On Saturday, October 3, 2026, more than 500 guests put on their best Western wear and gathered at Colorado Youth Outdoors in Fort Collins for NOCOFest Goes West, the fifth annual fundraiser for Avery's Light. The night had live music, food trucks and a lot of heart, and it raised more than $290,000 for individuals with special needs and their families in Northern Colorado.
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At Big Deal Company, we're proud to serve as the event planning and marketing team behind NOCOFest. This year's event was the biggest one yet!

For 2026, NOCOFest moved to a new venue, Colorado Youth Outdoors, and took on a Western theme. The bigger space made room for more guests, more vendors and more fun.

Here's what the evening included:

• Live music from Northwoods to start the night
• The NOCOFest Program, a short look at the families and programs the event supports
• A live auction and paddle raise, funding the programs Avery's Light supports
• DJ OSO keeping the dance floor full until the end of the night
• Food trucks, vendors and walking entertainment, all against a Western backdrop
• More than 30 auction items donated by generous community partners

Why NOCOFest Matters
Avery's Light started after its founding family heard the word "no" far more often than "yes," so they set out to build a place where the answer would always be yes.
"Sometimes what's missing isn't ability – it's opportunity." — Kristen Bland, Founder, Avery's Light
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Today, Avery's Light is Northern Colorado's leading advocate for inclusive recreation, adaptive programming and family resources. Every ticket, every sponsorship and every drink at NOCOFest helps fund that work all year long, through grants, therapy, adaptive recreation and inclusive programs that turn "no" into "yes."

The community showed up in a big way:

• 500+ RSVPs
• 30 sponsors
• 68 vendors
• 30+ auction items
• $290,000+ raised, about 45% more than in 2025

We're also proud of how carefully the money was managed. The total event cost  well under the original estimate, so more of every dollar goes straight to the families Avery's Light serves.

Our job is to make sure people hear about a great event and want to be there. This year's multi-channel campaign brought big results:

• Statewide press. The media release went to outlets across Colorado, and NOCOFest was featured in more than 20 publications and outlets
• Facebook reach grew more than five times. Posts drew 58,276 views during the campaign, up from 10,846 last year.
• Social media sold tickets. Facebook link clicks jumped from 5 to 689 YOY.
• Engagement nearly quintupled. Facebook interactions rose from 274 to 1,308, an increase of 377%.
• A steady presence on Instagram. The account recorded views every single day of the campaign, for 28,204 total views and 613 interactions.

A night like NOCOFest takes months of work. Here's what went into it:

• 9 months of planning
• More than 1,500 emails and 100 meetings
• 3 site visits to the new venue
• 3 lead planners and 9 event support staff
• 19 volunteers on site
• A website refresh and a new ticketing system
• Shared planning files, a communications plan, messaging templates and a media kit for every partner

Our design team also created a new NOCOFest logo, the event program, signage, social media ads and the sponsorship package.
None of this would have worked without the Avery's Light board, the volunteers and an amazing community.

Thank You to Our Sponsors
"Every sponsor at this event is choosing to invest in possibility, helping create more opportunities for individuals with disabilities to participate, belong, and thrive in our community." — Lori Couch, Executive Director, Avery's Light

A heartfelt thank you to the sponsors who made NOCOFest Goes West possible:

• Presenting Sponsor: Carrico Family Foundation
• Power of Possibility Sponsor: Edward Jones
• Inclusion Champion Sponsors: High Country Beverage, Colorado Youth Outdoors, Rope n' Rascals, Primary Event Rentals
• Breaking Barriers Sponsors: Bank of Colorado, LSI
• Ability in Action Sponsors: Centennial Leasing & Sales, PFC, PJL Schmidt, Peterson Toyota, Fusion Lighting & Design
• Belonging Sponsors: Big Deal Company, Front Range Energy, Thompson River Pediatrics, Tracy & Rusty Bailey
• Gift of Hope Sponsors: ENT – now Wings Credit Union, The Genesis Project, Robert & Susan Majerus, CBRE's Fort Collins Office, Scheels, Renaissance Insurance, Springhaus, Woodland Homes, Connecting Point, and Greg Roeder – LIV Sotheby's Realty

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We've loved helping NOCOFest grow, and we're thankful to Avery's Light for trusting us with an event that means so much to so many families. We can't wait to see what's next.

​Guests might forget the centerpieces, speakers, or menu, but they remember
how the event made them feel, who they met, and the moments that stood out.

BIG DEAL Company has compiled a comprehensive list --- download it for free below!

A conference can look flawless on paper. Great venue? Check. Speakers booked? Check. Lunch ordered? Check. Name badges ready? Check. Then the doors open.

Suddenly, 300 people are waiting in the registration line, no one can find Breakout Room C, the coffee station is backing up, the keynote speaker needs an adapter that isn’t available, and half the attendees are checking their email instead of connecting. Planning a conference involves much more than just booking rooms and creating an agenda. The small details that go smoothly often go unnoticed, but when they go wrong, people remember them.

At BIG DEAL Company, we’ve organized multi-day conferences, corporate meetings, trade shows, retreats, and events throughout Colorado and across the country. Here are 10 conference planning mistakes we believe need more attention. Think of this as a conference planning checklist for the details that don't always make it onto the checklist. 

1. Choosing the Venue Before You Know How the Event Needs to Work
It’s exciting to find a beautiful venue, but what looks good isn’t always what works best.
Before signing a contract, think beyond capacity. How will 400 people get from the keynote to three breakout sessions? Where will they grab coffee? Is there enough space outside meeting rooms for conversations? Where will exhibitors load in? How far are the restrooms from the meeting space?
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Even something as basic as elevator capacity can cause problems when hundreds of people need to change floors at once. Start with the attendee experience and your event goals, then choose a venue that fits those needs.
If you’re beginning the venue search, BIG DEAL Company’s guide to planning conferences and retreats with a national event planner offers a look at some of the considerations that go into larger events.

2. Filling Every Minute of the Agenda
A schedule that runs nonstop from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. might seem impressive, but people need time to process what they learn, check their messages, take breaks, grab coffee, and network. Often, the best moments at a conference happen outside the planned sessions.

