FROM THE PLANNING DESK

Hat bar planning guides

Longer reads for planners in the thick of it — each one distilled from recaps, not theory.

Working backward from event day: when to lock the date, approve patches, finalize counts, and what is still fixable in the last week.

Richardson 112 versus Flexfit versus foam, and how to build a patch menu that fits your crowd instead of stalling it.

An honest comparison from a crew that runs both: cost per guest, pace, keep-rate, and when combining them wins.