Alumni Q&A: Jordan Kallman

Jordan Kallman is the dynamic force behind The Social Concierge with a mission to help create unique events and community gatherings to enhance the culture and spirit of Vancouver.

The CapU Bachelor of Tourism Management alumnus’ innovative events and gatherings have become iconic, uniting diverse communities.

Beyond event organizing, Kallman’s philanthropic endeavours shine. His fundraisers, seamlessly woven into his events, have raised millions for local charities, leaving a lasting impact on the community.

Formerly the President and Executive Curator for TedEX Vancouver, Jordan also served on the Capilano University Alumni Association Board as Board Chair.

CapU proudly honours Kallman with the Confident Award at the upcoming 2024 Alumni Awards of Excellence.

Discover the passion propelling Jordan to remarkable philanthropy and event-organizing achievements, shaping Vancouver’s cultural narrative.

Can you share the journey behind co-founding The Social Concierge and its mission to enhance Vancouver’s culture? What led you to want to start your own business?

I was in my early 20s when The Economist described Vancouver as “mind-numbingly boring.” For a fun-loving social gatherer who lives to create a joyous vibe, that statement cut deep. I passed the article to friends while asking: “This simply couldn’t be true, could it?”

The hurt continued when the label “No-Fun-Couver” stuck hard and fast, being bandied about by naysayers in the lead-up to the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. It was in that dire identity crisis that a small group of us challenged the belief. We were not willing to let the city we loved so much settle for a simple and solitary “Thoreau-in-the-woods-walks-the-seawall” brand.

Fortunately, we weren’t alone. At the conclusion of the gold medal hockey game of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games, Vancouver exploded, finally showing the social energy potential that exists here. We carried that spirit forward.

In the succeeding decade, The Social Concierge, my event design agency, would go on to launch and expand a range of cultural festivals unique to our style.

These included an annual fashion-focused derby; the country’s single largest one-night dinner party; a grand harvest festival designed in the spirit of the legendary Oktoberfest; an architectural design showcase raising funds for charity; a cocktail-hopping trolley tour series; an operatic, duelling sword fighting tournament; annual carbon negative celebrations for Earth Day; a floral exhibition that reimagined the art of dance; a stadium-sized idea conference and a summit meant to explore cutting-edge tactics that lead to life a longer life.

Hosting the largest dinner party in Canada’s history with Dîner en Blanc for 7,000 people is no small feat. Can you walk us through the challenges and triumphs of organizing such a massive event, and how it came to be?

I remember the very first night we hosted the pop-up dinner party in Vancouver, a man came up to me in the very early stages of the event. He was flustered, mad even, grabbing me by the collar to passionately express his anger at the “disorganization.”

I politely helped him get settled in his table row, before moving on. From what I recall, the remainder of the evening was pure magic; the weather, the crowd, the music and the theme all blended together to create a very remarkable evening. But just at the end, from a dark corner of the event, that same man from earlier in the evening emerged, headed towards me. As he got closer, I thought to myself, “This is not going to be a positive conversation.”

He raised his hand, but this time, he graciously landed it on my shoulder instead, pulling me into an embrace. Straightening, he said: “Thank you for such a powerful evening. I didn’t understand what this was about earlier, but now I do. It has been the best night of my entire year.”

I’ve told this story many times. And to me, it encapsulates the challenge of changing people’s expectations, providing them with a novel experience they didn’t know they needed. It speaks to the power of togetherness, particularly after shared suffering.

That man was initially so outside of his comfort zone, the event so outside of the norm, that it was causing him quite a lot of pain and distress. He didn’t know where he stood. But in the end, Dîner en Blanc never failed to enchant, either from within or afar.

For the decade we produced it, the triumph was always making people feel euphoric, dining with a big group of best friends in a beautiful outdoor location. The hardship of forcing the change was always worth the emotional payoff.

Your events often involve unique dress codes and immersive experiences like The Cup at Hastings Racecourse. How do you approach creating these distinctive experiences? Where do you look for inspiration?

A dress code is an easy requirement for the imaginary worlds we try to create. It challenges each attendee to contribute to that world-building, using their own style and inspiration.

We love to set rules for our events and festivals, it pushes everyone outside of their comfort zones, forcing a passage into the uncertain and unknown.

Only by setting this boundary do we allow for a separation between the routine of reality and the short time we all get to gather.

You’ve been a key figure in charity events that raised millions for organizations like Variety, The Children’s Charity and Vancouver Art Gallery Foundation. What led you to become involved in fundraising and wanting to give back?

I would disagree that I was a “key figure” in the philanthropic community here in Vancouver. What I would say instead, is that we created experiences for many important causes that solidified a powerful and collective belief we have for those causes. By unlocking this heartfelt belief, shared amongst a small social group, the power of giving truly reveals itself. In-real-life experiences are ideal for this transformation.

What project are you currently focused on and what’s next for you?

We continue to produce world-class events, here and elsewhere. I am a life-long gatherer who uses the latest tools to advance our social lives in unique ways. As technologies continue to get more powerful, our social lives are continually reinvented.

I have many new experiments on the go, including a music company for the Metaverse. Every day is a thrill when I find myself at the frontiers of modern-day social life.