Unusual Fundraising Auction Venue: Airplane Hangars
"The plane! The plane!" This photo was taken standing inside the hanger, looking out towards the runway. During the reception, guests hovered near the open hanger doors, enjoying the view.
One of the stories in the August 2009 issue of Small Market Meetings was Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Transportation Museums are on a Roll. The article discussed the many types of events held in transportation museums.
I haven’t conducted fundraising auctions in a transportation museum yet, but I have a lot of experience conducting auctions in transportation facilities. This post covers a charity auction held in an executive airplane hangar.
An unusual venue - like a plane hanger - can be a fun place to have a benefit auction.
An unusual venue can make a guest do a double-take when considering whether to attend your auction fundraiser. “Oh neat,” they’ll think, “The party will be held in ____ <fill in the blank>.” If it comes down to attending your function versus another event, they might very well opt for yours based on the unique auction venue.
That said, auction committees should take some precautions when booking a nontraditional space. Every venue will have its challenges.
- At this locale, the wide open space allowed the auction procurement and decor committees to have great flexibility in adjusting the facility to meet their needs. One big hangar = lots of space for 200 guests.
- On the flip side, a super-slick, bright white concrete floor can be slippery to high heels, and – vice versa – heels or other shoe soles made of the wrong material can be unkind to a super-clean, high-tech floor.
P.P.S. The article featured places like the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY, the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, VA, and the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, AZ.
Comments
Sherry, thanks for blogging on this topic. It’s good to know that we are on the right track. We hold our event in a hangar and sometimes I wonder if it’s worth all the trouble. It always looks fantastic the night of, but the work to get it there is something else! This year we were considering a different venue that is more “standard.” After reading your blog, I’m going to book the hangar again.
I appreciate you writing, Sue. I bet your event is fabulous! One thought … don’t be afraid to survey your guests with some different venue options and see what they say. (And maybe you’ve already done this.) I like unusual venues, but you are right … they can be “trouble!”
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