Rather than asking, “What else can we fit in?” try asking, “Where can people have time to breathe?” Schedule 20- or 30-minute breaks, optional activities, longer lunches, or open networking times on purpose. Treat open time as an important part of the program, not just empty space to fill.

3. Planning for Attendance Instead of Engagement

Having 500 people show up isn’t the same as having 500 people engaged. Today, attendee engagement is one of the most important ways to measure an event’s success. Cvent’s 2026 venue sourcing research found that 63% of planners see attendee engagement as a top success factor.

So let’s ask: what do we want attendees to do while they’re here?
Meet three new people? Participate in a discussion? Visit exhibitors? Learn a new skill? Connect with company leadership?

Once you know what you want people to do, plan the event to encourage that. A conference shouldn’t just give people a place to sit—it should give them reasons to get involved.
Read more about current venue sourcing and attendee engagement trends from Cvent.

4. Putting Networking on the Agenda and Assuming It Will Happen
“Networking: 4:00–5:00 p.m.”  Great. But now what?
Putting 200 strangers in a ballroom with drinks doesn’t guarantee real connections. Give people reasons to talk. Add conversation prompts to cocktail tables, group attendees by industry or interest, offer small-group discussions, and set up comfortable lounge areas away from the noise. Try these ideas to make networking memorable.

• Conversation prompt cards: Place unexpected, work-related questions on tables that go beyond “What do you do?” Try prompts like, “What’s one problem you wish someone here could help you solve?”
• Interest-based meeting spots: Create designated areas for different industries, job roles, interests, or conference topics so attendees can easily find people with something in common.
• Networking challenges: Give attendees a simple mission, such as meeting someone from another industry, finding someone with a complementary skill, or making three new connections before lunch.
• Small-group rotations: Instead of one large networking reception, periodically put attendees into groups of four to six people. Smaller groups make it much harder to stand quietly on the sidelines.
• Conversation-friendly spaces: Add lounge seating, cocktail tables, quieter corners, and places to set down a drink or plate. The physical environment can make networking significantly easier.
• Build networking into an activity: Use trivia, collaborative challenges, tasting experiences, workshops, games, or other activities that give strangers something to do together. Conversation tends to happen more naturally when “networking” isn't the only objective.

5. Forgetting About the Five-Minute Experience
Conference planners naturally focus on the big things: keynote speakers, meals, entertainment, audiovisual production, and breakout sessions. But attendees experience dozens of tiny moments throughout the day.

• Where do I put my coat?
• Can I charge my phone?
• Where can I refill my water bottle?
• Where can I take a phone call?
• Is there somewhere quiet to sit?
• Where do I put my coffee when I’m trying to shake someone’s hand?

Each of these things might seem small on its own, but together, they affect how comfortable and organized your event feels.
Before the event, walk through the conference as an attendee and look for small issues that could cause problems.

6. Treating Accessibility as a Checklist
Accessibility shouldn’t be something you address after the floor plan and agenda are finished. Think about it from the beginning.

Consider aisle width, seating options, captioning, accessible entrances, signage, dietary needs, sensory stimulation, registration forms, transportation, and quiet spaces. One especially useful idea is to include accessibility questions during registration rather than waiting for attendees to contact you individually.
Accessibility improvements often help everyone. For example, a quiet room can support someone with sensory needs and also give an executive a place to relax before presenting.

7. Forgetting to Plan the Transitions
Here’s one of the least glamorous parts of conference planning and one of the most important:
What happens between things?

• If a keynote ends at 10:00 and breakout sessions begin at 10:05, can everyone realistically get there?
• What happens when 350 people leave the ballroom at once?
• Will they all encounter the coffee station?
• The sponsor displays?
• The restrooms?
• A narrow hallway?

Good conference planning also considers the spaces and moments between scheduled activities.
Sometimes, simply moving a coffee station or adding five minutes to the schedule can do more for attendees than adding another activity.

8. Making Food About the Menu Instead of the Schedule
Yes, the food should be good. But conference catering is also logistics. If 500 attendees have a 45-minute lunch break, how quickly can they actually be served? If everyone gets coffee at the same time, how many stations do you need? Are vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and allergy-friendly options clearly identified?

Here’s something planners sometimes miss:

Where will the food be placed? Even a beautiful buffet can cause problems if the line blocks an entrance or makes people walk against the natural flow of the room. Consider food as part of your floor plan and schedule, not just as a catering order.

9. Having a Plan B That’s Really Just “We’ll Figure It Out”
What happens when the microphone stops working? A speaker’s flight is canceled. The outdoor reception gets hit with a Colorado thunderstorm. The Wi-Fi struggles. A vendor is late.

No one enjoys planning for problems, but professional event planning means deciding what to do before something goes wrong. Make backup plans for your biggest risks and choose who can make quick decisions.

Even better, decide in advance what will trigger your backup plan. For example, instead of saying, “If the weather is bad, we’ll move inside,” set a time and process: “At 1:00 p.m., the event lead and venue manager will check the forecast. If severe weather is likely, the reception moves indoors.”

This way, you have a clear decision process instead of a last-minute debate.

10. Trying to Make the Internal Team Do Everything
Your employees may be highly organized and capable. That doesn’t mean they should spend conference day looking for extension cords, texting the caterer, checking speaker arrivals, answering attendee questions, and figuring out why the presentation won’t display correctly.

Ask yourself what you really want your team to do during the conference. If they should be building relationships, talking with employees, meeting sponsors, or joining sessions, they shouldn’t also be handling all the behind-the-scenes work.
That’s one of the biggest differences between organizing an event internally and bringing in an experienced event planning partner.

If you’re considering outside help, here are five questions to ask before hiring a planner for a multi-day conference.

The Best Conferences Feel Easier Than They Were to Plan
Attendees don’t need to know that someone spent 20 minutes deciding where the coffee station should go. They shouldn’t notice there was a backup laptop behind the stage, a lunch schedule change, or a plan for a delayed speaker. They just know the conference felt easy. That’s usually the sign of great event planning.

