Episode Summary:
BEATS WORKING celebrates the 40th anniversary of Seattle’s iconic Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition with guest Pamela Hinckley, executive director of the Pike Market Senior Center & Food Bank. From inflatable pig costumes to school choirs pouring through the streets of Pike Place Market, this episode reveals the joy, logistics, and community impact behind one of Seattle’s most heartfelt holiday traditions — and what the events industry can learn from its staying power.
Takeaways:
- Figgy’s staying power? Staying rooted in community and joy.
- A mixed crowd — ironic hipsters, seasoned pros, and school groups — creates energy and inclusivity.
- Mission-driven events work best when the impact is clearly visible.
- Smart shifts in location or timing can boost engagement fast.
- Behind-the-scenes magic includes a fold-out “transformer” stage and joyful pre-event chaos.
Timestamps:
01:24 – It’s the 40th anniversary of Figgy Pudding!
05:29 – Pamela shares how the event evolved after moving from Westlake to Pike Place Market.
06:52 – How fundraising works — and why the Philanthropy Award is the top prize.
11:00 – Creative staff strategies to keep Figgy fresh and exciting every year.
21:35 – Pamela describes the magical moment the fold-out stage arrives and transforms the street.
Resources & Links:
-Great Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition: Website & Volunteer
-Pike Market Senior Center & Food Bank: Website, Facebook & Instagram
-Alysse & Libby: Bios & LinkedIn
Connect with Us:
-Website: www.beatsworkingpodcast.com
-LinkedIn: @BEATS WORKING Show
-Instagram: @beatsworkingshow
-Facebook: @Beats Working Show
-YouTube: @BEATSWORKINGPODCAST
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Send Feedback:
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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.
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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.
[00:00:00] Do you have anybody that comes in those inflatable costumes? ’cause Libby, we could do that if, if we were disguised and nobody knew it was us, we could probably, we could probably do it. I could scat in a Christmas costume. I’ve already asked the market foundation to b uh, to borrow the inflatable pigs for you guys to wear.
[00:00:20] Yes. They’re pink pigs and they’re so cute. They are sweaty though. Do they look like the pig costumes from National Lampoon’s European vacation? You know, at the beginning where they win the family game show and they look like you’re gonna float away. They’re that inflated. But it’s, uh, but the pink is adorable, so you’re gonna look good in them.
[00:00:48] We’re ready. Can’t wait. We’re ready to put ’em on.
[00:00:51] Welcome to BEATS WORKING, winning the Game of Events where we share stories and strategies to turn any event or life moment into [00:01:00] something Unforgettable. Events are wild and the people who work in them are some of the most resilient humans on earth, if you know, you know. So come with us behind the curtain for a look at their most memorable experiences, as they say, the show must go on.
[00:01:17] So let’s get on with the show.
[00:01:24] Libby Sundgren: Hello and welcome back to BEATS WORKING, winning the Game of Events. Today’s guest is an enthusiastic event producer with very deep roots in both the nonprofit and the for-profit world. She’s driven by a powerful belief that your supporters and customers develop loyalty through delightful event experiences.
[00:01:44] We could not agree more. She is currently the executive director of the Pike Market Senior Center and Food Bank, and she’s here to share her insights and Caroline Cheer because we’re talking about the 40th anniversary of Seattle’s most heartwarming holiday tradition. [00:02:00] The great Figy pudding, Carolyn contest.
[00:02:02] Please welcome Pamela Hinkley.
[00:02:04] Pamela: So bring us some figy pudding. So bring us some figy pudding.
[00:02:11] Libby Sundgren: You know, what is Figgy Pudding? My son asked me that the other day ’cause they’re already singing Christmas songs in school. Um, is it kind of like a
[00:02:22] Pamela: Steamed pudding.
[00:02:24] Alysse Bryson: like figs
[00:02:25] that
[00:02:25] Pamela: got figs, it’s got dates, it’s got cinnamon. Have you ever had like a steamed, uh, really wet kind of cake? So it’s somewhere in between a cake and a pudding,
[00:02:39] Libby Sundgren: Okay.
[00:02:40] Pamela: there’s. Uh, this year there’s a man that makes baking kits for figgy pudding. He’s coming and he’s gonna be sampling figgy
[00:02:49] Libby Sundgren: oh, see?
[00:02:50] Pamela: warm caramel sauce
[00:02:53] Libby Sundgren: Uh,
[00:02:53] Alysse Bryson: Ooh, that sounds good. That sounds good.
[00:02:56] Libby Sundgren: okay. I think what I’ll, I’ll bring, I’ll bring s down [00:03:00] to try some Figgy pudding, his first Figgy pudding.
[00:03:02] Pamela: Then you can buy a kit because he’s designed it so it’s easy for kids to make. So it’s already got these little greased, uh, tarp pans and stuff, and you
[00:03:13] Libby Sundgren: Oh, that’s perfect.
[00:03:14] Pamela: oil and egg and mix it all up with the figs and pour it into little tarp pans and yum, yum, yum.
