What really matters is the power of one; support local business



Support locally-owned businesses

FYF’s philosophy of life is to be Forever Young and Fun.  Much of the world is over-the-edge serious about meaningless things.  We can all look through our lives and pick out our own fun-killers like the useless clothes in our closets.

"Pick out our own fun-killers like the useless clothes in our closets"

But many things in life do matter.  One such thing is the support of independent, locally-run businesses.  Why?  It is because the greatest ideas in the world start with one seed of thought, from one person.   FYF believes in the power of one.

The individual businessperson takes on new concepts and ideas that large corporations will not.  They change the world through inspiration and belief versus return on investment and market share.  We need to support their visions.

Tony Klausing of Good Vibes Winery, 2 South State St. Westerville, is an example of such a person.  He believes he can make wine as good as anyone.  He buys his juices from vineyards around the world and takes on the big boys.  And FYF supports him for it.

FYF is holding a Blind Date with Book event and wine tasting on Thursday, March 28, to give people an opportunity to try out his wines and support a locally-run business.

The wine tasting is $20 and allows you to try a variety of Tony’s wines and enjoy a few snacks from 6:30 pm till 8:30 pm.  If you just want to stop in and have one glass of wine and not participate in the wine tasting, then please do.  You can still participate in the book event.

To participate in the Blind Date with a Book event, bring one of your favorite books wrapped in plain brown paper.  Your book is the “blind date.” It can be any book from the classics to trashy novels.  Try and guess what others have brought and learn why they love their book.  Trading of books is allowed.

It is a great way to meet new people, find a new book to love, try some of Tony’s wines and support a great small business.  If you’d like to sign up for the wine tasting then use the Paypal button on the right hand corner of this page or send an email to fyfevents@gmail.com.

Fun events combined with social media is what we do.  FYF Events will continue to work with and support other independent, locally run companies that want to be forever young and fun by following their dreams.  We hope you do the same.

FYF Events is a central Ohio promotions/event company that promotes being Forever Young and Fun. We create, partner, organize and manage events for business and pleasure. Contact us at fyfevents@gmail.com 614-581-3610 or on Twitter@FYFEvents.  We love small businesses!

Red Light/Green Light Party: Help the hungry

By John McGory

 

The simplest ideas can often be your best.  An idea to have a singles party at my house has turned into $100,000 worth of food for central Ohio hungry families.   Here is where we are today.

Whether you’re in love or in the hunt, join 3 live bands and a party throng of fun seekers and dancers of all ages on March 9, from 6 p.m. to midnight at theBag of Nails in Westerville for the 6^th Annual Red Light/Green Light Party. All proceeds from your donated cover charge will go to Mid-OhioFoodbank.

In the past five years, money from this party generated $100,000 worth of food. The food bank bought 10,451 meals from the 2012 party donations.

The event is about showing your love or trying to find it. People wear red if they are married or in a relationship and green if they are single.  The party’s growth has been exponential.

Red Light/Green Light has both corporate and individual sponsors and collects cash and check donations at the door. This year’s sponsors include Oakland Nursery, Hetter Heating Cooling, MacMurray, Petersen and Shuster, LLP, Jungle Jim’s Lawn Service, Rotolo's Pizza, C.J. Fetchero Insurance Agency, M.K. Adkins & Associates, Dignity-First, The Bag of Nails, Webface and FYF Events.

Now here is how the whole thing got started.  After several great singles parties at my house two things became clear:  I got tired of cleaning up after slobs and everybody had a great time and told their married friends.  Now they wanted to come.

The attraction of knowing who was single made the singles parties much livelier.  I needed to keep that element.  So I asked a couple of friends what to do.  And one told me a red light green light party is the ticket.  Thanks Marten.

So we started small.  Only 75 or so showed up at the first party and we raised $600 in donation.  Little by little the party has grown to a great event.  And the reds love it just as much as the greens.  

The real heroes of this effort have been my friends and family. They jump-started a decent idea by coming and helping, and by opening their wallets and purses.  Now we’ve been able to get some attention and turn the party into a real positive for the community.

A-list party band Conspiracy, which draws large crowds with its soul, R&B and funk sounds, will headline the show for the third year. Donna Mogavero and the McGory Brothers will open.

Mogavero plays from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.; the McGory Brothers from 7:45 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.; and Conspiracy from 9:00 p.m. to midnight. Checks should be payable to Mid-Ohio Food Bank.

A big part of the fun is the reaction of people to the red or green they choose to wear.

I’ve had some pretty funny conversations with guests about what to wear.  We do a lot of relationships good. Making them choose who they are, red or green, can cause moral dilemmas!  I’ve also learned that 90 percent of single women have no green clothes, so we do provide beads.

So come on out to the party.  All are welcome and it is for a great cause.


John McGory is the founder of FYF Events, a central Ohio promotions/event company, that attracts the distracted. We create, partner, organize and manage events for business and pleasure. Contact us at FYFEvents@gmail.com. or at 614-581-3610. Check soon for our website at www.fyfevents.com or on Twitter @FYFEvents

Businesses leave Valentine's Day money on table; new events needed

 by John McGory

Valentine’s Day is big business but companies are leaving money on the table.

