Spring Is In The Air!

It's so easy to change the atmosphere. These Japanese lanterns brought spring right into the ballroom.

"Iron Chef" Competitions Can Also Feature Mixologists

Hot off their Iron Chef America battles on the Food Network, The Modern Mixologist, aka Tony Abou-Ganim, and Charlotte Voisey reunited to host the second annual BB&T Charleston Wine + Food® Iron Mixologist Competition at our Palmer Campus amphitheater. Four of Charleston’s finest bartenders battled through three rounds of cocktail warfare in a series of challenges demanding creativity, speed, quick thinking, and composure behind the bar. A top shelf judging panel and a series of whimsical secret ingredients kept each contender on their toes as they competed for the ultimate title of Iron Mixologist Charleston.

Décor at the Door

The theme for Summerville's Pinewood Preparatory School Auction Gala was Great Gatsby-Style. They keyed the décor at the door with this vintage ragtop. It also served as an effective backdrop for photos. 

Need a creative program for your group? We can deliver!

When the Chamber of Commerce wanted a program for the state's Congressional Delegates, we cooked up  Farm to Table demonstration for them. Jim Martin, of Compost in My Shoes, brought in vegetables and Chef David Vagasky, Chef Instructor of the Culinary Institute of Charleston, created dishes with them. They both gave a great talk - and followed with a tasting. We used the demonstration kitchen at our Palmer Campus. Bar chair seating around the counter simulated a chef's table. For a larger group, there is amphitheater seating.

The WOW Factor

ADD WOW: Shoot the logo of your title sponsor on the entrance.

ADD WOW: Use all  shimmering silver, white, and ice blue for a winter theme.

ADD WOW: Use two-tier bars with smoked silver tops. And don't forget the GOBOs.

ADD WOW: Place your stage in the middle of the room with circular lighting above it.

Needless to say, there was plenty of WOW for TTC's 2013 Night in the Valley black-tie dinner and auction!

A GOBO Can Really Be Effective

These pictures were taken while we were setting up our ballroom for TTC's Night in the Valley event. Notice the effect of the GOBOs on the wall panels. The white branches really heightened the effect of the winter theme. We can't wait to show you how they looked on the tented outside bar. Stay tuned!


A gobo (or GOBO), derived from "Go Between" or "Goes Before Optics," is a physical template slotted inside, or placed in front of, a lighting source, used to control the shape of emitted light. 

Thanks PDA for another great lighting production.

Flowers for TTC's Night in the Valley. A winter theme.

This year, the theme of  TTC's The Night in the Valley fine dining event is Winter. We'll have photos later showing our fabulous ice blue and white draped ballroom at the Conference Center, but caught these photos of the centerpieces today. There are three, alternated on the tables so that there is variety across the room. Don't they look like winter! There's nothing richer than white hydrangeas. But we're thrilled that baby's breath is back in style. There are so many ways to use it, with so much bang for your buck. 

The Pinning Ceremony

This is the decor for the December Pinning Ceremony. A ceremony is planned for each group of May and December nursing graduates. The nurses are required to wear professional attire, which must be a completely white uniform. Female nurses wear dresses and the school cap. The line stretches out through the foyer. It is a beautiful - and touching - evening. 

New Backdrop Works Like a Charm

Finance magnate Darla Moore making keynote address. Note how well the backdrop lights 
and how it shows on the screens.

On November 16, 2012, Trident Technical College and the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau hosted a luncheon for hospitality leaders celebrating "Charleston's Number 1 Designation". The keynote speaker, finance magnate Darla Moore, spoke on "Retaining and Leveraging #1."

Luncheon host, Dick Elliott, president and founder of Maverick Southern Kitchens, announced the Maverick Southern Kitchens was making a donation of $100,000 to Trident Technical College, the largest donation Maverick Southern Kitchens has made to the Charleston community. To date, the Maverick Match has generated $70,500 in matching funds. In addition, Ms. Moore personally donated $100,000.

315th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Booster Club Holds Holiday Party at College Center

This remote control motorized C-17 was the star of the auction at the 315th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Booster Club holiday party. Five feet long, with a wing span of five feet, it was quite commanding.

Charleston Air Force Base is located about 10 miles inland from Charleston. It lies within the city limits of North Charleston and shares a runway with the Charleston International Airport. Charleston AFB is the home of the 437th Airlift Wing and the 315th Airlift Wing (Reserves). The 437th AW is the host unit at the base, and it flies Boeing's C-17 Globemaster III aircraft.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

First the trees go up. Then the lights go on the trees and the wreathes are hung on the doors. But we really know the holidays are here when the pointsettias arrive. Lush with vibrant red color, they bring everything together.

The pointsettia derives its English name from Joel Roberts Poinsett, who was born in Charleston in 1779. A distinguished statesman, Pointsett served his country as a U.S. Congressman, as Secretary of War, and as the first United States Minister to Mexico. It was while he was serving in Mexico that he came upon the "Flor de Noche Buena" (Christmas Eve Flower). A keen amateur botonist, Pointsett sent samples of the flower back to the U.S. The rest is history.

TTC's Film, Media, and Visual Arts Final Presentation Draws a Crowd



On the evening of November 27th, eleven TTC Visual Art and four TTC Film students made their final presentations in the College Center. Two departments attended, as well as some one hundred and fifty guests of family and friends. There were six table presentations. five moveable panel displays, and four film presentations. The College Center is a great venue for a mixed media need like this because the central 15,000 square feet of space can break down into as many as 7 smaller rooms plus 5,000 square feet of pre-function space, giving the client as much or as little space as they need.

We Have a New Backdrop for the Stage

We're excited about our new backdrop depicting Charleston's historic Rainbow Row. It can be back-lit, as you can see, and brings lots of atmosphere to the stage.

Located on East Bay Street north of Tradd Street and south of Elliott Street, the real Rainbow Row is a series of houses painted in pastel colors. The first three were painted pink in the early 1900's by Dorothy Porcher Legge  who purchased  numbers 99 through 101 East Bay to renovate them. It is said the pink that she chose was based on a colonial Caribbean color scheme. Rainbow Row is an iconic Charleston scene.

The Decor Does It!

It's really beginning to feel like Thanksgiving around here! Clients are using beautiful arrangements of fall flowers at the check-in desks and big baskets of apples on the tables - and it's getting us in the mood. Here are a couple of examples that we think you'll  enjoy, too.

Grassroots Wine Holds Annual Grower Champagne Seminar at Palmer Amphitheater

Conference Services' one hundred-seat state-of-the-art amphitheater at TTC's Palmer Campus is the perfect place to give a seminar. So when Grassroots Wine Wholesalers, a company with a portfolio of farmer-produced wines, wanted to introduce their customers to their list of Grower Champagnes, they turned to TTC Conference Services. With our staff providing setup, glasses, spit buckets, and cleanup, it made it easy for Grassroots principal Harry Root (seen in the photo above) to lead the group through a educational tasting of twelve Grower Champagnes, discussing the history and qualities of each. We hope they'll come back next year!