Inclusive Hospitality Archives

Where Is a Good Location for a Car-Free or Car-Light Conference Destination?

Posted on 4 August, 20264 August, 2026 by Shawn Granton

*Fairmount Empress Hotel on Victoria’s Inner Harbour*

Consider Victoria, BC

Last fall we were in Victoria, British Columbia as part of a FAM (familiarization) trip hosted by Destination Greater Victoria. We are always interested in exploring unique destinations that our clients would be interested in, especially ones not far from our home base of Portland. Destination Greater Victoria did a splendid job of showing us what makes The City of Gardens special.

The natural beauty, amount of amenities, and level of service available in Victoria are typically the big selling points. Yet the thing that really impressed us was how easy it was to get around without hopping in a car. As an organization that specializes in conference planning, we are always looking for locations with plenty to do for conference-goers within a short walking distance, and Victoria delivers on that front. Not only that, but as climate change becomes an ever-growing concern, we like to minimize the use of single-occupancy motor vehicles wherever possible.

Victoria reflects one of our key commitments: People and Planet First. The city is sustainable, accessible, walkable, and set up well for meetings of any scale. It’s a destination that makes it easy for planners to keep their events in step with these values.

*Taking the Victoria Clipper from Seattle’s waterfront was a great way to get to Victoria.*

Ferries and Water Transport: Arriving in Victoria Without a Car

Victoria, British Columbia lies on a peninsula on the southeastern corner of Vancouver Island. Water is one of Victoria’s biggest assets, as hotels and restaurants crowd the Inner Harbour and anywhere else a water view can be obtained. Water is also an important part of getting to, from, and around the Greater Victoria area. Three different ferry services currently connect Victoria to the mainland: two from the Inner Harbour to Washington State (Black Ball and Victoria Clipper) and one from Swartz Bay to the Lower Mainland of BC (BC Ferries). These ferries make it possible to visit Victoria without a car, and all three services allow passengers to bring a bicycle along.

Ferries also provide service around Victoria. The Victoria Harbour Ferry runs a fleet that connects many destinations on the Inner Harbour and offers regular tours, a great activity option for conference guests. These small boats are electric battery powered, lessening the environmental impact of getting around the waterfront.

One great way to incorporate water transport into your event is to hire a boat for sightseeing, whale watching, or transporting guests to a more distant destination. For our FAM Destination Greater Victoria chartered a boat from Eagle Wing Tours to bring us 30 miles (48 km) across the water to a hosted dinner at Bilston Creek Farm. Bilston Creek Farm is a Biosphere Committed lavender farm in Metchosin, with roots on the property dating back to the 1840s, that crafts natural body, home, and kitchen products from its own lavender, apples, and honey. The boat ride gave us perspective on the region’s relationship to the ocean, one that was exploitative for far too long. Eagle Wing Tours is Canada’s first carbon-neutral whale watching company, and they keep their Net-Zero, Nature-Positive Commitment by reducing emissions and working toward carbon neutrality.

Seaplane Service: A Fast, Carbon-Neutral Way To and From the Inner Harbour

For a quicker alternative to the ferry, seaplane service connects Victoria’s Inner Harbour directly to downtown Vancouver and a handful of other nearby coastal communities, with no rental car or long airport transfer required. Harbour Air, North America’s largest airline and the first in the world to become fully carbon neutral, flies the roughly 60-mile (97 km) route between Victoria’s Inner Harbour and downtown Vancouver’s Coal Harbour, plus seasonal routes further up the coast. Because both terminals sit within walking distance of hotels, conference venues, and transit connections, a seaplane can turn a half-day of driving and ferry lines into a scenic, low-carbon hop, an easy add-on for conference guests arriving from the Lower Mainland or the Pacific Northwest.

