FILO Productions Recap of 2015

From the beginning until the end, FILO was a very busy organization in 2015. Since there are more than 50 different events, it would be impossible to discuss each of them. However, here are some of the places that FILO has been throughout the past year.

Long-time Partners
As a result of our long partnership with the NBA, there were many different projects that FILO took part in over the course of the year. With the NBA All-Star game being held in New York City, it presented an opportunity to have NBA House events at different locations. There were also events hosted by different teams, such as during each game of the Cleveland Cavaliers playoff run and the New York Knicks Draft Party on June 25th. The New York Rangers hosted several viewing parties during their playoff run. Fox Sports North hosted events throughout the year, such as a season Kickoff Party at the Mall of America and a Photo Opportunity in their building at the State Fair each day of the fair.

Tours
This year, there were several large tours that FILO took part in. The MLB Roadshow took place in Calgary, Vancouver, and Montreal in July and August. The NBA Campus Pass presented by AIR MILES had stops in Toronto, Halifax, and Edmonton in September. The Cleveland Cavaliers hosted a FanFest tour during the preseason to bring the Cavs experience to other cities in Ohio. From November to February, the NBA All-Star Tour has 15 different stops to help engage fans in various cities in Canada, leading up to the NBA All-Star game being hosted in Toronto in February 2016.

New Events
Starting in January, Hockey Day Minnesota being held in St. Paul allowed for FILO to be involved with putting together the logistics to make it a major success. A new partnership with Mystic Lake resulted in several events, such as the Singles Mingle dating night, helping to find vendors for Ribfest, and organizing their Oktoberfest. FILO helped to organize Celebrate Israel Boston, which took place on May 31st. This was the first year FILO helped with the St. Paul Union Depot Holiday Bake Sale. And while it was the 15th Annual St. Paul Oktoberfest, it was the first time that FILO was involved with it and brought it to Rice Park in downtown St. Paul.

Recurring Events
Of course, there were many events in the home state of Minnesota. The Minnesota Twins had several events over the course of the year, such as TwinsFest and celebrating Twins Diversity during Cinco de Mayo. The 2nd Annual Twin Cities Burger Battle was held in Minneapolis for the first time, bringing in more restaurants and attendees than the first year. Festa Italiana was brought back to Harriet Island this July. And the 2nd year of GermanFest added another full day, more food vendors, more guests, and higher expectations to keep growing this into one of the largest and best ethnic festivals in Minnesota.

FILO is proud of each of their events and are happy to provide high-quality, successful events to our partners. We strive for long-lasting partnerships and are very thankful for each and every person and organization that we work with. It has been a great 2015 and we are looking forward to an even better 2016!!

Union Depot Holiday Bake Sale

This past Saturday, December 12th, the St. Paul Union Depot held its 3rd Annual Holiday Bake Sale. It took place in the Waiting Room of the Depot from 10 am – 5 pm. The $5 admission charge helped to raise funds for the White Bear Food Shelf, an organization that is doing great things in the northern suburbs. Not only was this a great opportunity to see this great venue, it also gave a chance to finish up your holiday shopping while tasting items from some of the finest bakeries in the Twin Cities. The media coverage on the local morning shows definitely helped to bring people to the Union Depot.

This year, FILO was responsible for organizing the bakeries and other food vendors, along with organizing the Entertainment Stage schedule with baking demonstrations and musicians. There were 24 bakeries that had a variety of offerings, which included cookies, cinnamon rolls, pastries, candy, chocolates, coffee, macaroons, s’mores, dog treats, and bread. There were also vendors that offered salsa, jams and jellies, soaps, and maple syrup. During the event, there was a preview of the Lowertown Pop event that will take place in April, with 10 of the vendors having booths as a part of the Bake Sale. This allowed some additional gift-giving opportunities for all attendees. The initial estimates are that there were twice as many people that came to this years’ event than came in 2014. FILO is very happy to partner with a great organization, such as the Union Depot, to help put on such a successful event.

