North Star Academy, a K-12, 13 charter school group in Newark, NJ, wanted to celebrate its 20th Anniversary with a pep rally-style event, inclusive of students, parents and faulty, along with outside talent to bolster the overall experience.

With Newark’s Prudential Center as a secured venue, Eventique embarked on creating a show that would encompass twelve program segments over eighty-five minutes, including a 44 elementary student performance, 13 high school students providing an oral timeline of the schools, a Drum Line x Step Team routine, keynote addresses from the executive staff of North Star and its parent company, Uncommon Schools, and a message from Senator Cory Booker. The agency secured Common, the hip-hop artist and actor, as a featured guest, as well as Q Mack, the NBA All-Star personality, to emcee the show.

Eventique was responsible for all aspects of design and branding. The creative process began by naming the event “Aligning the Stars: Celebrating the First 20 Years of North Star Academy” and creating its hashtag #NorthStar20. The agency sought inspiration from North Star’s number of schools, its astrological undertones, and Newark’s nickname “Brick City,” and created a custom in-the-round stage in the shape of a 13-point star, where LED panels around the star’s skirt projected blue bricks. The arena’s ribbon displays, jumbotrons and outdoor screens were utilized for dynamic motion graphics and parent / faculty shout-outs that tied into the school’s spirit and brand aesthetic, even down to the color of confetti for the grand finale — an emotional call-and-response with the thousands of attendees, lad by the school’s co-founder.