Victoria’s Public Transit System: Buses Without the Hassle

Using public transit is one of the best ways to reduce our environmental footprint. Thankfully Victoria has an extensive public bus network provided by the Victoria Regional Transit System (part of BC Transit) that enables people to move easily around the area without a car. Their network of buses criss-crosses Greater Victoria, connecting destinations like Victoria International Airport, the University of Victoria, and Butchart Gardens. The Route 95 Blink RapidBus, launched in 2023, uses dedicated bus lanes to link the West Shore with downtown, carrying nearly 10,000 riders on a typical weekday and arriving as often as every 7.5 minutes at peak times.

One of the biggest hang-ups for visitors who want to use transit is what and how to pay. This hassle is enough to scare people off and send them straight to a car share instead. But the days of needing exact change ready for a bus ride are gone. BC Transit uses Umo, a reloadable electronic fare payment system introduced in 2023. Riders can also tap to pay directly with a debit card, credit card, or mobile wallet, no cash or fare card required, with a daily fare cap that keeps costs predictable.

Possibly the coolest thing about Victoria’s bus system is its use of double-decker buses, like one would see in London. Riders gain a greater appreciation of Vancouver Island’s scenery from the upper deck.

Accessible Transit in Victoria: Low-Floor Buses and the FAB

Victoria’s car-free ethos extends to accessible travel. Every Victoria Regional Transit System bus is low-floor, able to kneel at the curb and deploy a ramp, and BC Transit’s handyDART program provides registered, door-to-door shared rides for those who can’t use fixed-route service, with attendants riding free alongside registered passengers.

For groups, Freedom Adventure Bus (FAB) fills a niche few other operators do: a family-owned, wheelchair-accessible charter and tour service based in Victoria. Its 16-plus-2 passenger bus accommodates wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, and other mobility aids, and FAB runs both custom charters and guided tours to Sidney, the Gulf Islands, and the Cowichan Valley, departing from the Ogden Point Cruise Ship Terminal. It’s a strong option for conference groups that want every attendee, regardless of mobility, included in an offsite excursion.

*The group tour grabs bikes from Pedego Victoria*

Cycling in Victoria: Protected Lanes and a Long-Distance Trail Network

Riding a bicycle is another great way to reduce our environmental footprint. Victoria has put in considerable effort to improve the situation for cycling by actively building a network of bike routes that are comfortable for All Ages and Abilities (AAA). One of the key ways it has done this is by increasing the number of protected bike lanes, facilities physically separated from traffic. Over the past decade, Victoria has expanded its protected bike lane network from essentially nothing to more than 20.5 miles (33 km), and these lanes cut through downtown and connect to the places people want or need to go.

The crown jewel of cycling in Victoria is its system of long-distance bicycle paths. The three primary trails, the Galloping Goose, the Lochside, and the E&N, form a network of mostly off-road paths that total roughly 60 miles (100 km). These trails connect the BC Ferries terminal, Victoria International Airport, suburban areas, and rural destinations to downtown, and they intersect bus service at several points, so there’s no need to ride all the way back if you get tired.

The City of Victoria has selected Lime as its e-bike share provider, with a program expected to launch later in the summer of 2026. In the meantime, several bike hire services are available, many of them near the downtown waterfront, and you can also bring your own bicycle aboard the many ferries that connect to Vancouver Island. If you do, bring a good lock: Victoria has historically had one of the highest per-capita bike theft rates in Canada, though the city reported its lowest number of stolen bikes since 2011 in 2024, thanks in part to a downtown bike valet and expanded secure parking.

Bicycling around Victoria is a great way to see the sights and learn more about the city. It’s easy to book a group tour for conference guests, and these tours take care of everything, including providing bicycles. For example, Destination Greater Victoria arranged a tour for us from Pedego e-Bikes, giving us a unique perspective of the city. E-bikes give those who may be older or have mobility issues an easy way to get around, and we’re glad Victoria has these options.

Exploring Victoria by Walking or Rolling

In other cities we’ve experienced many conference facilities that are far from things to do, where attendees become stranded at the venue. When attendees want to “see the sights” outside a resort or facility, they might risk walking on inhospitable roads or end up hiring expensive rideshare or taxis to reach their destinations.

