Westminster University 150 Years in One Inspiring Evening
A milestone 150th anniversary gala produced on the Westminster University campus. Custom history displays, outdoor dining for 300, silent and live auctions, live entertainment, and a complete branded experience from valet to thank you card.
150 years of history. One evening to honor it.
Westminster University's Sesquicentennial Gala was a once-in-a-generation event. A celebration of 150 years of the institution, held on the campus grounds where that history was made. In The Event produced the full evening: transforming the outdoor campus into a complete gala environment with a purple carpet arrival, outdoor dining for 300, custom-branded 150th anniversary tower displays, a live entertainment stage, both a silent and live auction, and a fully directed program running 5pm to 11pm.
Every element was tied to the milestone. The branded tower displays featured archival photographs from Westminster's history. The signage carried the evening's theme, "150 Years in One Inspiring Evening," from the valet stand to the dining tables. A menu, place card, and thank you note sat at every seat. Together with the Westminster team, In The Event made sure the production matched the moment.
The Challenge
The Sesquicentennial Gala was held in an open campus courtyard. Every piece of the event had to be sourced, transported, and installed from scratch: seating, AV, lighting, bars, signage, entertainment stage, and auction infrastructure. June weather in Salt Lake City is unpredictable, and the entire event was exposed to it. The production required contingency planning alongside the main build, and everything had to perform at gala standard regardless of what the evening brought.
The 150th anniversary brief added another layer: every detail had to carry the weight of the milestone. Directional signs, tower displays, branded menus, valet signage. All of it cohesive, intentional, and worthy of 150 years of institutional history.
- Full outdoor campus transformation
- Custom 150th anniversary branded tower displays
- Purple carpet arrival experience
- Silent auction and live auction coordination
- Outdoor dining for 300 guests
- Dual 12'×7' LED screens for programming
- Complete print materials: menus, cards, signage
Welcome Reception & Silent Auction
Guests arrived to a campus they recognized and an experience they didn't expect. The reception was designed to begin the evening in Westminster's history before moving forward through the night.
A purple carpet runner pulled guests from the valet drop through the campus arrival corridor, flanked by dark leather lounges and florals. Hors d'oeuvres circulated. Custom cocktails were served from white picture-frame bars dressed with bookcase accents and branded signage. A photo experience was set along the corridor.
The 150th Anniversary History Tower displays anchored the reception space: custom four-sided towers wrapped in archival sepia photographs spanning Westminster's full history. Portraits, athletic teams, campus landmarks, early student life. Guests gathered around them, read them, recognized faces. The towers set the tone. This evening started 150 years ago.
Adjacent to the cocktail environment, the silent auction ran through the reception hour with paddle pickup stations integrated into the guest arrival flow.
- Purple carpet arrival corridor
- Valet A-frame and branded directional signs
- 150th anniversary history tower displays
- Dark leather and white LED lounge environments
- Custom cocktails and circulated hors d'oeuvres
- Silent auction staging and paddle pickup
- Photo experience along arrival corridor
- White picture-frame bars with branded signage
History Tower Displays
Custom four-sided towers wrapped in archival sepia photographs. 150 years of Westminster history as a physical presence at the event.
Welcome Reception
Valet arrival, hors d'oeuvres, custom cocktails, and lounge environments on the campus grounds before dinner.
Silent Auction
Auction area staged and dressed with boxwood hedge backdrop. Paddle pickup integrated into the guest arrival flow.
Dinner & Live Auction
Purple carpet floor clings with the Sesquicentennial logo led guests from the reception courtyard through to the main dining courtyard. One environment transitioned seamlessly into the next.
Thirty-one round tables for 300 guests set with white linen, purple napkins, rose gold flatware, glass charger plates, and copper bowl floral centerpieces. Every place setting included a custom menu, name card, and thank you note, all designed and produced by the In The Event design team, along with every other piece of printed material at the event.
