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You are here: Home / Blog Post / Sit! Using a flash mob to seat unruly charity auction guests
Jul 05

Sit! Using a flash mob to seat unruly charity auction guests

Sherry Truhlar 2 Comments

flash mob at auction

This silent auction space at the Marriott Washington Wardman Park would have accommodated (with minor tweaking) a flash mob entrance.

I’ve enjoyed watching flash mob videos, especially those in New York City where I’m familiar with the venues.  Even just two weeks ago I stumbled across a flash mob on Bondi Beach while researching an Australian trip for a charity auction.

But I’d never thought of using the concept to seat guests at the auction gala.

In a June 2011 Chronicle of Philanthropy article, gala guests were encouraged to sit down via the incorporation of a flash mob dance routine during the reception.

The organization, Tipping Point in San Francisco, had 900 guests to seat.  Staffers and volunteers practiced a dance routine to capture guests’ attention and lead them into the ballroom.

A few years ago, I saw something similar while attending an extravagant Middle Eastern-themed ~50-person wedding held in a small museum in Old Town Alexandria.  The entire wedding was to die for.

(Of note:  Neither the bride nor groom were Middle Eastern; she was just creative.)

flash mob at auction gala

The curtain opening signaled guests to follow the dancers and “move.”

One element:  When the bride and groom kissed, another show began.  A silk curtain parted behind them, a belly dancer emerged, and guests were teased forward into the other half of the museum where food rapidly appeared.

It made an impression.  My date for the night and I both still talk about the magic of that wedding.

I’d suggest that successfully using the flash mob concept at your charity auction requires two elements, in addition to the flash mob itself.

First, your venue needs to have a large entryway that dramatically appears to beckon guests forth.

At most of our galas, guests are asked to leave the reception area – which is usually a hotel hallway – and enter the ballroom through multiple sets of double doors.  Without the grand entrance, the magic is lost.

(Watch the video at 2:43 to see the dramatic end to the San Francisco performance.)

I can think of two D.C. venues where the idea would work well:  Marriott Washington Wardman Park and the Building Museum.   Both have large, rectangular ballrooms with high-ceilings.  Divide the ballroom in half (as I’ve seen done for some of our auctions), hang a curtain between the two spaces, and part it with flare when the mob invites guests to dine

Second, invest in a great A/V company.

The sound needs to be loud.  Listen to the video again and think about your own venue.  Some groups won’t pay for that quality of audio in the reception area.

Here’s the formula:

One well-executed flash mob + strong audio system + the right entrance = rapidly seating guests at the charity auction

The bigger your gala, the bigger the action needed.  This 900-person event had a 100-person flash mob, great A/V, and a dramatic curtain/entrance.  The tiny wedding I attended pulled off a similar concept with one belly-dancer.

My advice:  Do it right, or don’t do it.

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Copyright © 2011 Red Apple Auctions Co. All Rights Reserved

About Sherry Truhlar

Fundraising auctioneer and educator, helping schools and nonprofits plan more profitable benefit auctions. A prolific writer for her own blog and other fundraising sites, she’s been covered in The Beacon-News, Town & Country Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, Wiley's Special Events Galore!, AUCTIONEER, and other publications.

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Comments

  1. Lori L. Jacobwith says

    July 21, 2011 at 9:56 AM

    How fun! Thanks for always sharing such creative and fun suggestions, Sherry.

    Reply
  2. Sandy Rees says

    July 11, 2011 at 9:23 PM

    What a very cool idea!! Not only would guests enjoy the flash mob, but they’d be talking about it for days, generating more buzz around the event.

    Sandy Rees

    Reply

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Sherry, oh, Sherry! You were an invaluable asset to this year’s gala. With your assistance we were able to add so many new elements that truly made a difference in taking our event to another level. This year was the most successful yet! Everyone loved you and the amazing energy that you brought to the event. We look forward to having you again in 2018!

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Thank you so much for the outstanding job you did for us on April 1! I have received so much positive feedback from so many who attended. You even earned Sister Suzan’s (our Vice-Principal) seal of approval! Safe travels to all your many events and thank you for making our biggest fundraiser of the year our best ever!

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Oak Hill School (Eugene, OR)
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Sherry, personally, I can’t even begin to tell you the immense amount of positive feedback that I received having YOU (and Darby) there with is this year! Some of the tidbits: You added EXCITEMENT and ENTERTAINMENT… You added EXPERTISE and FUN… You helped the evening FLOW, in a wonderful and positive direction… You were FUN,… Read The Rest “Anne Livaudais Knudsen, 5th year gala co-chair”

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You have NO idea of how many people came up to me (I know Julie as well) and said, ‘That auctioneer was incredible … she engaged the crowd, … she got the bidders to bid without being rude/pushing, … I loved observing her, I just watched her, … she did a great job.’ It was… Read The Rest “Staci Meruvia”

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Irene attended one of my New Hampshire auctions and assumed I must be a radio personality — until I started to chant that fast talk. “I’ve been to this event before with a couple of other auctioneers,” she said, “Your ability to get personal with people in a way that isn’t intimidating — men, women,… Read The Rest “Irene”

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Most product & consulting remarks are found on their respective webpages, but I’ve listed two below so you’re assured my products are as spot-on as my auctioneering.   Not only was our 2013 auction a blast, but our Washington, D.C. public school raised $67,000 — that’s $25,000 more than last year! The evening went off… Read The Rest “Carolyn Kahn-Hall and Andrea Del Vecchio”

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As a former Fox News Anchorwoman, I am often called on to perform at auctions. So, I know first-hand that auctioneering can be a difficult job. Sherry Truhlar is one of the best in the business. She is skillful at managing an audience and keeping them focused on the task at hand – which is… Read The Rest “Cynthia Steele Vance”

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