Thankfully, Victoria is a compact city, and most major attractions are located on or within a few blocks of the Inner Harbour. Restaurants, museums, shops, and beautiful parks like Beacon Hill Park are easily accessible by foot or wheels. Many downtown streets have curb cuts and ramps at intersections, and the city is actively working to make all intersections accessible. Getting around by walking or rolling is a great option.

The Malahat SkyWalk: A Free, Car-Free Day Trip from Victoria

About 19 miles (32 km) north of downtown along the Trans-Canada Highway, the Malahat SkyWalk offers sweeping views of the Salish Sea and Gulf Islands from an elevated forest walkway, with wide, accessible pathways suitable for strollers and wheelchairs. The attraction sits on the traditional and ancestral territory of the Malahat Nation, a Coast Salish community and one of the five W̱SÁNEĆ (Saanich) Nations on Vancouver Island, and is owned and operated by Malahat SkyWalk Corp in partnership with the Nation, with Indigenous stories and design woven throughout the visitor experience. It’s also Biosphere Committed, built with low-impact materials like glulam timber and galvanized steel, and has won the EcoStar Award for Experiential Tourism.

From May through October, it runs a free, walk-on shuttle from downtown Victoria, with stops at the Steamship Terminal and Capital City Station, letting conference guests add a scenic offsite excursion without renting a car or booking a private tour bus.

*The Crystal Ballroom at the Fairmont Empress Hotel, courtesy Destination Greater Victoria*

What Victoria Hotels Have Great Meeting Space and Sustainability Credentials?

Victoria’s meeting hotels back up the destination’s sustainability story with real credentials. Here’s what planners should know about five of the city’s top properties for meetings and events.

Fairmont Empress: This 1908 landmark sits directly on the Inner Harbour, adjacent to the Victoria Conference Centre, and offers roughly 23,000 square feet of meeting space across 22 rooms, including Victoria’s two largest ballrooms. It’s a double Green Key certified property (with its meeting space independently Green Key certified), has eliminated single-use plastics across guest rooms, meeting areas, and restaurants, and recently cut natural gas usage by 21 percent through a heating plant modernization.

Hotel Grand Pacific: Two blocks from the Victoria Conference Centre, this Inner Harbour hotel offers 10,000 square feet of meeting space across 13 rooms, plus a 3,000-square-foot waterfront ballroom. It was the first full-service hotel in Victoria to earn Four Green Keys, is Biosphere Committed, and was the first hotel in the city to install solar panels for water heating; it also runs an organic landscaping program and recycles leftover guest soap into laundry detergent.

Inn at Laurel Point: Set on six acres at the edge of the Inner Harbour, the Inn offers over 10,000 square feet of event space with rooms ranging from 10 to 200 guests. It holds 5 Green Keys, the highest rating in the Eco-Rating Program, and has been carbon neutral since 2009, the first hotel in BC to reach that mark. It’s also independently owned as a social enterprise that reinvests profits into staff, community partners, and environmental initiatives.

Oak Bay Beach Hotel: A boutique oceanfront property in Oak Bay, a short distance from downtown, with about 8,000 square feet of recently refreshed meeting space and sweeping Salish Sea views. It became just the third BC hotel to earn Biosphere Certification in 2023, partners with veritree to plant kelp forests for every declined housekeeping service, and holds Gold-level BC Green Business certification for its spa and restaurant.

Delta Hotels Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort: Located on the Inner Harbour across from the Royal BC Museum, this Marriott property offers 13,500 square feet of function space for groups of 10 to 400, much of it with harbour views, plus a private dock for chartering Victoria Harbour Ferries directly from the hotel. It holds a 4 Green Key certification and has added EV charging stations to support sustainable travel.

What Makes Victoria a Good Destination for Attendee Experience?

