FILO Heads to New Orleans for 13th NBA All-Star Jam Session

On Saturday, February 8th FILO Productions, Inc. will embark on a trip for their single largest event of the year: NBA All-Star Jam Session 2014. This year’s Jam Session marks FILO’s 13th year (12th consecutive) managing the NBA’s single largest event of the year. New Orleans, LA hosts this years NBA All-Star festivities. The city and convention center are no stranger to the veterans of FILO Productions. The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center is the 6th largest convention center in the Nation and was host to NBA All-Star back in 2008. FILO veterans Andy Acosta, Brian Buron, Andrew Westphal and Kevin Weinhandl were all a part of that Jam Session.


“It’s actually pretty special and means a lot to me because it was the first ever NBA All-Star Jam Session I ever worked. New Orleans is such a great city. The atmosphere is great and everything is so great around the convention center,” remarked FILO’s Vice President, Andrew Westphal.


Throughout the years, FILO has worked diligently to help prepare for the monstrous event. As an event management agency, FILO will help coordinate trucking and transportation logistics for 17 semi-trucks from the warehouse in Saint Paul, MN, down to New Orleans, LA. A veteran FILO team will help load the trucks in Minnesota, travel down south to the Big Easy and unload all 17 trucks in one day. FILO will continue to set-up a majority of the NBA’s elements within the 1.1 million square foot exhibit space.


Throughout the event, FILO will handle everything from parking to janitorial to distribution and signage. Other management duties include procurement of items for different activation areas, securing a blimp flyer and assisting in the execution of the E-Recycling event taking place outside of the convention center.


The NBA All-Star Jam Session runs from Thursday, February 13 through Sunday, February 16. Hours and other information regarding the spectacle can be found at http://www.nba.com/allstar/.


FILO takes pride in its role for the NBA All-Star Jam Session and believes it’s the finest event they have ever been a part of in their 13-year history.

FILO in Miami for NBA Cares

On Saturday, January 11th FILO Productions executed one of their first events of the new year. The NBA and FILO Productions teamed up to put on an NBA Fit clinic for local youths of Miami, Florida. The event was held in Doral, Florida at the Doral Walmart Supercenter. If you haven’t been lucky enough to take part or see an NBA Fit clinic you’re missing out. The clinic consisted of a full basketball court with two 8 foot basketball hoops, as well as multiple fitness stations inside the court. Kids were split up into groups of five or six and got to experience each station for three to four minutes. During the hour long clinic each kid got to interact with current and former NBA Players. For this particular event the NBA brought in current Miami Heat player Udonis Haslem, former Miami Heat player Tim Hardaway and former NBA player Felipe Lopez. They were amazing with the kids and the kids were just in awe as it’s not every day you get to hang out with current and former players from your home town team.


Over 50 kids preregistered for the event and another 30 signed up before the event started. The Fit clinic ran from 2:00pm to 3:00pm with a 30 minute autograph session at the end to wrap things up. It was great to see such an impressive turn-out from the people of South Florida. You could tell they really love their team and basketball. After the clinic wrapped up, all three players signed autographs for those that took part in the NBA Fit clinic. Although it wasn’t our longest event, it was a great one. All parties involved really enjoyed themselves and most importantly the message of fitness was spread even further.

FILO to Produce Germanfest

The West End Federation of St. Paul and FILO Productions, Inc. will team up to organize the inaugural Germanfest Heritage Festival on the site of the historic Schmidt Brewery production facilities. The dates are June 21st and 22nd, 2014 with the event taking place from 8:00 am – 9:00 pm on Saturday and 10:00 am – 6:00 pm on Sunday. The estimated attendance for this event is 10,000-15,000 individuals per day.

This family-friendly event will not be similar to the stereotypical “Oktoberfest” festivals and instead will be focused on celebrating German culture through food, music, dance, art, education, and other activities. The German history of the Schmidt brewery, West St. Paul, and Minnesota will be highlighted in many ways, including various tours of the area. There will be a musical stage, a family area, an arts and crafts area, TVs showing the World Cup soccer tournament, and other fun activities around the site.


Look for the Germanfest website to fully launch January 25th, 2014.

www.germanfestmn.org