Christmas Comes Early For FILO

“Is it December already?” asked a patron walking down the streets of Manhattan as he saw FILO’s Andrew Westphal plugging in a few snow cannons outside of Radio City Music Hall earlier this month.

Indeed it wasn’t. It was only August…but the Rockettes and Radio City Music Hall teamed up with FILO Productions, Inc. to produce Christmas in August, a one-day promotional event with custom wrapped vehicles, more than 12,000 ice cream pops, snow cannons, Santa Claus and even two camels.

The one-day tour around New York City was to promote the 2013 Radio City Christmas Spectacular, presented by Chase. The annual show is one of the largest in New York’s history and runs November 8 through December 30. The production promises to lift spirits and create lasting memories for new audiences as well as for families that have made this cherished production a holiday tradition.

On Tuesday, August 13, FILO traveled around with a Christmas Spectacular-themed food truck and a wrapped double decker Gray Line bus, to hand out more than 12,000 “Rox Pops,” (apple-cranberry flavored ice pops created by People’s Pops, specifically for the Rockettes and the Christmas Spectacular).

The tour made stops all around the city including Radio City Music Hall, Bryant Park, Madison Square Park, Beacon Theatre, Union Square and Park Slope, Brooklyn.

At the initial stop for both vehicles, Radio City Music Hall, the Rockettes and Santa Claus unveiled a one-of-a-kind ice sculpture that was created to celebrate this year’s production and new show scene, ‘Snow’! It seemed as if every member of the New York press was there for the spectacle, resulting in national coverage.

As part of the project, FILO assisted with overall event operations, procurement of equipment for the promotion, providing and managing brand ambassadors and acting as a liaison to ensure the Christmas Spectacular-themed food truck was flawless.

The tour was an enormous success as the city of New York was covered in snow throughout that Tuesday. All 12,000 ice cream pops were handed out and the countless number of smiles and impressions made by the Rockettes, Radio City Music Hall and FILO Productions, Inc. that day will live on through Christmas.

Tickets for the production are on sale now and may be purchased through the website at http://radiocitychristmas.com/offer/partner or the Radio City Box Office. Use code PARTNER to save 25% on select tickets & performances.

2013 Tour Comes To An End

The 2013 NBA Nation Tour presented by Sprint has come to an end. The League’s mobile interactive basketball experience traveled to eight of the nation’s largest markets, had 21 event days and eclipsed a total event attendance of over 1.1 million people. The FILO road crew logged over 1,400 setup, teardown and show hours and was on the road 44 out of the 54 days during the two months of the tour. The traveling FILO crew consisted of Brian Buron, Andy Acosta, Tom Butina, Luke Hvidhyld and Dan Fosse. After FILO’s 7th year running the Tour, the crew now has a combined 18 years of NBA Nation experience.

“With the magnitude of the NBA Nation Tour, it is essential to bring a team together of experienced individuals who specialize in all aspects of mobile touring programs,” said Tour Manager Andy Acosta. “We were able to accomplish this, making the 2013 Nation Tour a success.”

Talent Coordinator Tom Butina, in regards to his summer experience said, “It was a pleasure working with the talented and dedicated NBA staff. Together we planned and executed an amazing summer tour.”

The 2013 NBA Nation Tour was a great success and FILO Productions, Inc. is already looking forward to 2014.

 

FILO Contributes Over $10,000 This Summer to Local Charities via Sponsorships, Fundraising Games, Donations and Volunteering

The FILO crew has been busy at fundraising events and on golf courses this summer having fun and, more importantly, contributing over $10,000 to local charities. For the third straight year FILO sponsored The Sanneh Foundation’s Golf 4 Goals event; Paul Molitor Golf Classic for Friends of St. Paul Baseball; and the Face Off Classic benefiting Friends of St. Paul Hockey. On top of direct donations, FILO also operated its famous Golf Plinko game to raise an additional $350 on average.

“Being a team player is one of the core values at FILO and that extends to our community,” said President Kevin Weinhandl. “Giving back is part of who we are and we have fun doing it!”

FILO also helped out with the 30-Days Foundation’s A Stroke of Luck Golf Tournament and Get Your Cape On fundraising events; the Memorial Golf Tournament and Wine Tasting fundraisers for Todd Western Charitable Organization; and the 11th Annual Leo Lewis Celebrity Golf Classic.