Victoria’s biggest advantage for attendee experience is that it doesn’t feel like a hermetically-sealed conference bubble. Because the Victoria Conference Centre and most hotels sit right on the Inner Harbour, attendees are immediately in the middle of the city, not a suburban office park or closed-off resort. That compactness, paired with a plethora of car-free options (double-decker buses, protected bike lanes, e-bike tours, water taxis), means people can explore the city between sessions instead of heading to their room.

Possibly the biggest perk is how attendees can arrive in town with little to no agenda and have a rewarding experience without pre-planning. Whale watching, Butchart Gardens, the Royal BC Museum, and a strong farm-to-table food scene are close enough that attendees can experience them in their free time without thinking too hard about how to get to them. While Victoria is relatively small, it boasts several big city amenities, such as Michelin-adjacent dining and quality hotel stock, so even sophisticated urbanites will not go wanting.

For clients concerned about their footprint, Victoria’s sustainability record is a big selling point. Ranked as the most sustainable destination in North America (GDS-Index), Victoria stands out to planners and organizations who value keeping their footprint low.

Summary for Planners

• Access: Victoria International Airport (YYJ) offers non-stop flights to about 15 destinations across Canada and the US, including Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Seattle; BC Ferries connects to Metro Vancouver, and the Black Ball Line and Victoria Clipper connect to Washington State.

• Venues: The Victoria Conference Centre offers 77,000 square feet of space, 21 meeting rooms, and a 400-seat theatre, alongside historic properties like the Fairmont Empress and LEED-built exhibit space at the adjoining Crystal Garden.

• Sustainability: The Victoria Conference Centre is Biosphere Certified and carbon neutral, and Victoria ranked the most sustainable destination in North America (22nd globally) on the 2024 Global Destination Sustainability Index, placing 3rd among small cities worldwide in 2025.

• Regional Support: Business Events Victoria, a partnership between Destination Greater Victoria and the Victoria Conference Centre, offers one-stop planning assistance, vendor connections, and site visit coordination for meeting planners.

• Walkability/Rollability: A compact, navigable downtown core means delegates can easily explore independently, with most major attractions within a few blocks of the Inner Harbour.

• Culture: World-class arts, dining, and experiences, including the Royal BC Museum‘s First Peoples Gallery and Thunderbird Park totem poles on the traditional territory of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, Canada’s oldest Chinatown and its famed Fan Tan Alley, Butchart Gardens, and a strong farm-to-table food scene.

• Values: Victoria’s sustainability commitments, from its Biosphere Certified conference centre to its expanding protected bike network, align naturally with People and Planet First principles at every level.

Emee Pumarega, CMP, is the founder of EJP Events, a Portland-based event planning company and Good Market Global member specializing in corporate meetings, conferences, and association events. Shawn Granton is a member of the EJP Events team. With over two decades of experience and a commitment to cultural competency and sustainability, EJP Events operates under the philosophy that True Hospitality Welcomes Everyone. For venue sourcing, site visits, welcome receptions, offsite breaks, team-building activities, or event planning support in domestic and international destinations, visit ejpevents.com.

Making events more inclusive – AND 6 Ways you might be making attendees feel unwelcome

Posted on 5 June, 20236 June, 2023 by Emee Pumarega

We recently attended Connect Pacific Northwest in Boise, Idaho and heard from Justin Skeesuck who taught about the Multiplier Effect and how it relates to accessibility in your events. My takeaway from this important talk was: If you exclude one person, you are also losing 4-5 additional attendees who might be connected with that person. Photo from official website of the speaker.

Everyone says, “I want to throw the best event ever!” and that means making events more inclusive. If your attendees feel unwelcome or left out, your event is falling short. Here are 6 ways you might be making attendees feel unwelcome, and how you can fix that. This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive or definitive list. We welcome your input and additions in the comments if you have the time.

The menu. (Including alcohol)

Gone are the days of the rubber-chicken conference dinner or surf-and-turf-for-all. Today’s event attendees are health-minded, from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and care about the environment, animal welfare, and where their food comes from. Food is the centerpiece of any gathering, and if the foods you offer at your event do not serve all of your attendees, they’ll feel left out and unwelcome. Check out this blog post, written by EJP Events’s resident vegetarian and Marketing Events Assistant, Shawn Granton, for some examples.

