Having spent almost seven years as the director of sales and marketing for the Capitol and York Event Theatres, Kacey Siskind says she has worked with and learned from the best in the business. “I got to see every angle of each event. The decor companies, all the different audiovisual companies that came through. I got to work with all of the different players, which was great,” she says, adding that she’s “seen it all” and learned how to handle last-minute crises.
Now she offers event planning services to private and corporate clients through her eponymous business, which she launched in fall 2007. “I am there to facilitate the process, to make it easy for the client, and to help build a team so whomever is throwing the event can attend and enjoy,” she says.
For the To Oscar With Love benefit, held in February to support the charity Leave Out Violence, Siskind volunteered as a member of the organizing committee. Rather than opt for a traditional dessert, she suggested make-your-own banana splits to end the meal. “It’s all about keeping food fun,” she says. “The guests loved it.” Siskind also worked with Debra Goldblatt of Rock-It Promotions to bring the Tastemakers Lounge—a gift lounge offered exclusively to celebrities during events like the Toronto International Film Festival—to the event, a first for a charity gala. “It was great publicity for us, and the tie-in with the Academy Awards was great,” committee chair Molline Green says of the swag lounge.
Siskind likes to work with a theme to ensure the event has an element of continuity. “It can be a colour, a song, a word, ribbon, certain kinds of flowers—just something you can play off,” she says. For the Young Presidents Organization’s year-end event last June, Siskind created a disco-inspired party. “Kacey made the CN Tower bar Horizons look absolutely wild,” says Andrew Souvaliotis, chair of Y.P.O.’s Toronto chapter. “She hired go-go girls and boys, she defined the menu to match the theme, she was exceptional at managing costs for us, and she truly made the whole experience unforgettable. She was the perfect buffer between a group of very busy, very incapable event hosts—us—and a host of suppliers.”