[00:03:21] delish. Well,
[00:03:24] the. Event is in its 40th year, which is amazing
[00:03:28] Alysse Bryson: That’s wild.
[00:03:30] Pamela: I know you people, uh, you know, specialize in special events and you know how hard it is to maintain something that keeps energy about it and keeps attracting people.
[00:03:42] Um, and. To make it to 40 years. We’re, we’re pretty darn proud of that. And it keeps drawing a new audience. And, and thankfully because of the blend of caroling teams that we get, uh, it uh, brings a whole [00:04:00] age spectrum as well. So we’ve got schools that come. So of course we get the parents, but then we get these ironic hipsters who just wanna, you know.
[00:04:12] Alysse Bryson: Ironic
[00:04:13] Libby Sundgren: those in Seattle.
[00:04:14] Pamela: Yeah. Yeah. And they just have great outfits and, you know, do offbeat Christmas songs. And, um, of course we’ve got some real accomplished singers, which is amazing because there are, there’s some teams that actually practice for this caroling contest and they’ve got the full look, um, the most. The two that are the most polished are the beacons and Emerald City voices, and they’re, they’ve got beautiful voices and they really plan every number, so it’s enormously entertaining.
[00:04:53] Alysse Bryson: Pamela, how many years have you been doing Figy pudding?
[00:04:57] Pamela: Well, I, um, I, [00:05:00] before I worked at the, uh, food bank and senior center, I was on the board board of directors. So for. Five years, I conned my friends into having a team.
[00:05:13] Libby Sundgren: it’s the best way to do it. Mm-hmm.
[00:05:15] Pamela: It’s the best way to do it. Uh, you just have to guilt them in to wearing wigs or I would make ’em special outfits. Um, and so then I joined the staff, uh, two and a half years ago.
[00:05:29] So I, I’ve been around this event for almost a decade now, and I, I just love. It more how it’s morphed because we used to produce it in Westlake Center and we thought we were super popular because it was so crowded. But it was mostly because people were downtown Christmas shopping and it used to be on Friday night,
[00:05:52] Libby Sundgren: You know, it was, it was on a Friday evening. I remember leaving work and just bouncing up a couple blocks and
[00:05:59] Pamela: [00:06:00] Yep, there it was.
[00:06:02] Libby Sundgren: Yeah.
[00:06:02] Pamela: But we moved, uh, we moved to our home, the Pike Place market, and, uh, changed. Last year we experimented with, um, moving to the daytime. So now it’s on Saturday afternoon. At first, the vendors in the market were a bit irritated with us because they thought the crowds were gonna scare away.
[00:06:25] You know their business, but guess what? They were there in the market and they spent money.
[00:06:31] Libby Sundgren: It’s a win-Win a win, win, win, win.
[00:06:34] Pamela: it’s, it’s win-win. So now the vendors are, Hey, when’s Figgy pudding this year? So it’s December 6th and it starts at noon, and the first hour is the teams all spread out on the cobblestones and sing and judges and.
[00:06:52] Attendees walk through the streets and they vote with their money. That’s what makes it a fundraiser. [00:07:00] So the um, the top prize is the, uh, philanthropy award, and that’s for the person, the team that makes the most money. Uh, so we’ve got, uh, three. Philanthropist awards, and then there’s a best choral, uh, because you have to, you have to acknowledge the singers.
[00:07:22] Libby Sundgren: gotta give props to the people with that natural then the, then there is most creative, because some people just get jet out and, uh, they’re there to strut their stuff. So, and then at the very end. We, we collect ballots for people’s choice, and we do it, uh, by clapping at the stage. So that, so that makes for real fun to gather the crowd as close to the stage as possible and end with people’s choice and on a.
[00:07:55] Pamela: A good year. The teams, even before the event, what’s, [00:08:00] what’s so exciting is that the teams do a lot of the heavy lifting of the fundraising before the event because each team has a website that they send to their friends and get their friends to commit. And so by the time the event actually starts, uh, they can relax a little.
[00:08:19] ’cause they, they know, we ask each team to try for $1,500. Um, which is super reasonable. Um, if you’ve got a team of 10 or 20 people and you each ask, you know, 10 friends, you know, for five bucks, you, you can get there so easily, which makes up for, uh, some of the schools. Some of the kids aren’t great fundraisers, but nobody can resist all those adorable faces.
[00:08:49] Libby Sundgren: No. In person. No, you can’t say no.
[00:08:51] Pamela: No. So people throw money into their collection box. ’cause you know, we’ve got all the, um, we’re getting better at the [00:09:00] different fundraising mechanisms, like the traditional QR code text to give what, you know, we sell figy PUD buttons. So it’s uh, we’ll we try to. Uh, leverage as, as much enthusiasm as possible through multiple methods.
[00:09:19] Libby Sundgren: Pamela, you said something a little bit ago when you were talking about this, that people, you know how amazing it is that after 40 years people are still coming and still excited and it still want to be there every year and it doesn’t feel old. How do you, as the executive director and part of the planning team, how do you guys.
