In this episode of BEATS WORKING — Winning the Game of Events, hosts Alysse Bryson and Libby Sundgren welcome Kelli Bielema — a powerhouse event producer with 25+ years of creative expertise across mega festivals, brand activations, and employee experiences at Meta. Kelli shares her secrets for creative ideation, resiliency in the face of chaos, and building unforgettable events both big and small. Plus: behind-the-scenes stories from Coachella, EDC, running her karaoke Airstream lounge, and working with celebrity talent at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Resources Mentioned:
- Kelli Bielema: LinkedIn & Instagram
- The AirScream: Website & Instagram
- Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses
- BW Swag Episode: Event Swag and Strategy Insights with Karianne Michelle
- Alysse & Libby: Bios & LinkedIn
Connect with Us:
- Website: www.beatsworkingpodcast.com
- LinkedIn: @BEATS WORKING Show
- Instagram: @beatsworkingshow
- Facebook: @Beats Working Show
- YouTube: @BEATSWORKINGPODCAST
Support the Show:
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BEATS WORKING is a platform on a mission to redeem work—the word, the place, and the way. We believe that work is the most honorable act in the universe, and through inspiring stories and practical insights, we want to transform the way people think about work and help them discover greater fulfillment in their lives. We invite you to join us as we build community through sharing and actively demonstrating what we learn.
If you have a show idea, feedback, or just want to connect, email producer Tamar Medford at tamar@workp2p.com.
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Transcript
The following transcript is not certified. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors. The information contained within this document is for general information purposes only.
Kelli Bielema [00:00:00]:
I remember when my co worker Danny and I were sitting in her audition, and we’re just like, oh, my God, she’s hilarious. Like, what are we going to do with her?
Libby Sundgren [00:00:09]:
Like, we have got to do something really good.
Kelli Bielema [00:00:12]:
Isn’t that crazy? Yeah. And she and I. She and I were friends for a while, too, and then it was like, I hadn’t heard from her for a while. We’re watching, like, Saturday Night Live, and that was the season. Like, I was like. You’re like, huh? Okay.
Alysse Bryson [00:00:25]:
I guess that’s why she didn’t call me back. Weird. Welcome to Beats Winning the Game of Events, where we share stories and strategies to turn any event or life moment into something unforgettable.
Libby Sundgren [00:00:38]:
Events are wild, and the people who work in them are some of the most resilient humans on Earth. If you know, you know.
Alysse Bryson [00:00:46]:
So come with us behind the curtain for a look at their most memorable experiences.
Libby Sundgren [00:00:51]:
As they say, the show must go on.
Kelli Bielema [00:00:54]:
So.
Libby Sundgren [00:00:54]:
So let’s get on with the show. Welcome to Beats Working Winning the Game of Events. Today’s guest is a powerhouse of creativity and resilience in the events industry. With over 25 years of experience, Kelly Bielema has done it all. From wrangling talent at Universal Studies Hollywood to producing brand activations for Red Bullet, EDC and Coachella. She’s helped raise millions for animal wealth causes and now leads employee experience as the event manager for Meta’s Reality Labs research campus in Redmond, Washington. Okay. Not only that, she’s a former VP of Programs for IAH Seattle.
Libby Sundgren [00:01:38]:
She’s a multiple ECAA recipient, an Esprit Award nominee, and as if she didn’t have enough going on, she also runs a karaoke lounge out of a vintage Airstream, which is affectionately named the Air Scream. Get it? Based in Seattle with their human spouse, Patrick, six rescue pets and a rotating cast of foster dogs and cats, Kelly proves that in events and in life, the show must always go on. Kelly, welcome to our show.
Kelli Bielema [00:02:12]:
Oh, my gosh. Thanks for having me.
Alysse Bryson [00:02:14]:
The crowd goes wild. Libby, I. I think this is. I don’t know if we’re qualified to have on somebody so esteemed and cred this podcast.
Libby Sundgren [00:02:29]:
I mean, the girls got experience.
Alysse Bryson [00:02:32]:
This is a big deal. It’s a big deal.
Kelli Bielema [00:02:35]:
Thanks. Thanks. You’re pumping my ears. I love it.
Libby Sundgren [00:02:38]:
You’re the best. Okay, so you have done everything from running Red Bull activations at major festivals to planning internal experiences at Meta. Both very different types of events, Very different experiences. But I feel like you must have a similar process for both of those. So when you’re starting an event, what is your, what’s your step by step guide when you’re going from ideation to the initial pitch? Because I don’t know if people have picked up on this, but you are very creative. Very creative. Kelly helped US plan a 10 year anniversary party that we threw in an airplane hangar. And by helped us plan, I mean she did 75% of the work so that I could just follow the health inspector around for six hours.
Kelli Bielema [00:03:29]:
Well, I think that’s a good example too of something where I think generally speaking, anytime I do plan an event, I feel like it’s different. Every time I feel like my process is different. For example, when I did the Seattle Met event, that was when I had my production company and my approach was different. It was also because I was a salesperson. I was obviously the event producer, slash coordinator, slash HR person, janitor. All the things you have to do within your business. Right. So I took a very detailed approach back then.
Kelli Bielema [00:04:05]:
I’m not saying I’m not detailed now, but it was, it was something where I just, I mean, it was a lot more of the line for me in that sense. And when an opportunity would come to me, especially with the Seattle Met event, I was like, wow, we get to do it in an airplane hangar and there’s going to be an airplane there. Excuse me. What? I don’t understand how amazing this is going to be. Like, it was, it was a lot, right? And so a lot of times my first questions are always, what’s the end game? What’s the goal here? And if it’s something as simple as it’s a celebration, or if it’s something to attain customers, more subscribers or what have you, then like, how do, how do we reach that? Because that’ll inform a lot of the other decisions of what we’re going to plan for the event. So I’m trying to think back on that one. I just remember being like, ooh, we got to have the entrance with the, whatever the, the freezer plastic hanging down.
Libby Sundgren [00:05:06]:
We did. And then there was a photo op inside one of the like turbine engines. But no, you brought like, I mean, you made full on storyboards. I had never done that for an event before and never seen it. And I just remember the amount of like, detail and thought and real creativity that was in. That was, I mean, it was so cool. It’s inspiring for me.
Kelli Bielema [00:05:30]:
Well, I think, and that’s part of my process too, is like storyboarding or building decks around it. And A lot of times it’s things that I’ve called throughout the years that are up on random Pinterest boards or on my phone, and I’m like, where is that? Because this will go great with that event in particular. So that’s. Obviously, a lot of us event producers slash designers are very visual. So a lot of what I do just starts there. Right now, I’m planning our employee summer event, and people already know the theme. They don’t know what’s going to go on, but it’s New York theme. So the first thing I started with was the New York City coffee cups.
