sCall Roland L. Appleton, Inc today for your Complete Event Rentals1-800-752-0427

We say what we do
and do what we say

Here To Help

Just want everyone to know while our physical offices are closed in accordance with Governor Baker’s directive we are still here to help.  We are available by Email at jim@rlappleton.com or phone at 781-592-5523

we have a complete line of tents, tables, chairs and crowd control equipment.  Even if you would like get your mind off the troubles of today and start planning an event for a future date please feel free to contact us

Together we will get through this

 

jim

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back from the brink

recently we became aware of several difficulties with our web site.  We have redone the parts that were having problems and we have begun to add several new products to the site as well as update our policies and procedures.  Please check back on a regular basis for more information

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Neon Sweet Sixteen

One of our customers recently rented our equipment for a sweet sixteen party, with a neon theme. She was kind enough to take pictures of her event which we would like to share with our other customers, to display just what you can do with our equipment.Before and After Neon Sweet SixteenNeon Centerpieces

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Boston College Memorial Reception

Boston College Memorial ReceptionMemorial reception

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Our Friendly Delivery Crew

Our friendly delivery crew is always happy to assist customers with their party needs.Our friendly road crew

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Madeline Albright speaks at BC

Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright spoke at BC’s Robsham Theater, followed by a private reception where she was greeted by a select gathering. Roland L. Appleton, Inc. was the proud provider of the tents for the event.Tent at Robsham for Madeline Albright

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We have new grills for the warmer months

We have recently purchased a new charcoal grill as well as a griddle top that is compatible with propane grills. This gives our Boston area customers great versatility in their outdoor cooking choices in the upcoming months. Imagine: the open top charcoal grill slowly cooking a rack of ribs, while next to it the propane grill has half of its top covered hamburgers and hot-dogs, and the other half has a flat-iron griddle with sausage-peppers-and-onions as well as grilling vegetables. The variety allowable with such a setup is extraordinary, and we hope our customers keep this in mind for their upcoming party needs.

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We now carry 30′ wide tents

That’s right, we have recently acquired 30′ WIDE tents, capable of extending to 60′. That allows for tables and seating for 180 people! We are very excited to be able to offer our customers in Boston and its environs this option for their outdoor spring parties. 

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Size Recommendations for Dance Floors

With the advent of spring (finally!), we are receiving more questions about dance floors. In service to our customers and potential customers, we are posting some of our dance floor expertise below.

For your party or event, the average group can be cut in half to determine the number of couples attending, and only half of the couples are going to be dancing at any one time. Each couple needs-at minimum- 3 square feet for dancing. Don’t worry, you don’t have to do the funky math all by yourself. We’re posting it as a table. We’re just letting you know how we got our numbers:

People          Couples          Couples Dancing          Size Dance Floor

48                       24                                 12                                        9′ x 12′

64                      32                                  16                                      12′ x 12′

80                      40                                 20                                      12′ x 15′

100                    50                                 25                                      15′ x 15′

120                    60                                  30                                     15′ x 18′

160                    80                                  40                                     18′ x 18′

200                 100                                 50                                      18′ x 24′

300                 150                                 75                                      24′ x 24′

400                 200                              100                                      30′ x 30′

576                 288                               144                                       36′ x 36′

*please note, these numbers are for the average party goers.  Younger people tend to dance more, older people tend to dance less.

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New Purchases from the ARA show

We have just returned from The Event Show, which is an industry-wide trade show for the event rental business. While there, we have made some exciting new purchases for our inventory. We now offer both charcoal and gas grills, a variety of square linens, a spin-art machine, 10’ wide tents, 30’ wide tents, and a variety of new tent lighting options.

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LACC Business person of the year

On Thursday of this week, the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce will announce their Businessperson of the Year at Spinelli’s function hall in Lynnfield. One of the candidates is our own president, Mr. James Appleton. We all wish him the best of luck.

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Simon Youth Foundation

Today’s quick post is to highlight an event we did for Simon Youth Foundation in the North Shore Mall.

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Xaverian Brothers 50th Anniversary

Begging forgiveness for such a long wait between posts, but we have a great event we’ve done that we just had to share. The Xaverian Brother’s High School recently had its 50th anniversary and asked us to be a part of their events. We used a 40′ x 40′ tent at the end of their track field. They used our cathedral tent sides, white garden chairs, and even our tent heater. Even if we do say so ourselves, we think the event came out beautifully.