[00:09:42] Keep up your own excitement for planning it and, , you know, what, what do you guys do to keep, keep it fresh and keep it, you know, not, I mean, it’s kind of hard for this event to feel like something you have to do because it is so fun and the vibes are so great there. [00:10:00] But what do you, what are your kind of, you know, tips and tricks for making it feel exciting every year when you start planning?
[00:10:08] Pamela: Well, I, I, I gotta give a, a huge shout out to the team because the, um, the staff that works at the food bank and the staff in the member services at the senior center, it’s that wonderful, enthusiastic hearted, uh, social service. profile of a human being,
[00:10:34] Libby Sundgren: They’re the they, but they’re, they’re creative. And for instance, our home delivery manager at the food bank came up with the cutest, uh.
[00:10:47] Pamela: Kit for, uh, fundraising tips to give people ideas about how they could get money coming to their websites ahead of time. One, one, [00:11:00] and we’d learned this from one team of carolers, uh, that said, we actually, they worked for a pretty big company and she said, we practice by going around to different departments and, uh, you
[00:11:14] know, sing our songs.
[00:11:15] And, and then we’re in front of our. Coworkers and we guilt them into giving us money. So they’ve been the, our staff, uh, is always trying to do like cue graphics, , that there’s another group that runs the volunteers. ’cause it takes about 50 volunteers to pull this off. And, um. So they’ve come up with ways to make the meeting fun and, and pull people together.
[00:11:42] Uh, they can either come in person or come in Zoom. Um, and so it, it’s just engaging.
[00:11:49] Libby Sundgren: I mean you, when you get all those people with those big hearts planning it, I mean, it’s gotta feel good every year.
[00:11:56] Pamela: Yeah.
[00:11:57] Alysse Bryson: it, it almost feels like, it’s like your [00:12:00] chance to be a busker at the market is
[00:12:03] Pamela: Yeah,
[00:12:03] Alysse Bryson: like. Right. Do you have anybody that comes in those inflatable costumes? Because, Libby, we could do that if, if we were disguised and nobody knew it was us, we could probably, we could
[00:12:15] Libby Sundgren: I could scat in a Christmas costume.
[00:12:17] Alysse Bryson: Uhhuh.
[00:12:18] Pamela: already asked the market foundation to b uh, to borrow the inflatable pigs for you guys to wear.
[00:12:25] Alysse Bryson: Yes.
[00:12:26] Libby Sundgren: right.
[00:12:26] Pamela: pink pigs and they’re so cute. They are sweaty though,
[00:12:32] Libby Sundgren: Do they look like the pig costumes from National Lampoon’s European vacation? You know, at the beginning where they win the family game show.
[00:12:42] Pamela: And they look like you’re gonna float away. They’re that inflated. But it’s, uh, but the pink is adorable, so you’re gonna look good in them.
[00:12:53] Libby Sundgren: We are ready, we’re ready to put ’em on.
[00:12:56] Pamela: Yeah.
[00:12:57] Alysse Bryson: I bet people would pay us to stop singing [00:13:00] and that’s how we could fundraise. Mm-hmm.
[00:13:02] Pamela: Yeah, you could be the button seller. So we don’t you, we don’t have to listen to you sing.
[00:13:07] Alysse Bryson: Mm-hmm.
[00:13:08] Libby Sundgren: Yeah. Yeah. My son would, he told, I was singing the other day and he, he asked me to stop and I just kept going and he just looked at me. He said, mom, you know, when I say stop, it means stop. I was like, sorry,
[00:13:21] Pamela: Yeah. And I think this year, you know, because, you know, before we started recording, we were talking about all the unfortunate shenanigans with halting food access aid. In the United States, this great country of ours, hard to believe, but people are, Seattle is generous and I think they are in the mood.
[00:13:45] We know that they’re there to help because we get a call. Since this started, we get a call every day, if not multiple calls, saying, what do you guys need? And we have people just showing up. With food and clothing [00:14:00] and, , we hope, um, our goal this year is to net about a a hundred thousand dollars, which is, uh, it might eliminate some of our deficit in our budget, which would be really good
[00:14:15] Alysse Bryson: Can you, , for our listeners, Pamela, can you give some background about what the senior center does, like kind of year round? I’ve been there, Libby’s been there and we’ve toured it. It’s such a magical place, but I think a lot of people have no idea the things that go on at the market outside of what they see.
[00:14:36] Typical market stuff.
[00:14:38] Pamela: Yeah. Thank you for asking because you’re right, it is a, it’s a tucked away special function, the senior center. Is open seven days a week, which is unheard of, uh, in a social service agency almost anywhere in the United States. Um, and it is, we serve two [00:15:00] free hot meals a day, and everything that we do is.