Kelli Bielema [00:06:12]:
The ones with the little, like, Greek key lettering on them. The blue ones, you know what I’m talking about? The traditional.
Libby Sundgren [00:06:19]:
No, I don’t know what those are. Libby.
Alysse Bryson [00:06:22]:
Have you ever even been to New York, Libby?
Libby Sundgren [00:06:24]:
Yeah, on the 8th grade East coast tour trip.
Kelli Bielema [00:06:29]:
Anyway, it does go back a while, but it’s sort of, like, iconic in that sense. So I don’t know what it was, but that is what spurred my idea for this theme of this event. We always have this pizza oven. We have two pizza ovens we rent from Court Event Party Rentals. And then our culinary team makes the pizzas for employees. And we have custom boxes that I make. Oh, my God, it’s so fun. So, like, all the little details.
Libby Sundgren [00:06:52]:
Where do you make your custom pizza boxes? Because we got a pizza oven and I want to get some. I don’t know who I’m going to send pizzas home with, but somebody.
Kelli Bielema [00:07:00]:
I have to get a new vendor because the last one I used, they are no longer doing that. So. But like, little, little things like that, like, I’ll. I’ll take one thing like the pizza thing and build from there. But it was something about the classic coffee cup where I’m like, this is our theme. And it really. It’s really. And again, the process is never the same.
Kelli Bielema [00:07:22]:
A lot of what I do that is the same is how I organize, you know, my documentation and keep what I call a dossier, which is basically a Google Drive sheet with many, many tabs. And each one of those tabs has, you know, different priorities on it or different, like, run a show is on there. And then my budget and contact information, I just keep it all in one place because, you know, adhd. But. But always looking at it from the perspective of a who’s my audience? And. And what’s the end goal? And again, it can be something as simple as, we’re gonna have fun. We’re gonna, you know, employees Love to work the goal. We’re gonna have fun.
Kelli Bielema [00:08:05]:
Yeah. Yeah, right?
Alysse Bryson [00:08:07]:
That is super helpful. I’m also very visual because so as you were talking, I was like, I can totally understand, like, finding the one item and building from there. It reminded me a lot. I don’t know. Did you guys in high school, like, in your different classes, you would compete at homecoming and you would, like, decorate areas of the school, like the comm. Whatever the theme was, it like. I feel like that’s where some of my early event planning actually started because I was always so visual and wanting to think about the aesthetics of how. How everything looked.
Alysse Bryson [00:08:39]:
Speaking of aesthetics, I want to talk about some major festivals that you’ve done, because when you were running Red Bull activations, you were like, at Coachella and whatnot, what is the most. And things can go, as we know, at any size of event, they can go from epic to chaotic in seconds. So what’s the most, like, event person moment you’ve had mid execution? That just proves how gritty and resilient you are.
Kelli Bielema [00:09:10]:
I think EDC is a really good example of. I was at that point where I’m like, what have I gotten myself into? What am I doing here? In a good way. I will say in a good way. And especially at the end of the day, I was like, oh, yeah, that was an incredible experience. But it’s. It’s not just so. EDC is not just the festival. It’s like, it takes over the city and it takes over, you know, all the markets.
Kelli Bielema [00:09:39]:
So for Red Bull, it was. I would work with my teams that did little brand activations in things like, say, Walmart. So in Walmart, they have a huge display, and that’s an activation, honestly. So it would be one of those things as part of the team, we would talk about, you know, what was going on there, how are sales? What are the promotions? Because they had. They had it set up, the Walmart one. They had it set up like a DJ booth, like a cool festival DJ booth. And then you. We had a promotion that was going on where someone had to win a contest.
Kelli Bielema [00:10:13]:
It was like a game. So they developed this game that was a Red Bull EDC game, and whoever won that won a prize package that would put them in a fancy RV in the campground area and, you know, be treated like, you know, VIP Rockstar Experience. So that was another part of the activation, you know, and it’s like there were just so many things that splintered off from just the festival. And then you have folks who have accounts at Some of the big casinos and they’re doing activations at the date clubs. And then we had activation at Maverick Helicopters, which is where you can pay to be helicoptered into the festival. Oh, yeah.
Alysse Bryson [00:10:51]:
What?
Kelli Bielema [00:10:52]:
Oh, yeah, like you talk about. Seriously? Yeah, it’s pretty extra. And everyone, like, all the people that were like managers above me and directors would be like, oh, yeah, we’re taking the helicopter in. And I’m like, I’ll be on site, so I’ll be sweating.
Libby Sundgren [00:11:07]:
Okay.
Kelli Bielema [00:11:08]:
Oh, sweating like you wouldn’t believe. Yeah. So, like, and. And I haven’t even touched on, like, what happens at the festival. So at the festival, you’ve got, you know, backstage activation with all the artists and guests, and then you’ve got a VIP activation and then you’ve got all the bars. So at all the bars, there’s Red Bull activations there where we had Red Bull. Slushies are huge at these festivals, which sounds crazy, but I had to call the Margarita man and Margarita man and have a contract with him and have him come out. But as far as things just being chaotic and crazy, it’s like there’s thousands and thousands of people there.
Kelli Bielema [00:11:47]:
And it goes from, I think gates open at like noon, and it goes until like 6am I think there just became a point. There came a point on my first night there, and it was 4:00am I’m like, I think I have to go to bed. I mean, I had already been up every day and night for like hours on end. And this is like, I hope I survive this, because I wasn’t no spring chicken when I started that. And I’m like, you know, with these kids basically, and trying to keep up. And I stayed on. I stayed on property too. So there was a campground for crew, and that was something I decided to do.
Kelli Bielema [00:12:31]:
Like, leadership was like, you don’t have to do that. I’m like, I want to do it. I want to be immersed. I want to have the full experience. I want to be available. And like, I mean, I think when you say, you know, gritty, like, that’s what I think of. I just think of like, the dirt and like wearing the. I mean, you know, in festivals, like, when they have, like, this is pre mask wearing time.
Kelli Bielema [00:12:51]:
So, like, when mask wearing time came up, I’m like, no, I just want to wear my festival garb because it is like all the elements of the dust and whatnot. But it was. It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It was one of those things that they presented as a best. What do they Call it, like, best in business or something. Practice was how we activated an edc. So that was presented to leadership in Austria, where Red Bull is headquartered. So that was like a.
Kelli Bielema [00:13:19]:
Had a girl. Yeah, cool. Needless to say, I did leave that job because of toxic management.
Libby Sundgren [00:13:26]:
Because they were flying on helicopters and you were sweating on the boots.
