Brothers, Kidrobot, Mini Cooper, Nickelodeon, Watermill Center, Sundance Institute, Art Gallery of Ontario |
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| EVENT REPORT 06.02.08 10:57 AM |
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Prom Props Fill BAM for Sundance Series Opening
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 | BAM's prom party setup
Photo: Alison Whittington for BizBash |
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With paper crowns, plastic tiaras, balloons, and corsages, the guests coming out of the Brooklyn Academy of Music Thursday night looked more like they had been to prom than to a film screening. And that was the idea behind the kick-off party for the Sundance Institute at BAM, a 10-day-long line up of indie films, shorts, performances, and art from the Park City, Utah, nonprofit's January festival. BAM's special events department created the motif to tie into the opening night screening of American Teen, a documentary following the lives of high school seniors in Warsaw, Indiana.
The screening packed the Howard Gilman Opera House with a lively audience, and afterwards many (BAM estimated that about 1,200 guests attended) flooded the lobby and the upstairs Lepercq Space for chips and dip, cookies, beer, and some dancing. On-hand to introduce the series were BAM president Karen Brooks Hopkins, Sundance Institute executive director Ken Brecher, American Teen director Nanette Burstein, Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz, and this year's chairs of the BAM Cinema Club, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard.
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RELATED TOPICS
Sundance Institute, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Citi, The New York Times, Brooklyn Brewery, Saaga 1763 Vodka |
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