Our Blog: Events out Loud

France Trip 2012: Nausicca at st palais sur mer

09/10/2012 16:47:00

Another magical summer trip to France. Performing, visiting friends and family, sightseeing , improving our French and drinking up the French Culture both literally and figuratively. These photos are from Jack's 8 night run at Nausicca in St. Palais sur mer. A lovely resort town on the Atlantic coast, this restaurant features fabulous sea food and of course, fabulous music. These photos were taken by Marco Wasser, a new found friend and photographer from Germany. He specializes in photography of artists and media packages for performing artists. It was wonderful to play with bassist Dominico Stocchi , guitarist Jeff Magidson, and pianist Michel .

Wilfried, also from Germany sat in on guitar one evening as did chanteuse Anna Magidson, chanteuse Rachel Magidson and washboardist Cajune .

Jazz in Tillac , France

09/08/2011 16:13:00

After a delightful week in the La Mothe st. Heray area, Deux sevres departement, we headed to the south west of France to visit family and to enjoy one of the largest jazz festivals in Europe in Tillac. A sleepy little village for most of the year, it comes alive with people and music during the first two weeks of August. The central square was tented and live jazz from noon until 5pm every day.

After dark the headliners started at "the big tent". We were fortunate enough to get tickets to see Thelonious Monk Jr.!

Yes, we've made our reservations for next year!

France: Paris, la mothe st. heray

08/10/2011 10:55:00

We have been very fortunate and again have had the opportunity to travel to France for a performance tour

and vacation! We are taking three weeks this year and are loving every minute.

Love these perks! Our first stop

was once again Paris. Two lovely days of sightseeing,

visiting friends, eating and drinking wine....doesn't get much better. Packed with tourists as is usual at the end of

July but fairly cool.

A nighttime boat ride on the Seine, le dejeuner in Montmartre and a delicious sole meuniere at Chez Pierrot on rue Amelie are some highlights.

We then took the train to Poitiers, picked up our rental car and headed to la mothe st. heray. We stayed with friends Bebel and Marlene, here we are in nearby Chenay at les trois pidgeons for dinner....yes all four courses were delicious and I didn't skip one! On the way we stopped at Exoudun and Bagnault; both just incredible . We had a wonderful week in this extraordinary part of France and will stop for a quick bonjour and au revoir on our way back to Paris to fly home. and to wish Marlene a very happy birthday!

yes, the plaque says 700 years ago....... more on the trip in the next posting.

Food and Wine Symposium: A Delicious Event!

03/04/2011 17:22:00

Mix ten chefs from fabulous restaurants with ten incredible wineries, add a dash of music from a string trio, sprinkle in 5 panelists discussing the business of food, decorate with flowers and candles everywhere , 125 guests ready to partake and you have a magical and delicious evening event.

Each chef brought a special signature dish of his/her restaurant and it was paired specifically with a wine from a local winery.

The results were amazing and delectable.

That makes 10 courses from appetizers to dessert. No one was hungry!

Dinner was served looking out over the San Francisco waterfront.

Yes, our client was very pleased,

Jack and I enjoyed ourselves immensely after a job well done and the guests were delighted!

The Right Speaker is Key!

02/03/2011 11:07:00

Engage, Educate, Entertain

To choose a speaker for a group of high energy business executives is no small feat. They have busy lives and if they are going to set and listen to someone for an evening; it better be good!

And it better be relevant to their lives: either business or personal growth , or else forget it, they are out of there!

At a recent event with a group of entrepreneurs, our speaker, Patricia Fripp, made the grade! She had the audiences attention within 30 seconds and as she says

that's all you've got to engage someone! And engage them she did! Lots of great take aways and a standing ovation at the end.

Patricia asked for a bit of audience participation and had members give their "sales pitch" for their business. She then "rewrote" it and WOW! What a difference!

Add a fun venue, some great food and music and it totals up to a wonderful event for all!