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Personal Wedding Example

With today’s post, we wanted to highlight a personal wedding we arranged for an individual customer. Her event had a 40′ x 60′ pole-and-stake tent, because she wanted the sweeping fabric look. She also incorporated chandeliers and twinkle-lights for lighting, and a dance floor of 18′ x 18′. As you can see in the photograph, this still allowed her ample room to seat 8 people per table, at 12 tables with room to spare. The whole was contained with cathedral window sidewalls for the tent.

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Dining Example

 

In this post we present an example of one of our events. This was a dinner inside an office building recently dedicated. The Customer used our fruitwood ballroom chairs, wine colored table runners, and wine colored wall hangings to accent the white of the tablecloths and freshly finished walls. You can also see that they were able to seat ten people per 60 inch round table while still having a full dining service.

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Special note on LSOE Graduation

To show our personal interest in our customer’s events, we would just like to give recognition to Dr. Richard Jackson, who you can see in our photo on the lower right, in the light blue robes. He is one of the pre-eminent authorities in the teaching of special needs students, as well as incorporating technology into teaching to compensate for those special needs. This photo is from this year’s LSOE graduation ceremony.

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Gratitude from Lynn Family and Children Services

The pdf below is a thank-you letter from the Lynn Family and Children’s Services. It’s always nice to get thanked!

FCS Taste of Lynn Thank You Letter

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End of the Graduation Season

WHEW!!! We’ve finally reached the end of the graduation season! We apologize to any of our customers and potential customers who we had to turn away this year. It seems everybody just wanted bigger and bigger ceremonies. The pictures below will demonstrate some of what I’m talking about. The tent requirements in particular were quite surprising, but we rose to the occasion and delivered well beyond customer expectations. Please take a look at some of our events to see what we mean.

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Stokes Dedication

We are proud to be a part of the Stokes building dedication at Boston College.

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Lynch School of Education Graduation

We provided the equipment for the Lynch School of Education’s graduation. Yes, this being our busiest time of year, we are working almost continuously on graduations. As you can see in our photos, its worth it.

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Baccalaureate Mass

Here’s a picture of a Baccalaureate Mass that we have provided the equipment for. Yes, all of the equipment is ours.

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Federal Realty Groundbreaking

When Federal Realty made their groundbreaking for their new building in Somerville, we were there. Well, at least our equipment was.

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Whole Foods Market “All Access”

We provided the tenting and equipment for the Whole Foods Market “All Access” show! The amount of equipment involved and the number of vendors that Whole Foods Market incorporated into this event was truly impressive. We invite you to look at our gallery.

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Children’s Games

 

This past week we observed how effective our children’s games are. Two young mothers came in to place an order with their two little ones, who each had to be no more than 5 years old. Looking around the showroom, they saw the “Strike 3!” ball-toss game set up for play, and ran to it squealing in delight. The mothers looked around and began scolding the children, “No, that’s not for you! Don’t, no! Put that down, Gimmee! No, put that back!” We stepped in and let them know it was all right, that’s what the game was there for. Not only were the mothers relieved and the children continued playing, but the two young ladies patiently perused their event options, and when they had to wait over fifteen minutes for confirmation from a third parent, they were comfortably sitting in our display chairs while their children happily played with the game. Needless to say, they rented the game for their party.

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Guidelines for Tent Seating V

In our final posting on Tent Seating Guidelines, we will go over the miscellaneous measurements for events. These are those optional features that some people just need to have, and others could live without.

Dance Floors depend on the amount of people and the event.

Dinner or Dance party: 4 square feet per person (20′ x 20′ for 100 people)

Wedding or General party: 2-3 square feet per person (10′ x 20′ or 15” x 15′ for 100 people)

Stages/ Platforms depend on the use.

A speakers platform only needs about 10 square feet

A bandstand needs between 20-30 square feet, depending on the size of the band

Pianos take up a much larger amount of space than the typical band stand. A spinet (upright) piano takes up 30 square feet. A grand piano takes up 100 square feet!

A Bar takes up 30 square feet

We hope these measurements will be of use in planning your events.

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Guidelines for Tent Seating IV

As we draw to a close on Tent Seating guidelines, we will show the seating capacity for Cathedral Seating in a tent.

