Housed under a 20- by 60-foot tent, 150 spectators gathered at the Boulevard Condos site in Tampa to watch something quite entertaining: a groundbreaking featuring a "Battle of the Excavators" competition modeled after TV's BattleBots.
"I wanted to do something unique and never-before-seen at a groundbreaking, but had a limited budget to work with, so I used my friend Greg Musselman's (public relations director for the Florida Orchestra) connections and came up with an idea that I thought people would want to see," said Bob Holtzman, owner of Holtzman & McKey, the marketing and public relations firm behind the event.
The contest was simple: three people had three minutes to dig a hole using mini backhoes. The first to do so won a large yellow toy truck branded with the Boulevard Condos logo. To make it even more entertaining for attendees, former BattleBots play-by-play announcer Mark Beiro (that "connection" that Holtzman was referring to) was the competition's M.C. The competitors? Tampa's economic development administrator Mark Huey, councilman Kevin White, and Valencia Garden restaurateur David Agliano, representing those involved with the project. The contest, which started at 3:45 PM and ended just 43 seconds later, was won by Councilman White.
Afterwards, the party moved across the street to the Valencia Garden Restaurant for the reception and sales center opening. Until the event ended at 7:30 PM, a Jazz duo named Red Hot Jazz performed while eventgoers ate various kinds of tapas, drank cocktails such as sangria and wine, and socialized with one another.
Frank Clemente and Lynn McGhee of conceptBAIT provided the decor, lighting, and floral arrangements inside the restaurant. They set up a red carpet entrance from the restaurant to the sales center. The decorative duo also draped the entire main room and put in sunset-colored lighting that cast an amber glow throughout the space. Every piece of furniture from the restaurant was removed and replaced with cocktail tables and chairs wrapped in conceptBAIT's signature spandex in bright red, yellow, and lime green tones. Cymbidium orchids, shampoo ginger, and stargazer lilies were arranged in clear glass or bamboo and raffia bases, adding more color to the room. Even the bar was jazzed up with rows of floral arrangements and candles in varying heights.
—Albert del Toral
"I wanted to do something unique and never-before-seen at a groundbreaking, but had a limited budget to work with, so I used my friend Greg Musselman's (public relations director for the Florida Orchestra) connections and came up with an idea that I thought people would want to see," said Bob Holtzman, owner of Holtzman & McKey, the marketing and public relations firm behind the event.
The contest was simple: three people had three minutes to dig a hole using mini backhoes. The first to do so won a large yellow toy truck branded with the Boulevard Condos logo. To make it even more entertaining for attendees, former BattleBots play-by-play announcer Mark Beiro (that "connection" that Holtzman was referring to) was the competition's M.C. The competitors? Tampa's economic development administrator Mark Huey, councilman Kevin White, and Valencia Garden restaurateur David Agliano, representing those involved with the project. The contest, which started at 3:45 PM and ended just 43 seconds later, was won by Councilman White.
Afterwards, the party moved across the street to the Valencia Garden Restaurant for the reception and sales center opening. Until the event ended at 7:30 PM, a Jazz duo named Red Hot Jazz performed while eventgoers ate various kinds of tapas, drank cocktails such as sangria and wine, and socialized with one another.
Frank Clemente and Lynn McGhee of conceptBAIT provided the decor, lighting, and floral arrangements inside the restaurant. They set up a red carpet entrance from the restaurant to the sales center. The decorative duo also draped the entire main room and put in sunset-colored lighting that cast an amber glow throughout the space. Every piece of furniture from the restaurant was removed and replaced with cocktail tables and chairs wrapped in conceptBAIT's signature spandex in bright red, yellow, and lime green tones. Cymbidium orchids, shampoo ginger, and stargazer lilies were arranged in clear glass or bamboo and raffia bases, adding more color to the room. Even the bar was jazzed up with rows of floral arrangements and candles in varying heights.
—Albert del Toral
The Boulevard Condos sales opening had an unlikely groundbreaking ceremony involving a BattleBots-like competition.
The bar inside the Valencia Garden Restaurant was decked out with flowers, candles, and branding.
conceptBAIT's floral arrangements featured Cymbidium orchids, shampoo ginger, and stargazer lilies.
conceptBAIT's signature spandex covered the tables and chairs in colorful tones.
The restaurant passed tapas-style hors d'oeuvres such as ham-wrapped melon balls.
