One thing you might consider is keeping the number of characters to a limit and using a title tag to display the full event title so when moused over you see it. You can see something very similar in how the thread titles are handled here:
http://www.stand318.com/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi - those that are too long get the '...' treatment and mousing over them gives you the full title.
ummm... mebbe you've already covered that somewhere here