Kelli Bielema [00:13:33]:
No, but seriously, I mean, had there not been a couple people that I had to deal with, I would still be there. Man, I love that job. I love that job. I loved every sort of creative outlet. I liked the sales element. I feel like that’s where, you know, being a business owner came into play. I think that’s part of the big reason I got hired was because, like, I saw coming into. I kind of think of that anyway, coming into a job, it’s like, I think of it as my own individual business and how I’m going to run it.
Kelli Bielema [00:14:01]:
And I was really good at relationships. And before we even had the festival, I had to have these meetings with this guy. His name was Larry. And Larry I had to go talk to. And they’re like, oh, Larry is really something. You’re just. You’re. Good luck, Kelly.
Kelli Bielema [00:14:16]:
I don’t know if he’s gonna go for it. You’re like, I got this.
Alysse Bryson [00:14:21]:
Larry’s got nothing on me. How much Red Bull did you drink, out of curiosity?
Kelli Bielema [00:14:25]:
Oh, you know what’s funny? I actually told someone this story the other day. I can drink regular size, like 8 ounce Red Bull. I can do 8 in a day, still go to sleep. Oh, now a day. It was from like, okay, during that time, I’d get up, like, probably like 8, 9. And I’d be up the other two nights. I’d be up until like, ooh, maybe like 2:00am I wouldn’t be up super late.
Libby Sundgren [00:14:48]:
I mean, 2:00am so kind of late.
Kelli Bielema [00:14:50]:
And then you’re going to bed when it’s like. Yeah, but.
Alysse Bryson [00:14:56]:
Yeah, I mean, I look shocked, but, you know, I used to do lines of cocaine and go to bed. So it totally. I get it. When your body becomes a custom, it becomes a custom.
Kelli Bielema [00:15:06]:
That’s all Red Bull is liquid cocaine.
Alysse Bryson [00:15:08]:
Yeah.
Libby Sundgren [00:15:10]:
How do you come down from an event like that? I feel like the amount of time, effort, sweat, emotional energy and mental energy that would go into. Yes, the planning, but like, the per. The setup, the production, like the tear down, which we know doesn’t take as long, but, like, did you just. I feel like I would just sit and like, cry for a while. Like, what did you do? How do you recover after an Event like that or after, you know, maybe after you’re air screaming with. With like a group all day long. But how do you. What’s your rest and recharge?
Kelli Bielema [00:15:56]:
I mean, I think generally speaking, it’s, you know, our bodies are just done right. You’ve never drank enough water. Like, those kinds of things. I’m drinking Red Bull and have good snacks. I know. And it depends on what time I get home. And, you know, usually it involves a shower and a gummy and I pass out, you know, so there’s that as sort of standard.
Alysse Bryson [00:16:27]:
But you have to do the shower before the gummy because the other way around might not be a good mix.
Kelli Bielema [00:16:33]:
You fall asleep in the shower. But I would say sometimes it depends on the event, too. Like, sometimes it’ll take me a minute to wind down. I’m like, I can. I’m too hyped. Or, you know, I had rug bowl too late. But. But yeah, It’s.
Libby Sundgren [00:16:46]:
I had 10 Red Bulls, not eight, so can’t go to bed.
Kelli Bielema [00:16:50]:
Yeah, exactly.
Alysse Bryson [00:16:51]:
What’s with all the events you’ve been producing or even attending? What’s, like, the coolest swag item you’ve ever seen? Now, I bring this up because I remember we were doing an event for Expedia and your excitement over winning that yellow suitcase.
Kelli Bielema [00:17:09]:
That’s right.
Alysse Bryson [00:17:11]:
Do you remember? Like, so excited. And then I was like, you were so excited. I was like, I need a yellow suitcase. Like, and then. And then she got one, and I was so excited. So I’m. What?
Libby Sundgren [00:17:23]:
That was a good suitcase, though. That was a really good giveaway.
Alysse Bryson [00:17:25]:
It was. It was a.
Kelli Bielema [00:17:27]:
It was. I had that for a while, and then I think the wheel finally fell off and front crashed and. Yeah. Oh, gee whiz. Oh, I’ve seen so much swag. So much swag over the years. And I listened to your swag episode, too, with that. With that gal.
Kelli Bielema [00:17:42]:
Oh, yeah.
Libby Sundgren [00:17:43]:
Carrie Ann.
Kelli Bielema [00:17:44]:
Yeah. Oh, wow. I think. I think you may have stumped me, but it’s like, I always like things that are practical.
Alysse Bryson [00:17:56]:
Like a suitcase.
Kelli Bielema [00:17:57]:
Like what?
Alysse Bryson [00:17:58]:
Like a suitcase.
Kelli Bielema [00:18:00]:
Exactly. I know. I’m, like, looking right now, like, even my swag. One of my swag vendors sends me samples, too, so I have this, like, hard mouse pad. I don’t know why. I love that thing. I will even travel with it. It’s hard.
Kelli Bielema [00:18:13]:
It’s not cute. It doesn’t have any logos on, but it’s like, it’s useful, it’s purposeful, and that’s usually what’s key to me.
Alysse Bryson [00:18:22]:
You know, what’s a swag item that you hope, like, dies and we never have to see it again?
Kelli Bielema [00:18:27]:
Oh, my God. Don’t. Just don’t hand out pens at a trade show. Nobody wants a pen. People don’t even write stuff anymore.
Alysse Bryson [00:18:34]:
Right?
Kelli Bielema [00:18:35]:
It’s true. You know, it’s true.
Alysse Bryson [00:18:37]:
I’m also getting a little tired of bags just because there’s so. I mean, how many bags do you. We all have at our houses. Like, so many now. I get it. They’re very useful in the moment because most people don’t bring a bag with them sometimes.
Kelli Bielema [00:18:50]:
Yeah.
Alysse Bryson [00:18:50]:
But I mean, I get home and I have so many bags.
Kelli Bielema [00:18:54]:
I think it depends on quality too, right?
Alysse Bryson [00:18:56]:
Totally.
Kelli Bielema [00:18:57]:
We did these tote bags last year, and I. I always under buy for some of my events because I’m like, I don’t want to have it left over. I don’t want to have waste, and I’m buying quality, so it’s going to cost more. So instead of, like, at this event where there’s, you know, normally like 500 people, I only ordered 150. I’m like, we’re not. We’re not going to be wasteful.
Alysse Bryson [00:19:17]:
It makes.
Kelli Bielema [00:19:17]:
Not exclusive. Not everybody’s getting one. So, like, you got to get there and it builds. And this is, this is something specifically for employee events that I kind of strategically do is like, you know, I just, I don’t. I don’t want to have leftovers. And you got to get there and you get. Get the stuff. I like food items.
Kelli Bielema [00:19:36]:
Like, good quality food items. Lady Yum macarons. Like, if you do like a little two pack, I don’t love that they’re in plastic, but, like, food, beautiful presentation. All that is nice. So.
