There is a PR case study in here somewhere: a, first-time, two-day public event…the second day on which the NFL conference championship is scheduled in the same city…  the headline entertainer for the first day can’t leave Los Angeles because of the storms… the big-name speaker for the second day goes to Haiti to help in the earthquake recovery effort…and the satellite truck breaks during the live TV coverage before the opening.

So after lots of strategy sessions, hand-holding, and good old-fashioned improvisation, this past weekend’s inaugural Indy Health Expo exceeded expectations.  The crowds were enthusiastic, the aisles were packed, and many vendors sold out of their products and asked when the next show was scheduled.  The Indianapolis media covered the event well. And really, how often can you legitimately say you succeed in the face of not one, but two natural disasters?  Check out coverage in the Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis Recorder, Inside Indiana Business, and Current in Carmel.

There are few things that come close to the fun of the Contemporary Museum’s annual Winter Party. A playoff brawl between the Ravens and Colts is one of them.

When the Ravens stormed into last Saturday evening’s divisional game, and into direct conflict with the Contemporary Museum’s fundraising event, the museum moved with the speed and agility of Ray Rice by kicking off the festivities earlier than originally announced to give the partygoers a chance to catch the Museum’s new exhibition, Participation Nation, before moving onto the “party,” where they found a football lounge so they wouldn’t miss the action. It’s quite a task to satisfy both the art aficionado and football fanatic, but if you ask the multitude of media in attendance, including writers from Style Magazine, the Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Magazine, and numerous art blogs, they’ll agree there were no flags on the play.

Check out the coverage in the Baltimore Sun, and BmoreArt for more details on the museum’s quick-thinking changes to its “game plan.” A Friday Baltimore Business Journal story about the change noted that guests will see “what kind of performance art Joe Flacco can whip up.”

Oh well.

If the only words you understand from reporter Audrey Ye’s story are “Mobtown Modern,” that’s enough to clue you in that Baltimore’s New Music bastion is going global with a report on Voice of America’s China branch. (And if you can decipher more than that – we’re seriously impressed!)

The story shows a legion of Mobtown Modern fans as they simultaneously synched up a chorus of boomboxes at the December 12 performance of Phil Kline’s Unsilent Night.

The VOA crew followed along during the entire hour-long parade as fans took New Music to the streets of Baltimore during the interactive performance.

Baltimore Sun pages have been filled the past few days with stories about the great fun that folks of all ages had or will soon have at Maryland Science Center.

Jonathan Pitts had a blast at the annual daytime New Years Eve celebration Midnight Noon, which featured the famous kid-friendly rock of the Baltimore-based Milkshake. Read his review here, as well as Kate Shatzkin’s preview.

On Tuesday, the Maryland Science Center kicked off its IMAX Film Festival, featuring 7 IMAX Favorites and reduced ticket prices. CEO Van Reiner walked Sun movie critic Michael Sragow through the repertoire.

Meredith Cohn also posted at the Sun’s B’more Green blog about the Festival as well as about the upcoming Galileo Nights programs.

(Once again, one of Baltimore’s premier destinations gets the credit it deserves!)

One of our New Year’s resolutions is to get healthy. We’re on our way.

We are excited to have been selected to promote the inaugural Indy Health Expo in January in Indianapolis. Our roster of consumer show clients continues to grow.

The mission of the Maryland Science Center is to make science education fun and accessible through informal, interactive experiences.  And it has found yet another way to do just that through a partnership with Maryland Family magazine that provide families with science activities they can do at home.

Kitchen Sink Science is a monthly feature on Maryland Family’s website that provides safe, easy, and fun ways to explore science though simple experiments that can be performed using everyday household items.  The website features a different experiment each month, and the activities are appropriate for a wide range of ages.  This month’s feature is about bending light.

People have been fascinated by Leonardo Da Vinci – not only for the past 600 years, but for the past two months, since “Da Vinci—The Genius: A Traveling Exhibit” opened at the Maryland Science Center.  Interest in this fascinating exploration of the great thinker’s creative process grows, most evident by this past weekend’s fantastic attendance – 48% percent more visitors over Thanksgiving weekend 2009 than last year’s holiday weekend.  Perhaps it had something to do with another fascinating exploration – the cover story of last Friday’s Washington Post Weekend section.

We like our clients to be in the spotlight, but twice in the past week, the spotlight has been on us. Todd Scott and I both shared our insights about public relations with some interested students.

Todd participated in Career Day at a local high school.

At the Maryland Institute College of Art, I met with students from the school’s Exhibition Development Seminar class. Over the course of a year, the students curate their own exhibition, from concept to installation, and also promote it. Using real world experiences from Himmelrich PR’s work for the Contemporary Museum, I explained the process for promoting an exhibition – online and traditional media, long and short leads, media previews to opening night.

We were happy to share our good work and good thinking with a new generation of budding PR professionals.

Congratulations to the Maryland Science Center, for being part of the Industry Partnership Award presented at last week’s Maryland Tourism and Travel Summit. The Science Center was recognized along with the National Aquarium, Visit Baltimore and the Waterfront Partnership for the great success of the Waterfront Invasion, which promoted Chinasaurs at the Science Center, Jellies at the National Aquarium and family-friendly events that packed the Inner Harbor throughout the summer. We encourage cooperation and partnerships, and are pleased to have had the opportunity to promote them through this successful program.

Congratulations to Jenn Kampmeier, founder of Bebe Paluzza Productions who received The Expo Group’s Show Manager of the Year Award (the “SMOTY”) at the Award’s 10th anniversary gala last night in Houston. This well-deserved honor recognizes Jenn’s innovative practices, premier customer service, commitment to success, and ability to overcome obstacles in the trade show industry. We are excited to be helping Jenn expand her shows in the Midwest in 2010, with expos in Chicago, Denver, Des Moines, Indianapolis and Austin (Midwest… mid Texas… same difference.)