NBA Campus Pass presented by AIR MILES

For the second consecutive summer, FILO teamed up with NBA Canada for NBA Campus Pass presented by AIR MILES. This three-stop tour played host to some fun on-court games for prizes and allowed students and fans to take a picture with the one-and-only Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy!

Current NBA Players DeMarre Carroll of the Toronto Raptors and Matt Bonner of the San Antonio Spurs made appearances on the court, took pictures, signed autographs with students, and answered some questions from the fans. At the University of Alberta, seven-time NBA Champion Robert Horry joined the tour.

The Campus Pass Tour was a great opportunity for the NBA to connect with college students by setting up these one-day events on the campuses of Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, and the University of Alberta in Edmonton. The ever famous Yonge-Dundas Square was a third stop for nearby schools in Toronto. Students and fans were able to take part in the NBA atmosphere and walk away with their very own Air Miles rewards card, which they can use to build up points, save on travel costs, and utilize for many other reward options.

Pearson’s Candy Halloween Celebration

It’s already that time of the year again! With the leaves changing colors and Pumpkin Spice Latte’s being available at your nearby coffee shop, fall has definitely arrived. FILO will be teaming up with Pearson’s Candy for the second consecutive year to manage Pearson’s 4th Annual Halloween Celebration. The event will be held at the Pearson’s Candy Factory on West 7th Street in St. Paul on October 27th from 4-7 pm. This years’ celebration will include an event emcee from KS95, activities and games, balloon artists, pumpkin decorating, a photo booth, a performance from Norm the Magician, and of course, lots and lots of candy!

This fun event is for both kids and adults, and supports a great cause. By purchasing Pearson’s bulk candy for only $3 per pound, attendees not only get the chance to fill their Halloween bowls, but with all the proceeds benefitting the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Upper Midwest, they can feel good about buying a little extra candy for themselves. Don’t forget to come dressed in your costumes!

Cavaliers and FILO kick off the 2015-2016 NBA season

After a trip to the NBA Finals last year, the Cleveland Cavaliers are looking to start the 2015-2016 season with a bang, and what better way to do that than to help the fans from all over Ohio become engaged with the team. FILO was asked to help the Cavs on a tour around The Buckeye State to kick off the preseason. While each stop was unique, every event featured the Cavaliers cheerleaders and the Cavs Scream Team, their street dancing group.

On October 5th, the team hosted a scrimmage at Quicken Loans Arena. Before it started, a kids clinic was hosted on a full-sized court outside the arena, set-up and managed by FILO.

Two days later, the Cavaliers hosted the Atlanta Hawks at the Cintas Center, the home of the Xavier University Musketeers, in Cincinnati, OH. A half-court was set up with 3 hoops, along with other activities, including 4 Pop-A-Shots and player cutouts. FILO managed the court and activities from 4-7 pm, before the game started. A DJ and Emcee were also present to give prizes to fans and to get the crowd energized.

Finally, on October 12th, a similar layout was set up for the Cavs FanFest on the Ohio State University campus in Columbus, OH at the Schottenstein Center before the exhibition game versus the Memphis Grizzlies.

It is always fun to interact with NBA fans that do not live in the home city but follow the team. The exhibition games that are played in other Ohio cities gave the team a chance to show fans that they are truly representing the whole state, and not only one city. FILO enjoys working with such a great organization and hopes to be spending more time in Cleveland this spring, watching the Cavaliers march toward giving Cleveland its first professional sports title in over 50 years.

FILO and FOX Sports North Team Up Again

The Minnesota State Fair was a continuation of the great partnership between FOX Sports North and FILO. For the 12 days of the “Great Minnesota Get-Together,” representatives from FILO helped by executing a photo opportunity inside the FOX Sports building and printing a copy of the picture for the customers to take home as a souvenir. The use of a mobile camera allowed the fair-goers the opportunity to choose to sit at an anchors’ desk, stand in front of a white FSN backdrop, or even pose with a special guest like Cleatus, the FOX Sports robot.