[00:15:05] Free because our funding comes from the, uh, county and city and the money that we raise in the market foundation. So the, the meals are big draw, but we also have a really charming calendar full of some of the classics. Of course, there’s bingo,
[00:15:24] Libby Sundgren: Ah, course there’s karaoke. But, um, Seattle has this tremendous, Institute of East Asian ME Medicine and they come every Monday and do free acupuncture for the seniors. And then we’ve got Tai Chi, we’ve got art classes. we do. I think I was, uh, telling you that we do forest bathing, where they go out into the woods and meditate, which is in incre. I, I can’t believe I thought no one would be willing to do it, and now it’s one of the most popular activities that [00:16:00] we have, and it’s guided by a train that nature therapist, so. So then the, the staff at the senior center is trained in resource navigation too, because about 35% of our daily population is unhoused. So we spend a lot of time trying to find shelters, find clothes, uh, filling out job. Applications, and we have case managers at the senior center too for the more complicated life challenges.
[00:16:32] Pamela: And then the food bank has, uh, regular grocery distribution three days a week where you go buy the market tables and just pick what you want and then. Four days a week, we do home deliveries to people who can’t get to the market or carry a bag of groceries. And five days a week we do distribution of shelf stable food for people who don’t have housing or don’t have [00:17:00] kitchens, or who have just exhausted their.
[00:17:02] Budget and need another meal. And so that is, , available and you can come every day for that service. So,
[00:17:11] Libby Sundgren: Do people have to meet a certain, like zip code? Like is there only a specific. Area that people can be in in order to visit the senior center at the market.
[00:17:21] Pamela: Now the only criteria is 55 years old.
[00:17:25] Libby Sundgren: Ugh, that’s amazing.
[00:17:27] Pamela: And at the food bank, if you’re hungry. You get food there, it, it, it’s now part of one of the Washington regulations to get food from the De Washington Department of Agriculture. Like you can’t turn anybody away and that feels good anyway. ’cause if, if they get their butts there, we want to give them food.
[00:17:47] Libby Sundgren: Yeah, I mean the market, the senior center and food bank just has such a really tangible impact on, um, you know, the vulnerable and, [00:18:00] you know, non vulnerable people here in Seattle. And it’s just, it’s such a great place to give.
[00:18:06] Pamela: Yeah. Thank you for pointing that out, because the market, I don’t know if you’ve seen. It, it, it hasn’t gotten a lot of attention yet, but they’re really thinking about a 50 year master plan, uh, because it, you know, it’s a delicate infrastructure at the market. Um, but it has eight residential buildings, four of which are fair market and four of which are protected for low income seniors.
[00:18:34] And then it. In addition to us. Um, there’s also that wonderful clinic at first in Virginia and the incredibly adorable childcare center.
[00:18:46] Libby Sundgren: know. It’s so cute. I toured it. Ugh.
[00:18:48] Pamela: so cute and it’s got that beautiful new playground that the market foundation built for them. And then there’s the assisted living facility, so it. It is [00:19:00] really, , the market, the nine acres in the historic district is really this wonderful mixed microcosm of the population, so.
[00:19:09] Libby Sundgren: it’s such an interesting ecosystem and, um, you know, I think a lot of, a lot of people, you know, local and non-local, just don’t think about it when,
[00:19:19] Pamela: No they
[00:19:20] Libby Sundgren: the market.
[00:19:21] Pamela: but they, the master plan, if it is realized, will include going to the Seattle voters for another levy and,
[00:19:31] Libby Sundgren: Come on. People
[00:19:33] Pamela: come on.
[00:19:34] Libby Sundgren: say, yes, my 8-year-old loves to help me vote. So when we see that he’ll, and he loves the market, so he will, he will vote yes. I’m just kidding. I will vote yes ’cause it’s my official ballot. But he likes to,
[00:19:49] Pamela: but yeah,
[00:19:50] Alysse Bryson: young. Raise those voters
[00:19:52] young.
[00:19:53] Pamela: Yeah, but I think that, again, to your point, if people knew more about the [00:20:00] infrastructure and the social services in the market, that would help warm their hearts towards, uh, voting for some money in a levee. So where that’s a big part of the next couple of years. ’cause they want, they’re trying to get on the ballot for 2028.
[00:20:21] It’s competitive to get
[00:20:23] ballot space in these elections,
[00:20:25] Libby Sundgren: three years from now. All right, well, I’m, I’ll put it on our calendar. We’re gonna rerun this episode and remind people what is a behind the scenes figy moment that you will never forget. Something funny, something surprising, something magical. Just, you know, something that really sticks in your, in your brain.
[00:20:51] Pamela: Well, it’s not funny, but it is. It is magical because, [00:21:00] It’s got some complicated logistics, you know, for power and lighting and, and thank God our landlord, the preservation and development authority puts on a lot of events in the market and has good relationships with vendors. But really the, the. Day starts with the most creative and magical piece, which is when the stage arrives and it’s on the back of a flatbed truck, and it all folds up like an erector set,
[00:21:35] Libby Sundgren: Oh my gosh. Like one of those cards you open and like a building
[00:21:38] Pamela: It’s
[00:21:38] like the cards, it’s like a popup card
[00:21:41] Alysse Bryson: Or like a transformer.