The following numbers will not take into account aisles, dance floors, or service areas. We will show options for the sizes of tent that we offer. After this list, we will explain the math involved

20 x 20 tent:      67 cathedral seating

20 x 30 tent:      100 cathedral seating

20 x 40 tent:      133 cathedral seating

20 x 60 tent:      200 cathedral seating

40 x 40 tent:      267 cathedral seating

40 x 60 tent:      400 cathedral seating

40 x 80 tent:      533 cathedral seating

40 x 100 tent:     667 cathedral seating

40 x 120 tent:     800 cathedral seating

Here’s how the funky math for this turns out: for Cathedral Seating, which involves chairs in rows, you need to allow for 5-6 square feet per person, for appropriate comfort. This number factors in the size of the chair and the fact that they are in rows. A 20 x 20 foot tent covers 400 square feet, so 400 square feet divided by 5 square feet equals 80 people. This is the recommended maximum. If you wanted to make sure people were spaced further apart and more comfortable which we strongly recommend and is shown above, divide 400 by 6, to get 67 people.

The previous posts in this series explained all of the party capacities for people. The last post will deal with miscellaneous measurements.

 

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Guidelines for Tent Seating III

In the third installment of Tent Seating guidelines, we will show the seating capacity for Served Dining in a tent.

The following numbers will not take into account aisles, dance floors, or service areas. We will show options for the sizes of tent that we offer. After this list, we will explain the math involved

20 x 20 tent:      40 served dining

20 x 30 tent:      60 served dining

20 x 40 tent:      80 served dining

20 x 60 tent:      120 served dining

40 x 40 tent:      160 served dining

40 x 60 tent:      240 served dining

40 x 80 tent:      320 served dining

40 x 100 tent:     400 served dining

40 x 120 tent:     480 served dining

And now even more funky math: for Served Dining, which usually uses 60″ round tables that seat between 8 and 10 people, you need to allow for 8-10 square feet per person, for appropriate comfort. This number also factors in the size of the table. A 20 x 20 foot tent covers 400 square feet, so 400 square feet divided by 8 square feet equals 50 people. This is the recommended maximum. If you wanted to make sure people were spaced further apart and more comfortable which we strongly recommend and is shown above, divide 400 by 10, to get 40 people.

The previous posts in this series explained cocktail party capacity and buffet dining capacity. Follow up posts will feature cathedral/auditorium seating, and miscellaneous measurements.

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Guidelines for Tent Seating II

In this second installment of Tent Seating guidelines, we will show the seating capacity for Buffet Dining in a tent. 

The following numbers will not take into account aisles, dance floors, or service areas. We will show options for the sizes of tent that we offer. After this list, we will explain the math involved

20 x 20 tent:      50 buffet dining

20 x 30 tent:      75 buffet dining

20 x 40 tent:      100 buffet dining

20 x 60 tent:      150 buffet dining

40 x 40 tent:      200 buffet dining

40 x 60 tent:      300 buffet dining

40 x 80 tent:      400 buffet dining

40 x 100 tent:     500 buffet dining

40 x 120 tent:     600 buffet dining

And heeeeeerrrrrre’s the funky math: for Buffet Dining, which usually uses 8′ long tables that seat between 8 and 10 people, you need to allow for 7-8 square feet per person, for appropriate comfort. This number also factors in the size of the table. A 20 x 20 foot tent covers 400 square feet, so 400 square feet divided by 7 square feet equals 58 people. This is the recommended maximum. If you wanted to make sure people were spaced further apart and more comfortable which we strongly recommend and is shown above, divide 400 by 8, to get 50 people.

The previous post in this series explained cocktail party capacity. Follow up posts will feature serviced seating, cathedral/auditorium seating, and miscellaneous measurements, respectively.

 

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Guidelines for Tent Seating I

Previously, we posted a blog that tried to give recommendations on tent seating. Looking back on that now, it was very rushed and, we believe, unsatisfactory for the needs of our clients. Therefore, for the next few weeks, we will be posting and explaining the true dimensions of tent space and seating ability for your events. And yes, we will be doing more funky math again.

