control of every aspect during affair
Showstoppers takes
control of every aspect during affair
By jennifer kohlhepp
Staff Writer
JEFF GRANIT Laura Gibbons (center), owner of Showstoppers Entertainment, with the help of Laura Coletti (l) and Melissa Kvidahl (r), leads the crowd in a dance during a block party in East Brunswick recently.
Laura Gibbons built her career on creating days and nights to remember. As sole owner of the North Brunswick-based entertainment company Showstoppers for the past 17 years, Gibbons enjoys her work.
"I absolutely love what I do," she said. "I throw at least one party a week."
Gibbons said her career in the party business evolved from her days as a DJ, when she would create an atmosphere while playing music for partygoers with balloons and props.
"While attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, I also worked in a record store where the owner encouraged me to DJ parties," Gibbons said. "Now I plan the entire party."
JEFF GRANIT Elizabeth Tierney is wrapped in toilet paper during a mummy contest at a recent block party Showstoppers Entertainment helped throw on Kings Road in East Brunswick.
With a team of 10 dancers, balloonists, designers and party starters, Showstoppers is a full-fledged party-, event- and wedding-planning service.
"We want to be the one-stop people have to make to get anything they need for a party," Gibbons said. "It is my motivation to make people happy and to make things go as smoothly as they can at any event."
Gibbons said her business thrives as a result of her goal to always get better at what she does.
"Not only do I attend parties, but I also attend state-regulated event planning meetings where I generate new ideas and network with the best in the business," Gibbons said.
As an event planner, she is responsible for everything, including the catering, decor, music, game and dancing motivation, and the overall theme of the party.
"If you have a theme, we will capture it and enhance it throughout the affair," Gibbons said. "If you don’t have a theme or need ideas, we do that. We work with your ideas and help you create an affair that will be a lasting impression for all of your guests."
Theme parties include, but are not limited to, ’70s night, luau, Italian night, casino night and Mardi Gras.
"We can turn bar and bat mitzvahs into an extravaganza with lights, entertainers, music, outrageous decor, gift bags and a sign-in board," Gibbons said.
Showstoppers can provide invitations, balloon decor, tablecloths, DJs and emcees, dancers, karaoke, games, prizes, DVD videos and digital shots of the affair, comedians, videographers, gift bags, and other amusements.
Amusements for special events include rides of all kinds, moon walks, water slides, bungee run, dunk tanks, sumo wrestling, a cotton candy machine and much more.
"Since the beginning, the most important thing that has changed in this business is that people used to like to go out and get everything for a party themselves," Gibbons said. "Now, with more and more people working and having less time, they leave most of the planning up to us."
For weddings, Gibbons said Showstoppers can provide "an affair like no other."
"We schedule all appointments, gather information, set up rehearsal dinners, and give our brides the wedding they’ve always dreamed about," Gibbons said.
Gibbons said her motto is to always go above and beyond her customers’ expectations of what they need and what they want.
Gibbons also strongly believes in giving back to the community that has been so responsive to her business.
"Each year we sponsor township father-and-daughter and mother-and-son dances in Our Lady of Peace Church in North Brunswick to raise money for different people who may need it in town," Gibbons said.
Gibbons said the dances have helped Showstoppers to raise money for the families of the victims of Sept. 11 and a North Brunswick boy with leukemia, among many other causes.
"The event is a great opportunity to bring families together for a fun time and for a good cause," Gibbons said.
Gibbons also noted that she couldn’t do without the help of her assistant designer Sharon Csantos, who majored in design at Syracuse University.