It’s 22 years since Alison Hibbert set up By Parallel Events, and she can state with pride that 90% of her engagements are repeat bookings and that many of her professional relationships have morphed into lasting friendships she values and nurtures to this day.
Alison’s two decades in hospitality have earned her a reputation for reliability, originality and delivery. She comes up trumps for every occasion, whether a client is after an intimate dinner for ten or a corporate function for a thousand. You see, Ms. Hibbert can match and adapt her innate practicality and creativity to meet every new challenge in the career she simply loves.
The lasting success of By Parallel Events has been down to Alison Hibbert’s hard graft, both physically and mentally, plus her clear understanding of each client’s needs and budget.
Forward planning is fundamental and the obvious key. So, when prepping for a corporate event or a product launch, consultations will start months in advance, and for a wedding, may even entail years of contact with her complimentary venue finding service thrown in. It’s no small wonder that on the ‘actual day’, Alison can preside calmly ‘in situ’, fully focused on overseeing and coordinating every aspect of the project at hand.
High standards
And to ensure everything goes swimmingly, it is not unheard of for her to remain at a venue from 7 am one morning till 3 am the next day! Only then, with mission accomplished, will she crawl her way home, exhausted but happy and bolstered by the function’s success, if not a tad high too!
You see, her goal is not solely to gain her customers’ approval and satisfaction but to satisfy her own high standards, too.
She smiles, adding, It makes me laugh a bit knowing that on a job, people see me looking quite ‘cool’ wearing a pretty dress, a drink in one hand and a clipboard in the other! But nine times out of ten, I have changed into that posh frock in the loo just ten minutes before anyone arrives. They don’t see me up ladders at 7 am or cleaning up some not-too-pleasant mess in the early hours! But that is fine and part and parcel of the work I love!’
Alison’s first step into the world of hospitality was as a fourteen-year-old waitress in Poynton, and her wages went towards the upkeep of her three horses. Interestingly, she accepted her 6 am stable-start and late-night work as perfectly normal, an attitude which would later stand her in good stead for the long, unsociable hours her career in hospitality and events would demand.
Looking back, on leaving school, Alison had already dabbled with a dismal ten-week foray into social work before enrolling and graduating in Hotel and Catering at Buxton College. Predictably, she was promoted to management in every bar and eatery where she was employed. Alison then transferred to hotel sales, event management and PR till in her early thirties she went solo, founding her own company, By Parallel Events. Its debut ‘gig’ at Daytona Go Karts was a mega tsunami fundraiser graced by supportive local telly ‘soap’ celebs.
Recession and pandemic
She recalls, “I survived the 2008 and 2009 recession and the pandemic, and now many of my clients are corporates and legal professionals – they’re regulars. Presently, there’s far less money available, and in general, formal dinners are ‘out’. But over the years I’ve hired drag queens, actors, stage and screen stars and livened up many a scene with ice cream vans, fish and chip stalls and even a fairground!
My event themes have included Bollywood, Moulin Rouge, Willy Wonka, The Greatest Showman and Narnia. My favourite time of year is Christmas, which I start thinking about in August, and for which I last year installed 20 trees around the Lowry Theatre and in town!”
Alison has, for 21 years, raised thousands via her ‘It’s not Ascot’ charity event held at the Edwardian Manchester’s Peter Street Kitchen this year, ladies as always donned large hats, wore elegant attire, watched the races via a live link and were beautifully fed and watered. And at different local venues on each first Tuesday of the month, she also runs the Manchester Market Place Business Networking Event.
Ms. Hibbert concludes, ‘I’m never bored. I do enjoy my home, my car, my cats, my lovely friends and my travel- and would also love to meet that someone special. Meanwhile, I am, as always, living life to the fullest. This job fires me up and the more I do, the more amazing stuff I want to do!’
Mobile: 0783 456 3167 / Email: alison@byparallel.co.uk
www.byparallel.co.uk / Instagram by_parallel_events
By Fay Wertheimer
