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From Amusing to Unforgettable: Creating Events at Missouri’s Most Entertaining Locations
by Jamie Vollmer
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While budgets are important and delicious food can add a special something, what makes or breaks an event for guests is whether it was truly amusing and unforgettable. Not unforgettable as in “I will never forget about the fire alarm and sprinklers going off.” No, more along the lines of “wasn’t it amazing when the elephant painted a picture at that cocktail party.”
A simple step to providing guests a memorable event is to choose a location created for fun. Missouri has numerous zoos, theme parks and one very special national monument that are all available for private events. These venues instantly make your guests feel like VIPs by offering easy, private access to all the special perks and amusements most visitors must stand in long lines to see.
Gateway to Fun At the Gateway Arch, event planners have a number of perks they can offer guests. “The Gateway Arch provides each client host the opportunity to offer their guests the Journey to the Top tram ride, Giant Screen Movie and Documentary—Monument to the Dream, Levee Mercantile & Museum Stores, as well as the Museum of Westward Expansion,” commented Laura Tobey, Sales Manager for the Gateway Arch. “All of these activities can make it a fantastic event, even before adding a fabulous meal and live entertainment.”
These amusing advantages, combined with the historic nature of the site, led Julie Krull with Destination St. Louis to choose the Gateway Arch for her client’s opening night reception in February of 2008. The event’s 500 guests thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to ride the tram to the top of the Arch and watch a documentary on the monument’s creation.
A Thrilling Amusement Who hasn’t dreamt of being able to skip the line at their favorite amusement park ride? Six Flags Saint Louis gives event planners the opportunity to make that dream a reality for their guests. Arrangements can be made for private rides times in the park and Hurricane Harbor Water Park.
Customization is easy at Six Flags. They have the facilities and talent on staff to fulfill just about any wish. They can add games, special performers, such as face painters, and entertainment at one of their many theatre spaces into any event. If budget allows, the entire park can be reserved for a private event.
Six Flag supports event planners and their guests with a “sound system for announcements, attendance prizes or music; customized flyers to communicate the event to those invited; discounted parking and admission tickets; professional catering staff for set-up, delivery and clean-up of event; and experienced account executive to ensure the details and execution of the event,” said Leanne Creek, Group Sales Director for Six Flags Saint Louis.
Zoo-riffic Memories
If attending an event surrounding by more than 1,000 wild animals isn’t enough, guests at the Kansas City Zoo can enjoy a train ride, a safari boat ride or a chance to meet a few rare animals on the endangered species carousel. The zoo also hosts numerous animal demonstrations including a Sea Lion Show and Elephant Painting as well as special Keeper Chats.
As Julie Neemeyer, director of marketing and membership for the Kansas City Zoo points out, “Where else can you see a kangaroo, zebra, giraffe, and ride a gorilla on the endangered species carousel?”
On the other end of the state, the Saint Louis Zoo provides an unforgettable setting for special events. From extravagant wedding receptions to professional business meetings, the flexible event spaces throughout the zoo can accommodate any function from ten people to 10,000. If an event needs to have the atmosphere of a Parisian bistro, an exotic garden or a moonlit veranda, the zoo’s event space can be transformed into a spectacular setting for any occasion.
The St. Louis Zoo offers four elegant banquet facilities as well as state-of-the-art conference and meeting rooms with a wide range of audio/visual equipment. Saint Louis Zoo Catering is a full-service caterer offering a variety of menus to satisfy any taste. Additional packages, including behind-the-scenes tours, Zoo speakers, Zooline Railroad rental and discounted tickets, are also available.
Timing and Weather
Most amusing locations were created to be public facilities. This led Julie Krull of Destination St. Louis to offer this one word of advice for those planning events in amusing locations and, specifically, the Gateway Arch, “Timing, Timing, Timing!”
During peak seasons, many of these fun venues have lengthy daytime hours and thousands of daily guests to consider. In fact, it is because of the public nature of the site that the Gateway Arch only allows private events between Labor Day and Memorial Day, their off-peak season.
Weather also plays an important role in many amusing locations. At Six Flags Saint Louis, events can only be held during the park’s regular season from early spring to the middle of fall. At the Kansas City Zoo, many of the entertaining attractions are outside, exposed to the elements, making a winter party less than ideal.
