Find Jungle Love at Your African Safari Sweetheart Dance

Amidst the jungle air, the palm trees and the wild animals, even the coldest heart can find jungle love at an African Safari Sweetheart Dance. Create the perfect atmosphere for a dance that attendees will remember for years to come.

Bring on the Trees, Please!

The key to any successful African Safari Sweetheart Dance is the trees. They do, after all, make up the most important part of the jungle backdrop. Make sure your venue is decked out with palm trees of all shapes and sizes.  If the room is tall enough, consider some Tropical Palms that tower six to nine feet into the air. While three-dimensional trees are best, if the budget is super tight, paint palm trees on murals using banner paint.

Party Animals Galore

A jungle safari isn’t complete without animals. Venture deep into the jungle with photo image cutouts of a lion, a tiger and a gorilla. But don’t stop there, every jungle needs some monkeys. A Monkey Arch and Tree is a good fit for the entrance to your event. For fun at every table, consider putting children’s toys like stuffed animals as centerpieces or in chairs.

Light up the Night

If jungle love is what you truly desire at your African Safari Sweetheart Dance, the lighting is very important. What could be more romantic than a sparkling waterfall? Stunning blue water gossamer and twinkle lights are draped down from more than nine feet in the air to make this jungle waterfall, which also works well as a photo backdrop. Since the atmosphere is romantic and lighting will be low, use tube lights to light the walkways from the entrance to the tables, and from the tables to the dance floor. They also work great around three-dimensional palm trees.

Music Makes the Memories

There’s no shortage of songs about the jungle or Africa. Some of our favorites are Steve Miller Band’s “Jungle Love” and Toto’s “Africa.” Play some of Kool and the Gang’s “Jungle Boogie” for a fun tune that will get everyone on the dance floor. Music is key to making any dance a success, and having a handful of songs to go with the dance theme help make it that much more memorable.

Go All Out with a Jungle Kit

The name speaks for itself: the Jungle Allure Kit. There’s no easier way to prepare for an evening of romance in the jungle. Animal standees, grass, palm trees, and more create this must-have set for the dance sponsor who wants to go all out.

An African Safari Sweetheart Dance is a fun and romantic way to set the scene for an unforgettable night. With the right decorations and music, it can be the most popular dance of the year. What will you do to make sure your attendees find jungle love at the dance?

Make Your Symphony’s After Event a Music Party to Remember

A successful post-symphony music party embraces certain essential elements. Add your creativity to these elements to mix up an after event to remember.

Establish the Goals
Part of planning a symphony after party is having a clear vision for why you’re doing it. Usually the goal is to add value to an evening out, which may translate to more ticket sales, but it is sometimes the vehicle for an annual or semi-annual fundraising event instead.

For many symphonic organizations it’s important to try to attract new subscribers, especially younger participants who may then develop a habit –- hopefully a lifelong habit — of attending classical musical events as a social activity. In other words, after events can be mixers with longer-term goals.

Understanding the goals enables you to gear advertising and ticket pricing to match the demographic you’re trying to attract.

Create Your Own Hot Spot
Everybody will be dressed in their best, so whether you are holding the music party at your own or another facility, you will want to present an elegant venue to play and nosh in.

Be prepared for anything! Although holding after parties in hotel or convention rooms is typical, you may end up preparing an unusual venue, such as a wine cellar tasting room or a symphony patron’s home.

In general, look to event fabrics for room-softening powers and luxe look – especially in showcasing the musicians’ area if the location doesn’t have an actual stage.

Theme decorations should harmonize with some aspect of the evening program just as the after-party music does. For example, winter decorations work for a party that follows a Christmas program, Italian event decorations when the works of Italian composers are featured, and so on.

Other themes that work well for after parties are black tie event or city theme – do check for your chosen theme design in invitations and tickets, too. We’re sure you’ll be delighted with the quality and the pricing of our event printing services.

Encourage Memorable Mingling
Attendees will be eager to talk about the symphony program when they first come in. Bring them together with symphony musicians and guest artists over good food and drink.

The hottest party trend right now is the tasting party.

Tasting parties can be about food or drink, with wine sampling being the classic and dessert tasting particularly trendy. Food tastings are as much about “eye candy” presentation as anything else, so carry your elegant theme to the table decorations and consider clear tableware (including petite bowls and cube cups) to show off every beautiful bite.

After Party Inspirations
Large cities like San Francisco and Miami have hosted posh post-concert events for years, and smaller towns across the US are just starting to pick up on this excellent event formula. Don’t let size put you off of the idea; if you’re large enough to support an orchestra, you’re large enough for this type of outreach and what it can mean for the cultural health of the community.

Decorate for a Semi-Formal Theme Dance

Ah, how we love the social whirl of fall heading into winter: semi-formal dances, fundraisers and holiday events galore to plan for!

Let’s tackle today how to decorate for a semi-formal theme dance, for this season or year ’round.

Dress for the Weather
Dress up your theme for the weather – or more precisely, for the season you’re in. Paris event themes, for example, are popular year ‘round because you don’t always have to adorn them in springtime pastels. Robin’s egg transforms into midnight blue, daffodil yellow into gold when the mind turns to autumn pursuits, and come full circle when it’s April again.

Some dance themes will tend to dictate the dress of the room. What would Hollywood be like without lots of red, for instance? Still, there is usually plenty of leeway in which you can affect the ambience of the room. For an Arabian theme, you may want to capture the colors of the gorgeous desert sunset instead of the sand; and a nautical theme cruise ship can launch at any time of day, including midnight.

There’s not really a secret to it, just your thoughtful choice of background materials. Placement and texture are important, and color is key. Select event fabrics, curtains, murals and other large, wall-covering decorations by color once you have a handle on what you wish to achieve.

Gossamer is a perennially popular choice in event fabrics. Here’s Wendy Moyle of Shindigz on the basics of working with gossamer:

Get Propped Up
Take a look at the Paris photo setting above, using To Paris with Love Kit pieces. The Arc de Triomphe and the lighted Eiffel Tower are the theme props, while the other pieces are more generic. Note that the columns and street lamps could be used again next year for Mardi Gras. While you’ll want to have one or two sassy big props that match the theme of the day, it’s also a terrific idea to invest in sturdy reusable decorations whenever you can.

In any case, it is a good idea to try to “prop up” several areas within the dance party location because nowadays, lots of snapshots will be taken by phone for online photo sharing such as Facebook. Be prepared to create an eye-catching entrance, wowza photo setting and a thematic background for fabulous table settings, too.

Opportunities for the Unexpected
Two other areas of decorating for semi-formal dances – hanging decorations and event lighting – lend themselves well to unexpected touches, so spend some time in these departments! Consider spotlights, laser lights or other lighting effects. A bevy of colorful round lanterns hung from the center of the ceiling, or a bunch of scattered loose balloons with lights inside are not expensive ideas but are sure to capture plenty of attention.