Today we’d like to introduce you to Jack Green, Nick Pobutsky, and Jim Rafferty.
Jim and Jack were bar tending together and thought it would be a good idea to throw a bar crawl, so they did. After a successful 1st event they thought “what ELSE could we do?”. As avid summer street festival attendees, they noticed there was a void in well curated food festivals in Chicago. They had no experience in an event of this scale but dove in head first and the rest is history. The next year Nick joined the team and they perused all types of events in all seasons, throughout the city. They are a makeup of three different owners with three very different backgrounds and personalities. with Jack coming from the suburbs of Chicago, Nick stemming from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Jim originally from Boston’s East Coast. Together their specialties and creativity seem to be a refreshing blend to the event world of Chicago.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has certainly contained some speed bumps over the years but getting over them and learning from these struggles is what will make or break you.
The event world contains a multitude of factors that are out of the producers control, inclement weather being one example. We endured a few rain outs early on in our careers and while it was certainly difficult to deal with the losses, the lessons learned and adversities overcame have been invaluable over the years.
Creating an event is essentially creating something out of nothing. You have to turn ideas into reality with the confidence that people will enjoy their experience. This is a challenge yet something we strive to achieve with all events we pursue.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Green Curtain Events – what should we know?
Any and all types of events. From small lunch markets and cocktail parties for a couple hundred people, to street festivals for thousands. From face value… the DNA of Green Curtain Events may be hard to define. That’s because we are not afraid to challenge ourselves with any or all types of events. We aim to master the art of street festivals and food-focused block parties… but refuse to stop there. Why not architect high-end indoor cocktail tasting events that follow the same principles of an outdoor spectacle? Why not deliver the best audience for the best holiday events Chicago loves to celebrate? Why not create something brand new (from our pages of ideas) and bring a new theater to the mind for party goers? Green Curtain was tired of the mundane street affairs and every-day events plotted throughout our city. We believe in something more and always put quality on the top of the stack with our event planning and forecasting. As we’ve begun to already see… our events are getting noticed. There is a sense of security in our deliverance from an organizational, food or drink authenticity, and guest list that we provide.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Our work ethic and attention to detail we hope goes unnoticed! That’s because we want our events to feel natural, seamless, and well thought out. Compliments and word of mouth go a long way for Green Curtain… and that’s what we focus on most: The patrons who attend. We are a growing company in a continuously growing city. We love Chicago. This is our home. But this is also a time of event saturation and the politics make it very hard to execute at times. We don’t let this hold us back. We continue to let our events shine through (sometimes small… but always mighty). Our range is commendable. We produce well-curated events for under 2,000 patrons, but also work for the masses.
Contact Info:
- Website: greencurtainevents.com
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