50 | JUNE 24 • 2021 

P

rofessional party planners are 
emerging from an unplanned 
hibernation and scheduling celebra-
tions, many of which had been canceled or 
delayed, for weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs and 
other special occasions.
Star Trax Events, based in Ferndale, pro-
vides individual services, such as parking 
and DJs, for 500 events a year. The company 
provided full-service planning for 42 events 
in 2019 and had 47 events planned for 2020 

before COVID hit. More than 
175 events have been canceled 
and another 100 rescheduled. 
“The virus killed all busi-
ness very quickly,” said Janice 
Cherkasky of Franklin, who 
has been in the party plan-
ning business for 34 years.
Dee Dee Hoffman of West Bloomfield 
had five events ready to go when 
Michigan locked down last year, includ-

ing a big bar mitzvah sched-
uled the weekend after the 
state’s stay-at-home order 
began.
Twenty of the 22 events 
planned by Susan Siegal of 
Franklin for 2020 were can-
celed. She pulled off a Zoom 
bridal shower last June. But a drive-by bar 
mitzvah party scheduled for October was 
canceled a day before by the celebrant’s 

Party planners provide post-pandemic advice.

Janice 
Cherkasky

BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Susan 
Siegal

Future-Forward

An event Dee 
Dee Hoffman 
planned in March

DEE DEE HOFFMAN FACEBOOK