Are you preparing for attendees who avoid animal products; follow diets based on their faith, such as Kosher or Halal; or have sensitivities to any of the nine major food allergens? If not, you should! And to do so, you’ll want to ask, in your registration form, whether or not your attendee has any dietary preferences (I prefer the word “preferences” rather than “restrictions,” which can sound negative). You also want to make sure you’re working closely with your caterer and venue — even before signing the contract — to make sure they can prepare the foods your attendees want within your budget.

Don’t forget alcohol! As we talk more and more about mental health and overall wellness, we need to bring this into our events too. Not every attendee is excited about an open bar. Indeed, being around a lot of alcohol can present problems both for individuals on a recovery path as well as for organizations who want to promote healthy choices and professionalism. Make sure you are designing your event not just for different dietary needs, but also including those who make the choice to avoid or reduce alcohol consumption. Here’s a recent blog post we wrote about Dry January and how that thinking is coming into how events are planned.

Physical Accessibility

There’s nothing worse than getting to an exciting event you’ve been looking forward to, and finding out it’s a literal pain to get there. Think about the last time you had to walk what felt like miles inside a giant venue to find the restroom, or when you finally got there, only to find it was cramped or poorly appointed. Now imagine being a wheelchair user, someone on crutches, or a person with any other kind of mobility challenge, and you can see how the problem gets much worse. All of us are one accident away from disability, and if we’re lucky enough to grow old, we’ll all need accessibility accommodations at some point in our lives. Again, ask your attendees when they register what their needs and preferences are. “What accommodations, if any, would make it easy for you to attend this event?” is one example of how you can ask. And again, start asking your planning and logistics questions BEFORE you book your venue. One important one is “Are there ramps for a wheelchair-using speaker to get to the stage?” You can find a good resource of additional questions to ask starting here.

Finally, just because there are no curbs, or because the venue is legally ADA accessible, doesn’t mean your event is safe for a wheelchair user. We recently attended a presentation on Accessibility in Travel, where a wheelchair user described being assigned to stay in a hotel where she couldn’t open her room door by herself, from the inside. When asked, the front desk said she could call them whenever she wanted to leave her room. But what if there was a fire? Clearly, “just following ADA” is not enough. We all need to do more, such as spending more time evaluating the actual attendee journey through the space, not just checking off boxes.

Outdated concepts and wording

Sadly, this example of making guests feel excluded is still common. When attendees eagerly click on your event website, or registration form, is there anything there that would make them feel like this conference isn’t for them? One example I see often is titles on a registration form such as Mr. and Mrs. If all I see is Mr. and Mrs. as the choices, I feel left out because neither one describes me.

While many people use these titles, it’s true that “Mrs.” in our current society refers to marital status, and in a business setting, there’s no reason to ask women to declare their marital status. while leaving Mr. as the default for men, without any kind of denotation. Probably a whole dissertation could be written about why there is no version of “Mrs.” to denote a married man, in our society. What to do? A couple of ideas: Avoid titles altogether and instead, ask for first and last name, and pronouns. Or do all of the former and allow multiple choices and fill-in options for the title, such as Dr., Mr., Ms. or Mx.

Online Accessibility

Just like physical accessibility, online accessibility involves allowing everyone, not just sighted or hearing folks, the ability to enjoy your content and use your registration form. If someone with low vision, or a Blind or Deaf person can’t get to your registration form, then how will they attend? It’s a real problem and if your goal is to be inclusive and attract a diverse audience, you must consider disability. Thankfully there are lots of tools to make your visual content readable by a screen reader, so a person with vision disability can have it read to them. And vice versa – there are lots of tools to create captioned content for photos and videos, so hearing-impaired people can access your event sound content. One of the resources for finding these that we like is at MabelyQ – they’re a resource helping organizations improve access for people with disabilities. We recently took their course “Accessibility Made Easy“, and we realize we have a lot of work to do. Even looking at my own web theme at ejpevents.com, there is a lot that needs fixing, starting with text color contrast in my own, low-vision opinion. From adding alt text to photos, to using #CamelCase for hashtags, the resources out there have been useful and important to learn.

