Choura Press

Choura Events Ballooning with Major Contracts

Long Beach-Based Caterer/Venue Services Provider Lands Largest Jobs Ever

By Sean Belk – Staff Writer

“June 19, 2012 – For the past four years, Choura Events, a Long Beach-based caterer and venue services provider, has been steadily building inventory and capabilities to be able to provide rental equipment services for the largest events in the nation. Starting this summer, the company is hitting its mark and then some.

After investing $2 million in the latest event equipment – including tents, carpeting, linens, chairs and tables – and amassing a team of industry experts, Choura Events was recently awarded contracts to provide services for four of the largest events in the firm’s 42-year history.

The company recently won contracts to handle the 41st Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (last year’s event pictured at right), the 2012 ESPN Summer X-Games, the Los Angeles County Fair and the ESPY Awards. These events are attended by hundreds of thousands of people.

Ryan Choura, CEO of the company that was founded in 1969, said he is proud to have the quantity of inventory and technical capabilities required to bid for such large events. He said the company continues to grow in the marketplace.

“It’s taken us about four years to build the equipment and to build the team,” Choura told the Business Journal. “We’ve always set out to do a really good job and to expand our inventory . . . When these opportunities have come across, people have chosen us and we’re really thankful for that.”

For the hot-air balloon festival alone, Choura Events is providing a total of 150,000-square-feet of tenting. The event takes place October 6-14 on a 200-acre park in New Mexico, which will have grass and booths filled with balloons and vendors. The Fiesta is attended by the largest international balloon teams and, according to organizers, is considered the most photographed event in the world.

Until now, the company’s largest events were mostly based in Long Beach, such as the Long Beach Pride Parade, the Port of Long Beach’s 100th Anniversary, the Agenda Show and the Electric Daisy Carnival. In terms of catering, Choura Events has long-term contracts with The Grand in Long Beach, the Long Beach Event Center, El Dorado Park Golf Course, Long Beach Airport, California State University, Long Beach and the Carson Community Center.

The company has also been subcontracted for large events in the surrounding area, including in Hollywood. It has provided tenting and other services for the Weinstein Golden Globes Party; an after-party of the Grammy Awards for Interscope Records; an Academy Awards after-party for Madonna; and the Mondrian Hotel Skybar, Choura said. Having been recently chosen by some of the largest event producers, such as Best Events, David Tutera of the TV show My Fair Wedding, Brent Bolthouse and Insomnia, has been a big game changer for the company, he said.

Choura added that expanding the company’s event inventory, currently stored in a warehouse in Torrance, has allowed the business to hire about 10 to 15 new employees.

He said the company’s main goal is to not only continue to expand, but to change the way events are presented. “My motto is that I only want to plan events that I would want to go to,” Choura said.”
(via Long Beach Business Journal)