Special D Events

02/03/2025

We love mentoring the next generation of event professionals! Today Kelly Woo and Sherri Sitkauskas conducted mock interviews with Grand Valley State University students to prepare them for their hospitality careers.

02/03/2025

Show me sunset.

01/27/2025

Join us! https://www.specialdevents.com/about-us/careers/

01/27/2025

Civilized.

01/27/2025

Hey Detroit event profs, just a few tickets remain! Register via any of the links below. Proceeds from your registration will go to that organization.

ILEA: https://tinyurl.com/umnfrhv5
NACE: https://bit.ly/3DSOD9P
MPI: https://tinyurl.com/3tbzd9ch

01/23/2025

Congratulations to the Michigan James Beard Award Semifinalists!

A decade-old trendsetting Detroit restaurant, a Mexican fine-dining spot with a snazzy masa program, and a cult-favorite Ferndale bakery are among this year’s contenders

01/22/2025

Independent contractors are the Swiss Army knives of event agencies. They’re versatile, highly skilled, and ready to adapt to whatever role is needed. They enable agencies like ours to scale up with confidence. We're fortunate to have a deep bench of ICs, some of whom have been with us for more than 25 years! (Looking at you Mary Ann, Judi and Sharon).

01/20/2025

Special D Events will be closed today in honor of MLK Day. Dr. King was well known in Detroit, but his most prominent visit was on June 23, 1963 when he led 125,000 people in a Walk to Freedom down Woodward Avenue. After the march that evening, he delivered a version of his "I Have a Dream" speech for the first time at Cobo Hall. This aerial view image from the Detroit Historical Society shows the intersection of Woodward and Michigan Avenue at Campus Martius, likely taken from the First National Building. Looking north, 1001 Woodward can be seen in the early phases of construction, on the corner of Michigan Avenue.

https://bit.ly/41STBxf

01/16/2025

Our friends at The Henry Ford have compiled three days of unique programming to celebrate the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Events run January 18-20th. Check it out!

Celebrate the life of the civil rights leaders who had the extraordinary courage to ask for more from their nation. Make your own history with free museum admission, parking and activities.

01/13/2025

Chasing away the winter blues with our enchanted garden theme last Friday.

Floral by NICHE HITCH
A/V by City Events
Rentals by Event Source and Couture Events
Catering by Andiamo
Talent by Blue Crow Talent

01/13/2025

Ain't no hold 'em.

01/11/2025

Great night at the Charity Preview last night! Thank you and the . We loved being part of the event and the afterparties!

More to come!

01/09/2025

Long post but please read and consider advocating for the event industry. One of the challenges for our industry during COVID was to accurately represent its breadth and impact when advocating for federal support. From lighting companies to caterers to agencies, the federal government didn't have a combined category (NAICS code) for us. The NAICS code is the federal code you use when filing a new business and when you submit business tax returns.

In 2020, the Live Events Coalition (LEC) discovered over 30 NAICS codes in play across the various business types in our ecosystem. Compare that to the Hospitality Industry... which has ONE code (NAICS 72). So the hospitality industry had a much easier time proving who they were, how much help they needed, and they got funding when we didn't.

Pandemic funding for businesses was by NAICS code. NAICS Code 72 got funding. The 30+ codes were are under did not. I've attached an infographic LEC created back 2021 that helps tell that story.

Here's the challenge. The NAICS codes are only updated by the Federal Government every 5 years. If we don't get a proposal in for a modification to the codes by NEXT WEEK, the events industry is out of luck for 5 more years.

This is where you come in.

Please consider writing a letter in support of making this change to the NAICS codes. The more letters we have from business owners and workers in the industry, the better our chances are of getting this fixed and making us a recognized industry with the US Federal Government.

The LEC and the Workforce Development Federation are coordinating a joint response and have provided links to 2 documents:

Overview of the issue:
https://bit.ly/4jcOGNJ

SAMPLE LETTER:
https://bit.ly/3WbSDbC

Instructions:
1) Read the overview above.
2) Pull the sample letter and update the contact info and signature copy block at the bottom.
3) Put it on your company letterhead if possible.
4) Send a PDF of the final letter to Laura Palker: [email protected]

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO LAURA PALKER BY 1/15/2025.

Thank you Wendy Porter Events, LLC Live Events Coalition and The Workforce Development Federation for your leadership and advocacy.

01/06/2025

Hello sunshine.

01/03/2025

Michiganders: You might have missed this over the holiday but The Wall Street Journal has placed Traverse City in its rundown of “The 10 Places to Go in 2025,” one of just three destinations in the United States to make the list! The GOOD hits just keep coming for Michigan.

The Wall Street Journal has placed Traverse City in its rundown of “The 10 Places to Go in 2025,” one of just three destinations in the United States to make the list.

12/20/2024

Holiday shenanigans. One thing is for sure, our crew knows how to party. Seasons greetings from all of us to all of you.

Thank you Cafe Sous Terre and Skosh Catering.

11/26/2024

Heading into Thanksgiving grateful for all things local. As a Detroit-based company, we love sharing positive news about our community. Here are just a few of the recent uplifting stories that make us happy.

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11/25/2024

. The Americas Thanksgiving Parade, , will celebrate it’s 100th anniversary this week, launching a beloved holiday tradition of families bundling up in the cold in downtown Detroit to watch colorful themed floats, clowns, and marching bands pass by on Woodward Avenue. Did you know that although the first parade was in 1924, there have been only 98 actual parades? Due to the shortages of materials during World War II, the parade was suspended in 1942 and 1944. We will be looking forward to the actual 100th celebration, but in the meantime, we’ll always be grateful for the hardworking team at The Detroit Parade Company. We can’t imagine Thanksgiving without you!

Read more at