The BIG DEAL Company team manages conferences, corporate meetings, retreats, trade shows, and special events from Northern Colorado to destinations across the country. If you’re planning an event with many people, lots of details, or little room for mistakes, connect with BIG DEAL Company to see how an experienced team can make things much easier.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How far in advance should you start planning a conference?
For a large or multi-day conference, planning can easily begin nine to 12 months in advance, and sometimes earlier. Venue availability, hotel room blocks, speakers, entertainment, transportation, and vendor availability can all affect the timeline. Starting early also gives you more flexibility instead of forcing you to choose from whatever is still available.

2. What is the most commonly overlooked part of conference planning?Attendee flow is one of the easiest things to overlook. Planners often focus on what happens inside each room without considering what happens when hundreds of attendees leave those rooms at the same time. Hallways, elevators, restrooms, food stations, registration areas, and transitions between sessions all deserve attention.

3. How can you make a corporate conference more engaging?
Start by identifying what you want attendees to do, not simply what you want them to hear. Build in opportunities for conversation, participation, movement, networking, smaller group discussions, and downtime. Engagement doesn’t always require more entertainment or technology. Sometimes it requires fewer presentations and more opportunities to participate.

4. When should you hire a professional conference planner?
Consider bringing in a professional planner when the event involves multiple days, several vendors, hundreds of attendees, travel logistics, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, complicated audiovisual needs, or an internal team that needs to participate in the conference rather than run it. An experienced planner can also be valuable much earlier in the process, particularly during venue sourcing, budgeting, contract review, and event design.

Somewhere between the signed venue contract and the opening keynote, a lot of multi-day conferences quietly go sideways. Not because the planner did anything wrong, but because the RFP process rewarded a polished proposal over a proven system.
 
If you’re comparing planners and event planning companies for a multi-day, multi-year conference contract, the gap between a smooth three days and a stressful planning window rarely shows up in the pitch deck. It shows up in five specific questions.

1.   How many multi-day, multi-year conferences have they actually run?
Ask for the number, not the adjective. “Extensive experience” means nothing on its own – a track record does.
 
BIG DEAL Company has planned 20+ annual company conferences nationwide for a single client, every one on budget, with zero missed deadlines and zero major incidents – covering venue selection, budgeting, speaker coordination, and local-experience design, plus a multi-year trade show booth presence in Las Vegas.

2.   Will they run the full arc on-site, or just the parts before the doors open?
Plenty of planners are strong on the front end – venue, contracts, budget – and then hand you off once the event actually starts. A multi-day conference needs someone in the room for all of it.
 
For a multi-day, cross-departmental conference, our team handled full-service management end-to-end: project management, vendor coordination, the master schedule, staffing, and live on-site production – while turning scattered department-level material into one cohesive agenda.

3.   Can they operate as a standing partner, not a one-time hire?
A multi-year RFP isn’t really about one event. It’s about the relationship that has to hold up across every event after this one.
 
We serve as a standing event team for a Colorado media and events client – not a one-off vendor – contracted for 6+ events annually with a dedicated event lead. For another client, an 8+  year relationship now covers all-company conferences for a 400-employee organization.

4.   Do they handle destination logistics – housing, vendor rates, and everything in between?
Multi-day usually means travel. Hotel blocks, group rates, ground transportation, and a program that has to work from arrival to departure, not just for the main session.
 
We’ve sourced and secured destination venues for multiple full-scale conferences, managed group housing and rate negotiation across every vendor and the venue itself, and built the full multi-day program – meals, local experiences, and programming included.

5.   Do they bring marketing and communications firepower, or just logistics?
A conference is also a public-facing brand moment. Registration, sponsor acquisition, press, content – none of that runs itself.
 
For the region's largest manufacturing conference, we managed ticketing, registration, marketing, staffing, volunteer coordination, and trade show floor design for 50 booths and 400+ guests. For an ongoing awards-and-conference partnership, we have handled 9 large events a year – logistics, ticketing, contracts, and budgeting, start to finish.

A conference planner books the room. A conference partner protects the days you can’t get back if something breaks.

If you’re evaluating proposals for a multi-day or multi-year conference contract, we’ve run this exact playbook across Colorado, Wyoming, and destination locations nationwide. Reach out to see our past conference work and find out if we’re the right fit before you finalize your proposal.
 

Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between an event planner and a conference planner?
An event planner typically manages a single occasion from start to finish. A conference planner manages a recurring, multi-day program — parallel sessions, multiple speakers, sponsors, and often a multi-year contract behind it, not just one date on the calendar.

How far in advance should we hire a planner for a multi-day conference?
Most planning teams bring in a planner 9 to 12 months before their first multi-day conference. For a standing, multi-year contract, the earlier the better — an experienced planner adds value at the RFP and site-selection stage, not just after the contract is signed.

Does BIG DEAL Company handle standing, multi-year conference contracts?
Yes. We currently serve as the standing event team for a Colorado media and events client (6+ events a year) and have held an 8+ year conference planning partnership with a regional credit union for its 400-employee all-company events.

What states does BIG DEAL Company serve?
We're based in Northern Colorado and serve clients across Colorado, Wyoming, and destination locations — including a nationwide, multi-year conference program spanning 20+ annual events across the country.

What does a full-service conference planner actually handle?
Venue and vendor sourcing, contract negotiation, budgeting, speaker and entertainment coordination, sponsorship and fundraising, registration and ticketing, event staffing, marketing and PR, on-site production, and permitting — ideally from one accountable team instead of five separate vendors.

Cutting corners on event planning rarely shows up on the invoice. It shows up months later, in staff turnover and clients who quietly stop calling. Here’s what “good enough” actually costs.

There is a version of event planning that looks fine from the outside. The room fills. The signage gets hung. Nobody trips over a cable. And underneath it, a coordinator has been fielding three vendor fires a day for two weeks, a sponsor who quietly decided not to renew, and nobody on the team has taken a full lunch break since the save-the-date went out.
 
That’s the cost nobody puts on a spreadsheet.
 
After 20 years planning events across Colorado, Wyoming, and around the US, we’ve learned that the difference between a good event and a forgettable one rarely comes down to budget. It comes down to what happens in the gaps: the vendor quote nobody questioned, the timeline nobody stress-tested, the detail that got waved through because everyone was tired. “Good enough” event planning has a price. It just doesn’t show up where you’re looking.