First, we will show Cocktail Party potential capacity. The following numbers will not take into account aisles, dance floors, or service areas. We will show options for the sizes of tent that we offer. After this list, we will explain the math involved

20 x 20 tent:      67 standing people

20 x 30 tent:      100 standing people

20 x 40 tent:      133 standing people

20 x 60 tent:      200 standing people

40 x 40 tent:      267 standing people

40 x 60 tent:      400 standing people

40 x 80 tent:      533 standing people

40 x 100 tent:     667 standing people

40 x 120 tent:     800 standing people

The math behind this is fairly simple. For a Cocktail party, with 30″ across cocktail-height tables and people standing, not sitting, you need to allow for 6-7 square feet per person, for appropriate comfort. This number also factors in the size of the table. A 20 x 20 foot tent covers 400 square feet, so 400 square feet divided by 6 square feet equals 67 people. This is the recommended maximum. If you wanted to make sure people were spaced further apart and more comfortable, divide 400 by 7, to get 58 people.

Follow-up posts in this series will explain buffet seating, serviced seating, cathedral/auditorium seating, and miscellaneous measurements, respectively.

 

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Tent Rentals

We would like to take this opportunity to remind our customers about our tent rentals. With graduation and wedding season fast approaching, we invite you to browse both our tent selection and our discounted tent packages. Tents are very popular during this time of year, so if you are interested in renting one for the spring and summer, we would suggest that you place an order as soon as you can, so you can lock in your desired tent.

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Sno Cone Machines

We would like to take this opportunity to remind our customers that we offer sno cone machines and supplies for your events. As the weather heats up, wouldn’t it be fun for your guests? Whether kids or kids at heart, your guests will appreciate the cold refreshment of a sweet sno cone on a warm day.

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Reminders for Graduations

We are just posting this as a reminder to our customers. The graduation season is fast approaching, and just as your little students are having their big day and stepping further into adulthood, so too is everybody else’s child. The weekends of May 17th through until June 3rd, our stock of equipment runs low. If you need to plan a party for graduation season, now is the time to start making the plans and reserving your equipment.

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Making Room

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are pleased to announce that after only one week of sales, we have completely sold out of our old white wood chairs. All of our white garden chairs, usually seen at weddings, will now be made of durable white polyresin. By making this sale, we have made a lot of room in our warehouse for new inventory and new items for your special events. We hope you are as excited as we are.

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Selling Some Inventory

We would like our customers to know that we are now selling some of our inventory, specifically our white wood folding chairs. For numerous reasons, we have decided to discontinue renting our white wood folding chairs, and are replacing them with a white resin garden chair. Because of this, we are selling our stock of white wood folding chairs at the bargain price of $1.00 a chair. That’s right, one dollar a chair! They are being offered on a self-pickup basis, payment up front. Please keep in mind that these chairs are used, and have been used for a number of years.

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We won an Award!

We won an award! Well, we kinda won an award. Sorta. LynnCAM TV, who did an episode about us (which we blogged about earler this week) has won an award for the episode that they did on us. We’re kinda flattered that we were a part of them winning for community television for the northeast.

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Youtube Special

We are pleased to announce that we are featured in a LynnCAMTV special. It is a series on local businesses, appropriately enough named North Shore Business Infrastructure. We encourage our customers to give it a look on Youtube. You can meet some of our employees as well as see some of our equipment up close.

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Easter and Passover

With Easter and Passover fast approaching, we would like to thank our customers for their continued patronage, and allowing us to provide wares and equipment for their important family holidays. Many of our customers are second or third generation renters, and getting their buffet table or extra chairs from us has become as much of a tradition as the family dinner itself. With this in mind, we would like our customers to note the other products that we offer for rental. We can provide china, flatware, and glassware as well as linens in almost any size. We can provide chafing dishes for your buffet, platters for your rolls or matzo, samovars for your after-dinner coffee, even glass pitchers for water or wine. Please browse our website or give us a call to learn what we can offer you for Easter or Passover.

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Extra-Large Capacity Cooler

We have a 151 quart portable cooler. Equipped with heavy-duty handles on each end, and with enormous capacity, you can move your party to wherever the mood takes you. Picnic at the park or beach? No problem.

 

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When the weather changes your event

When severe weather changes your event, forcing you to use “plan B,” it can ruin more than your mood. To help our customers who are faced with these difficulties, there is a website that has gathered several articles on dealing with extreme weather and event planning. You can find it here. Although the site is geared more to corporate events and meetings, the basics still apply to our private customers and caterers. We hope you find them useful.

