| EVENT REPORT 07.27.09 5:21 PM |
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Shedd Aquarium Creates Eco-Conscious Fund-Raiser With Sunflowers, Compost Stations
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 | Venetian Night fireworks over Lake Michigan
Photo: Mireya Acierto for BizBash |
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On Saturday night, the Shedd Aquarium's Blu event served a double purpose: Along with raising funds for the Great Lakes Conservation Awareness Initiative and the Making Waves campaign, which provides funds for transporting and feeding the aquarium's animals, the benefit gave guests a lakeside spot from which to check out Venetian Night (No. 3 on our list of top parades). The theme for this year's boat procession was "Hollywood on the Lake," and as vessels decked in Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean tropes floated by, about 700 cocktail-attired guests looked on from the aquarium's two terraces and an upper-level V.I.P. lounge.
Katrina Clark, the Shedd's program manager of donor relations and special events, said that going green was a major focus for this year's benefit, which is a project of the aquarium's auxiliary board. Inside, guests visited tasting stations from more than 20 local restaurants, using compostable dishes and flatware to sample items such as Wow Bao's steamed buns and Eve's vanilla-poached sturgeon. Several of the evening's food vendors are partners of the aquarium's Bite Right program, which promotes sustainable seafood; and in lieu of bottled water, staggered drop trays offered carafes of tap water and Shedd-branded compostable cups. Around the event, stations were devoted to recycling, composting, and waste; "most of the products fit into the compost or recyclable categories," Clark said.
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RELATED TOPICS
Shedd Aquarium, Making Waves, CS, Great Lakes Conservation Awareness Initiative |
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| FEATURE 07.07.09 3:39 PM |
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Chicago's Top Benefits 2009
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 | Ellen DeGeneres and a Make-a-Wish recipient
Photo: Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois |
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1. Green Tie Ball
Held in support of Chicago Gateway Green’s mission of beautifying area roadways, this ball draws the largest crowd of the season. Around 3,000 guests take part in charitable gaming, live entertainment, and tastings from dozens of area restaurants. Last year’s event raked in $500,000.
2. After School Matters Gala
The 2008 gala made a splash with its unconventional venue: an under-construction runway at O’Hare airport. Some 2,400 guests browsed a youth art auction and raised $3.5 million for after-school programs. The 2009 fund-raiser for Maggie Daley’s pet charity will take place in September.
3. Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Chance of a Lifetime Gala
The most extensive silent auction in Chicago (500 lots, with everything from restaurant packages to trips) is the focus of this 2,000-guest event, which in 2008 raised $2.6 million and featured singer Steve Winwood. The 2009 incarnation is set for December 12.
4. Chicago Urban League Golden Fellowship Dinner
Major players in the city’s political, corporate, and social circles attend this annual event, where past guests have included Barack Obama and Johnson Publishing Company’s Linda Johnson Rice. In 2008, the evening drew 2,000 guests and raised $1.9 million for the civil-rights organization. This year’s dinner is set for November 7.
5. American Cancer Society Discovery Ball
Charlie Trotter designed the cocktails for the 2008 ball, which raised $2.1 million and featured acrobats and a performance by jazz icon Herbie Hancock. This year’s event took place at the Civic Opera House on April 25; some 1,000 guests attended.
6. Children’s Memorial Hospital Children’s Ball
In 2008, the 50th anniversary ball for 1,200 was held at the Hilton Chicago. The Medical Research Institute Council’s 2009 event on December 12 will build on the momentum of excitement generated by a new hospital building currently under construction in Streeterville.