Online accessibility is also related to other ways of including everyone. By offering an online component of your event, whether it’s a selected number of livestreams or a full hybrid version, you’re making events more inclusive and accessible to attendees with a caregiving responsibility, such as mothers; the immunocompromised or at-risk populations who are still told to avoid large groups due to COVID; and those for whom traveling to an event would pose a barrier. Consider virtual or hybrid options to increase your attendee reach and inclusivity.

Excluding introverts and the neurodiverse.

This is something, as an event planner, I have struggled with for many years. As someone who gets energy from one-on-one contacts, and can feel depleted having to connect with many people all at the same time, I’ve realized over time that I identify as introverted. It’s common for me to need extra time to process information, to desire to skip small talk, and jump right into deep discussion of a topic. These might sound like liabilities in the workplace. On the other hand, what clients and colleagues stand to gain from these traits, is they receive more authenticity, well-thought-out opinions and guidance, and meaningful interaction. Glen Cathey, SVP of Digital Strategy and Innovation at the staffing agency Randstad, has a wonderful presentation about introversion at work called Introversion: The Largest Neurodiversity Category In Sourcing, Recruiting, Diversity and Inclusion. Unfortunately, because introverts are in the minority, our society and events tend to be built for assertive, “sociable”, and talkative people who have the tendency to seek stimulation in the company of others, leaving introverts (1 in 3 people) feeling left out and excluded. While introversion is not officially yet considered a category of neurodiversity, both Cathey and others, such as Sam Sheppard, advocate for including introversion as a part of any organization’s strategy to include the neurodiverse, and I agree.

And let’s talk about the more well-known neurodiversity identities, which are just as, if not more important, to accommodate at events if you truly want to work towards making events more inclusive. How do we serve those who are on the autism spectrum? How do we design for those with sensory issues or other neurodivergent traits?

What can you do? Learn, learn, learn, and then take action. We love the resource from GoogleXi called The Neu Project, which explores the topic of neurodiversity and helping create events that embrace all neurotypes. We recently heard Naomi Clare, one of the leaders on this project, speak at CMP Advance in New York, and she provided us with a Guide to Neuroinclusion which contains a wonderful A-Z toolkit of what you can actually do, starting now, on your path to making events more inclusive.

Affordability

Affordability of events, in my experience, has only recently become part of the conversation of inclusivity. However, as a child of immigrants, and someone who identifies as “1st Gen” (being the first generation in your family to meet a major life milestone, such as going to college in the US), I’ve witnessed firsthand how affordability can be a real issue in attending events. While there has been some consideration of affordability at events, most often in community and nonprofit events, the affordability question is now being addressed by more corporate and business events as well. This is important when we think about the history of racial inequity in this country, and how financial and monetary resources, and paths to generational wealth, have been inequitably distributed or just outright stolen, removed, or legislated out of the hands of marginalized groups. This Twitter thread from Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, an associate professor at University of Michigan, clearly outlines many of the major issues of affordability and events.

What can you do? Here are a few ideas and you’ll need to consider your event’s business model.

Offer a sliding scale or path to reduced or free participation.
Get sponsors to host scholarships or awards that come with a comped registration.
Pay speakers the cost of their travel plus an honorarium, so you’ll have access to all kinds of talent no matter their financial situation.

Sometimes, stakeholders will say, “There isn’t a budget for this.” However, my experience is that where there’s a will, there’s a way. Consider how you’re apportioning your entire budget. Do you have budget for conference swag, luscious decor, or other items, but not a few scholarship or student/low-income registrations? Did you pick a venue that leaves you no margin? Why is that? Can you sharpen your event planner pencil and find a place for your priorities? Your budget will show what the goals and priorities of your event are. If inclusivity is one of those goals, you and your budget will find a way.