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ARA’s importance for the events industry

Below is a snippet from Rental Pulse magazine, which highlights the importance of the ARA and ARAM for the events industry. ARAM is the Massachusetts division of the ARA.

ARA member strongly considering a run for Congress

Steve Anthony Colangelo, president of American Event Rentals in Stockton, Calif., is strongly considering a run for California’s 9th Congressional district seat in the United States House of Representatives.

Colangelo has served as chairman of the American Rental Association’s (ARA) Government Affairs committee, but has resigned his position with the committee in order to avoid any potential conflict of interest while he explores the possibility of running for office. He also will not be attending ARA’s Legislative Caucus this year.

“Steve has been very active in state and national politics through his volunteer leadership with both the ARA of California and ARA. He’s served on the ARA of California board of directors and on ARA’s Government Affairs committee, serving as chair of the 2012-2013 committee. We never want to lose a leader like Steve, but it was necessary for him to step down, so that both Steve and ARA are fully compliant with federal election rules should he decide to run,” says John McClelland, ARA’s vice president of government affairs. “We very much look forward to working with Steve in the future and we wish him well.”

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Popcorn Machines

As the weather becomes warmer, we would like to remind our customers about our popcorn machines. They are a tabletop model, and very easy to use. We can provide written instructions upon request. We also offer the popcorn supplies, such as popcorn bags and the popcorn itself, for a separate charge. We recommend that customers use the popcorn that we supply, as the heating element reaches temperatures that scorch most cooking oils. 

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Backyard Grills

For your backyard parties, we offer portable grills. As the weather heats up and we approach spring, we want to remind our customers of our portable propane grills. Our grills are six feet long, allowing you to grill the largest cuts of meat or accommodate the largest of crowds. This size is the standard for country clubs and golf courses. The base is filled with lava rocks to more evenly distribute heat, and the propane tank fits easily beneath the base. Please note that our price includes a full propane tank. Not only is this an impressive piece of cooking equipment, but grilling has numerous health benefits, including reducing fat by letting it drip off into the grill. Of course, our grills are thoroughly cleaned before each rental.

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Fruitwood Ballroom Chairs

We offer fruitwood ballroom chairs for our customer’s events. Currently, fruitwood ballroom chairs are the high-end selection of the season. They can be found in five star hotels and exclusive country clubs, and when you see them you can understand why. Much like other ballroom chairs, the legs and back are well-turned, ridged wood spindles. Unlike most ballroom chairs, they are a natural-looking, deep reddish-brown color. The look is comparable to real mahogany, red oak, or cherry wood, but at a fraction of the cost. The chairs are also covered with a high-gloss finish, which gives the wood grain the opportunity to showcase it’s natural contrast and beauty.

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Back from the ARA show

Hello everyone, we’re back from the ARA show and do we have some new ideas. The ARA show was jam packed with vendors and service providers for the event rental industry, and we’ve found some interesting kid’s games and entertainment, as well as many new patterns of linen. Our tent specialists have learned about the latest safety regulations for installing tents for your events. Our customers may be happy to know that Massachusetts has some of the most stringent guidelines for safety where events are concerned, and we can happily claim continuous compliance with those standards. We have also learned that there are new emergency procedures for impending weather when we get a storm. We’ve also learned some cost efficient techniques for decorating tents for your events. Unfortunately, until purchase and sales are finalized, we cannot list our new items.

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Valentine’s Day Treats

Many people today are substituting full-size cakes for cupcakes. So, for a Valentine’s Day treat, we suggest showcasing your sweetheart’s sweets with one of our cupcake stands. The round stand is 5 tiers tall and the octagonal stand is 3 tiers tall, and at $20.00 each, they are a steal!

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Basic Linen Tips

For the ease of our customers, here are some basic linen tips:

1. The most common round table at a function hall or an event is a 60″ round. This table seats 10 people. We’ll do the funky math stuff at the end. For a simple answer, a 90″ round table cloth will cover that table to your lap when you sit. A 120″ round tablecloth will cover that table to the floor.

2. A table that is cocktail height (also called bar-height, tallboys, belly-tables, bus-stop, and airplane tables) are 42″ tall. Almost always, when somebody says “cocktail table”, this is usually what they mean. Anyway, to cover this table to the floor you need a 108″ round tablecloth.