This Thursday is Valentine’s Day, one of the big event days of the year.  Restaurants, flower and candy stores, jewelers and travel agents all make out like bandits on February 14.

I am happy for those celebrating their Valentine’s Day love.  But what are the rest of us who are alone that day to do?  Hide in a closet?  Drink heavily and drunk dial ex-partners?  Pretend we don’t care?  Turn into haters?  We don’t want to go there.

Hallmark Cards’ research says about 50 percent of Americans purchase a Valentine’s Day greeting card.  That leaves another 50 percent of the country looking for something to do on February 14.  That spells big opportunity to me.   

What kind of events will work for singles?  Let’s first look at U.S. Census Bureau statistics on who is single.

There are 119 single men who are in their 20s for every 100 single women of the same age. Here is the breakdown for specific race and ethnic groups in their 20s:

Hispanics:  153 men per 100 women

Asian: 132 men per 100 women

Non-Hispanic whites:  120 men per 100 women

Blacks:  92 men per 100 women

A 20-something Valentine Day event for the singles could be a more male-oriented, testosterone-fueled event.  Things such as a rousing game of dodge ball or beer pong would work.  These would be good for getting out any excess energy in this crowd.  Having a bouncer or two available may be a good idea.  There could be some displaced anger. 

A male-oriented, Hispanic-themed event could bring in a good crowd considering the overwhelming number of young, single Hispanic males compared to females.  On the other hand, an event attracting black females could work as well since young black women outnumber black males.

The numbers flip heavily as we age.  There are only 34 single males for every 100 single females aged 65 or older.  The ethnic/race numbers are all in the 28-to-34-males for every 100 women range.  Ethnically-speaking it is the same when it comes to aging, men die off and women survive.  I think God realized one of us had to go.

Women-oriented events such as art or literature-themed events or wine tasting for singles have the ability to attract a good, female-dominated crowd.

Valentine’s Day is the biggest holiday offender of forgetting about “the rest of us.”  Too often businesses chase the same dollars and forget about the people who aren’t celebrating that special day.  There is more money to be made.

Maybe a Chinese New Year’s celebration would work.   The Chinese new year kicked off on February 4^th and lasts for 15 days.  And it is the Year of the Snake so that could work well with people who aren’t celebrating Valentine’s Day.

There are plenty of opportunities to give us losers in love a few options.  We don’t want to be haters.  We just want something to do.  We deserve a life too.

John McGory is the founder of FYF Events, a central Ohio promotions/event company that attracts the distracted. We create, partner, organize and manage events for business and pleasure. Contact us at FYFEvents@gmail.com. or at 614-581-3610. Check soon for our website at www.fyfevents.com or on Twitter @FYFEvents

Super event tips from the big game

By John McGory

 

The biggest sporting/entertainment event of the year came and went this weekend.  You have to admit that the National Football League knows how to throw a party. 

Football is America’s number one sport. It always is a plus when your event involves something people cherish.  But this alone doesn’t guarantee an extravaganza. 

Here are five super reasons why the NFL Championship Game sets itself apart from other championship games.

1.    The cyclical nature of the event.  It happens every year at the same time for three or  four hours.  It is not a seven-game series.  It is always on Sunday.  It is a party waiting to happen.

2.    The timing for the game is fabulous.  The beginning of February is the low point of the year for fun and excitement.  Christmas is long gone and cabin fever is setting in for a large portion of the country.  The 6:30 pm eastern standard time kick-off allows all of the time zones to enjoy the game during prime eating and drinking hours.

3.     The entertainment value for those who don’t know who is playing in the game is very high. High profile pre-game and halftime entertainers draw the non-football crowd to the television screens.  The brilliance of making the commercials the highlight of every year keeps people glued to their seats during timeouts.  It is the only time advertisements rule.

4.     It spins off money to all that get a piece of the action.  Food, alcohol, travel, bars/restaurant and television sales all soar.   They keep everyone focused on what we will be doing that day.  The NFL soaks up plenty of free advertising.

5.     It is fun.  The combination of the big game, funny commercials, a boring February weekend and food and alcohol are the ingredients for a country-wide party.  The NFL’s only goal is don’t screw it up.

What can you learn from the big game for your next big event?  Here a few super event ideas from the big game.

1.     People do enjoy things that they can count on for entertainment.  We are cyclical creatures.  Create events that people know that they’ll have fun at each year and you’ve got a winner.

2.     Timing is key.  Don’t compete with other activities or events.  Try and pick a time for an event that is yours alone.

3.     Keep others in mind who aren’t a fan of your theme.  Spouses, relatives and friends get dragged along to events.  Think of creative ways to entertain them if they could care less.

4.     If others can benefit from your successful event then they are sure to be a supporter next year.  Try and spread the love and money and it will return to you many times over.

5.     Keep it fun. 

When throwing an event, learn from the best.  The big game is a great place to start.   

