Too hot to stay outside? Here’s a list of weekend activities where you stay cool in air conditioning and can still have fun!

Movies
This indoor activity never gets old. Grab a group of friends and head off to your local movie theater. It’s a great way to stay cool and enjoy the latest horror flick or romantic comedy. Don’t forget to get some popcorn – it’s a great snack and fun to throw at friends!

Shopping
Every girl loves a shopping trip. If it’s too hot to go outside, go to the mall! Spend all day being cool in air conditioning and get some cute outfits; we can never have too many of those. Going to the mall is an easy way to stay out of the heat and have fun.

Go to a Museum
For all you city people out there, spend the day museum hopping. Go to places like The Met or the MOMA (it’s free on Fridays!). There are plenty of art galleries and museums to enlighten your brain while you stay cool. Maybe one will inspire you to make your own art!

Broadway
Although located in NYC, Broadway is not just for city-dwellers. Take a trip in to see one of the amazing shows out right now. You can try for Catch Me If You Can (unfortunately not starring Leonardo DiCaprio, but one can dream), The Book of Mormon (it won the Tony for Best Musical!), or Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark (everyone loves a good superhero story). There are so many more shows that you can go see, and they’ll keep you entertained, while cooling you down with their a/c. Don’t forget to bring a jacket!

Comedy Show
Another type of show that will keep you laughing is a comedy show! If you’re not into the whole singing and acting scene, go see a comedy show that will most likely make fun of all that. There are plenty of them around and they’ll be sure to have you catching your breath after laughing so much. I recently went to the Upright Citizens Brigade in NYC and it was hilarious; I highly suggest it! For more information on the UCB go here.

New York Aquarium
Head out to Coney Island and walk around the New York Aquarium. Bring friends and admire all the different kinds of fish they have. Just don’t jump in the tanks!

Spa
Don’t want to walk around museums or aquariums? Well then get relaxed and go to a spa for the day. A massage never hurt anyone. One of the best indoor activities there is, spa going is sure to keep you occupied, cool, and calm for the whole day.

Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers
Love the winter? Well then the Sky Rink is the place for you. Enjoy a nice day ice skating at this year round ice rink. A perfect way to cool down in the hot weather. Bring friends and have some fun!

Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory
What better way to cool down on a hot day then to have some ice cream? Head out to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory for some great ice cream. It’ll be sure to cool you down and while you’re there head over to Coney Island and hang out at the beach. If it cools down enough even catch a Cyclones game!

Eat Some Sushi
Don’t know what to eat on a hot day? Sushi is the perfect food to eat when it’s 100 degrees out. Although delicious, pizza is a hot food and might enhance the already hot temperatures. Grab sushi with some friends, the cool, refreshing fish is something different that’ll be sure to keep you cooler then a piece of pizza.

-Summer 2011 Intern, Sari Cohen

This post was inspired by an article written for Real Simple magazine. An important part of hosting and guest etiquette is to send thank you notes afterwards. Not only is it respectful, but it shows the recipient that their efforts made an impact and were appreciated. A thank you note should be personalized and genuine. It should have more of a sentiment than a typical “thanks for your gift.” Inserting memorable moments from the event give the card a more personalized and warm feeling.

As shown in the Real Simple birthday note, there are a few simple tips to include and personalize any card, for any occasion!

• Compliment the recipient’s best qualities. Take advantage of the opportunity to say why loved ones are special: “I’m so lucky to have such a caring, supportive, funny friend” or “I’m so proud of you for being such a compassionate person.”
• Turn a birthday card into a thank-you note. Tell someone what a difference he or she makes to your life.
• Focus on the year ahead and what you hope it brings: joy, success, a new job, celebrations, possibilities. This goes a long way toward personalizing a card.
• Don’t assume people are thrilled about a birthday. Some folks aren’t. And if age is an issue, don’t point out the number in the card. Emphasize the person, not the milestone.

Here at Penta, we have our own tips for writing personalized notes:

• Recall the gift: don’t just say “thank you for your gift” – state what it was and why you appreciate it.
• Remembering the event: If you spent the weekend at a friend’s summer house, write in the note about your favorite or memorable part of the weekend.
• Show support- Even if it was something simple, sending a thank you note to somehow who helped or supported you to advance in some way is important and shows the recipient how much their efforts meant to you.
• Follow up – especially if you’ve just applied for a job; your future employers will be more likely to stay interested in you if you show you’re interested in the company.

– Lisa Glover, Summer 2011 Intern

As all of you event planners know, this job can be extremely stressful. Every morning is the same routine: papers piled high on your desk that still need to be sorted, listening to endless amounts of voicemails, emails to return, preparing for your back to back appointments, meeting deadlines, and trying to remember to do all of these tasks at the same time. I’m sure you are wishing for a piece of technology that will make your time at work a little less stressful. The iPhone has just the app for that. Here are the top Apple iPhone applications that can act as your personal assistant at work:

1. Evernote: lets you create notes, snap photos, and record voice memos that you can access at any time from your iPhone, computer, or the web.
2. My Punchbowl: A full event planning suite in an app.  Send out invites, divvy up work into manageable steps, manage guest lists and event get post event rating, reviews and testimonials.
3. QuickVoice: Record ideas, voice memos, voice email, dictation, lists, meetings, classes, or entire lectures! For professional, educational, and personal use.
4. Audio Planner: You can plan an event, manage-audio equipment lists, generate budget recommendations for clients, and free advice from industry experts.
5. Omnifocus:
6. Map Mailer: Enables you to send a map image in a jpeg form attached to your email. This is good for giving your clients directions to your office or meeting destination.
7. Coundownr: Provides a collection of countdown counters. There are two types of counters: Counters that count down to a specific date and time and counters that read upcoming events from public Google calendars. Each counter can be customized for a specific time and date. You can add countdowns from external links or email them to your iPhone.
8. Coordinatr: Perfect for planning smaller events like barbecues, birthdays, and luncheons which require quick planning and execution within a matter of days.
9. iPartee: A great app for finding the perfect venue for upcoming events.  It even gives you the tools to promote and generate revenue for your events.

http://www.digitalsoulevents.com/blog/the-best-iphone-apps-for-event-planners/

and www.apple.com

-Penta 2011 Summer Intern, Amanda Pryor

When I think of summer I think of a break from boring lectures, final exams, 15-page papers, and stress. It is a time to celebrate all of the hard work you completed in the past Fall and Spring semesters. Most importantly, it is a time to celebrate your family, friends, roommates, and colleagues who have completed their four years of High School or completed their College degrees and are preparing for the next big steps in their lives. What better way to celebrate than with a Graduation party?  I’d like to give you some ideas on how to throw a perfectly successful and outrageously fun party.

1.  Guest List:  Choose carefully which of your child’s friends you are going to invite to this party. You don’t want the party to get out of hand but you also don’t want the party to be boring. Also, it is a good idea to keep track of how many people are on the guest list between family and friends. 75-100 is the magic number, room permitting of course.

2.  Better to be safe than sorry:  Give your guests the option of staying indoors or outdoors at your party.  Order a tent just in case the weather is not as nice as you would have hoped. This way, your guests will be outside enjoying the (hopefully) nice weather but it is still their choice to be in the sun or not. Ordering a tent will help you avoid any unwanted stress. Plus, this will provide more room for your guests so they’re not crowded.

3.  Food:  It is not ideal for your guests to be starving the first three hours of your party. Bring the food out within the first hour that every one is supposed to arrive. This stirs up conversation and gives your guests energy for the rest of the party. Leave the food out for a while so if any stragglers come late they aren’t hungry or disappointed. Plus, later in the night, guests usually like to go for seconds.

4.  Drinks:  Alcohol is a big decision. At a High School graduation party it is important to remember that most of your child’s guests will be underage. If you choose to allow alcohol at your party, I would suggest hiring a bartender to serve as the “bad guy” to deny the young ones of any alcoholic beverages. For a College graduation party, most of the time everyone is of age but it is up to your whether you’d like to host an alcohol-free party or not. Make sure there is more than one type of drink.  For example, lemonade, soda, tea, light beer, wine etc.

5.  Be prepared: Think of all of the possible things that could go wrong at a party and find alternatives. Make sure all rentals and items your ordered  show up the night before the event or hours before to leave enough time to think of a solution.   If the cake you wanted says “Congratulations, Danny” rather than ‘Brian’, don’t sweat it.  Be prepared with cupcake/cake mix in your cabinet and ask some friends to come over and put them to work.  Nobody will even know the difference.

Hope you take my advice and have the most successful and memorable Graduation party you could possibly give your child!

-Summer 2011 Intern, Amanda

Four day weekends can only mean one thing at the beginning of July: 4^th of July weekend. With that comes long beach days, sunburn, pool parties, hamburgers, hotdogs, family, friends, and of course, fireworks.  No matter where in the country you are, from  New York to California, the party always stops to stare up at the sky when the firework show begins. As a crowd, we stare in amazement as flares of red, orange, green, pink, yellow, and purple colors light up the sky in different shapes and sizes followed by a crackle and a simmer. Here is a list of the top 15 best places to watch a firework show according to Rebecca Ballhaus from AOL new:

 15. Turtle Bay Resort – Oahu, HI: a 10-minute show

 

14. Sunoco Welcome America Celebration – Philadelphia, PA: a 15-minute show

 

13. Go 4^th on the River – New Orleans, LA: a 13-minute show

12. A Capitol Fourth – Washington, DC: a 20-minute show

11.  Fair St. Louis – St. Louis, MO: a 20-minute show

10. Presbyterian Hospital July 4^th Spectacular – Charlotte, NC: a 20-minute show

 

9. Boston Pops Firework Spectacular – Boston, MA: a 21-minute show

8. Fisherman’s Wharf Fireworks Extravaganza – San Francisco, CA: a 21-minute show

 

7. Seattle’s Family 4^th Celebration – Seattle, WA: a 21-minute show

6. Lights on the Lake – Lake Tahoe, CA: a 23-minute show

5. Light Up the Night – Aurora, CO: a 25-minute show

 

4. Macy’s Firework Spectacular – New York, NY: a 26-minute show

3. Kaboom Town! – Addison, TX: a 30-minute show

 

2. Let Freedom Sing – Nashville, TN: a 30-minute show

 

1. Atlantic City Firework Spectacular – Atlantic City, NJ: In total, a 46-minute show

http://news.travel.aol.com/2011/06/28/july-4th-fireworks-15-of-the-biggest-shows-in-america-ranked-p/

 -Summer 2011 Intern, Amanda Pryor