[00:21:43] Libby Sundgren: Yes. You see, there you go. That’s maybe, yeah. Mm-hmm.
[00:21:47] Alysse Bryson: Mm-hmm.
[00:21:47] Pamela: And that, that’s, that’s just when I know the fun is about to start. And we, we see the, the stage unfold and the banners go up and the rain starts.
[00:21:59] Libby Sundgren: [00:22:00] Oh my gosh. And did he, so the gentleman who built that, did he build it just for, I know he uses it for different events too, but did he build it just for Figgy pudding?
[00:22:08] Pamela: No, no. I think it was a music festival first that he did it for, but
[00:22:16] Libby Sundgren: I’m gonna pretend he built it for Figgy. Yeah, I like that.
[00:22:20] Pamela: He, he lets, he, he, he re a swing set on it for his kids in the backyard when he is not at an event. So it’s
[00:22:30] Libby Sundgren: has seen some things
[00:22:32] Pamela: And then, uh, I’d probably second to that is when the school buses get there and the kids just get off and they’re screaming and they’re so excited and try that.
[00:22:43] That hour from 11 to 12 when all the teams are trying to get to their assigned spaces to start singing is such incredible eyerolling chaos. And you think of.
[00:22:55] Alysse Bryson: does that, how do you assign them the spots? Because I, not all spots can be [00:23:00] created equal. Some spots have gotta be better than others.
[00:23:02] Pamela: We do have some favorites that get a slightly better spot. I’m not telling you who that is though.
[00:23:11] Alysse Bryson: Okay.
[00:23:13] Libby Sundgren: Can’t pick your favorite kid here. Not on this show.
[00:23:17] Pamela: No, no. But some are D, they’re the school teams are decide because they’re bigger. Like Auburn Middle School is coming and they’ve got 80 frigging kids.
[00:23:31] Libby Sundgren: Oh my gosh. And they’re Way to together? to represent Auburn. Way to represent.
[00:23:37] Pamela: so they’ll have to be at one of the street ends because we can’t put them in front of anybody’s store.
[00:23:43] Libby Sundgren: No, no. Then the, the vendors would be upset because nobody could
[00:23:48] Pamela: they would, yeah. Yeah. So there’s a, uh, we kind of place the big teams first and then tuck in some of the smaller ones, um, around them. [00:24:00] So, . Until we’re ready to expand and, uh, down to the waterfront and take over the beautiful new overlook, walk and Steinbrook Park. Uh, we’re limited to about 20 teams because of the size of Pike Place, but if this keeps going to our hundredth anniversary, uh, maybe we can make it bigger.
[00:24:24] Libby Sundgren: Yeah. Or even 50 or 41. Let’s do it for the 41st.
[00:24:28] Pamela: Where the 41st, 41 teams?
[00:24:31] Libby Sundgren: Oh yeah. We could totally do that.
[00:24:34] Pamela: I was just hesitant because, you know, when you expand the, uh, footprint like that, the sound system has to change. And just so the street closures, oh my God. Working with the Department of Transportation for the no park signs and Ugh. Yeah.
[00:24:52] Libby Sundgren: It does, and sometimes it can, you know, if you’re not quite ready, it can sometimes change the vibe too. We were talking on [00:25:00] another episode about how, you know, taking the size of your venue down and keeping the number of people the same can change the energy in a room or on a street, I guess so. I mean, you don’t want people, you know.
[00:25:15] It was standing so tight that they get moved around. Truly. I was at a holiday parade one time. It was so packed. This was not figgy pudding, but it was so packed that I was standing there and I got lifted up between people and moved like a foot over. It was
[00:25:32] Pamela: Oh, oh, oh,
[00:25:34] Alysse Bryson: nope,
[00:25:34] Libby Sundgren: never been back.
[00:25:35] Will never go back.
[00:25:37] Um, but you know, but you also, if it’s too spaced out,
[00:25:42] it Yeah. It doesn’t feel festive. Yeah. Yeah, we were lucky last year it was just right, you know, to move around because you try to see all the teams. So the attendees really need to move through the [00:26:00] space and we, uh. This year we’re gonna try really hard to just have dedicated program dispensers that has the map on it, because every year half of them end up in the garbage and people don’t, you know, find all the teams.
[00:26:16] Pamela: So that’s, uh, we’re gonna be much more aggressive about that this year. Make sure
[00:26:23] everybody’s. I too, I think getting to see everybody, ’cause you’d get, you’d see, you know, you’d be in front of the Beacon ATS or some, another group and you’d be so entertained that you, before you knew it, a couple songs went by and you’re like, oh shoot, I gotta get, I gotta get to the next one.
[00:26:39] Libby Sundgren: I’m gonna miss
[00:26:39] Alysse Bryson: gotta move around. Yeah.