The Invoice Only Tells Half the Story
Every event has an obvious budget: venue, catering, staffing, print. Those numbers are easy to track and easy to defend. What’s harder to see is what happens when the planning underneath those line items is inefficient rather than intentional.
 
Research on event operations supports this. Poor workflows, disconnected tools, and unclear ownership don’t just slow down a timeline. They inflate the budget in ways that are hard to trace back to a single decision. A last-minute speaker swap, a manual process that should have been automated months ago, a duplicated task because two people didn’t know who owned it: none of that appears as its own line item. It shows up as scope creep, rush fees, and a budget that ran over, with no one able to say exactly why.
 
By the time you’re explaining the overage to finance, the actual cause is three decisions back and impossible to point to.

What It Costs Your Team
The quieter cost is the one that hits your people.

Most businesses and organizations that plan events internally ask team members to fill roles and positions that may not align with their job descriptions. This work is usually demanded on top of all of their other duties and expectations.
 
When the event planning is an “addition to”, roles can become unclear, and problems can get stuck on repeat. This doesn’t just produce a stressful few weeks. It can create compounding employee disengagement. Institutional knowledge walks out the door with every person who burns out and leaves, and the next event starts from a little further behind, or from scratch.
 
We’ve seen this up close. A regional nonprofit lost its Communications and Development Director in the middle of a fundraising cycle and brought our team in to run its annual event. They were missing a base of institutional memory to draw from. Building the tracking system, vendor relationships, and sponsor engagement plan from scratch under a tight timeline is exactly the kind of pressure that breaks a planning process not built to withstand it. It didn’t break here – the event we helped plan went on to raise more than any prior year - but that outcome depended on treating the process itself as the thing worth protecting, not just the event day.

What It Costs the Brand in the Room
Attendees don’t separate a mismanaged moment from the organization hosting it. A confusing check-in line, a vendor who didn’t show, a session that ran forty minutes over – none of that reads as “the caterer’s fault” to the person standing in it. It reads as a reflection of the brand that put its name on the invitation.
 
That’s a real risk, but it’s also where a track record starts to matter. Clients who’ve worked with us more than once tell us the same thing in different words: they came back because nothing fell through in front of their guests. We’ve supported organizations like Dementia Together with the kind of full-circle marketing and event support that, in year one, helped more than double their fundraising revenue – not because the events got bigger, but because the details underneath them stopped being an afterthought. Results like that come from planning that treats every touchpoint as visible, because to the person in the room, it is.

​Why “Easy” Vendor Relationships Are a Trap
Here’s a pattern that shows up across the industry: the first quote gets accepted, the same vendors get rebooked out of habit, and nobody asks whether the relationship is still earning its price. It’s the path of least resistance, and it feels efficient right up until you look closely.
 
The event professionals who consistently come in under budget without cutting quality aren’t the ones with the biggest vendor lists. They’re the ones who treat vendor management as a real discipline: comparing bids, questioning vague line items, asking why one quote is 20% higher than another with no explanation attached. That kind of scrutiny typically uncovers real savings, often in the range of 15 to 20 percent per event, simply by catching what “easy” would have let slide.
 
Twenty years in Northern Colorado means we’ve built the kind of vendor relationships where that scrutiny doesn’t damage trust. It’s part of how the trust got built in the first place.

What Good Actually Looks Like​
The alternative to “good enough” isn’t more expensive. It’s more deliberate.
It looks like:

• A timeline that gets stress-tested before it gets executed, not during
• Vendor quotes that get questioned, not just approved
• Clear ownership on every task, so nothing depends on one person remembering
• A team that isn’t rebuilding trust with a client after every event, because nothing needed rebuilding

 
That’s the standard behind events like Live Loveland’s 60 Years Celebrating Seeds of Innovation held in 2022. We managed the full marketing and advertising campaign alongside 15 concurrent events in this single day of celebration. Our tasks included press coordination that reached media outlets across the state and an appearance by Colorado’s governor. Events at that scale don’t survive “good enough.” They survive because the planning underneath them was never treated as optional.

The Real Question
“Good enough” event planning isn’t a budget decision. It’s a bet that nothing underneath the surface will surface. Sometimes that bet pays off. But the cost of losing it – a burned-out team, a client who doesn’t call back, a sponsor who quietly walks – is almost always higher than what “excellent” would have cost from the start.
 

FAQs
What are the hidden costs of poor event planning?
The visible costs are budget overruns, rush fees, and last-minute vendor charges. The hidden costs are staff burnout, lost institutional knowledge, damaged sponsor relationships, and attendees who quietly associate a rough experience with your brand rather than with any single vendor.

How does event planning quality affect staff retention?
Constant firefighting and unclear ownership wear teams down over time. When the same preventable problems keep recurring, disengagement follows, and turnover takes institutional knowledge with it — knowledge that's expensive and slow to rebuild.

What's the real difference between a budget planner and a strategic partner?
A budget planner accepts the first reasonable quote and manages the event as it comes. A strategic partner questions vendor line items, tests timelines before they're needed, and treats every detail as visible to the people in the room — which is usually where the actual savings and the actual trust get built.

Want to see what planning without the shortcuts looks like? Read more on our site or reach out to talk through your next event! 970-613-1455

The holidays might seem far away, but seasoned event planners agree that starting early is the key to a memorable celebration.

Each year, businesses that wait until fall to plan often find their favorite venues are already booked, entertainment is hard to secure, and budgets don’t go as far as they hoped. Companies that start planning in the summer have more options, less stress, and create better experiences for their teams.

At BIG DEAL Company, we’ve spent almost twenty years planning all kinds of events across Colorado, Wyoming and across the US! We know the best holiday parties aren’t last-minute. They’re carefully planned with enough time to make them truly special.

1. You'll Have the Best Venue Options
Popular venues fill up months ahead, especially for Thursday and Friday nights in November and December. Planning now lets you pick your ideal date and venue, so you don’t have to settle for less.
Planning early simply gives you more options.
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2. Your Favorite Vendors Will Still Be Available
Photographers, DJs, caterers, entertainers, decorators, and rental companies all get booked quickly during the holidays.  When you book early, you can choose vendors you trust instead of just picking whoever is still available.
Need recommendations? Our event planning team already has relationships with many of Northern Colorado's top event professionals.

