Happy Birthday to The Phillie Phanatic (Philadelphia Event Planner)

The Philadelphia Phillies celebrated the Phillie Phanatic’s birthday at their game Sunday against the Marlins, which they unfortunately lost, but we’re keeping this upbeat.

Since watching the game I have been walking around for three days humming the TastyKake theme song in my head, and I’ve been really anxious to put up this post.

As an event planner cakes are something I deal with on a regular basis.  The more inventive and wackier, the better in my opinion.  The birthday cake they put together for the Phillie Phanatic was so cute and fun.  Thanks so much to the 700 club (www.the700levelclub.com) for sharing these pictures with us, since we weren’t able to be there to take our own.

I have adored the Phillie Phanatic since going to Phillies games with my dad at a very young age.  I actually think as a little girl, I was more excited to see the Phanatic then the game.  Known for taunting the other teams, stomping on their personal belongings, leading the fans in cheering on the Phils, and just being outright goofy, he often adds some comic relief when Phillies fans need it most.

Here’s some fun facts you may or may not have known about our green furry “phanatical” friend.

• The Phillie Phanatic was created by a New York based company known at the time as Harrison/Erickson which today is known as ACME mascots, after the 1977 Phillies season.  The company employee responsible for this adored creation was Denis Lehman who thought that the Phanatic was just what Philadelphia needed.

• He was created for two reasons.  The first, to emulate Philadelphia’s fanatical fans after an incident that occurred with a Dodger’s pitcher during the 1977 season.  Apparently, Philadelphia fans taunted him so much, he lost his composure, and was ejected from the game.  The Phillie Phanatic was also born to try to bring more families to the Vet.

• There were former mascots that the Phanatic replaced titled “Philadelphia Phil” and “Philadelphia Phillis” who were meant to be siblings that dressed in 18th century style clothing to promote Philadelphia’s historic appeal.  I can’t imagine them to have been even close to as much fun as The Phanatic.

• He made his debut April 25th, 1978.

• The Phanatic was voted best mascot ever by Sports Illustrated and by Sports Illustrated Kids.

• His mother is Pheobe Phanatic and his father is unknown.  He also has a cousin named Phred.

• He is the first mascot to drive an ATV.

• He is 300 pounds, 6′ 6″, and has a 90″  waist.

What’s not to love??  Thank you for all the   We are looking forward to another great season.  GO PHILLIES!!

Earth Day! Be Green In Your Home And In Your Events.(Philadelphia, New Jersey, Event Planner)

As you may or may not know today is earth day. Some common misconceptions about “going green” or becoming “eco-friendly” are that it will take a substantial amount of extra time out of your day, and that it is much more expensive then your current lifestyle. There are actually many simple substitutions you can make in your daily lifestyle that will help the environment without costing you a penny, and in many cases can even save you money. Here are just a couple that I found in a article by bankrate.com titled 153 Ways to go Green .

Stop the junk mail

If you are interested in reading the rest of the article it describes easy ways to go green in your home, at work and school, with technology, with food, and at play.

There are also many ways to go green with your event or wedding.

Invitations

• There are several types of recycled paper. You can also get “Tree Free Paper” which is made of hemp, organic cotton, bamboo, or banana stalks
• Create Save The Date thumbdrives with PDF files containing all information and a link to a website that will be updated as more information becomes available for the event or wedding.
• There are invitations available that contain seed within the invitation.  After the wedding invitees can plant the invitation in their garden, which will eventually grow into a plant or flower.

Favors

• Make a charitable donation in lieu of a traditional favor.  Donating to an environmental cause gets you double points.
  
• Bamboo
• Soy candles
• Use potted plants as centerpieces and allow guests to take them home.
  

Location

• Consider where the majority of your guests are coming from.  Will they have to travel far?  Destination weddings can be beautiful, but damage the environment from all that traveling.  Hosting your wedding locally will be more eco-friendly.
• Have the ceremony and reception in the same venue.  Reducing the travel necessary for your guests, therefore reducing the carbon footprint.

Food & Decor

• Use a caterer that purchases their product locally.
• Obtain your flowers from a florist who uses local and organic farms.
• If you are looking for something exotic look for a wildflower grower at your local farmers market.

Attire

• Think vintage!  Shop at a vintage store for your wedding dress or tuxedo.
• Donate your dress to charity after the wedding.
• Buy a dress or tux that you would wear again.

