Hot mics, cold drinks & untold disasters

Modernism Week producer Delaney Henry on Burning Man art crews, Valley Fever at Lightning in a Bottle, and the zipper blowout that almost cancelled karaoke. Plus the crack in Frank Sinatra's bathroom sink that's still there.

Jose Moreno on a 50-year sports career, the COVID Fiesta Bowl saved by 10,000 PlayStation cutouts, and the Suns Gorilla who broke ribs on a Southwest baggage cart and never broke character. Plus the Wishes for Teachers program now over $1.2M a year.

Stacey Bera, Miss Arizona producer and venue owner, on the citywide Mesa power outage that stopped a pageant 20 minutes from showtime, the missing sound operator, and the FedEx driver she made a VIP for actually doing his job.

San Francisco planner Cecilia Romero on her supply-chain pivot, a 2,000-person Monopoly party at an electric car factory with no permanent power, a mobility conference that finally got accessibility right, and the office she had cleaners scramble to dust six hours before showtime.

Wedding photographer Tyler Ghali on the candid that beats the staged shot every time, the Hawaii beach session with someone nude in the tree line, and the dance-floor photo he had to Photoshop because a guest was falling in the background.

Pro marathoner Jess McLain on running a 5:25-per-mile pace while running a nonprofit, six caffeinated gels stuffed in her shorts 30 minutes before Boston, the Olympic alternate call that came five days out, and the pink-dress twirl at a Children's Heart Gallery event.

Tommy Nast on 50 years from upstate radio to Trafalgar Releasing concert films, the wine bottle Gene Simmons threw at his girlfriend at a KISS show, the dead fish the Black Crows hid under his Houston hotel covers, and Van Halen's brown-M&M compliance test.

Jill Hall, U of A events veteran, on hosting Lute Olson's funeral, picking up the Territorial Cup the year before Thanksgiving and walking it into family dinner, and the bobcat mascot that bit its handler before Wilbur and Wilma became costumes.

Emily of Etcetera by Emily on her Bright Shiny Happy People tagline born during a 500-person buffet meltdown, cleaning out a famous football player's garage during COVID, and assembling 300 military beds on a base between Vegas and California.

we sit down with Cameron Meyer, a professional artist and engraver/calligrapher who proves that no surface is safe from her creative touch. From glass to metal to unexpected canvases, Cameron shares the artistry and precision behind her craft.

Pop of Color AZ founder Elizabeth Irwin on eight years from a homemade 12-foot garland for her daughter's first birthday to professional installations, USC band balloon letters that drooped in April sun, and a U-Haul of balloons that opened on the freeway.

Bike Week producer Lisa Cyr on KORN flying in for one show, dropping Jonathan Davis's mic stand crate at the airport, Marilyn Manson saving the headlining slot three weeks out, and the cans of tuna on a hospitality rider that traced back to somebody's dead tour-bus cat.

Joy and Eddie Johnson, Part 2: the bookcase used as table seating at their daughter's wedding, the LaSalle Thompson squirt-bottle prank that sent a germophobe NBA legend running, and the speaker mic Eddie quietly fixed mid-gala before guests noticed.

Joy and Eddie Johnson, Part 1: how A Joyous Event got its first contract before Joy had a bank account or an LLC, the three-week play she produced for a friend with terminal breast cancer, and Eddie's table with Muhammad Ali who was talking junk and laughing.

Hannah Ward on the wedding truss with chandeliers that cracked in a windstorm and collapsed into the ceremony chairs 30 minutes before guests would have been sitting in them, the bride who threw a cocktail table at her staff, and a 45-minute full venue move.

Episode one of The EventTalk Podcast: Rachel Martin and Dave Foreman introduce the show with Dave's first bartending wedding where zero guests showed up, the $12-in-tips Cinco de Mayo festival, and the rattlesnake at a bride and groom's table that took a shovel to remove.