I hope you find this blog post helpful! EJP Events works to include many of these methods of thinking when we are working with our clients. If you find these methods would be helpful for your event, I hope you’ll reach out.

Dry January, and alcohol-free options for your event

Posted on 10 January, 202210 January, 2022 by Shawn Granton

Image: Illustration of Man in suit holding out hand to refuse an alcoholic drink — *From an old Soviet anti-drinking poster.*

There has been a “Dry January” trend over the last decade of either cutting out or dialing back alcohol consumption in January. It’s a reaction against the overindulgences of the holiday year and a way to have a fresh start for the new year. As alcohol consumption has increased over the last two years due to pandemic and other stresses, now is a good time to be questioning your alcohol intake.

The concept of a sober, or dry January, started in 2013 in London. It’s part of a broader campaign called “Mindful Drinking”, which aims to rethink our approach to alcohol without quitting it completely. Ruby Warrington, who wrote the book “Sober Curious: The Blissful Sleep, Greater Focus, Limitless Presence, and Deep Connection Awaiting Us All on the Other Side of Alcohol” said in a recent New York Times article that “interrogating one’s drinking habits often leads people to adopt more mindful drinking strategies.”

There are definite benefits to drinking less. Alcohol is expensive, so cutting down is a great way to save money. Less drinking can lead to better sleep, better overall health, and can help with anxiety and depression.

But if you are used to having a drink or two on most days of the week, it can feel daunting to give up alcohol for a period of time, even if the period is relatively short. Several organizations, like the one who started Dry January, Alcohol Exchange UK, offer apps and coaching emails to support the decision. And it’s best not to approach the challenge as an absolute: take it one day or week at a time. It’s OK if you end up enjoying an alcoholic beverage during the challenge.

And there are ways to make cutting back on drinking easier, like exchanging alcoholic drinks with a non-alcoholic equivalent.

A good place to start is with beer. If your only experience with NA Beer is O’Doul’s, you’ll be relieved to know that now there are more and tastier options out there. Athletic Brewing serves up a selection of craft beer styles like India Pale Ale (IPA.) Clausthaler has been brewing German style NA beers for fifty years.

If spirits are your thing, Zero Proof offers booze-free rum, gin, tequila, and whiskey alternatives. Spiritless has their own alcohol free take on bourbon. For lovers of fermented grapes, Surely has non-alcoholic wine.

Are these options not available to purchase in your area? Since these products either don’t contain alcohol or a negligible amount (under 0.5% alcohol by volume), they don’t suffer the same shipping restrictions that actual alcoholic beverages encounter. You can buy many of these drinks directly from their manufacturer, or find an online store that specializes in booze-free booze, like Sipple.

You can still accessorize your non-alcoholic beverages. Groovy Guy Gifts offers up personalized decanters for your spirits-free spirits, while their “sister” company Bridesmaid’s Gifts offer insulated stemless wine glasses for your alcohol-free pinot!

And alcohol-free options should not just be limited to one month! With the hopes of weddings and more in-person events returning this year (fingers crossed), one should think about options for their non-drinking participants. Emphasizing alcohol without giving options for those who aren’t imbibing can make people feel unwelcome. And being unwelcoming is no way to have an event! So consider some of the “dry” options listed above in addition to the normal alcoholic beverages. Your teetotaling guests will thank you!

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Event planner podcasts to motivate and inspire

Posted on 31 March, 202111 October, 2022 by Emee Pumarega

EJP Events has recently been featured on a few event planner podcasts, so we’d like to share them with you! I hope you give these worthy programs a listen and let me know what you think.

Events: Demystified

Here’s the first one, from March 2021: The show is called (in-person, virtual & hybrid) Events: Demystified. We’re on Episode 31: The Importance of Time Management and Friendors When Planning a Virtual Event . Anca Trifan of Tree-fan Events has been leading this podcast for over 2 years, and it was so great to work with her on a large virtual event, then to go on her show and talk about it.

