Robbie Burns dinner ideas??

[highland mafia]

Hi All

Our pipe band is holding a Robbie Burns fund raising dinner this year, and well I've been tasked with organizing it. Now luckily I am a professional chef so I've got the food side of things more or less covered. But wonder if any of you lot have any ideas/suggestions for such an event? This being a fund raising dinner I'd love to hear some "classy" money making ideas. That said we want the evening to be a memorable one and we want to carry this thing on year after year. We now have a hall that'll seat 220 but I think a dance floor and live band/bands should be in order. So we'll probally be seating 200ish.
Let me know your ideas I'd love your thoughts.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

You might want to consider holding a silent auction.

[Stratherrick]

How about a quiz?

Slainte

Bruce

[BagpiperDon]

But wonder if any of you lot have any ideas/suggestions for such an event?

Yeah -- don't take it too seriously.

Until last year when I was asked to play a small Burns supper chiefly attended by members of this forum (local), I loathed Burns suppers and even the mere idea of a Burns supper -- WHY? -- because I'm sick of seeing boring, dusty events where people eat haggis they pretend to like, drink scotch they pretend to appreciate, and listen to poetry they pretend to understand. I am not a Burns scholar, but from what I have learned of the man, he was a big of a rock'n'roller for his time, and I think if he could be resurrected for one evening of most of the Burns suppers I've seen, he would respond "Don't do this -- not in my name!"

Make the event interesting, make the event fun, give folks a chance to socialize, bring in forms of music other than just Highland piping, give an interesting account of his life and what he was doing with his work, who it was to reach, why it was important.

And if that doesn't work, then go through the legit channels so you can properly hold a Gung Haggis Fat Choy -- Burns-supper/Chinese-New-Year celebration.

[sfb]

If you're thinking in terms of a band, and dancing, then I'd have thought the best idea is to treat it as a Burns night celebration rather than following the traditional Scottish "Burns Supper" idea. Because Bagpiper Don's absolutely right about those.

And once you're there, well, auctions and raffles are the key to fundraising. "Classy" money making ideas are beyond me, so I have to advise taking advantage of people once they've had plenty to drink. It's for a good cause, after all.

Seriously though, the most cost effective raffle you can have is to have a pretty desirable (donated, if possible!) prize, and announce that every guest should write their name & telephone number on a $10? $20? $50? bill, and then despatch your persuasive assistants to wander among the tables collecting the "entries". I find encouraging folk to throw their money into empty ice buckets encourages generosity, for some reason. Guilt that the champagne's finished, maybe.


Hope it works out and you make plenty for the pipe band!

(Edit: sorry - meant to say earlier on, but I'd honestly go for "Rabbie", rather than "Robbie" Burns. But the celebration's the thing!!!)

[Kilted Rogue]

Hey, If your a chef then you know other chefs in town, Now the Silent auction is a great idea. Put them together, have some Chef/Pastry Chef friends Offer there skills for auction. I have done this for my wife many times. I am a Baker/Pastry Chef and i have givin away occasion cakes.dinner for 2 in there home. or dinner for 4. 3 courses nothing to major. Just tossing ideas to help your cause make a little Green

[Lyle1]

I've attended several fund raisers in the past year, and the one's I enjoyed the most had the shortest formal programs. Don't interrupt he flow of the party with too many speeches. Do you feel that a full dinner is really necessary? Having several stations serving good finger foods throughout the night is nice. Dessert stations are very popular. You might even be able to get a few local chefs to "sponsor" stations serving their specialties (good advertising for them)! Guests can eat what they want, when they wanted, and they don't have to sit down if they don't want to.

Silent auctions go over big. You can offer whatever you can get your hands on with out a lot of fuss. Goods and services both seem to do well. 50-50's are also popular.

Good luck!

[BroosterB1]

Oh goodness me, a fund raiser! I have been through a lot of those... Got lots of suggestions.

Since you are doing the food, or at least have a handle on that, work with your suppliers to get the food donated or at cost. Have the kitchen and wait staff donate their time as well, then make a BIG deal of it at the dinner! (everybody like to be recognized especially if their donation is time). Get the suppliers to the dinner (hey it's for a good cause) and work on them for other items as well.

Silent auctions are a good way of going, but don't forget a actual action as well. twenty or so REALLY NICE pieces or donations (like a weekend on Ocras Island), a piece of Dennis Chehully glass wear, or something like that. Get the juices flowing and loosen the purse strings.

The key to really successful fund raising is to get everything you possibly can donated. Don't pay for what you can get donated, then ask the people who are donating to donate some more, in a different way, AND MAKE THEM FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT! PM me and we can talk about some other ideas.

[Squeaky McMurdo]

Well, if you can persuade enough people to make one, a really fun fund raiser is a cake auction. Scottish theme of course.

We've had several cakes go for upwards of $200 at the highschool one in one night. Imagine how much you can get out of people that have had a bit to drink...lol

--Chelsea McMurdo--

[Lyle1]

If you have enough donated items, instead of a silent auction, you could do a twist with chances. Set each item out on display with a bucket or other container beside it. Sell chances 12 for $10.00, or whatever traffic will bear, and have people write their names on the chances and deposit them in the buckets next to the items in which they have an interest. At the end of the night, pick one chance from each bucket, and award the item to the person whose name is on the chance. A person's chance of winning an item increases by the number of chances they deposit in the bucket for that item.