3. You Can Save Money
​Venues and vendors have more openings before the holiday rush, so you can compare options, negotiate prices, and lock in rates before demand goes up. You’ll also have time to make smart choices instead of paying extra for last-minute bookings.
Planning ahead can help you:

• Lock in pricing before peak season
• Compare multiple vendors to find the best value
• Spread event expenses over several months
• Avoid costly rush fees and expedited shipping
• Make smart budget decisions without feeling pressured

4. More Time Means More Creative Ideas
A great holiday party is more than just dinner and decorations.
Early planning gives you time to think bigger:

• Interactive entertainment
• Team-building activities
• Custom gifts
• Unique themes
• Signature cocktails
• Personalized experiences

With extra time, your event can truly reflect your company’s culture instead of feeling rushed.

5. Employees Can Save the Date
Holiday calendars fill up fast. Giving employees lots of notice helps more people attend and lets families plan around your event. The sooner you send invitations, the better your turnout will be.

6. Less Stress for Everyone
​No one likes rushing to finish vendors, menus, seating charts, and decorations just a week before the event. When you start early, you can make thoughtful choices instead of last-minute decisions. That’s why many companies hire professional event planners to handle timelines, vendors, logistics, and all the details.

7. Better Food and Beverage Choices
Food is often what guests remember most about a holiday party, and planning early gives you the best chance to create a menu everyone will love. Top caterers and bartenders book up months ahead, especially during the holidays. By booking early, you can schedule tastings, customize your menu, accommodate dietary needs, and add special touches like signature cocktails or dessert stations. Instead of being stuck with limited choices, you’ll have the freedom to create a dining experience that fits your event and leaves a great impression.
For holiday menu inspiration, the National Restaurant Association offers food and hospitality trends that continue to influence seasonal events.

8. You'll Have Time to Build Excitement
Your holiday party experience can start long before guests arrive.
With extra planning time, you can create anticipation through:

• Save-the-date announcements
• Countdown emails
• Employee contests
• Sneak peeks
• Theme reveals

This way, your celebration becomes a real experience, not just another event.

9. Weather Doesn't Have to Be a Surprise
Winter weather can impact travel, parking, outdoor plans, and transportation. Planning ahead gives you time to make backup plans and share them clearly if needed.
The National Weather Service Winter Safety Resources also provides helpful guidance for preparing for winter gatherings.

10. You Actually Get to Enjoy the Party
​Maybe the best part of planning early? You can relax. Instead of stressing over timelines, vendor arrivals, or last-minute problems, you can enjoy the evening with your employees, clients, and guests. After all, you've worked hard all year. Your holiday party should feel like a reward, not another project.

What actually makes a corporate event memorable
Here’s a quick test. Picture the best corporate event you’ve ever been to, then try to describe the room it was held in. Most people can’t.
 
What sticks instead is a moment. The gift sitting at their seat. The host who knew their name before they offered it. The one thing on the agenda nobody saw coming, the one that made the whole room lean in.
 
So what makes a corporate event memorable? After twenty years of corporate event planning across Northern Colorado, Wyoming, and points beyond, we can tell you it’s almost never the venue. The moments that stick live in dozens of small, deliberate choices guests never consciously clock – the kind they’d feel the absence of in a heartbeat if they were gone.
 
Here’s where those moments really come from.

​Win them at the door
The welcome sets the tone for the whole day, and most events hand that job to a banquet table and a stack of name badges.
 
We’d rather make it count. Long before the doors open, we’re already thinking about what a guest is holding when they walk in, and whether they’ll still want it a week later. One client said it better than we could after a recent program: “Those little details, in addition to seeing the big picture, are a testament to your professionalism, with heart.”
 
Little details carry a lot of weight. They tell people they matter, and people who feel that way stay with you all day!

We study the guest list – all of it
Some of our clients run the same kind of event several times a year. Pulling it off isn’t the hard part. Keeping each one from blurring into the last? That’s the real work.
 
So we learn the room before it fills. Because we’ve done our homework on who’s coming, we can greet people by name as they arrive. We bring in custom decor and a signature scent that makes a familiar space feel new and a little luxurious. A returning guest steps into the same ballroom and could swear it’s somewhere else entirely. Routine turns into something people look forward to.

The magic is in the in-between
When the Northern Colorado Regional Airport opened its new terminal, the predictable play was obvious: a ribbon, a few speeches, a reception tucked into one corner.
 
We gave guests a terminal to explore instead. Activations and discoveries ran the length of the facility, so nobody stood around waiting for the next thing. They moved through the space, found things, got their eyes and hands on what was new. The building belonged to the community, and our job was to make every guest feel that on the spot. The energy held all afternoon and evening, because we’d built something for the gaps – the exact place where most events quietly lose the room.

Take care of the people on your stage
Conferences and employee programming usually mean an outside speaker or two, and the whole audience’s experience rides on how well that person shows up.
 
So we look after them. Flights, logistics, the hundred small things a speaker shouldn’t have to track on their own. Someone who feels handled walks out calmly and ready – and your team gets the performance you actually paid for!

The last thing they touch matters most
We design custom gifts for the speakers, leaders, and VIPs our clients host, each one themed to the event or the trip. Never generic swag. The kind of gift that makes someone realize you were paying attention the entire time.
 
It’s the last thing a guest carries out the door, so we make sure it’s worth keeping.
 
We’re sold enough on this that we do it for our own team, too! Every retreat and team celebration comes with touches built around the actual people in the room. The people who make the magic happen deserve a little of it themselves.

​The venue just gets them through the door
Everything after that is what they’ll remember.
 
Two decades in, building those moments is the thing we do best. If there’s a conference, a retreat, or a team program on your calendar, let’s make it the one people are still bringing up months from now.

​On June 13, 2026, Northern Colorado celebrated something that doesn’t come along often: the completion of a 45-mile paved trail three generations in the making.
The Connecting Communities: Poudre River Trail Celebration brought more than 1,500 people to Timnath Community Park for an official ceremony and community event honoring the final connection of the Poudre River Trail, stretching from Bellvue to Greeley. And that was just the crowd in the park! An estimated 3,000 additional trail users took to the corridor that same day, making the total community reach well over 4,500 people!

