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Urockaoke: It's an enticing twist on an old standard: karaoke with a live band. At a typical Urockaoke event, the Montreal-based band of four veteran musicians plays for three hours, offering guests the opportunity to sing lead vocals on more than 250 hit songs. Urockaoke travels throughout Canada for corporate events, with fees ranging from $2,500 to $4,000, depending on the size of the group. |
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Build-a-Hand Kit: Developed by Odyssey Teams, a California-based specialist in philanthropic teambuilding, each $2,500 Build-a-Hand kit includes pieces for 10 prosthetic hands, carrying-cases for the completed limbs, a step-by-step guide and videos to drive home the teambuilding message. Facilitators can inject creativity into the two-hour session by making it a mystery project or adding other challenges. Once completed, Odyssey distributes the prosthetic hands to children in developing nations who have lost limbs through conflict, disease or birth defects. |
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Build it Yourself Learning Centers: Launched last fall by celebrity contractor Jim Caruk, host of HGTV's Real Renos, Toronto-based BiY Learning Centers offers hammer-wielding workshops and retreats. Participants might build a small piece of furniture or a full garden shed. To bump up the challenge BiY will give instructions using only riddles. The overarching goal is to improve communication, says director of education Ian Burns. BiY can accommodate up to 120 people at its campus, or will take the show on the road for bigger groups. Adds Burns, "It's an entirely different experience." |
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The Seventh Knight: Set amid the splendour of the Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament castle in Toronto, participants are sent to a series of locations where they're required to solve a puzzle to win a knight's crest. Actors in medieval costume interact with the teams, and players can use pretend cash to buy information and move on. The most worthy team achieves the ultimate honour of selecting a member to serve with the other six Knights of the Realm. Lynn Ferguson, chief team architect with Conundrum Adventures, says the game brings out the key dynamics of successful teams: communication, problem solving, strategizing and decision-making. |
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Custom Fit: Team Academy is a Vancouver-based boutique teambuilding firm that custom designs indoor and outdoor events for organizations across Canada and the U.S. Lasting from two hours to a day, the challenges are typically inspired by television classics such as Survivor, The Amazing Race and The Apprentice. The popular Ultimate Team Challenge blends all three. "We combine creativity with adrenaline and strategy," says Jackie Slavenova, a former engineer and orienteering competitor who founded the firm in 2004 with partner Svetlin Ranguelov. |
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Ignite Business Event Expo
When: June 12-13, 2012
Where: Direct Energy Centre, Toronto
Why go: You'll be wowed by a unique and stylish show format that will maximize merchandising of exhibitor offerings and guarantee a worthwhile, experiential environment for planners.
What's in it for you: Experience top rate, high-profile marquee speakers, interactive information sessions that will inspire and enlighten, and multiple business-to-business exchange and networking opportunities.
More industry events at Ignitemag.ca
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INCENTIVES + MEETINGS
A little give and take
As the competition for top talent increases, the quest for flexible work arrangements is only bound to increase. The results of the Microsoft Canada Flexible Workspaces survey reveal almost half of polled bosses say they support remote working arrangements. Employees cite the reasons they worked from home were: having fewer distractions (44%); being more productive than in the office (35%); and finishing work that couldn't be finished at the office (48%). A little more than a third of respondents (35%) say working from home created a better work/life balance. With the rapid adaptation of mobile technology and cloud computing, the ability to work any time, any place and anywhere is now the norm. |
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CORPORATE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT
Stable and Steady Growth
The trend of moderate but stable business travel is the forecasted outlook by the Global Business Travel Association for 2012. The report, Business Travel Quarterly Outlook sponsored by Visa, says that business travel will increase by 4.6% this year. Over the last decade, GBTA research shows that while the number of business trips declined, the overall spend has increased. In 2000, 576.06 million trips were taken, with a spend of $242.9 billion. In 2011, business trips have declined by 22.7%, to 445.0 million, but spend increased by 3.3% to $251.0 billion. The slow growth of the U.S. domestic economic recovery will result in a modest transient business travel spend in 2012, while group business travel is expected to slow to 3.3%, as higher energy prices impact the overall economy.
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CORPORATE GIFTS + REWARDS
Full Steam Ahead
Searching for the perfect incentive at sea just got easier, thanks to an updated meetings portal from Royal Caribbean International. The new site allows planners to save searches and profiles, request proposals, or search for availability on Royal's fleet of 22 cruise ships. A comprehensive planning guide provides detailed information about customizing events at sea, with over 267 destinations to choose from. Full ship charters offer the ultimate in privacy and customization and this fleet offers the largest meeting and conference space at sea. The navigation bar on the new portal allows planners to view destinations and port excursions, review the Royal's fleet of cruise ships and peruse onboard amenities.
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| Share your event news, case studies or story ideas with us here at ignitemag.ca. |
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The Life Aquatic
Splash down in Pointe Claire, Québec as the tradeshow coordinator and corporate event planner for Vortex Aquatic Structures International. You'll be completely in charge of managing all aspects of regional, national and international trade shows and corporate events. If you've got at least three years of trade show or project management experience, apply for this position here. |
Parlez-vous?
If you have senior level meeting planning experience and you're comfortably bilingual, Plannernet has a full-time position in their Mississauga, Ont., office. Past experience using StarCite is another plus. Contact Michael Schaumann at michaelschaumann@plannernet.com if you're interested in this opportunity. |
Gallery Galas
You've got until April 20th to apply for the coordinator of wedding and event services at the Art Gallery of Hamilton. You'll be responsible for the planning, onsite management and delivery of weddings and special events at Canada's third largest art gallery. You'll also have a relevant post-secondary degree or diploma, with a minimum of two years experience in special event management. All the details are here. |
Full Service Team
The EventSimple team is looking for a Toronto-based program manager for full-cycle program management of meetings, events, conferences or incentive programs. You'll direct internal project teams, negotiate contracts and ensure that all deadlines, deliverables and budgets are met and aligned with client expectations. Candidates should have at least three to five years of event management experience, along with exceptional time management and client service skills. Please send an email to jobs@eventsimple.ca and indicate Program Manger, EventSimple in the subject line. |
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