[00:26:41] Pamela: yeah. The hour goes fast. So
[00:26:44] Alysse Bryson: When do you recommend, if people are gonna sign up for a team, what’s the best time of year or how much lead time do you suggest for people to do that?
[00:26:53] Pamela: we, um, October was our really busy month, uh, for recruiting and. [00:27:00] Cajoling people to come. So we’re right as of today, we’re in the beginning of November. We’re at 18 teens and we’ve, so I hope we get two more, but I know we’ll have a blast, uh, with what we got. But, uh, there are some who have been historic participants who haven’t signed up yet, so they better
[00:27:23] Libby Sundgren: Yeah. Come on people. It’s time.
[00:27:27] Pamela: It’s time.
[00:27:28] Libby Sundgren: a lot going on, but we need you.
[00:27:30] Pamela: Yeah, we opened registration in September, but no one signs up. Then
[00:27:36] Alysse Bryson: Yeah. Okay.
[00:27:37] Libby Sundgren: We’re a last
[00:27:38] Alysse Bryson: So Octo, October is the key month
[00:27:41] Pamela: it’s really,
[00:27:42] Alysse Bryson: of you listening to this, planning your Future, Carol Escapades. Okay.
[00:27:47] Pamela: yes. Put aside your signup time in October.
[00:27:52] Alysse Bryson: Mm.
[00:27:53] Pamela: Send in a bribe to get a good spot.
[00:27:55] Libby Sundgren: Yeah.
[00:27:57] Pamela: kidding. Just kidding. [00:28:00] Not really.
[00:28:01] Alysse Bryson: She’s not kidding. Have you ever had like any like really famous people come and be in a group?
[00:28:08] Pamela: not in my time there. But it, it’s on my list. I did try for Brandy Carlisle because she’s been doing such a good promotion with her back to herself tour, you know, hitting up Easy Street and Wild Rose. And, uh, we, when I worked at Tom Douglas, we named a restaurant after her, the Carlisle Room, so we got a chance to know her pretty well.
[00:28:37] But dang, she’s famous
[00:28:39] Libby Sundgren: I know. Come on.
[00:28:42] Alysse Bryson: famous now. She’s pretty famous. Now.
[00:28:44] Pamela: Yeah.
[00:28:45] Libby Sundgren: Well, Brandy, we know you’re listening, so we’d like you at the next one or
[00:28:50] Alysse Bryson: Don’t forget the market brandy.
[00:28:52] Pamela: Yeah. You say you were a busker.
[00:28:55] Alysse Bryson: That is one of
[00:28:56] Libby Sundgren: Yeah.
[00:28:57] Alysse Bryson: to fame. That’s true. That’s very [00:29:00] true. I.
[00:29:00] Pamela: I think if I had had my act together and, um, put it out there earlier, we might’ve had a better chance of success, but she’s just crazy busy with the, you know, touring with the new album. So,
[00:29:14] Alysse Bryson: Mm-hmm.
[00:29:15] Pamela: um, but to ha if she could sing with her gorgeous wife and beautiful daughters, oh my god.
[00:29:22] We wouldn’t be able to control ourselves. Dream big.
[00:29:26] Libby Sundgren: Yeah, we can do it. I think we can make it happen. Okay, so we’ve talked a lot about Figi, but you have also done so many events in your career. Aside from this wonderful, magical holiday event, what is one other event from your life experience that you’re most proud of?
[00:29:49] Pamela: Well, we had a whole lot of fun and I think you guys were definitely in your whites for the croquet tournament that we did for Tom Douglas, [00:30:00] uh, because that was a hell of a production
[00:30:05] Libby Sundgren: Okay. Tell people if they missed it, if they weren’t so lucky to have been involved in that. Tell them what they Yeah, well, beautiful summer day.
[00:30:17] Alysse Bryson: Hmm.
[00:30:18] Pamela: people dressed in their croquet whites. And then just e extremely artistic, uh, holes because, uh, all of the restaurants , were involved in decorating and theming and creating, uh, the croquet holes. And it just, it. It was, it was complicated to produce. And then, , teams were so competitive, you know, they,
[00:30:47] Libby Sundgren: Who knew,
[00:30:48] Pamela: we, we weren’t, who knew, we weren’t quite prepared for that, but it was, um, it, it, it made for just a magical highlight every summer
[00:30:58] Libby Sundgren: and you know, and I, we, [00:31:00] we actually, no.
[00:31:02] Alysse Bryson: either. I don’t think I have either.
[00:31:04] Pamela: Yeah.
[00:31:05] Alysse Bryson: I mean that’s ’cause pickleball took over probably.
[00:31:09] Pamela: Yeah. But you know, with this summer for our staff day, we went up to, uh, Jefferson, the lawn bowling court up there. Oh my God, is it beautiful? Meticulous courts. So I’m thinking of asking them if we could do a lawn bowling fundraiser there. You ha you have to be respectful of the greens because they’re immaculately manicured.
[00:31:38] But I think that that could be another version of croquet, um, that would be in a beautiful location. You know, that, you know how Jefferson has views in every direction.