The weather was pretty cooperative this year, and that resulted in a large attendance for the State Fair. The activation went from 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm each day, to take advantage of the times with the largest crowds. The total amount of pictures printed was over 4,600, which means the average included more than a photo taken per minute. Other activities in the building included a large screen that showed FSN programming, a FILO-provided prize wheel people could spin to win a prize, a bean bag toss game, giveaways of posters and team schedules, and registering for a drawing. Everyone had a lot of fun and it was great working with the FOX Sports North crew.

FILO’s 2nd Annual MLB Roadshow

Major League Baseball International and FILO wrapped up the second year of the MLB Roadshow, which included stops in Calgary, Vancouver, and Montréal. The MLB Roadshow initiative has visited 13 countries on four continents, including Australia, China, Japan, and European countries such as Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.

This tour showcased a multitude of different games and activities for all ages. These games included a pitching cage, batting cage, sliding interactive, a MLB 2k15 “The Show” tent, a New Era Photo Booth, and a Majestic DJ Booth, to name a few. The Roadshow was fortunate to have former Toronto Blue Jay, Denis Boucher in Montreal at the Fairview Pointe Claire Mall. He was energetic and engaging with the young fans, and even gave them a couple pointers on how to become an MLB pitcher like him.

“The Roadshow gives people of all ages and abilities the opportunity to take part in various baseball activities and try out their skills,” said Chris Park, MLB Senior Vice President of Growth, Strategy & International. A writer from MLB.com, Mark Newman, also commented, “We are excited to bring the Roadshow back to Canada this summer and hope that everyone from lifelong fans to those new to the game will come out to experience this unique celebration of the sport.”

FILO’s responsibilities included venue logistics and negotiations, pre-planning for the Tour, signage production, event set-up and management and handling all trucking and transportation throughout Canada. FILO looks forward to working with Major League Baseball for a 3rd straight year of the MLB Roadshow in 2016.

FILO’s Inaugural St. Paul Oktoberfest

Guests of the 15th Annual St. Paul Oktoberfest will surely see some changes in this years’ edition. It is taking place in Rice Park on September 18th from 4:00 pm - 10:00 pm and September 19th from 10:00 am - 10:00 pm. The move from The Klub Haus on Rice Street to Rice Park was made in order to allow it to expand and grow. FILO is happy to partner with Bruce Larson, who has helped to organize the past events at The Klub Haus. With the success of GermanFest, it is a natural fit to organize another event that will celebrate German culture. However, the two events will offer many differences and it is important to embrace many of the traditions, such as bed races, that have made the St. Paul Oktoberfest as successful as it has been in the past.

It is a natural fit to have the event in a downtown St. Paul park. The more centralized location allows for more transportation options, such as taking a bus or Light Rail, besides driving to the area. The neighbors of Rice Park have all been great to work with and are happy to bring more people to the heart of the city.

One of the other major changes is to offer local brews at the event. This year, beer from Tin Whiskers Brewing Company, Insight Brewing, Indeed Brewing Company, and Bent Brewstillery will be selling their craft beer. There will be a variety of German foods, as well, and no Oktoberfest would be complete without polka. Various entertainers on the stage and TV’s near the beer garden will also be around to encourage people to make a day of it and enjoy the great fall weather.

NY Knicks 2015 Draft Party

The New York Knicks hosted the 2015 Knicks Draft Viewing Party Presented by Chase on June 25th at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Approximately 3,000 fans came out to see who the hometown team would select with the 4th Overall Selection of the 2015 NBA Draft. They selected Kristaps Porzingis, a 7’ 1’’ forward from Latvia, with their pick. Soon afterwards, there was a live phone call between the CEO of MSG and Porzingis (which was shared with the audience), and the fans cheered to welcome him when it was completed.