3. For a listing of colors, please visit werentlinens.com.

Ok, now for funky math. A regular round table is 30″ high. Then you have the actual size of the table across, the above example being 60″. So to cover the table to the floor, you take the height, add the size, then add the height again (height+size+height). If the tablecloth size doesn’t add up, it is either too big and will pool on the floor or too short and you might see the table legs. Cocktail tables are 42″ high and 30″ round. Same idea. (height+size+height).

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Brazil Nightclub Fire

After the extremely sad events of the Kiss nightclub fire in Brazil, in which 233 people have lost their lives, event planners are reminded of the dangers involved in hosting some events. For those of us from the US, this case sounds tragically similar to the Station nightclub fire of 2003.

Every municipality, state, and federal government have regulations that dictate what safety measures must be observed for events. This includes whether fire, pyrotechnics, or cooking equipment are used, or even if chairs in rows must be attached to each other. Because of these regulations, event providers often have to carry multiple licenses to prove compliance. Event providers also must provide certification that their equipment has been treated for fire safety, whether this is fire proofed or treated with fire retardants. (We can assure our customers that our equipment have these certificates)

When choosing to do your own events, please keep safety in mind, and if you begin to question the safety of your event, call a professional.

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Search for New Location

Due to expansion of both products and services, we at Roland L. Appleton, Inc. are in search of a new location. While we have had several years of profitable business at our 145 Commercial St. address, including a brisk trade in walk-in business, we are now looking for a facility that can meet our increased warehousing needs. Roland L. Appleton, Inc. has been located within the city of Lynn for over 85 years, and we are looking to continue that long tradition of excellence in service to our community by favoring locations within the city of Lynn. However, we are not ruling out potential neighboring communities as our new base of operations.

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Company President voted to Massachusetts ARA Board

After receiving and tabulating votes for candidates, James Appleton, president of Roland L. Appleton, Inc. is now a member of the board of directors for the Massachusetts ARA. He will be serving in this capacity for 3 years, and will be serving alongside Charles Driggs, Gene LaPierre, Andrew Taylor, and Mike Tonry. The board will be appointing officers to their roster for the 2013 year in a meeting to be held January 31st.

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Big Screen TVs for the Big Game

We have 70 inch flat-screen TVs. Imagine: you’re having your yearly Superbowl party with a bunch of your buddies. They walk into your living room and their jaws drop at seeing the big game on a TV screen that’s almost 6 feet from corner to corner. Most people are’t even 6 feet tall! You get to be that guy with that awesome Superbowl party everybody remembers. 

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Tent Sizes Needed for Events

Tent sizes needed for your event depend on two things- are your guests dining, and how many of them are there?

1. If your guests are dining, you will be able to seat 10 people per 10 foot by 10 foot section. This is the same if guests are waited on or if they are dining buffet style. This does assume that the food is under it’s own tent. If guests are not dining and instead are seated auditorium style, you can seat roughly 16 people per 10 foot by 10 foot section, not including aisles, stage, or podium.

2. With these pieces of information, you can start to determine the tent size needed for your event. If you have 100 guests dining under your tent, you would need at least a 20 foot by 60 foot tent. However, the same amount of guests can be seated auditorium style in a 20 foot by 40 foot tent.

When in doubt of your tent needs, please don’t hesitate to call us.

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Attending the Rental Show!

On February 10 through 13, Roland L. Appleton employees will be attending the ARA Rental Show. For customers who don’t know, the Rental Show is an exhibition of party and construction equipment that showcases the latest trends in the industry. You can find a link here. To better serve our customers, we will be sacrificing several frigid New England days for attendance at the Las Vegas Sands Expo and Convention Center. We will be in the middle of the Vegas strip, dutifully attending seminars on event production and examining new types of tents, stages, linens, dishes, and room dividers, among other things. Of course, we won’t be gambling or seeing shows or anything really fun like that. No. Of course not. We’re going so we can do better in our industry. Yeah.

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President on ballot for ARAM board of directors

The president of Roland L. Appleton, Inc. has been notified that he is on the election ballot for the American Rental Association of Massachusetts board of directors. The American Rental Association of Massachusetts is the oldest professional rental equipment network in the US. They conduct industry research, provide reports of that research to members, provide training and seminars for the professional development of employees, and in general act to maintain and improve the quality of the equipment rental industry. They are a division of the American Rental Association, which encompasses the entire US.