Amusing Details
Just as every site offers its own unique attractions, each site lends itself to specific types and sizes of events. At the Gateway Arch, large events are ideal. The lobby can handle a seated dinner for 500 or cocktails for 850.
“Group receptions, dinners, and parties are the best use of the venue because the size of the space is so large and open,” said Lindsey Bozeman, Sales and Marketing Coordinator.
The site doesn’t have formal meeting rooms; however, it offers two theatre spaces for speeches and presentations. The Tucker Theatre seats 280, while the Odyssey Theatre seats 235. Both theatres offer guests the opportunity to view the on-site films; however, no additional films or presentations may be played on the screens.
The Kansas City Zoo is prepared for small to mid-sized gatherings and recommends their site for picnics, birthday parties, family reunions, cocktail parties and meetings. “We have the standard meeting rooms, but breaks are with otters, sea lions, swans and more,” said Neemeyer. “One room even has its own private aquarium.”
The site boasts four classrooms with seating for 35 and a conference room that can seat up to 60 theatre-style. These rooms provide the basics for meetings, such as Wi-Fi and presentation screens. The Aquarium room seats 36 and includes an 8,000-gallon fresh water tank filled with native Missouri fish.
Cocktail parties take on a whole new feel when held in the Discovery Barn amidst ring-tailed lemurs and meerkats. In addition to the meeting rooms and Discovery Barn, the zoo has two indoor spaces for seated dinners and cocktail parties that can accommodate up to 180 seated and around 225 for cocktails.
The Living World at the Saint Louis Zoo boasts a 65-foot rotunda flooded with natural light from the glass-domed ceiling. Its two levels, with beautifully finished wood floors, offer 55,000 square feet of multi-purpose space. Plus, guests will be entertained by the dazzling biological world in the interactive exhibits of the Ecology and Animal Halls. For special presentations and entertainment requirements, there is also a 378-seat theater located in The Living World. The Living World can host 500 guests for a catered dinner or 1,000 for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.
Lakeside Café, a spectacular waterfront pavilion, provides a stunning setting for moonlit parties and functions. Lakeside Cafe’s broadly sweeping covered patio overlooks a shimmering lake filled with colorful waterfowl. The interior is spacious and grand, with soaring columns and a spectacular vaulted ceiling. Lakeside Cafe seats 300 guests indoors and can accommodate up to 800 guests when using the wrap-around patio.
Surrounded by 90 acres of wildlife, the McDonnell Center at River Camp offers floor-to-ceiling windows that provide views of Missouri wildflowers, a river bluff and cascading waterfalls. A window into the Missouri River Aquarium affords a spectacular view of paddlefish, gar and many other aquatic creatures. Included with River Camp are state-of-the-art presentation equipment, video screens and high-speed Internet access. The McDonnell Center at River Camp can host up to 200 people.
At Six Flags Saint Louis, casual events are a mainstay. Because the site can easily accommodate groups of 100 to 10,000 and offers a variety of spaces, the possibilities are endless – from fundraising to team building and brainstorming to company rewards. It was this ability to host large crowds and provide amazing fun that led Midcoast Aviation to host its Family Day for a crowd of 3,000 at Six Flags in September of 2008.
When asked what everyone enjoyed most about the day, Sara Pierce, Manager of Communications for Midcoast Aviation, replied, “The rides, of course! Actually, the site offers a variety of entertainment for kids of all ages, and adults, too.”
The group had special access to a selection of rides an hour before the park opened and enjoyed a special group gathering and meal at the site’s World’s Fair Catering Grove. The organization was so impressed that they are considering the site for future events.
Making it Unforgettable
Hosting an event at an amusing location offers planners the rare opportunity to use a venue as a catalyst for achieving the event’s goals. Amusing locations go beyond offering a fun place to gather. They allow an event to go to another level and reach guests on both an emotional and cognitive plane that the average venue can rarely achieve. So take your next event from ho-hum to unforgettable and choose an amusing location. MM&E
(Jamie Vollmer is a contributor from St. Louis, Mo.)
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