Of course, a FILO event would not be complete without other various attractions to keep the attendees engaged. The night included Knicks Legends Walt Frazier and John Starks, who talked on stage to the crowd, a full-size court that hosted multiple competitions, including a 3-point shootout, and many prizes for all of the activities, which included 4 tickets to Opening Night and a private tour of Terminal 23. DJ Mode and the Knicks Dancers also attended to energize the fans.

FILO’s role included driving a box truck across America with the custom full-court and warm-up court, as well as graphics and signage installation and creating a custom branded countdown clock to showcase the NBA Draft as it took place.

Festa Italiana returns to Harriet Island!

Festa Italiana will be held on Harriet Island on July 17th from 11am to 10pm and July 18th from 10am to 10pm. Harriet Island lends the perfect setting to produce an Italian festival. It is located across the Mississippi River from The Levee, an Italian community that once occupied an area in St. Paul until the 1970's. The Mississippi River is also the perfect setting for a gondola ride and a Via Dell'Amore.

Festa Italiana MN is a non-profit organization, dedicated to preserving the Italian heritage found in St. Paul and surrounding communities of Minnesota. Festa's mission is to provide a platform to showcase Italian heritage through music, dance, a heritage building, gondola rides on the Mississippi, a Via Dell'Amore with authentic vendors, an artesian tent, authentic food and beverages, and family friendly activities.

This is Festa's fourth year, with this year proving to be even better and stronger with a new artesian tent, a wine tasting area, new vendors, new displays in the heritage building, and new entertainment, including The Rat Pack Revival. Many new groups from around Minnesota will also be taking part in this festival such as The Italian American Men's Club. Team Festa is proud to organize this authentic ethnic festival, not only for the people of Minnesota but for their community as well. This is their legacy; one that they are proud to say will carry the Italian story well into the future.

2nd Annual GermanFest

The 2nd Annual GermanFest Heritage Festival took place on June 19th-21st at the Historic Schmidt Brewery site. After having the success that the inaugural festival had in 2014, it was easy to imagine an even bigger event this year. Once again, the focus was on celebrating German culture through food, entertainment, art, and community. And we received another year of great weather, which helped to attract large crowds, especially on Sunday.

Many of the popular activities were brought back for 2015; these included the Strongman competition, dachshund dog races, many different cultural demonstrations and presentations, and the various walking and bus tours. Our partnership with the St. Paul Fire Department’s Operation Warm was expanded this year, to include a GermanFest/SPFD calendar and a human foosball game (with all proceeds and donations going towards providing children with winter coats).

Of course, without the World Cup viewing party and the re-lighting of the Schmidt sign that took place in 2014, other feature attractions were created for this years’ event. The new activities included a 5K bicycle ride, a Friday night that was open to the public and featured a Beatles re-creation band (Rubber Soul), a large screen showing German films throughout the festival, and an expanded kid’s area. Since Father’s Day fell on the Sunday of GermanFest this year, many families came to spend an afternoon together while exploring their German heritage.

Nearly every upgrade this year proved to be successful. Grouping many of the food vendors together provided a “food row” and allowed people to try different types of German offerings. The marketplace vendors were also grouped closer together and placed in the middle of the festival, encouraging all visitors to shop as they walked from one end of the site to the other. The addition of Festival Director, Linda DeRoode, was critical to expanding GermanFest and for growing FILO’s list of festivals.

FILO looks forward to bringing back GermanFest in 2016 for the 3rd consecutive year, and looks forward to making the festival even bigger and better next year!

FILO and the NY Rangers Team Up for Playoffs

On Monday, May 4th, FILO teamed up with the New York Rangers for the second year in a row to manage another playoff Fan Fest called Blueshirts on Broadway Presented by Chase. This free event was held in Herald Square for Rangers Fans and included a fan fest, pre-game party and a LIVE showing of Game 3, Round 2 between the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals, competing for a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.