Alysse Bryson [00:19:49]:
And fun fact, you have a cookie named after you.
Kelli Bielema [00:19:52]:
I do.
Alysse Bryson [00:19:53]:
I have told that story to so many people. I’m like, I have a friend who has a cookie named after her.
Kelli Bielema [00:20:00]:
Yeah.
Alysse Bryson [00:20:01]:
Because, you know, party tricks.
Kelli Bielema [00:20:02]:
Yeah. Yeah. I named that for her Kickstarter that she did when she was still just doing catering and she wanted brick and mortar.
Alysse Bryson [00:20:11]:
And now she’s like, at Sea Tac. She’s everywhere.
Kelli Bielema [00:20:14]:
She’s blown up. She’s doing great.
Alysse Bryson [00:20:15]:
All right, well, let’s talk about, you know, we like to say it ain’t bragging if it’s true. So let’s talk about your karaoke lounge in a vintage Airstream. The Airstream.
Kelli Bielema [00:20:27]:
So, so cute.
Libby Sundgren [00:20:28]:
I. Those stickers. I still have my stickers. They’re safely in here because if my kids find them, they’re going to stick them on something that I don’t want them to go.
Kelli Bielema [00:20:35]:
Stickers are great.
Alysse Bryson [00:20:37]:
Stickers are. Stickers are always a good idea. Always a good ide. What inspired this side hustle and how has it impacted your professional creativity?
Kelli Bielema [00:20:48]:
Well, Vanessa Rustler, AKA Baby Van Beasley, local dj, karaoke legend herself. We’re friends. She and I were just having some drinks, doing karaoke one night, and I was telling her about how I was always had this dream to have, like an old school bus that you would convert into a karaoke lounge. And we just started talking about. I’m like, no, it’d be great. I said, well, the more you think about it, I don’t want to have to worry about an engine breaking down and having a bus, you know, always like smoke billowing out of it. That’s visual.
Libby Sundgren [00:21:23]:
I had.
Kelli Bielema [00:21:24]:
I said, but I’ve always wanted to own an Airstream. So maybe in an Airstream, because, you know, people love that. Like when Skillet had their first.
Libby Sundgren [00:21:33]:
Oh, that was so cute.
Kelli Bielema [00:21:35]:
Yeah, an Airstream. And they’re so iconic and I don’t know, it just kind of went from there. And then I followed up with her not too long after that and said, hey, what if we did a Kickstarter and if we don’t get the money, you know, we don’t do it. It was a fun little exercise and everything. So we got the money. And I was like, oh, shit. Like, so we’re going to do this now.
Libby Sundgren [00:22:01]:
So we’re buying an Airstream.
Kelli Bielema [00:22:04]:
Yeah. Never towed in my life. I didn’t even have a tow vehicle, really. I had my little Jeep Renegade at the time, but we went down to Medford, Oregon, picked it up from this guy who was a total gem, and then just figured it out from there. And one of my besties, he lives in la, he had redone his own tin can camper, like a Shasta camper. And I was like, why don’t you come up and do this? And so he came out for a couple months and did the whole. The whole thing. And then we launched in the end of February, 2020, or right, beginning of March.
Kelli Bielema [00:22:37]:
Yeah. And then Covid, really good timing.
Alysse Bryson [00:22:39]:
That was great.
Kelli Bielema [00:22:40]:
I know, I’m. This is my favorite. Yeah. So, I mean, and the idea, honestly behind it was it’s nice to have little intimate moments, intimate events, like everything. We don’t need everything so big, like, let’s bring people together. And then Covid, you know, and then you have to convince people as we’re slowly coming out of COVID that it’s a good idea to get new, get.
Libby Sundgren [00:23:02]:
In a small space and breathe on each other, people. Come on.
Kelli Bielema [00:23:06]:
Yeah. Which fun fact, I did an event with Microsoft. It’s kind of an annual event that they do. They’ve hired us, rehired us for. But I was. It was. Yeah, it must have been 2022. No, 2021, maybe.
Kelli Bielema [00:23:21]:
And I was sitting there doing this event, being like, I’m actively getting Covid right this minute. I know it.
Libby Sundgren [00:23:27]:
I can feel it. This multiplying in my body.
Kelli Bielema [00:23:32]:
Sure enough, it happened. But, you know, I mean, I had a lot of measures in place that I felt were helpful and made people feel comfortable, but it didn’t matter. And. Yeah. So I find that the things that have been most successful corporate events is kind of primarily the sweet spot or activations, like kind of trade show ish. Or like Carnival of Cocktails we did with Jack Daniels. Oftentimes, anything where it’s like a lively crowd and they want stuff to do and they’re like, ooh, ooh, ooh. Like these kinds of people, they’ll come in for a little bit and then they’ll leave.
Kelli Bielema [00:24:08]:
Taste Washington is another great idea. I mean, these are all drinking events, but we’ve also done like the night. The night market has been really fun. And any. Anything where you can come in for a little bit, have a little experience and go. Now, granted, there are people that will stay there all night. And so we will have to, like, manage a queue and all this kind of stuff. So in terms of, like, creativity, I think for me, it’s been working with the brands and how we can, you know, use the Airstream to highlight it.
Kelli Bielema [00:24:44]:
So we’ll do things like cover the windows with their brand name or Cut Water Spirits. Cut Water? Yeah. Cut Water Spirits would give us signage to put on the inside and fill the coolers with their cans.
Libby Sundgren [00:24:57]:
You wrap the Airstream before. So cool.
Kelli Bielema [00:25:00]:
For Alaska Airlines.
Alysse Bryson [00:25:02]:
Alaska. I thought so.
Kelli Bielema [00:25:03]:
For the Day in, day out festival. And that was great. So working with them to also get flight attendants to be there as it was like, visually, it was really neat, right? Yeah. And so there’s little things like that where, like, the marketing side of me just always gets to have a good time whenever I’m doing those brand activations. And then the production side of me is. Was like, okay. The logistics of this is, okay, how do we manage the queue? How do we get through these people and, you know, make them happy, make the client happy and all that kind of stuff.
Libby Sundgren [00:25:41]:
How do you nicely kick someone out of the air, scream.
Kelli Bielema [00:25:45]:
Oh, it’s, it’s funny. People have, people have gotten that, yeah, I’m being nice, and I’m being nice. And again, oftentimes when it involves alcohol, you either get the happy ones or you get the ones. So, yeah, one time we were doing the market and this gal and her friend had been in there, you know, a few times throughout the night. And that’s fine. And then when we start to get busy towards the end of the night, I gotta mind the queue. I’m like, you guys come in as a group, you get to do two songs, and then I’ll oftentimes reduce it to one song. And then we’re moving on.
