I can't believe we are only days away from the start of OFW August 2012!  We actually start moving into our show space at KANEKO tomorrow morning....We receive lots of calls to the Omaha Fashion Week office about "what it's like" to be an attendee at OFW.  What do I wear?  Where do I park? Is there valet?  What happens if it rains?  This post will give you answers to all of those burning questions!  Here we go:

What do I wear? I try to start the week with a more understated look and gradually ratchet it up as we move toward Finale.  You will see everything from LBDs to evening gowns, jeans to suits at our event.  If you happen to be one of our VIP ticket holders, we encourage you to dress it up a bit more because you will be in runway photos that will be posed all over our website, social media channels and in our magazine.  What would you wear if you knew thousands of people would be would be seeing your beautiful mug in our pictures until the end of time? :)  Plus, all attendees will get to strike a pose on the Borsheims Red Carpet!

What's the Schedule? Doors open at 6 p.m. each night for the Grey Goose Pre-Party.  Runway shows start at 8 p.m.  Each weeknight show is  immediately followed by the Metro Magazine Designer Reception. We wrap up between 9:30-10:30 p.m. each night.  If you want to continue the party, head down to House of Loom for a nightcap...

Weeknight Grey Goose VIP Pre-Parties will be held in the education room at KANEKO, which can be entered through the doors off of 12th St.  Finale Grey Goose VIP Pre-Party will be in the main show space at KANEKO (Bow Truss Hall), which can be entered through the doors off of Jones St.

What's up with the parking situation? OFW provides parking for VIP ticket holders all week and a limited number of spots for Reserved ticket holders on the Finale.  Here's the scoop:

Weeknight VIP parking is on the Southeast corner of 12th & Jones.  Pull up and show your tickets to our friends from Counterparts Concierge who will be monitoring the lot.  Then just walk across the street to KANEKO and enter through the West doors, which will take you right into the Grey Goose VIP Party where you'll enjoy drinks from House of Loom and take photos on the Borsheims Red Carpet.

Finale VIP ticket holders will receive valet parking for two vehicles per table.  The valet stand will be located at 11th & Jones right in front of KANEKO.  Pull up, show your tickets and walk into KANEKO through the East doors where you'll enter the Grey Goose VIP Party, enjoy drinks by House of Loom and take photos on the Borsheims Red Carpet. If your table reaches the two-car valet limit, you'll be directed to the free parking lot at the Burlington Train Station, again show your tickets to the attendants.  From 7-8 p.m. Ollie the Trolly will be running VIP guests from KANEKO to the event, which is one block East of where it has been in the past, this year between 9th & 10th on Jones.

Weeknight Reserved ticket holders can park in any city lot or metered space.  Metered spaces are free after 5 p.m. and city lots are about $8.  We recommend the lot on the Northeast corner of 11th & Jones because it is close the venue and has a staircase that will take you right down to the intersection where KANEKO is located.

Finale Reserved ticket holders can park in the Burlington Train Station lot for free (limited number of spaces available), pay for a spot in a city lot or get lucky with a free metered space.

What happens after the show? Immediately following each weeknight show, we'll have the Metro Magazine Designer Reception, which is your opportunity to meet the designers, see the clothes up-close...and buy!!  We hope you'll consider supporting our independent fashion designers.  They've poured countless hours since April into their collections.  Remain in your seats after the show...reception starts with the announcement of each designer, who will enter the show space from the backstage area with their rack of clothes.  This is a big moment for each designer - be sure to clap loud, cheer and give a standing ovation to your favorites!!

Immediately following the Finale, we'll move the party to the Burlington Train Station for the OFW Official After Party hosted by House of Loom.

What happens if it rains on the Finale? Rain shmain.  We will tent all 17,000 square feet of the event if mother nature decides not to cooperate.  The show will go on!

We look forward to seeing you alongside the runway next week!

Ciao!

Brook Hudson