​A Milestone Worth Marking
The morning opened with official remarks and a symbolic ribbon ceremony, where dignitaries from five regional partner organizations - Larimer County, the City of Fort Collins, the Town of Windsor, the Town of Timnath, and the City of Greeley - each connected a piece of ribbon representing their community’s role in building the trail. Over sixty-five confirmed dignitaries were invited to attend, reflecting the depth of partnership behind this project.
 
The celebration that followed featured 15 vendor and partner booths, food trucks, family activities, yard games, and a visit from Wilder, GOCO’s Generation Wild spokes creature. Fifty attendees were notified as gift bag winners, and the energy throughout the morning matched the scale of what was being celebrated.

The Numbers Behind the Day
Big Deal Company was proud to serve as event coordinator for this regional milestone, supporting 11 project and event partners, 21+ vendor partnerships, and nearly 15 volunteers alongside a 9-person BIG DEAL Company team. And best of all, it was all delivered under a $22,000 budget!
 
The story traveled far beyond the trailhead. Event coverage appeared across 26 media placements in 20+ outlets, including The Coloradoan, BizWest, CBS Denver, CBS News Colorado, The Denver Gazette, KUNC, North Forty News, and Yahoo News, among others.

What It Means
The Poudre River Trail is now one of Colorado’s longest paved multi-use trails. It’s a connected corridor linking parks, open spaces, neighborhoods, and communities along the Cache la Poudre River. The June 13 celebration wasn’t just a finish line. It was proof of what’s possible when communities commit to a shared vision over the long haul.
 
We were honored to help bring it to life!

FAQs
1. Can anyone use the Poudre River Trail, and where do I start?
 The trail is free and open to the public. The COTREX App at Trails.Colorado.gov is the recommended tool for finding access points along the 45-mile corridor from Bellvue to Greeley.
2. Who built the Poudre River Trail, and how long did it take?
 The trail spans five jurisdictions — Larimer County, Fort Collins, Windsor, Timnath, and Greeley — and represents more than 50 years of planning, funding, and construction across multiple generations of local government partners and grant funders.
 
Big Deal Company provides event coordination, communications, and marketing support for organizations across Colorado.
Learn more at www.BigDealCompany.com.

photo credit: City of Fort Collins

Bringing your own alcohol is one way to cut costs for your event. In all cases – based on years of experience and hundreds of weddings – we strongly recommend that you have a certified bartender serve your guests. In fact, most BYOB venues now require it.
 
Certified bartenders are trained to prevent underage drinking; limit that guest who has already had enough to drink; prevent attendees from driving impaired; and properly report any incidents that do arise for insurance and law enforcement purposes – which benefits you and your venue. The BIG DEAL team is bartending certified, should you need us.
 
This list includes venues that allow you to purchase and serve your own alcohol and venues that allow you to purchase your own alcohol and serve it through a licensed bartending company. Please inquire directly with venues for their specific alcohol service regulations.
 
Hot tip: Venues that commonly allow you to bring your own catering and alcohol are: parks, community centers, senior centers and rec centers. Some require an alcohol permit and/or insurance. ***
​

​*UPDATED June 9, 2026
 
The Hillside Vineyard | Fort Collins, CO
3924 Bingham Hill Road Fort Collins, CO 80521
Contact: (970) 520-2617, [email protected]
Alcohol: bring-your-own
 
Arapaho Valley Ranch | Granby, CO
8992 County Road 6, Granby, CO 80446
Contact: [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own OR in-house
 
Aspen Grove at Sundance Trail | Red Feather Lakes, CO
17931 West County Road 74e Red Feather Lakes, CO 80545
Contact: (970) 556-5053, Contact Form
Alcohol: In-house or bring-your-own
*For BYO, a Liquor Liability Insurance Policy and certified bartender are required.
 
Venue at 319 | Loveland, CO
319 Cleveland Ave, Loveland, CO 80537
(970) 227-5573 [email protected]
Bring your own everything!
​
Aspen Historical Society | Aspen, CO
620 West Bleeker Street Aspen, CO 81611
Contact: (970) 925-3721 x107, [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own *All alcoholic beverages must be served by a licensed bartender, event insurance required
 
The Barn at Evergreen Memorial Park | Evergreen, CO
26624 North Turkey Creek Road Evergreen, Colorado 80439
Contact: (720) 340-8574, [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own *All alcoholic beverages must be served by a licensed and insured bartender
 
The Barn at Howard Creek Farm | Howard, CO
356 County Road 4 Howard, CO 81233
Contact: [email protected], (720) 937-1475
Alcohol: Bring-your-own *Alcohol must be served by a licensed/TIPS-certified bartender
 
The Barn at Sunset Ranch | Buena Vista, CO
27650 County Road 337, Buena Vista, CO 81211
Contact: [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own, must be served by the venue’s drink caterer, Mountain Sips
 
The Black Diamond Lodge | Durango, CO
48475 US Highway 550 Durango, CO 81301
Contact: (281) 751-3147, [email protected]
Alcohol: In-house or bring-your-own; must use venue’s bartender service
 
​Black Forest Meadows | Colorado Springs, CO
17104 Goshawk Rd Colorado Springs, CO 80908
Contact: (303) 590-8939, [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own *Alcohol must be served by a licensed bartender; event and liquor liability insurance required
 
​Boettcher Mansion | Golden, CO
900 Colorow Road Golden, Colorado 80401
Contact: (720) 497-7630, [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own *A certified bartender is required; no cash or tips allowed.
 
Boulder Flower Farm | Longmont, CO
4114 Oxford Road Longmont, CO 80503
Contact: Contact Form
Alcohol: Bring-your-own
*For BYO, a Liquor Liability Insurance Policy and certified bartender are required.
 
