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!