Play off the theme of the venue! In this case, a jazz club/dinner house in San Francisco; adds to the ambiance and enjoyment

for all! The venue was bought out for the evening and they catered the food/bar. This can be a cost effective was to put on a great event for a group as you are not bringing in numerous vendors. The size is the determining factor. Check out the maximum; usually around 75 works well. This idea of a restaurant buy-out can also be used with wonderful results for a rehearsal dinner or wedding reception.

Learn to Fly

01/27/2011 09:39:00

Learn to Fly! or just enjoy a flight over San Francisco Bay!

We set up this amazing event for a group of 60 at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos. A beautiful museum full of the history of aviation and full scale planes from many eras.Our speaker and flight organizer, Michael Flint is the former private pilot of Warren Buffet and also an Airforce One Pilot for both President Bush and President Clinton. Four planes were brought in to take groups up for a high flying adventure over San Francisico. Those who wanted to add to their flying miles were welcome to take the wheel!

After the ground rules were explained, groups of four at a time took to the beautiful October skies for a sunset flight!

After landing everyone enjoyed appetizers of Cheshire Cat and wine by St. Michelle wine estates as they discussed their various adventures. we then all sat down from a lovely catered dinner and after dinner Micheal engaged us all with stories of his flight experience, love of flying and his new endeveor, Visionary Aviation: bringing the joy of flying to others!

Six vendors for this event: Venue, Speaker,wine sponsor, caterer, photographer, sound.

Cost per person- $200; 60 attendees

Photos courtesy of Nucci Studios, San Francisco

It's all happening at the Zoo!

01/24/2011 15:05:00

Many zoos are set up to be the perfect backdrop for

fantastic events! We had animal introductions during cocktail hour and went on to enjoy a site down dinner catered by the Zoos caterer!

This event

was held at

The San Francisco Zoo.

and had the extra added attractions of

a demonstration by Kung Fu Experts!

Don't try this at home!

Photos for this event were taken by Nucci Studios, San Francisco.

Adventure Events; Navy Seal Training

01/03/2011 11:41:00

Ever wonder what a Navy Seal training is like?

Here is a one day event that promises to challenge physically and mentally and give you an event of a lifetime! We bought our group to the beautiful Marin Headlands for this event with 6 ex Navy Seals to put us through our paces; starting with a one mile run to the beach, one man carry exercise,lifeboats in the surf and finishing with much deserved bar-b-que. This is an event best suited for a small group that welcomes the opportunity to stretch out of their comfort zone, build their skills and create group awareness. Not to mention get an incredible work out and gain appreciation for what the Navy Seals do for all of us.

This event came in on budget and way above expectations for all that attended!

Dinner and a Show

01/03/2011 11:15:00

We are delighted to again be a part of planning and performing for the First Sunday Jazz and Blue Show at the Pittsburg Yacht Club, Pittsburg, CA. This is an ongoing program 8 years strong, held once a month , except for January, the first Sunday of the month and is usually sold out. We have organized three different hosts throughout the year to bring lots of variety to this fabulous show. Each month the host will perform and present one or two special featured performers as well as 3 or 4 cameo artists, who perform one or two tunes. Artists presented are vocalists and musicians playing and signing the music we all love. There is a "house band" of piano, bass, drums, horn and percussion.

Also featured will be youth artists who will knock your socks off!

Three course Dinner and the show is $45.

cover for the show only is $25. Seating is limited to 80. Reservations recommended. email me at jazzjp@gmail.com

Here are some photos from the Christmas show!

The finale finds all the vocalists joining in for a blues tune.

New Year's Eve: 2010

12/28/2010 14:14:00

Jack Pollard Sings on New Year's Eve!

Click

HERE

to listen to or to download Jack's songs!

Downloads also available on Amazon and ITunes.

Bring in 2011 in Style!

This year finds Jack back at the Carneros Inn, The Farm, in Napa with maestro

Dan Daniels on keys and Tim Merritt on Sax for your listening and dancing
pleasure!

December 31, 2010

Don't miss this party! Make your reservations early!

Dinner served 5:30-10:00pm

9:30pm-12:30am

Music!

4048 Sonoma Highway, Napa, CA

click

here

for additional details

Driving Directions