Kelli Bielema [00:26:15]:
And she had come in there. I’m like, I am so happy you’ve been here most of this event, but I have to make room for some new folks. She was like, fine. And so she left. But it wasn’t until the person I had assisting me that night, she was like, okay, Kelly, I saw the gal that you kicked out. She was mad and crying and saying stuff like crying. They made me leave. I mean, who knows? She could have been talking about something else.
Kelli Bielema [00:26:44]:
But yeah, she was still mad about.
Alysse Bryson [00:26:47]:
How did you come up with the name Barbie?
Libby Sundgren [00:26:53]:
Oh, the best.
Kelli Bielema [00:26:54]:
Barbie Hall. Her husband and my partner and I went to brunch one day and I was like, I don’t know what to name this stupid thing. He’s like, how about the air screen?
Libby Sundgren [00:27:05]:
Chris said.
Kelli Bielema [00:27:05]:
Chris suggested that in his Prince Barnes voice.
Alysse Bryson [00:27:09]:
Yep.
Kelli Bielema [00:27:10]:
And there we go.
Alysse Bryson [00:27:12]:
Well, and you know, fun fact for this is a little known fact. I don’t flex this very often, but as Kelly knows, I don’t even know if Libby knows this. I am a giphy artist. I make stickers for Instagram and I’ve. My stickers have been. I have like over 300 and they’ve been viewed something like 84 million times. Oh, if. If only I could have a penny for each view.
Alysse Bryson [00:27:35]:
Just one penny. But the airscream stickers that I designed for you are by far the top 10 stickers of all time. And I think the number one is Chris singing. I’m pretty sure.
Kelli Bielema [00:27:48]:
Yeah, yeah, it’s up there. So if you type in when you’re adding a GIF to, you know, your reels or stories, and even if you just type in karaoke, it doesn’t have to be Airstream or anything like that. Yeah, it’ll be the one of Chris singing where he’s going like this or. Yeah, one of the Trailer. Yep. It’s pretty cool.
Alysse Bryson [00:28:06]:
I claim to faith I’m gonna just try.
Libby Sundgren [00:28:08]:
I’ve seen him. I was gonna try and look it up again, but it was gonna take too long, so. But I’m gonna go back.
Alysse Bryson [00:28:13]:
So, Kelly, you’ve worked on all sizes of events. What’s the event that’s had the biggest budget you’ve gotten to play with? Because I love spending other people’s money.
Libby Sundgren [00:28:24]:
You don’t have to tell us the number, but you can just say, like, what you did.
Alysse Bryson [00:28:30]:
Just tell me how many commas were in the number.
Kelli Bielema [00:28:33]:
Well, how many commas are involved? I mean, I. I think, honestly, edc, even though, I mean, other teams had to mind their part of the budget, I still, you know, held people accountable. As a project manager, I can’t remember what it was, but you’d be surprised. Like, I actually find one of my strengths that I never knew I had was being really good at budgeting for events. Don’t talk to me about my real.
Libby Sundgren [00:28:58]:
Life, but you are very good because the. I remember getting the final bill for all the decor, like, all the custom decor that was built for that anniversary party, and I was like, oh, man, I thought. I thought I was going to be way over budget, but we were just right on target.
Kelli Bielema [00:29:15]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I try not to be wasteful and. And, you know, I hate running out of stuff, but I also hate having extra.
Alysse Bryson [00:29:26]:
I would. Scrappy is a word I would use to. One of the words I would use to describe you. And I say that with, like, mad respect. Like, scrappy is very handy, a very handy skill set in the event world. Yeah.
Kelli Bielema [00:29:38]:
And you don’t always have to do things that are big and flashy to have a good time. I mean, I know you guys know that I have. The folks that I work with at Meta. At Reality Labs is a research facility. And I’ll tell you, they, as much as you think, like, oh, Meta employee events must be like, woo crazy and all that stuff. Oh, they were back in the day. But things have, you know, we’ve kind of tightened some things up. But this particular crowd, they would rather stand around a cocktail table and talk to each other than go to a photo booth.
Kelli Bielema [00:30:09]:
Than go, you know, play a game or, you know, do this or that. Which is great, because that’s kind of what I want as an employee experience manager is for them to have community at work and, you know, and then I save a couple grand on a photo booth, as much as I love a photo booth. But it’s like 10 people go in it at a 500 person party. Like, it’s just not worth it.
Alysse Bryson [00:30:32]:
Well, the event that we came to in January of. What was it? 24, the dry cocktail making class, that was so cool. And you had. I don’t know how many people you had there, but it was like very engaging. People were really into it. You could hear all these conversations happening at all these different tables. And then the people that stayed after the class to compete and present their cocktail. That was super fun.
Kelli Bielema [00:30:59]:
Yeah, yeah. And that was also. Totally forgot about that. But yeah, that was one of those events where I was like so excited. It was dry January. We’re going to do something for wellness and you know, it’s the new year. And then we had the threat of like a couple snowflakes, like actual snowflake.
Alysse Bryson [00:31:16]:
It’s a big deal in Seattle. Big deal.
Kelli Bielema [00:31:18]:
Yeah. And so that was really annoying because I had you guys coming. I had DJ Baby Van Beasley doing scratch lessons. My whole thing.
Libby Sundgren [00:31:29]:
The lessons were good. That was. That was a cool touch.
Alysse Bryson [00:31:33]:
Scratch was a great theme. It was very clever.
Kelli Bielema [00:31:35]:
Thank you. But then I had to like throw in one more scratch because I believe in threes. And so I got a swag back. Oh, that’s right.
Alysse Bryson [00:31:43]:
That’s right.
Kelli Bielema [00:31:46]:
I picked that swag out. I’m like, that actually is very practical.
Alysse Bryson [00:31:50]:
I took a single gal. I appreciate it. I appreciate it.
Libby Sundgren [00:31:54]:
I took two back scratchers.
Kelli Bielema [00:31:57]:
I keep one in my vehicle and then I keep one by my bed.
Libby Sundgren [00:32:00]:
It’s so smart.
Kelli Bielema [00:32:01]:
Just metal.
Libby Sundgren [00:32:01]:
And how annoying is that to have.
Kelli Bielema [00:32:02]:
An itch you can’t scratch? Of course, when you’re driving in traffic. Oh, God, the worst.
Libby Sundgren [00:32:08]:
Okay, before we wrap, I gotta.
Alysse Bryson [00:32:14]:
Do we have to wrap? Can we just hang out here?
Libby Sundgren [00:32:16]:
Well, I spent so much of our time talking about my old pets, so. Which was not gonna be on the podcast.
Alysse Bryson [00:32:23]:
Yeah, hopefully. Hopefully that gets edited out because it was really sad and depressing.