There was a custom Chase branded photobooth that implemented social media, a NYR Gameface booth to get your face painted, hometown RangersTown letters with spot-lights, an ice resurfacer, a custom New York Rangers RV with a stage, player cutouts to get a photo next to your favorite player, alumni autographs, and a 16’ x 20’ main stage. The highlight of the evening though, was the 11’ x 17’ LED Jumbotron to showcase the game, LIVE!

Unfortunately, Rangers fans did not get the outcome they had hoped for, falling to the Capitals 1-0. However, the fun and energetic atmosphere left thousands in attendance with an unforgettable experience! The weather was beautiful and sunny during the day for the Fan Fest, and continued to be great all night for the live viewing party. FILO really enjoyed teaming up with the New York Rangers for another successful event and are looking forward to the next round!

FILO Manages Cavs Fan Fest

FILO Productions has been in Cleveland for the Cavaliers playoff run, managing the Cavs Fan Fest outside of Quicken Loans Arena for all home Cavaliers playoff games. Festivities for the Fan Fest include a beer garden, live music & entertainment, and interactive basketball elements including a Full Court, Slam Dunk Court, In the Zone, Basketball Vortex, Sling Shot Jam, Tall and Short and Pop-a-Shots. All activities before Cavalier home playoff games start two and a half hours before tip off and conclude after a viewing party in the plaza for those not attending the game.

For the away Cavalier playoff games, Quicken Loans Arena is opening their doors for a free viewing of the game on the big screen in their arena. The interactive elements are moved indoors for all in attendance to participate. Activities for the away games start one hour before tip-off and the event wraps up after each away game.

FILO Productions will be in Cleveland for the entirety of the Cavaliers playoff push! Come hang out with FILO if you are in the Cleveland area and support the Cavaliers!

Celebrate Israel: Boston 2015 Coming Soon!

FILO is excited to have been selected by Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) as the Event Agency to help produce a new large-scale, community-wide festival celebration in support of Israel that informs, engages and inspires people in the Greater Boston area. Celebrate Israel: Boston will be a one-day event on May 31st held at Gann Academy in Waltham, MA.

The inaugural festival blends the presence of an Israeli pop-rock band Ethnix, nationally-recognized headliners such as Josh Nelson and Neshama Carlebach, and local stars such as Vanessa Trien and the Jumping Monkeys. This family-friendly event has plenty of entertainment options for children, such as Dod Haim (Israel’s premier children’s entertainer), a rock wall and bungee trampolines, a petting zoo, camel rides, face painters, Henna tattoo artists, and a Ga-Ga pit.

Working hand-in-hand with CJP has been very beneficial for FILO. Partnering with an organization that understands the preferences of the potential guests of the festival helps to guide the design of the event. Many of the entertainment, community organizations, vendors and food participants are from the Boston area. It is much easier to organize and manage such a large event when a great organization (like CJP) is your partner every step along the way.

This large-scale festival is a new push of FILO’s services, as it will be the first of four major heritage festivals executed, by FILO, in 2015. In June, FILO will put-on their 2nd annual Germanfest in St. Paul, MN, as well as help manage Festa Italiana and an Oktoberfest in the metropolitan area of Minnesota.

Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) combines expertise and resources to create positive, life-changing results for people in need, for our friends in Israel and for the future of the Jewish community. CJP brings together the people, partners and resources to fulfill the most important needs and aspirations of the community. Rooted in compassion and justice and driven by innovation, they care for the vulnerable, forge strong connections with Israel and above all, inspire the next generation to embrace Jewish life and learning. They consider their greatest resource to be their people — the volunteers, partners, staff and leaders who help make Greater Boston’s Jewish community a welcoming home. It’s this energy and commitment that drive CJP’s mission.

For more information, please check out the festival website at www.celebrateisraelboston.com!