The full In The Event AV team produced the program: dual 12'×7' outdoor LED screens, 4K live camera, lighting design, sound, and program direction. The MC led the evening's program. Westminster University's president addressed the audience. A well-respected auctioneer took the stage for the live auction and raised significant funds for the institution.
Boxwood hedges lined the perimeter of the dining courtyard throughout, quietly defining the space and concealing what had been built just beyond them.
- 31 dining tables for 300 guests
- Custom menus, place cards, and thank you notes at every seat
- Dual 12'×7' outdoor LED screens
- 4K live camera
- Full AV: lighting, sound, video, program direction
- MC-led program and university president address
- Live auction with professional auctioneer
- Boxwood hedge perimeter defining the space
Table Setting
Purple satin napkins, rose gold flatware, glass charger plates, and copper bowl florals at every seat.
Wayfinding Display
Custom LED mod with printed event schedule, seating graphic, and campus map, helping 300 guests navigate the evening and the grounds.
Custom Menus
Dinner menus with gold-edged detail, designed by the In The Event design team. Part of a full print suite that included name cards, table numbers, bar signs, and hors d'oeuvres menus.
After Party
While guests dined, a second environment had been built in the outer courtyard. When the hedges moved, it was revealed fully formed.
The outer courtyard was themed around what Westminster was looking toward: the future. LED elements shaped the environment. A live band performed on a stage framed by a starry night backdrop with lights woven through the structure behind them. A black and white checker dance floor anchored the space. Creative LED module installations defined the perimeter.
Guests found an oxygen bar, a 360-degree photo booth, and continued food and beverage service as they moved from the formal gala into something less structured and more celebratory. The boxwood hedges that had framed the dining program became the walls of the after party, turning the outer courtyard into an immersive environment. The evening ended here.
- Boxwood hedge reveal from inner to outer courtyard
- Live band on full production stage
- Starry night LED stage backdrop
- Black and white checker dance floor
- 360-degree photo booth
- Oxygen bar
- Creative LED module environment
- Full lighting design and continued food and beverage
Oxygen Bar
An oxygen bar in the outer courtyard gave guests something unexpected to end the night with.
After Party
The outer courtyard after the reveal. Live band, LED environment, and the full after party in the open air.
After Party
The outer courtyard in full swing. Live band, LED environment, and guests on the dance floor through close.
The Setup
A full outdoor campus transformation doesn't happen in an afternoon. These clips show the build: before the guests arrived and after the last table was set.
A Milestone Delivered
150 years is a rare thing to celebrate. The evening was equal to it.
Westminster's academic grounds became a fully realized gala environment. Purple carpet, cocktail environments, history towers, and custom signage all coexisting on the same grounds where 150 years of students had walked. Guests saw their campus differently.
Three hundred guests were seated in a fully produced outdoor dining environment. Dual LED screens, live camera, and a professional auctioneer were all part of the program. The live auction raised significant funds for the institution. The university president addressed the audience.
When the hedges moved, a second world opened. The after party gave 300 guests something they hadn't anticipated: a fully designed celebration space that felt nothing like a campus. The evening closed on the right note.
How We Built It
Two days of build. Six hours of gala. Midnight strike.
Purple carpet laid through the campus corridor. Tower displays positioned on the grounds. 31 dining tables set with linen, chairs, menus, and place cards. Silent auction and live auction areas staged and dressed. LED screens installed and programmed. Entertainment stage built and fully equipped. Bars dressed and branded. Directional signs placed. Full technical run-through complete by afternoon.
Doors opened at 5pm. The team managed the full program: arrival, cocktail hour, seated dinner, program with dual LED screens and live camera, silent auction, live auction, and live entertainment on the outdoor stage. In The Event managed the production and logistics on the ground throughout the full six hours, in close coordination with the Westminster team.
Full teardown completed in one hour. All furniture, displays, AV, lighting, dining equipment, bars, carpet, and staging cleared from the Westminster campus. The grounds returned to their normal state by midnight.
Ready to build something this good?
Tell us about your next gala, university event, or milestone celebration. In The Event partners with your team from concept to close.