[00:31:51] Alysse Bryson: does.
[00:31:52] Pamela: it’s stunning. And I used one of the things when I was at Red Hook to commemorate St. [00:32:00] Helen’s exploding. We had a brewery in Fremont and a brewery in Woodenville.
[00:32:06] So we did this marvelous bike ride called Hall Ash, and it was from To Woodinville and that that event lasted about 10 years. And the only problem was people got to Woodinville and they started having a couple beers
[00:32:25] Libby Sundgren: then they had to, had to get home. Yeah, they had to bike
[00:32:28] Pamela: ride back to
[00:32:29] Alysse Bryson: Can’t drink and bike. He can’t drink and bike
[00:32:32] Pamela: nah, does, it’s not a good combo.
[00:32:35] But we didn’t have any accidents.
[00:32:37] Alysse Bryson: Very clever.
[00:32:39] Very clever. I remember, I remember where I was when Mount St. Helens blew, ’cause I lived in Centralia at the time. I was four or five. I don’t know exactly. I’d have to go back and look. , and I have a vague memory of being in my parents’ backyard and seeing the mountain mushrooming and being like, oh, that’s so pretty.
[00:32:58] Like what’s, and then the next. [00:33:00] Day the wind changed and the next day when we woke up, everything was covered in ash and it was so gross and you could not get rid of it.
[00:33:08] Pamela: No, it did. It was very invasive. The small, and they stuck to everything.
[00:33:15] Alysse Bryson: Everything you, you wet it down. Still there. Still there. Yeah.
[00:33:19] Pamela: That’s a centra. Must have gotten hit so hard.
[00:33:23] Alysse Bryson: it did. It did. And I like several of my parents friends, um, lost homes.
[00:33:29] Pamela: Oh, no.
[00:33:30] Alysse Bryson: Mm.
[00:33:31] Pamela: Yeah. That, that was, that was quite a time in our lives. I, I, yeah. I hope we don’t have to go through that. Calm down. Calm down St. Helen’s.
[00:33:44] Libby Sundgren: I know I got tricked into climbing Mount St. Helen’s one year. I won’t say tricked because I did it voluntarily.
[00:33:53] Pamela: for that.
[00:33:54] Libby Sundgren: Well, I didn’t, I was told that because I was a runner. She’s like, you got this, you [00:34:00] could do this. She’s like, I’ve only been on like two hikes with my family. You’ll be totally fine. You run all the time.
[00:34:06] And as we were driving up to the mountain, I looked at her and I said, that cannot be what we’re climbing. You told me it was like a big hike that isn’t a literal mountain.
[00:34:15] Pamela: Yeah, it’s
[00:34:16] Libby Sundgren: kind of thought maybe it would be like really small or something because it had exploded,
[00:34:21] Pamela: looks small.
[00:34:22] Libby Sundgren: Yeah, yeah. You don’t climb up the small side, you climb up that other side.
[00:34:26] Anyway, it’s cool though. Cool views. but I think I did ruin my colleagues hiking sticks. Sorry about that, Allison.
[00:34:34] Alysse Bryson: Yeah, I kind of think you did too, if I remember correctly.
[00:34:37] Libby Sundgren: They didn’t, they they really took a beating. Yeah.
[00:34:40] Alysse Bryson: All right, Pamela. The great Figgy pudding is, it’s iconic. So if you’re listening and you have not ever been in one of the last 39 years, do not, do
[00:34:54] Pamela: You’re a loser.
[00:34:55] Alysse Bryson: yeah, do not rob yourself of this
[00:34:58] experience.
[00:34:58] Libby Sundgren: you’re a [00:35:00] loser and you better go this year.
[00:35:02] Alysse Bryson: And you’re, and you’re a true event pro. I mean, you’ve been around, you’ve been through it, and I just, I could sit and talk to you about your old event stories all day long.
[00:35:12] Pamela: Uh uh, we will have to save another episode for when I worked at Theo Chocolate and we coded naked people in molten chocolate to represent the four elements of the earth. Inspired by Autumn Martin, our incredible c chocolatier who now owns Frankie and Joe’s.
[00:35:35] Libby Sundgren: Was it for like the summer solstice or just for fun?
[00:35:41] Pamela: It is what? Autumn is an incredible artist and she had a vision and she,
[00:35:50] Alysse Bryson: wow.
[00:35:52] Pamela: it was, uh oh. I can’t tell you about it.
[00:35:56] Alysse Bryson: thought, I thought I’d had some doozies. I, Libby, but [00:36:00] like, I think Pamela
[00:36:01] Pamela: Yeah.
[00:36:02] Libby Sundgren: I know. Well Pamela has worked with lots of chefs and creatives in that realm and they are
[00:36:11] Alysse Bryson: Eccentric. Mm-hmm.
[00:36:12] Pamela: Yeah,
[00:36:13] Libby Sundgren: And you know what, I’ve hats off to you, Pamela,
[00:36:18] Pamela: I’m very lucky.
