Event designer: ‘Everything starts with the venue’

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Lisa Grissom | Best of Midland podcast on Youtube

Lisa Grissom, event designer and co-founder of Promising Projects, said that the venue is fundamental to event planning and mentioned their partnership with the Salazar family to utilize an eclectic, open-air venue in South Midland known for its unique juke joint vibe. Grissom was a guest on a recent episode of the Best of Midland Podcast.  

“Everything starts with the venue,” said Grissom on a recent edition of the Best of Midland Podcast. “You really cannot start making decisions about how you're going to program an event until the venue has been determined. That literally governs every aspect of the event, I mean, all the way through to your ticket scaling and how you put your sponsorship deck together. I mean, it's fundamental.”

“Once we knew that we were going to change venues, we started shopping and were able to make a really beautiful partnership with the Salazar family at the destination, which is in South Midland,” Grissom said. “They have this very eclectic, open-air venue that they've used repurposed, revamped-type materials, giving it this real juke joint kind of vibe. For people familiar with the destination, it's this long shotgun venue where you enter at one end and the stage is at the opposite end. They present all sorts of live music out there, but that's what we refer to as the destination proper.”

Grissom is the co-founder and chief business development officer of Promising Projects, a company she has led since 2006, focusing on event marketing and production. She also co-created and serves as the chief fest designer for Tall City Blues Fest, organizing concerts and festivals in Midland, Texas, since 2010. Additionally, Grissom has worked as a freelance website designer since 2020.

Best of Midland Podcast is hosted by Ryan Shewchuk and Terra Avery. It is an extension of the broader Best of Midland program, which aims to support small, local businesses by showcasing them and the people behind them. Their website lists top businesses and upcoming live events happening in the area.

The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.