John McGory is the founder of FYF Events, a central Ohio promotions/event company that attracts the distracted. We create, partner, organize and manage events for business and pleasure. Contact us at FYFEvents@gmail.com. or at 614-581-3610. Check soon for our website at www.fyfevents.com or on Twitter @FYFEvents

Attracting the distracted generation

 
By John McGory

A long-held principle is the Law of Attraction. It is simply like attracts like.  If you are negative, then you will attract negative.  If you are positive, then you’ll attract positive.   

The law’s basic logic makes sense in many ways.  People feel much more comfortable being with people like themselves.  That is why clubs, organizations and gangs are popular.  It is people hanging with others who think and act alike.  It makes life comforting whether it is the Goths, the Crips or the PTA.

Let’s take this concept and turn it toward the business world. What emotion does your brand send out?  Who does your message attract when you send them out via advertising, public relations, social media or branding? 

Keeping the concept of like attracts like in mind is crucial when developing your attraction messages. 

Now let’s take another piece of information from a University of Texas study.  It said that people read, hear, see and do things every day.  Thirty days later they will remember 10% of what they read today, 20% of what they heard and 30% of what they saw. 

But people will remember 90% of what they DID.

So if like attracts like and you mostly advertise via written materials such as post cards or emails, then you attract readers.  The chance that they will remember your ad in 30 days is 10 percent.  Radio spot listeners recall ads 20 percent of the time after a month and television or video ads bump it up to 30 percent.

If you attract customers through doing things such as events, then your chances of being remembered skyrockets to 90 percent. 

Remembering anything today in the blur of information we all face is a challenge.  We live in the Distracted Generation.  The distracted are everywhere.  At the mall, at the movies and at restaurants, texting, gaming and watching videos while carrying on conversations and watching a football game on the big screen.   The distracted keep each other busy even while ignoring who is right in front of them.

But the distracted do like to do things.  That is their problem. They like to do numerous things at one time.    Businesses best chance at attracting the distracted is by giving them things to do.  Events, the crazier the better, have a much better chance at attracting the distracted.  That is your best shot. 

Plus, if they are amused, they are guaranteed to distract others with your message.  That would be attraction by distraction.  So maybe the principle should change to the Law of Distraction where like distracts like.

We’ll talk more about this in coming blogs.  And, I just want to say, I only checked my email three times and sent a couple of texts during the writing of this blog.  Not bad.

John McGory is the founder of FYF Events, a central Ohio promotions/event company that attracts the distracted.  We create, partner, organize and manage events for business and pleasure. Contact us at FYFEvents@gmail.com.  Check soon for our website at www.fyfevents.com or on Twitter @FYFEvents. 

Fear, craving and death...Columbus style

By John McGory, FYF Events 

“Eventing Life…” is a new blog that aims to end the fear that you’ll die in Columbus.  Yes, it’s a given you probably will.  The fear creeps in when you consider what you are doing till that time comes.

You should be very afraid if you relate to any of these situations:

Do you feel like you need to be dusted once a week? 

Have you given a name to your television remote control?

Do you crave an HBO mini-series?

Are all your friends four legged?

Do you search for cute sayings to post on Facebook?

Do the words twitter and tweet confuse you?

Now the cold-blooded would say you should just put yourself out of your misery and get Direct TV, some stretch pants and put a mini fridge next to your BarcaLounger.  I say no! There is still hope.

There is no written rule that says once you are over the age of 35 that you can’t yearn for something or someone who will add true meaning, genuine fun and great physical and mental stimulation in your life.

How do you get started?  First, turn off all your brainwashing devices including televisions, iPads, computers and cell phones and get up off that couch or from behind that desk.  Disconnect Twitter and Facebook for awhile (they were developed for people who actually do something anyway).

Then, do something.  Reach out to others.  Here are some simple ideas…

Buy a puzzle and a pizza and invite your neighbor over to help put it together

Get your fellow employees together and organize a fundraiser

Throw a toga party

Learn how to make sushi in your kitchen.  Invite friends to help

Hold a weekly yoga class in your living room

Start a book club that specializes in erotic novels

Anything you do can be an event.  Whether it is for business or pleasure, there are thousands of ways to event life.  You just have to do it.  What suggestions do you have for a fun event?  What’s stopping you?

“Eventing Life….” will provide weekly ideas on making Columbus life a little more fun.  Come back and visit us.  Here is some stuff to do this week:

Blondes versus Brunettes in Powderpuff Football, January 15, 6 pm till 7:30 pm at the Park Street Cantina.  Proceeds help the Alzheimer’s Association.

Salsa dancing on Friday night at 8 pm at LaFogata’s 790 N. High  Street

Want to be a star?  America’s Got Talent Auditions are January 19 and 20 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.  Go to http://www.americasgottalentauditions.com/audition-cities/columbus/ to sign up.

FYF is a company that creates the unique for business, fundraising, social and music events. If you need to create some excitement for business or pleasure then send us a note at foreveryoungandfunco@gmail.com.  Watch for our website at fyfevents.com coming soon.