Libby Sundgren [00:32:27]:
But can always email me libby@workp2p.com and I’ll tell you all about my animal life. Okay. I want to hear about some celebs you’ve worked with because you also, in your pre. Well, your pre festival life, you were at Universal Studios.
Kelli Bielema [00:32:47]:
Universal Studios Hollywood. I was an atmosphere entertainment manager, which I think was roughly the title. I have to look at my LinkedIn.
Alysse Bryson [00:32:54]:
What a title. What a title.
Kelli Bielema [00:32:56]:
I know, right? I. I’ve had a number of them there. But I essentially would do things from auditioning entertainers, going through like show rehearsals or like character rehearsals or we are creating a show. So when. Good example is the Grinch movie. So when that. This is where I learned about Access. I loved this project.
Kelli Bielema [00:33:21]:
So this was before the movie came out. And we got to go down the hill to Imagine Entertainment to the studios and watch the movie like on a VHS tape or whatever because it hadn’t come out in theaters.
Libby Sundgren [00:33:33]:
The one with Jim Carrey, right?
Kelli Bielema [00:33:35]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what we had to do was build a Grinch universe, you know, based on this and, you know, talking to other people. I was able to talk to the gal who did the wigs and she.
Alysse Bryson [00:33:50]:
Was, oh, how fun.
Kelli Bielema [00:33:51]:
Yeah. Because I think, yeah, it was her or the costume, I can’t remember, but whoever it was was nominated for an Oscar. So that was cool. But. And just kind of. And we got to walk through because they kept all the costumes in a warehouse and like all the. I’d be like, oh my God, this is Jim Carrey’s Grinch costume. And I was, I hadn’t really gotten like celebrity weirded out at that point.
Kelli Bielema [00:34:13]:
And it was kind of like, this is cool. So. But anyway, like, that was a big one where we got to do, you know, the talent came and we did PR and the Today show came and all this kind of stuff. And that one was really cool. But, but my point being, like, I would do projects like that in addition to the daily walk around characters or shows and stuff. So. Yeah, Wayne Brady, game show host extraordinaire. I’ve done many things with him.
Kelli Bielema [00:34:38]:
He used to be in the Beetlejuice show. He was in the Blues Brothers show. I feel like there was another one I’m missing, but like endless rehearsals I’ve done with Wayne and all that. He’s a sweetheart. And Kristen Wiig, people find it hilarious. Kristen Wiig did. So we were doing. We weren’t sure what we were going to do.
Kelli Bielema [00:34:57]:
So the person that was like the lead producer of this like improv group we wanted to have on like on the theme park grounds to just interact with guests and all this kind of stuff. And then we’re also like doing warm up shows. So like before a show you’ll have somebody that’s like, hey, everybody, welcome. You know, and they’re like, that’s a.
Libby Sundgren [00:35:18]:
Very Christian wig thing right there.
Kelli Bielema [00:35:22]:
I know, right? It’s funny. The guy, the guy who was my number one, he’s now like one of the top warm up guys. It’s awesome. His name’s Bill Cindalart. And so. Yeah, but Kristen, Kristen also did. We did a Daredevil show back when that movie was out. So she was the number one on the roster for that as like, like, Gail Weathers kind of reporter, you know? And what else did she do? She did.
Kelli Bielema [00:35:46]:
She did warm up for the Beetlejuice show. Yes, And a couple other things. But I remember when my co worker Danny and I were sitting in, in her audition, and we’re just like, oh, my God, she’s hilarious. Like, we. What are we gonna do with her?
Libby Sundgren [00:36:01]:
Like, we have something really good.
Kelli Bielema [00:36:03]:
Isn’t that crazy? Yeah. And she and I. She and I were friends for a while, too, and then it was like I hadn’t heard from her for a while. And then we’re watching, like, Saturday Night Live, and that was the season. Like, I was like. You’re like, huh. Okay.
Libby Sundgren [00:36:16]:
Happened to her.
Alysse Bryson [00:36:17]:
I guess that’s why she didn’t. Didn’t call me back. Weird.
Kelli Bielema [00:36:20]:
Yeah. Now I know why she fell off the face of the earth. Okay. Way to go, girl. But. But yeah, a lot of people have done that. Like, a lot of other actors have done, like, the Blues Brothers show. Like, Eric Lang, he’s.
Kelli Bielema [00:36:31]:
If I showed him. If I showed you a picture of him, you’d be like, oh, yeah, I know that guy. He’s like. He’s like a character actor. And like, yeah, a lot of people. And it’s a great side gig when you’re an actor. And I even was able to be an actor at Universal doing the Terminator show. I could do that as a contractor, even though I was an employee at.
Kelli Bielema [00:36:51]:
So I was a Kimberly, as they called it, and I was an emcee on CityWalk. I could do that. So I used to emcee. He’s like, what do you call them? They’re just sort of like summer event experiences where they had a stage and they do dance lessons.
Alysse Bryson [00:37:07]:
Do you miss living in California?
Kelli Bielema [00:37:09]:
Sometimes I used to say, nah. But, like, I’ve gone. The last couple times I’ve gone back, I think it’s just mostly I miss my friends, but it’s definitely a different way of life. And, yeah, sometimes I haven’t been to Universal in a while. I need to go back.
Alysse Bryson [00:37:27]:
Oh, so fun. So many good rides.
Kelli Bielema [00:37:29]:
Yeah. Yeah.
Alysse Bryson [00:37:31]:
Well, what’s next for you, Kelly? Like, what. What are you working on? I mean, besides the big New York themed event?
Kelli Bielema [00:37:38]:
No.
Alysse Bryson [00:37:39]:
What else do you have up your event sleeve this year?
Kelli Bielema [00:37:42]:
We have. I have a biannual event I do that is a research symposium that it’s all employees. And I do all, like, the activations around it. So we typically have done it at the Maidenbauer, but this year we’re doing it on campus. So that’s another, like, logistical. Like, ooh, how are we going to do this? So always keeping me on my toes. And. Yeah, so there’s never a dull moment there.
Kelli Bielema [00:38:09]:
Air scream is slowly starting to pick up for summer. As far as far as inquiries, so we’ve got some of those lined up. And then, you know, I also do a lot of animal rescue, so I participate in some events. I’m actually going to a trade show next week. That’s Animal Care Expo in Vegas. So, yeah, I just kind of am, like, fully immersed in events constantly.
Libby Sundgren [00:38:37]:
Okay. Speaking of animals, I just want to tell one more story and.
Kelli Bielema [00:38:42]:
Okay.
Alysse Bryson [00:38:43]:
It’s not going to involve.
Libby Sundgren [00:38:45]:
No, no one’s going to cry. No, this is actually. I was on maternity leave, I think. I think I was going on maternity leave, and the magazine where I was working at was having a beef festival. And so I had sent a note to Kelly and I was, hey, I’m on maternity leave. This is going to be a crazy event. Do you.