[00:36:20] Libby Sundgren: Yes, in the
[00:36:21] Alysse Bryson: How do you, if somebody brings up an idea and you are, you know, it’s not a good one, how do you, how do you pivot them in another direction?
[00:36:32] Pamela: try to ask questions to humiliate their idea,
[00:36:35] Libby Sundgren: What made you think that was a good idea?
[00:36:38] Pamela: just to try to, Operate when you get to operationalizing something and, and trying to figure out, h how would this work? How would the guest interact with it? How would you provide, uh, an enjoyable experience for the guest that you know matched what [00:37:00] you wanted to do? Because it, uh, ’cause sometimes that’s.
[00:37:04] A good way to squelch something that you know is not going to work.
[00:37:10] Libby Sundgren: They just need a little reflection.
[00:37:13] Pamela: Yeah. Yeah. When you dig in on some of the details or you remind somebody of the hours of preparation it would take to pull something off, you know, if, and they’re not not ready for it.
[00:37:28] Alysse Bryson: I’m thinking of orange trees. Libby, I’m thinking of orange trees.
[00:37:33] Libby Sundgren: Pamela, we did an event one time. With Quatro
[00:37:37] Pamela: oh yeah.
[00:37:38] Libby Sundgren: my boss, it was a cocktail competition and my boss at the time, we were talking through different like decor. It was outside on like a patio deck down on the water and we’re talking about decor kind of ideas, and he was like, just, you know, buy some orange trees.
[00:37:55] I was like, buy orange trees. We’re in Seattle. He’s like, yeah, just buy them. I [00:38:00] was like, and then what am I gonna do with them after I. Haul these trees up to this rooftop deck, and then after the event, he is like, let’s put him in the office, save him for another event. I think after that I like, I just kind of walked out.
[00:38:17] I went into Elisa’s office, I shut the door and I told her what had just happened. She goes, don’t talk to him anymore. You only go through me. We’re gonna figure this out. It was.
[00:38:29] Alysse Bryson: Stop talking to him.
[00:38:31] Libby Sundgren: Stop asking him questions.
[00:38:33] Pamela: That is an excellent example.
[00:38:36] Libby Sundgren: Yeah, buy orange trees. Why
[00:38:38] Pamela: Yeah, just do it. Did you have the event?
[00:38:41] Libby Sundgren: We did and it was wonderful and so fun. Super I had a really great outfit too. I remember photos from
[00:38:48] Alysse Bryson: You did it. It was a great, you did.
[00:38:51] It was like the shorts.
[00:38:52] outfit,
[00:38:52] Libby Sundgren: Mm-hmm. Fun shorts and a white shirt. Yeah. It was great.
[00:38:55] Alysse Bryson: Yeah. You looked great.
[00:38:56] Pamela: Yeah. That’s very orangey.
[00:38:58] Libby Sundgren: Yeah. Mm-hmm. It was quantro [00:39:00] themed. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
[00:39:00] Pamela: Yeah.
[00:39:01] Alysse Bryson: Yeah, we had a burlesque dancer. It was on the rooftop. A few people did get over served, though. Let’s
[00:39:07] Pamela: And yeah.
[00:39:09] Alysse Bryson: that happened.
[00:39:10] That happened.
[00:39:11] Pamela: Yes. Yeah. Working in the alcohol business, you gotta be ready for that. Well, yeah, I, mean it doesn’t help when they show up. Overserved like
[00:39:19] Right.
[00:39:20] Alysse Bryson: help either.
[00:39:21] Pamela: So true.
[00:39:23] Alysse Bryson: alright, well if people wanna get involved, uh, where’s all the places they can go if they wanna volunteer their time or their resources or their money?
[00:39:34] Pamela: Yeah, they’re on our website. There’s a great figy pudding section and it gives all the options volunteer. Donate form a team. So here, the, the way to interact with it is, is easy to access and we really hope, um, that people will make the effort to come to the market on December 6th [00:40:00] and do some shopping and vote for their teams and cheer on the crowd.
[00:40:05] It’s gonna be a ton of fun.
[00:40:07] Alysse Bryson: And how many of those pig costumes do you have? Okay. Libby, we just need two more suckers.
[00:40:14] Libby Sundgren: Yep. Two more people just DM us or we’ll, we’ll just strong arm some friends. A la Pamela. We’ll just
[00:40:22] Pamela: I’ll send you a picture of him so you’ll get excited.
[00:40:26] Alysse Bryson: All right. Well that is a wrap for this episode of BEATS WORKING. If you have an idea or you wanna reach out, please email us at info at BEATS WORKING show. And remember, every detail matters, every moment counts, and no matter what the show must go on.
[00:40:46] Thanks for listening to BEATS WORKING, winning the Game of Events where we explore what it takes to make moments unforgettable. If you’re leaving with a little more inspiration, a little more perspective, and a big side ache from all of the [00:41:00] laughing at our funny jokes, then we’ve done Our Job BEATS WORKING is a work P two P production.
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