By Nancy Mann Jackson
Looking for an adventurous off-site venue for your next special event? David Rome suggests holding it at the local zoo – specifically, the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. As the Director of Sales for New Orleans-based Bonnie Boyd & Company Destination Management, Rome has organized numerous events at the zoo for various groups, and he believes the location works so well because of its versatility.
“There are a number of picnic areas and pavilions that offer an enclosed environment where you can bring your group for barbecues or other gatherings,” Rome says. “The zoo will have games already set up at the pavilions so attendees can interact and play at that location. But the best part is that, for the price of holding your barbecue, you can also go out and enjoy the zoo.”
While such events tend to be popular with reunion groups and other similar gatherings, zoos also offer options for high-end corporate and association events. For instance, Rome sometimes organizes a reception at the Audubon Zoo’s Elephant Fountain, where groups can enjoy cocktails and even an outdoor concert with local artists such as Irma Thomas or Geno Delafose. Following the outdoor reception, Rome likes to lead groups into the Audubon Tea Room, an elegant venue for seated dinners. “It really works well because you can have the elegant dinner, as well as a unique outdoor reception,” he says. “And it really brings the location to life, rather than just going to a room in a hotel somewhere downtown.”
A local zoo can be an excellent venue for meetings and events “when a client is looking for something outside of the standard four walls and a ceiling of a banquet room,” agrees Sonia Brauer, Senior Event Sales Manager for the San Diego Zoo, adding that convening at a local zoo offers opportunities for attendees to learn something new, interact with animals and with each other, and enjoy simple pleasures.
A Natural Habitat
For many people, the zoo is the place to take your children or grandchildren on a weekend afternoon outing. But if you think a zoo is just for kids, it’s time to take a closer look: In fact, many zoos offer creative, insightful packages for group events, complete with teambuilding exercises and chef-prepared cuisine. Maybe it hasn’t crossed your mind to hold your meeting’s special event night at a zoo in your destination city. But with a number of zoos offering expertise in staging memorable meetings and events, it’s an option that’s definitely worth considering.
In New Orleans, the Audubon Zoo features its own chef who can prepare an excellent menu suitable for anyone’s palate, says Sarah Burnette, the zoo’s Public Relations Director. “We can offer a unique culinary experience, from traditional Creole and Cajun cuisine to a fine dining experience.”
At a number of zoos across the country, dedicated salespeople and customer service personnel have been assigned to work exclusively with meetings and groups, demonstrating the importance of such events to the zoo business. And while major zoos like New Orleans’ Audubon Zoo and the San Diego Zoo may be the first that come to mind, they certainly aren’t the only choices for SMERF groups looking for a unique event location. In fact, a number of regional zoos also cater to groups of all sizes – and with all types of budgets.
For instance, at the Kansas City Zoo construction was recently completed on group meeting facilities that opened on June 1. The new facilities include four new classrooms with wi-fi access and projection screens, two that seat 60 people and two that seat 120 people, theater-style. These new meeting rooms, located in the Zoo Learning Center, join other meeting space already available, including a conference room that can accommodate 50 guests at 60-inch round tables; an open function area for up to 180 for a buffet-style meal or 250 theater-style; and a sunroom adorned with live plants, skylights and natural wood beams that can seat up to 100 guests at round tables, 150 for cocktails or 180 theater-style.
The Philadelphia Zoo offers a number of its exhibits for group rental. For instance, its Bank of America Big Cat Falls is a state-of-the-art, naturalistic home to more than a dozen big cats, offering an ideal indoor/outdoor venue for a 150-person reception or a 50-person sit down dinner. The zoo’s Peacock Pavilion, a permanent party tent in the Zoo Garden with a capacity of 300 for receptions and 250 for seated dinners, offers an elegant, animal-free location within the zoo – except for free-roaming peacocks, which serve as entertainment for event guests.
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More Unique Options
Not only do zoos provide the kinds of facilities planners need to produce successful gatherings, they also offer plenty of unique ideas for events that could only take place at a zoo. “Groups looking for team-building opportunities love our Zoo Scene Investigators (ZSI), program,” Brauer notes. “It is a private, guided, one-hour trek through the zoo that uses actual animal artifacts and a bit of humor to help educate attendees on the very serious subject of endangered wildlife. Teams have to work together in order to identify clues presented along the way.”
Brauer says the San Diego Zoo’s most popular program for groups is the Animal Ambassador Presentations. “The special appearance of our furry or feathered or scaly visitors is always the highlight of any event,” she explains. “Even CEOs don’t mind being upstaged by a cheetah or meerkat.”
And perhaps the best thing about using the local zoo as a meeting venue is that attendees can continue to enjoy themselves – and even bring their families – after the meeting is over. “After business is done, guests are welcome to enjoy the 100-acre zoo that’s home to over 4,000 rare and endangered animals representing more than 800 species and subspecies, and a prominent botanical collection with more than 700,000 exotic plants,” Brauer says. “You can’t see that from a hotel ballroom!”
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