Alysse Bryson [00:39:08]:
Would.
Libby Sundgren [00:39:08]:
Would you be interested in contracting out to produce it and, like, it’ll be. I’m sure it’ll be really interesting. You asked the vegan, and Kelly so kindly responded and was like, you know, I’m just kind of ethically opposed to, you know, killing animal. You know, I am the vegan. I just. I don’t think I could really do the whole beef thing. I think that’s just, like, a little out of my. And actually, maybe it was Celebrity Stakeout 2.
Libby Sundgren [00:39:33]:
Okay, two beef events. So it wasn’t even the beef one. No, it was just Celebrity Stakeout. And I was like, oh, my gosh. I didn’t even think about that, but totally get it. And I just never forgot that in a good way. I was not upset. I didn’t go cry to somebody around the corner.
Libby Sundgren [00:39:52]:
But I was like, you know what? Kelly is somebody who really, like, like, is very strong in her beliefs and just because she could, you know, sometimes you have to be, like, real scrappy in the event world. But I just love that you were like, yeah, I’m gonna decline that because, well, I’m morally opposed. But, you know, so there’s that. But I was like, I just have never forgotten that in a really good way. And I just think it’s a really, like, can be a hard thing to say no to people sometimes. And.
Kelli Bielema [00:40:25]:
Well, yeah, and I will say, like, there have been times when I’ve been approached by clients or as prospective clients in the past or even with, like, airscream, where I’m like, do I wanna do that? Or if I do it, I’m like, still not gonna talk about it. I’ll just do it. And I’m just gonna post it on social and a sale, you know, because there was one event we were supposed to do last year. We’re paid for it and everything, and two hours. Two hours maybe. Yeah. Two or three hours before we were supposed to be there. They canceled it.
Kelli Bielema [00:40:57]:
I still don’t know why. I would love to know why, but I’m like. And not because of this incident. It’s because of the company and who it is. I’m like, yeah, no, no. I will never do an event for you. Sorry. Oh, my God.
Alysse Bryson [00:41:13]:
So you’ve been involved in events in the greater Seattle metro area for a long time. Right. So what do you see is happening on the scene right now in the year of 2025 as it relates to events?
Libby Sundgren [00:41:27]:
What are the cool kids doing?
Alysse Bryson [00:41:29]:
I mean, here’s. I mean, what I noticed. We went to the Northwest event show a couple weeks ago.
Kelli Bielema [00:41:33]:
Yeah.
Alysse Bryson [00:41:33]:
And I noticed there’s a big kind of surge in crafting at events. There was a lot of crafting vendors that popped up that I don’t remember seeing before. And I feel like I would have. If I would have flagged them, being the crafty gal that I am. So are you seeing any other trends that are emerging, you know, now that, you know, pandemic is like, totally, totally in the rear view mirror.
Kelli Bielema [00:41:56]:
Right. I think there’s a lot of a marriage of, like, hands on, like, kind of like with that. Or everyone. Everyone wants to, like, try something once that kind of idea. Or like, you know how the bear, when that came out, it was really popular. Like, so many things were the bear. So it’s like, I think grabbing on to what is in the cultural zeitgeist at the moment. Like, I think, like, White Lotus, that’s another one.
Kelli Bielema [00:42:22]:
Like, you see a lot of White Lotus stuff or, you know, anything that grabs onto the moment, you got to do it fast and you got to do it, you know, kind of. Right. And. Yeah, so it’s. I think a lot of things are influenced by, you know, Netflix. Yeah, it’s true.
Alysse Bryson [00:42:42]:
Are you seeing much in the VR space as it relates to events? I thought I would be seeing more by now is what. Is why I bring that up. I like VR. I don’t, like, use my Oculus as much as I thought I would, but I enjoy VR and I just thought we would see more interactive activities at events that I’ve seen so far.
Kelli Bielema [00:43:02]:
There’s a lot more common with like Ray Bans. There’s a lot of the AI integration too. And there’s things that like I took my. I will show you one thing. I did take my Ray Bans when I went to Mexico last time. But like I still didn’t fully know how to use them, so I didn’t know what I was doing. And plus I need my glasses to see, so that’s important. So I’m trying to determine if I can.
Kelli Bielema [00:43:25]:
What is I. Yeah. Get them prescription. But I will say this. So there’s. In Los Angeles, on melrose Back in Q4 of last year, they did an activation. They did a meta Ray Ban store and they used Latino car culture. So like the lowriders.
Alysse Bryson [00:43:47]:
Yeah.
Kelli Bielema [00:43:48]:
And they, they married that with art and the Ray Bans and this which I have right here. So you were able to etch in like customized.
Alysse Bryson [00:43:58]:
That’s super cool.
Kelli Bielema [00:44:01]:
With my initials which are like.
Alysse Bryson [00:44:03]:
That’s pretty badass style.
Kelli Bielema [00:44:06]:
Yeah, it was really cool. Right? But. But I think it was. I think that’s one of those things where people don’t really always like pedestrian. Let’s just say people always know what to do. Like where do I start with that? And I think an experience like that pop up is a good example of come in, experience it. Sit down. So the great thing with the glasses is like, which I’m excited about.
Kelli Bielema [00:44:28]:
There’s a translation feature. I don’t know how to use it, you know, and all this kind of stuff. So like there’s just things that they’re constantly inventing. There’s so many things like sitting in research that blow my mind every time. Like I’m able to. Dog food, as they say. So when you dog food, it’s like the food’s good enough, you eat it yourself or give it to a dog. But there’s.
Kelli Bielema [00:44:51]:
I mean, I can’t tell you about the things I’ve done.
Alysse Bryson [00:44:53]:
But.
Kelli Bielema [00:44:54]:
But they are, they’re not filthy. But it’s more about the cutting edge of the technology but also making it something that, you know, like I said pedestrian wise. Like, how is this practical? How can I utilize this in, in life? Or you know, just how do, how do I put these on? Right. How do I put these on? And just like, like I’ve thought about.
Alysse Bryson [00:45:19]:
Getting them multiple times now. Multiple times. Yeah.
Kelli Bielema [00:45:22]:
So like now they’re on. Yeah. I don’t, I don’t really know how to use them, but they’re cute.
Libby Sundgren [00:45:26]:
They’re very cute.
Alysse Bryson [00:45:27]:
Super cute.
Libby Sundgren [00:45:27]:
They’re very cool.
Kelli Bielema [00:45:30]:
That’s all that matters. And so the way that I use them is when I’m in Mexico at the dog rescue where I volunteer, I just click that and I’m taking videos and photos of dogs like, as I’m doing it.
Alysse Bryson [00:45:41]:
So how long is the battery life on those? You’re not sure? I don’t know. It’s. So these are just. Yeah, I’ve thought about it. I think I’ve added them to cart. Never pushed. Pushed the final sale a couple times now.