If elected, Mr. James Appleton would serve as a member of the board for a term of three years. The objective of the board is to make the ARAM as relevant to its members as possible, by providing services that encourage the growth and improvement of business and business practices.

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Glassware Quantities

Hello again! In this installment of event tips, we are going to focus on glassware. There are very many variables that determine how many glasses you need. First, what kind of party are you having? Are you having a formal dinner? are you having a buffet function? or are you having a cocktail reception?

  1. If you are having a formal dinner, the number of glasses is up to the host or hostess. They have already decided what they are serving their guests, and so get one of each for each guest. If 10 guests will be served red wine, champagne, and water, then you need three glasses for each guest- 10 for the red wine, 10 for the champagne, and 10 water goblets, for 30 glasses total. Technically, you should always order one or two extra glasses of each variety to account for accidental breakage.
  2. For a buffet function, the total number of glasses is usually 1&¾ glasses per person (round down) for the first hour, and for each additional hour add an additional ½ glass per person. You do have to order types of glasses appropriate to your crowd, and appropriate to what you will serve. If you’re having a champagne toast, you need to order those in addition to any other glasses you will use.
  3. For a cocktail reception, the ratio is 1 glass per person per hour. Pretty easy. Again, just make sure you factor in what kind of drinks your crowd is drinking. Not everyone drinks martinis, and you may be serving more on-the-rocks drinks than you realize.

If you really NEED to know what are the totally necessary amounts and kinds of glasses for a properly stocked restaurant bar, then here’s the list for a venue that seats 100 people. Remember, you asked:

144 beer glasses, 36 champagne glasses, 108 highball glasses, 24 martini glasses, 108 wine glasses, 36 sour glasses, 72 rocks glasses, 36 cordial glasses, 36 collins glasses, 36 brandy glasses, 168 water glasses, 144 iced tea glasses, and 144 juice glasses.

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Champagne Fountains

For holiday functions, we would like to call to your attention our champagne fountains. Realistically, you don’t use expensive champagne in these, because the bubbles fizz out after a while. This does not mean you are limited to champagne. Many people use punch, or a punch mixture with sweet wine. If you are fortunate enough to own a gelatin mold form, you can use it to make a decorative ice ring for the fountain. The only restriction that we have on the fountain’s use is that customers cannot use drinks with pulp. Pulp would clog the motor and result in breaking the fountain.

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Cocktail Parties and Numbers

Hello everyone and welcome to our first post on event planning tips! We will be posting party planning tips every week, to help our customers and potential customers with their do-it-yourself events.

Cocktail Parties and Numbers:

So, whether for your parent’s wedding anniversary, or a class reunion, or an executive conference, you’ve decided to have a cocktail party. The problem is, you don’t know how many of what kind of table you need. You think cocktail party and you automatically say, “Well, I need cocktail tables right?” Yes, but they aren’t the only things you need. First, how many people do you have? We’re going to start a bunch of math here, so we need a number to start with. For the purpose of this example, we’ll say you are realistically expecting 60 people. At any one time, you should expect one-third of your guests to sit. So, for our example you need 20 chairs, with smaller tables to accommodate them (a 36″ round table will seat 4, so you get 5 of those tables). OK,  so people can sit. But what about the people standing at those high cocktail tables? Again, at any one time you should expect one-third of your guests to gather at the cocktail tables, so again for our example that’s another 20 people. But since they’re standing, you can fit 5 people at a cocktail table, so divide that last 20 by 5, and you get 4 cocktail tables. The rest of your guests are basically going to stand around in their own little clusters. Don’t forget a bar! Unless you have more than 80 people, you should be able to manage with 1 bar.

We hope these tips will help you in planning your own special events.

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Holiday Parties

The holidy season is upon us! In preparation for the holidays, we are breaking out all the table cloths in christmas colors and the pretty china for your holiday parties. Here are just some examples of table arrangements that you can try.

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Our first post ever!

Today we have launched our new website! Customers can expect the same great service we have provided with the added bonus of regular updates and helpful tips on how to plan your special events. With Christmas approaching, we look forward to your orders for Christmas parties.

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