Honeymoon

• Use a travel agent who specializes in eco-friendly trips who will ensure the location and other details are environmentally sensetive.
• Rent a hybrid car.
• Look for a location that may involve off the beaten path types of adventures.  Get involved with nature.
• Stay in a hotel that recycles.  Leave a note for the cleaning staff asking them not to replace your towels every day, but every third day instead.

There are many more options and ideas. If you are interested in having a green event please contact us for further information.

Saving The Earth In Style – GreenChic Living (Philadelphia Event Planner)

Earth Day is April 22nd, and is quickly approaching.  Mainline Magazine & Bucks Life Magazine will be supporting the “Green Phenomenon”  next Wednesday at The Crystal Tea Room from 5:00pm – 9:00pm with their event titled GreenChic Living.

Events by Monroe is excited to be partnering with these great publications as well as LUXE Marketing to bring Philadelphians the most stylish and interactive green showcase yet.

There will be a vast assortment of eco-chic products for the home and body that compliment your lifestyle without compromising style, function or comfort.  In addition you will have a chance to hear Katherine Gajewski, the Czar of Sustainability for Philadelphia, speak, as well Greenandsave.com’s Charlie Szoradi discussing all the latest innovations.  There will be a fashion show taking place where you can see some great organic clothing.  Stop by PECO’s booth to hear about the changing energy laws, then swing by and speak to a few solar companies to see how you can reduce your electric costs to counter these energy law changes.

Other highlights include a beauty bar, solar innovations, green fashion and home goods, local wine and food companies and much more.  Cost of tickets are $15.00 in advance which can be purchased at greenchicliving.eventbrite.com and $20.00 at the door which includes cocktails & hor d’oeuvres. Proceeds to benefit the Sustainable Business Network and Schuylkill Banks.

Take a look at the Notes section on the GreenChic Living Fan Page to see a list of all the participants and sponsors. http://bit.ly/9wBl4v .

The Ultimate Surprise Party ~ Day One (Philadelphia Event Planner)

For those of you who may not have read the previous blogs about the planning of this trip, here are the links to part one http://www.eventsbymonroe.com/main/?p=470 and part two http://www.eventsbymonroe.com/main/?p=478 .  As promised . . here are the details of how the trip went.

I arrived at my parents house to meet them before leaving for the airport.  At this point my mother still had no idea that we were going to Rome, and thought that we were heading to Longwood Gardens and then out to dinner.  During the hour leading up to the car ride we all began to get a little anxious.  We had been planning this trip for a year, and couldn’t wait to tell her about all that we had been working on.

We got into the car, and pulled out of the driveway.  After about five minutes in the car we asked her to put the directions into the GPS for the restaurant we were going to (which we would give her the zip code to Rome to enter).  Of course, the GPS was in the other car.  Go figure, so we went to our default plan of giving her the present we had for her, which also had her plane ticket in it.  She was so shocked, she didn’t know what to say.  She even cried!  She was so excited, it took the rest of the ride to the airport for it all to process.  (Video Footage will be coming soon!)

We arrived at the Philadelphia Airport and met up with my fiance, Tim, who was waiting for us there with the bags.  We checked our luggage, got our boarding passes, and headed for the terminal, where surprise number two was waiting for her.  As we walked into the terminal she found five of her friends awaiting our arrival who would be joining us on our trip.  She was speechless.

While waiting for our flight we stopped into Chickie & Pete’s to have our last taste of American Cuisine for a few days.

The flight was on time.  Everybody took a nice little nap on the plane.  Everybody except for me that is.  Somehow I always see to get stuck next to an armrest elbower.  Not only was I elbowed the entire trip, but the large man sitting to my right was wearing a puffy winter coat the whole flight, which took up even more room. . . ugh.  Lucky for me I brought a great book for reading, and was equally excited about the new technology for watching movies on the plane.  Now each seat has a personalized screen on the back.  It is a touchscreen that allows you to choose from various movies, TV shows, news, games and more.  Everything is free except the games, and of course the $5.00 for a headset.

Our flight landed at 7:30am (Rome’s time).  Everyone else seemed pretty refreshed from their nap, I however was a little groggy but happy to be out of that seat!  I was less then thrilled to have to go to baggage claim and then wait in the long line to get through customs.  To my surprise, there wasn’t a long line at all for customs.  The agents actually couldn’t even be bothered to look up from what they were reading to look at our passports, let alone stamp them.  I have done a good amount of traveling in my life, and have never experienced this.  They didn’t even look at my picture, they just waved us all through.  It’s amazing how security differs from country to country.

Our ride to our apartment is another adventure all together, so I will use that to begin Day Two.  Ciao!