Kelli Bielema [00:45:54]:
I think you would get into them. I think you would get into them.
Alysse Bryson [00:45:56]:
I think I would, too.
Kelli Bielema [00:45:57]:
They’re pretty cool. And, yes, I have not unleashed the potential of them.
Libby Sundgren [00:46:03]:
One day.
Kelli Bielema [00:46:04]:
One day.
Alysse Bryson [00:46:06]:
Are you using a lot of AI in planning of events?
Kelli Bielema [00:46:09]:
I would say the most AI I’m using is, like, writing out descriptions and doing my communications around them, you know, because it’s like, there’s only so many ways I can say the same thing over and over, so I have to kind of reiterate it and make it fresh. And so that’s. Oftentimes the prompts I will put in will be like, say the same thing but different and it’ll work.
Alysse Bryson [00:46:36]:
Or, like, make it sassy.
Kelli Bielema [00:46:38]:
Yeah. Or if I’m coming trying to come up for a name for an event, or I’ve even had to use visually, like, to create some sort of. What am I saying? Like, photo that doesn’t exist. Yeah. And I like. I like when they do things where you take, like, a prompt. Like I did one at our Burlingame campus that we have, like, at our visitor center, and I was like, a white cat. Because I have a white cat who has heterochromia.
Kelli Bielema [00:47:06]:
So a blue eye and a green eye. White cat with heterochromia eating pizza, and it spit out this image and it’s a sticker.
Alysse Bryson [00:47:13]:
Look at that.
Kelli Bielema [00:47:13]:
I think that’s the most practical use of AI. Thank you very much.
Alysse Bryson [00:47:17]:
That’s pretty good. That’s pretty good stickers.
Kelli Bielema [00:47:19]:
But, yeah. Yeah. I mean, I use it to some degree, and I probably use it in ways where I don’t realize that’s AI, you know, probably. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Alysse Bryson [00:47:28]:
I just think we’re going to keep seeing it more and more and more. I love to ask people the different ways they’re using it, because there’s just always ways that I would never even think of on my own.
Kelli Bielema [00:47:37]:
I’d love to see an AI floor plan. Ooh. You know, where especially if it’s like a venue, like okay, we’re going to this venue again, we want to do the same event but there’s going to be this many people instead and we want to have them at you know, six foot tables instead of rounds or you know, whatever and just, you just put in that and it just does.
Alysse Bryson [00:48:00]:
It and it optimizes for you. Yeah, that would be really cool.
Kelli Bielema [00:48:03]:
That would be really cool because otherwise I’m currently just making little doodles of, you know, insert shape. I hope this is a scale, you know. I know in, in, in Google sheets. Yeah, I know.
Libby Sundgren [00:48:16]:
And it would be cool to be able to, you know, tell it the vibe that you’re going for and like the, you know, the programming and what and have it kind of give you and some ideas. Okay.
Kelli Bielema [00:48:29]:
Yeah. And I, Yeah. And I think there’s, there’s times when I’ve done that in some programs where I say, okay, these are, these are the prompts and then create it. And I’m like kind of, I get.
Libby Sundgren [00:48:42]:
It that a lot when I’m like trying to use it for social media stuff and it’ll write things and I’m like, no, that’s dumb. No, I would never. No, I would not. It’s because I haven’t trained it well enough. So it really loves to throw in emojis and like make, you know, make things too long.
Kelli Bielema [00:48:57]:
But well and, and I think there’s, there’s something too. I remember when all the like when Chat GPT first came out and I’m just like, no, I need to exercise my creative brain and writing skills. And then you get to a point where you’re like, you’re like, do you?
Libby Sundgren [00:49:10]:
Yeah.
Kelli Bielema [00:49:11]:
Throw in the hopper.
Libby Sundgren [00:49:12]:
Yeah, it’s helpful.
Kelli Bielema [00:49:13]:
Yeah. So when we are, we’re coming up with for this New York themed event, I’m like, we need to name the pizza area this time. Like I want it to be like a raised pizza. Libby, in New York, Ray’s Pizza is like a common thing. Do you know that?
Libby Sundgren [00:49:28]:
I do now. But I do know about Pizza Rat. Are you going to incorporate Pizza Rat in some way?
Kelli Bielema [00:49:35]:
Oh no, no.
Alysse Bryson [00:49:37]:
I might like it.
Libby Sundgren [00:49:38]:
Okay.
Kelli Bielema [00:49:38]:
But because it’s called Ray’s Pizza, I was like, why don’t we call it Ray Alodies? Like it’s a guy named Ray Clever.
Alysse Bryson [00:49:49]:
Clever.
Kelli Bielema [00:49:50]:
Yeah. That’s good.
Alysse Bryson [00:49:51]:
You should be wearing some of those Ray Bans as well.
Kelli Bielema [00:49:53]:
Ye. Yeah, right. Like he’s there with his little chef hat. You know, the like. So. But I had. Again, I used my brain for that, because what I was getting through AI was just like, no, no, I’m not gonna call it that. No, it’s dead.
Libby Sundgren [00:50:07]:
You know, they’re gonna laugh me out of there. I can’t use that.
Alysse Bryson [00:50:10]:
Still not that smart. Still not that.
Kelli Bielema [00:50:13]:
Right.
Alysse Bryson [00:50:13]:
Well, Kelly, where. Where can our many, many, many, many, many listeners find you if they want to hunt you down or if they want to rent the airscream?
Kelli Bielema [00:50:23]:
Yeah, you can go to theairscream.com we’re also on Instagram. Not very active at the moment, but that’s about to change, right? Yeah. And then on the old LinkedIn and I’ll be.
Alysse Bryson [00:50:37]:
Good old LinkedIn.
Kelli Bielema [00:50:38]:
Yeah.
Alysse Bryson [00:50:39]:
Awesome. Well, thank you so much. We were so glad that you were able to come today. And that is a wrap for this episode of Beats Working. If you have an idea or you want to reach out, you can slide into our DMs or email us at infoatsworking show. And remember, every detail matters, every moment counts, and no matter what. Come on, Libby, say it in your mind.
Libby Sundgren [00:51:03]:
The show must go on. Is that good enough?
Alysse Bryson [00:51:08]:
Thanks for listening to Beats Working, winning the game of events, where we explore what it takes to make moments unforgettable.
Libby Sundgren [00:51:15]:
If you’re leaving with a little more inspiration, a little more perspective, and a big sideache from all of the laughing at our funny jokes, then we’ve done our job.
Alysse Bryson [00:51:24]:
Beats Working is a work. P2P production. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcast platforms.
Libby Sundgren [00:51:34]:
Your support helps us keep the magic going.