Image ID: a black banner with the words "Miracle Workers: A Podcast for planners, by planners." (This is one of the popular event planner podcasts available.)

Miracle Workers: A Podcast for Meeting Planners by Meeting Planners

And the other, from July 2020. This show is called Miracle Workers: A Podcast for Meeting Planners by Meeting Planners. Episode 14, Using Events To Change The World. Amanda and Darryl have been producing Miracle Workers since 2019 as well, and their topics range from “Wi-Fi pricing to last-minute requests for kosher, vegetarian, gluten-free, low-salt meals.” The episode we are on dealt with diversity, and why it’s important to change the world through inclusive events – right up EJP Events’s alley!

In addition to these two podcasts that EJP Events has been featured on, here is a list of some other event planner podcasts that you might be interested in, whether you are in the profession of event planning, wedding planning or production; or thinking about it as a career.

She Doesn’t Even Go Here: Unsolicited Musings on Life and Business. By Terrica Skaggs. Terrica is so informative and entertaining, the minutes just fly by and suddenly you’re doing more laps or miles on your treadmill just to have an excuse to listen to another ep. Highly recommended!
The Savvy Event Planner Podcast. We haven’t tried this one out yet, but it has been going since 2015, and covers such interesting and timely topics as Active Shooter Protocol and Event Safety; as well as International Event Planning.
Talk With Renee Dalo. Renee Dalo is a respected industry veteran, and invites high-level guests such as Liene Stevens, Kirsten Palladino, and Kawania Wooten to talk about everything from entrepreneurship to combating burnout.

Do you have a favorite event planning podcast you want to share? Or helpful tips on how to stay up on the latest event planning news? Leave us a comment, please!

Will and Erik’s Columbia River Gorge Wedding at Thunder Island, Cascade Locks

Posted on 30 December, 202018 December, 2021 by Emee Pumarega

Two grooms ceremony walk - Columbia River Gorge Wedding — Will and Erik’s Columbia River Gorge Wedding at Thunder Island, Cascade Locks

_{The “Lookback” Series of blog posts features weddings that happened more than a year ago. Some are repeats, some totally new to this blog! We hope you enjoy looking back with us on these wonderful weddings.}

Will and Erik’s Columbia River Gorge Wedding at Thunder Island, Cascade Locks was a wonderful celebration in the midst of the Columbia River Gorge Natural Area. The couple met in Portland, Oregon and chose to celebrate their love in breathtaking beauty surrounded by nature, the river and the foothills.

I loved so many details of their wedding and their planning journey. Their excellent taste in invitations and their choice of brewpub to hold our planning meetings in, just for starters! Look closely, their invitation from LetterpressPDX incorporated a blind-embossed topographic imprint of Thunder Island.

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A post shared by Event planner, Emee Pumarega (@ejpevents)

Interesting challenges from a wedding planner perspective were:
1. The very large outdoor location. Thunder Island is a private island, about 3/4 of a mile long, attached to a public park. We made sure to provide plenty of staff and signage so it was very clear where to park, where the ceremony was, and where the reception was, as the two locations were about 3/5 of a mile apart. At the end of the event I looked at my Apple Watch and noticed that I had walked ten miles!

2. The quirkiness of being located near rail lines. Because a railroad trestle crosses the entrance to the park, vehicle clearance is only twelve (12′) feet. This is pretty low, and I wanted to make sure transport and vendors were aware so they could plan which vehicles to use. I noted this at the walkthrough and made sure to put it in huge red letters at the top of the event plan I sent to each vendor and staff member.

3. There was a definite division of warm-weather loving Californians and hardy Oregonians in attendance. We optimized for both groups by providing both indoor tables and outdoor tented seating, as well as open-air areas for celebration.

All in all, the careful planning process that included detailing out the couple’s needs, family requests, vendor logistics, and public facility regulations came together into an unforgettable day.

Finally, what you’ve been waiting for – photos and vendor list, right?