Casa Coyote Event Center | Calhan, CO
23590 McDaniels Road, Calhan, CO 80808
Contact: [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own; must be served by a licensed bartender and must have an event insurance policy that covers host liquor service
 
Cedar Ridge Ranch | Carbondale, CO
3059 Co Road 103 Carbondale, CO 81623
Contact: [email protected], (970) 963-3507
Alcohol: Bring-your-own *Alcohol must be served by a licensed bartender
 
Cheley Lodge & Grove | Estes Park, CO
3960 Fish Creek Road, Estes Park, CO 80517
Contact: [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own, must be coordinated and served by one of the venue’s required beverage companies
 
Crestview Ranch | Granby, CO
1463 County Road 608, Granby, CO 80446
Contact: [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own; certified bartender required for events with more than 25 guests
 
Donovan Pavilion | Vail, CO
1600 South Frontage Road, Vail, CO 81657
Contact: [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own, alcohol must be served by a certified bartender
 
Double Diamond Ranch | Peyton, CO
14291 Murphy Road, Peyton, CO 80831
Contact: [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own; must be served by a certified bartender with liability insurance
 
​Event Room at the Wheat Ridge Recreation Center | Wheat Ridge, CO
4005 Kipling Street Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
 Contact: (303) 231-1315, [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own, alcohol agreement form, beer and wine in cans/bottles only, liability insurance and police/security presence may be required depending on event size
 
Evergreen Lake House | Evergreen, CO
29612 Upper Bear Creek Road Evergreen, CO 80439
Contact: (720) 880-1016, [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own *Must be served by a Colorado Approved Responsible vendor, no cash/tips allowed
 
Evergreen Red Barn | Evergreen, CO
27826 Alabraska Lane, Evergreen, CO 80439
Contact: [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own, must be served by a licensed and insured bartender from the venue’s pre-approved list
 
Flying Diamond Ranch Weddings and Events | Oak Creek, CO
30110 Highway 131 Oak Creek, Colorado 80487
Contact: (970) 846-9229, Contact Form
Alcohol: Bring-your-own *Must be served by a professional bartender
 
Guyton Ranch | Jefferson, CO
35293 US Highway 285 Jefferson, CO 80456
Contact: (507) 202-6565, Contact Form
Alcohol: Bring-your-own
 
​Hatchet Ranch | Pueblo, CO
7600 Hatchet Ranch Road Pueblo, Colorado 81004
Contact: (719) 501-3396 or Contact Form
Alcohol: Bring-your-own *Alcohol must be served by a licensed bartender
 
Hearth House Venue | Monument, CO
192 Front Street, Monument, CO 80132
Contact: [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own, must be served by a professional, licensed, insured bartender; no cash bars
 
Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park | Lakewood, CO
801 South Yarrow Street Lakewood, CO 80226
Contact: (303) 987-7806, [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own, requires City of Lakewood Special Event Liquor Permit, $150/3-hour block for alcohol service
 
Kirk of Highland | Denver, CO
3011 Vallejo Street, Denver, Colorado 80211
Contact: [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own *Must be served by a licensed/certified bartender
 
Koenig Alumni Center at CU Boulder | Boulder, CO
1202 University Avenue Boulder, Colorado 80309
Contact: (303) 492-2279, Contact Form
Alcohol: Bring-your-own, can only be served through approved/licensed bartending companies, with required university approval forms, in compliance with CU’s alcohol service policy
 
La Foret Conference and Retreat Center | Colorado Springs, CO
6145 Shoup Road
Colorado Springs, CO 80908
Contact: (719) 495-2743, [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own *Wine, beer, and champagne only; no cash allowed
 
​LePlatt’s Pond | Bayfield, CO
311 County Road 501 Bayfield, CO 81122
Contact: (970) 759-0748 or Contact Form
Alcohol: Bring-your-own *Alcohol must be served by a licensed bartender; event liability insurance is required for all events.
 
Lock Stock & Barrel | Olathe, CO
5328 CO-348 Olathe, CO 81425
Contact: Contact Form
Alcohol: Bring-your-own *Only beer and wine allowed, must be served by a licensed bartender
 
​Lodge by the Blue | Breckenridge, CO
4192 Highway 9 Breckenridge, CO 80424
 Contact: (970) 453-2144, [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own *All alcoholic beverages must be served by a licensed bartender
 
The Loft Music Venue | Colorado Springs, CO
2506 West Colorado Avenue Colorado Springs, Colorado 80904
iContact: (719) 445-9278, [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own
 
The Lyons Farmette (and Riverbend) | Lyons, CO
4121 Ute Hwy Lyons, CO 80540
Contact: [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own, must be served by a licensed bartender.
 
Once Upon a Time Events | Kiowa, CO
31242 Wedemeyer Road Kiowa, CO 80117
Contact: (720) 838-7608, [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own *An event insurance policy must be purchased
 
​ProRodeo Hall of Fame | Colorado Springs, CO
101 Pro Rodeo Drive Colorado Springs, Colorado 80919
Contact: (719) 528-4732, [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own *Alcohol must be served by a hired bartender (not a guest); cash bars are not permitted unless a special events liquor license is purchased by the City of Colorado Springs
 
Red Rocks Barn | Colorado Springs, CO
2700 Robinson Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904
Contact: [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own; must comply with venue contract rules; service expectations handled on a case-by-case basis
 
Rembrandt Yard Art Gallery & Event Center | Boulder, CO
1301 Spruce Street Boulder, Colorado 80302
Contact: (303) 301-2972, [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own, must be served by a licensed, insured bartending company carrying liability insurance specifically naming the venue
 
Riverview Event Center | Brush, CO
19201 County Road 24, Brush, CO 80723
Contact: (970) 380-1731, [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own; Alcohol must be served by professional bartenders
 
Running Creek Manor | Elizabeth, CO
4739 County Road 166, Elizabeth, CO 80107
Contact: (720) 220-0807, [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own
 
Sage View Ranch | Paonia, CO
40881 Highway 133 Paonia, CO 81428
Contact: (303) 522-2210, Contact Form
Alcohol: Bring-your-own *Alcohol must be professionally served
 
​​Sopris House | Crested Butte, CO
200 Sopris Avenue Crested Butte, CO 81224
Contact: (800) 903-7761, [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own
 
Space Gallery | Denver, CO
400 Sante Fe Drive Denver, Colorado 80204
Contact: (303) 993-3321, [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own, licensed bartender likely required
 
