Phil Megenhardt, president of Bold Hat Productions, welcomes everyone interested in building community to join the fun at Hop Scotch Spring Beer and Scotch Festival on Friday, May 2, and Saturday, May 3, at Fremont Studios, 155 N. 35th St.). This fund-raiser for Northwest Folklife is for aficionados of beer, scotch and - just this year - tequila. Attendees can sample and learn about their favorite beverages, and if Phil has his way, they can meet others and have fun with others who share their interests.CHANGING VENUESBold Hat Productions has produced Hop Scotch from its beginning six years ago at Seattle Center. Last year, it changed venues.According to Phil, among locales, "the presence of Fremont Studios is unique. In Seattle we have the options of Seattle Center or a ballroom" at a hotel or conference center. Phil likes the Studios: "It's a classy venue for a big event, and yet it's a nice place to have a meeting - and it's in Fremont," he explained.The Bold Hat offices are also in Fremont, across the street from the Studios. Yet, Phil organizes a variety of events in a variety of venues. His company has produced the Greenwood Car Show, the South Lake Block Party, Pigs on Parade and the City of Sammamish Fourth of July. The group recently organized a 25th-anniversary party for Adobe Systems, and Phil will once again act as advance man for the Tour de Fat bicycle celebration, this year at Gas Works Park.Last year, Bold Hat produced 18 distinct events (22 in 2006); this year, Phil plans to focus on three major festivals. "The events we have are substantial, and we want to make sure we meet our expectations." Year-round, Bold Hat is three people - Phil, marketing manager Jody Norwood and event director Phillippa Hoshko - although they hire staff and engage volunteers as needed for specific events. When nudged, Phil acknowledged he may sign on to interesting projects that come along, but he tries to keep the number down because "when we commit to a project, we commit!"Phil describes his work as "lifestyle event planning." Bold Hat events "always have an educational element, an experiential element," he said. For Hop Scotch, visitors can learn about scotch during seminars from a Master of Scotch, and more than 50 different spring beers being poured by local and international micro-breweries. "People read magazines geared toward their interests," he said. "Now, we have events geared toward what they still want to know about their interest."Primarily, Phil seeks opportunities to celebrate community through events. "When you see people talking to people they otherwise wouldn't have met and having a great time, I feel 'mission accomplished!'"'A MATTER OF STEPS'Nowhere is that more apparent than in the Fremont Chamber of Commerce Oktoberfest. Phil, through Bold Hat, has made the event all that it is today. "It's a community festival; it's not a beer garden," Phil explained. Oktoberfest has beer, but Phil also brought in the Brew Ha-Ha fun run and a highly praised kids' area. Oktoberfest, through ingenious event planning, features Dog Day afternoon, community informational booths, live music and the truly experiential Texas Chainsaw Pumpkin Carving."There is no difference," Phil explained, "between a small community event and the Olympics. It is just a matter of steps." A good event feels as though it has spontaneously and organically appeared - in Fremont Studios, a park or on a street. Organizing large-scale, multi-faceted events is a unique niche, Phil admitted: "There are many times we make it look too easy.""We have the systems and processes," Phil explained. "Every client is different. What the client can do internally varies from client to client." A company or organization can hire Bold Hat "to allow the people who do the day-to-day work to keep doing it instead of figuring out how many [portable toilets] they'll need," he said. Just like in a game of hopscotch, event planning requires following numbered, sequential steps, sometimes skipping quickly through more than one.A FOLKLIFE CONNECTIONNorthwest Folklife, the organization behind Hop Scotch, is much more than its well-known annual Memorial Day festival at Seattle Center, held this year from May 23 to 26, Phil clarified. Proceeds from Hop Scotch help fund Folklife school programs, research, consultation and folk-artist recordings. The organization has existed since 1972 to encourage understanding and education about the cultural heritage of the Pacific Northwest traditional arts.Hop Scotch provides support of the Northwest Folklife mission and, as Phil would have it, a chance to celebrate community while having a very good time. Check out www.hopscotchtasting.com or call 633-0422 for more information. General admission to Hop Scotch is $25 at the door. This is a 21-and-older event.Kirby Lindsay works, lives and sips tequila in Fremont. She welcomes your comments at fremont@oz.net.[[In-content Ad]]