Stone Mountain Lodge and Cabins | Lyons, CO
18055 North St Vrain Drive Lyons, Colorado 80540
Contact: (303) 823-6091, [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own
 
Storm King Mountain Ranch | Montrose, CO
70777 Buckhorn Road, Montrose, CO 81403
Contact: [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own; must be served with a bartending service
 
The Studio (Boulder) | Boulder, CO
3550 Frontier Avenue, Suite A2 Boulder, CO 80301
Contact: (720) 378-8015, [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own, must be covered under event insurance and served by a licensed bartender (preferred vendor list available)
 
​Walker Fine Art | Denver, CO
300 West 11th Avenue #A  Denver, Colorado 80204
Contact: (303) 355-8955, [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own
*Must be served by licensed/certified bartenders; no corkage fee; recommended vendor list available
 
Clyfford Still Museum | Denver, CO
1250 Bannock Street Denver, CO 80204
Contact: 720-354-4880   [email protected]
Alcohol: Bring-your-own
*Must be served by licensed/certified bartenders; no corkage fee

​While impressions, page views, and clicks are still valuable metrics, visibility alone doesn’t build loyalty in today’s marketplace – and it can’t sustain growth on its own. At BIG DEAL Company, we know the long-term top brands aren’t just seen over and over, they are experienced – they are part of something bigger, and that thing is “community.”

Visibility is momentary. Community = relationships.
We would never say attention is “bad” in marketing, but attention can be fleeting. Impressions are just one part of a healthy marketing ecosystem that also includes engagement, especially relationships with current and potential buyers or donors.
 
Even wildly successful marketing campaigns fade quickly without connection (Think: the products that trend on social media, sell out in hours, and are forgotten within a year.)
 
Community-centered brands take a different approach, building relationships over time through shared experiences, authentic communication, and meaningful engagement. Events, partnerships, and storytelling are not just tactics – they are the foundation of long-term success.
 
As we shared in Building Buzz: Event Marketing that Delivers Long-Term Engagement, events are most powerful when they are not treated as one-time moments, but as part of a symbiotic marketing approach that keeps audiences engaged long after the event ends.
 
The Shift from Transactions to Relationships
In today’s marketing world, transactions aren’t the issue for consumers – everything we need or want is available online with a quick search and one-click ordering. When finding the product or service customers need is easy, consumers shift their focus from simply finding the item they are looking for to seeking out brands that foster alignment, trust, and belonging.
 
Community-driven brands:

• Create consistent touchpoints
• Invite participation, not just attention
• Build emotional connections through shared experiences

 
This kind of engagement can’t happen with a single campaign. It is built intentionally through numerous small and large interactions over time.

Events play a critical role in this process, too – they create real, human moments that strengthen emotional ties and give people a reason to stay connected.
 
The most effective brands use a combination of events, partnerships, and communications to turn visibility into lasting relationships.

Events: A Shared Experience
Events create something an experience people can feel, share, and remember. When integrated into a broader marketing strategy, they become ongoing engagement tools that fuel year-round connection and content.
 
Partnerships: Giving Back and Expanding Community
Strong brands don’t grow in isolation. They collaborate with organizations, nonprofits, and community leaders to expand their reach and deepen their impact.
In fact, much of what makes our campaigns successful is the network behind them: trusted partners, vendors, and collaborators who help bring our and clients’ ideas to life. As we explored in Why Businesses are Calling BIG DEAL Company for Full-Circle Event & Marketing Support, these relationships are not an add-on; they are central to how we create meaningful outcomes.
​
Communications: Keeping the Connection Alive
Strategic communication – email, social media, storytelling – extends the life of every interaction. It reinforces your message, builds familiarity, and keeps your audience engaged over time.
Together, these elements create a continuous cycle: marketing drives event attendance, events create buzz, and that buzz fuels future engagement.

Community Impact is Brand Impact
As a brand, engaging with your community is rewarding – it feels good. The icing on the cake is that it grows your business. Businesses that actively give back and engage locally build stronger trust, deeper relationships, and more resilient brands.
 
Things like hosting community events, sponsoring community events, collaborating with local organizations or other businesses, and supporting causes have a lasting impact. In Top 10 Ways Your Business Can Give Back to the Community, we highlight how even small, consistent efforts, such as partnering with local groups or maintaining regular communication, can significantly strengthen community ties.
 
When businesses show up for their communities, their communities show up for them.
 
How BIG DEAL Helps Brands Connect
At Big Deal Company, we see marketing, events, and communications as one connected system – not separate services. We ask:

• How can we bring people together?
• How do we create experiences worth sharing?
• How do we keep audiences connected beyond a single interaction?

 
When people feel like they “belong” to your brand, they don’t just support it; they advocate for it. Our approach is rooted in connection. We don’t just make your brand visible – we create experiences that make your message felt.
 
If your brand is ready to move beyond impressions and into impact, it’s time to think bigger with a full marketing and events plan. We help businesses and organizations:

• Turn events into long-term engagement strategies
• Build partnerships that expand reach and credibility
• Create communication plans that keep audiences connected
• Design experiences that make brands feel human

Community isn’t just part of your business strategy – it’s who you are. Let’s make it a Big Deal.
 
For business and nonprofit marketing and event news and tips, follow BIG DEAL Company on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
 
Frequently Asked Questions
 
1. Why isn’t visibility enough to grow a brand?
Visibility creates awareness, but it doesn’t build trust or loyalty on its own. Without ongoing engagement and meaningful interaction, audiences are unlikely to stay connected. Community-building strategies ensure your brand remains relevant beyond the first impression.
 
2. How do events contribute to long-term growth?
Events create memorable, in-person (or virtual) experiences that foster emotional connections. When paired with strong pre- and post-event marketing, they become part of a continuous engagement strategy rather than a one-time effort.
 
3. What role do brand partnerships play in building community?
Partnerships expand your reach and credibility by aligning your brand with others that share similar values. They also help you tap into existing communities, making it easier to build trust and create collaborative experiences.

4. How can a small business start building community?
Start by showing up consistently: host small events, engage on social media, collaborate with local organizations, and support community initiatives. Even simple, authentic efforts can create meaningful connections over time.