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RELATED TOPICS
Chicago's Top 100 Events, Chicago Gateway Green, Maggie Daley, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Steve Winwood, Chicago Urban League, American Cancer Society, Herbie Hancock, Children's Memorial Hospital, Lincoln Park Zoo, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Ellen DeGeneres, Breast Cancer Network of Strength, Shedd Aquarium, Ronald Mcdonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana, Museum of Science and Insutry |
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| VENUE NEWS 05.28.09 12:05 PM |
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Shedd Aquarium's Renovated Oceanarium Provides Event Space for 1,500 and a New Lakeside Terrace
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 | The Shedd Aquarium's Oceanarium
Photo: Courtesy of the Shedd Aquarium |
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Last weekend, the Shedd Aquarium unveiled its renovated Oceanarium. Open since 1991, the 170,000-square-foot marine mammal pavilion overlooks Lake Michigan and houses dolphins, penguins, sea otters, and Beluga whales. After a nine-month renovation—the first in the Oceanarium's history—the updated venue offers freshly coated pools, updated and new exhibits, and a new lakeside terrace that seats 140 guests. With the addition of the alfresco space, the Oceanarium can now host events for 1,500 guests during the warmer months (the untented terrace is not open during the winter). As before renovations, the interior can hold 1,000. —Jenny Berg
RELATED TOPICS
Shedd Aquarium |
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| EVENT REPORT 07.30.08 1:27 PM |
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Shedd Aquarium Blu Party Offers Unhindered Views of Venetian Night
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 | Venetian Night fireworks viewed from Shedd's terrace
Photo: Brenna Hernandez/Shedd Aquarium |
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Celebrating in tandem with Chicago's popular Venetian Night, an annual parade of decorated boats along the lakefront, the Shedd Aquarium's Auxiliary Society took its Blu party outdoors on Saturday. In a first for the second-annual event, guests could perch on the museum's north terrace and lawn overlooking Lake Michigan.
"We really wanted guests to utilize the lawn," said Shedd assistant director of donor relations Elizabeth Tulipana, speaking of the planning committee that included co-chairs Michael Johns and Lisa Gates. "Getting a license to take drinks onto the lawn was a process, but it was very much appreciated by the guests." Also new to this year's event: a roving band of scuba suit-wearing entertainers from Collaboraction, a local theater company.
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RELATED TOPICS
Shedd Aquarium, Venetian Night, Great Lakes Conservation Awareness Initiative, Ketel One |
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| FEATURE 07.07.08 10:00 AM |
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Chicago's Top Benefits 2008
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 | Brookfield Zoo's annual Whirl Ball
Photo: Eric Craig |
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1. Chicago Gateway Green’s Green Tie Ball
This rollicking annual outdoor event usually draws nearly 3,000 of the city’s young residents. Celebrity attendees, casino gaming tents, live music, and food from more than 65 Chicago restaurants are slated to be featured at the 2008 Green Tie Ball on September 13. Held at private event space Chicago Scenic Studios, the ball will be produced this year by Denise McGowan and Michelle Durpetti of McGowan Durpetti & Associates. The “Greenivale” theme will feature bands re-creating the sounds of Carnival in Rio. The 2007 ball raised $500,000.
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RELATED TOPICS
Chicago's Top 100 Events, After School Matters, American Cancer Society, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Chicago Auto Show, Museum of Science and Industry, Lincoln Park Zoo, Field Museum, Brookfield Zoo, Shedd Aquarium, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Butterfly Ball, Adler Planetarium, Chicago Automobile Trade Association, Heartland Alliance, Medical Research Institute Council of Children's Memorial, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Chicago Zoological Society, Alzheimer's Association, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Parkways Foundation, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Breast Cancer Network of Strength, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago Botanic Garden, Boys & Girls Clubs, Children's Place Association, Lupus Foundation |
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| EVENT REPORT 06.05.08 12:33 PM |
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Shedd Aquarium Gala Features Eight Kinds of Entertainment
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 | Dinner took place in the aquarium.
Photo: BizBash |
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Last Saturday, 1,000 guests convened on the museum campus for the Shedd Aquarium Gala. With the theme "Close Encounters," the black-tie event was spearheaded by Jennifer Baryl, the Shedd's senior director and liaison to the board of trustees; Elizabeth Tulipana, assistant director of donor relations; and volunteer chair Nancy Tague. "The Shedd gala is known to be a fun party from the most creative invitations through its execution," said Baryl. "The greatest challenge [in planning the event] is coming up with innovative ideas that guests haven't previously seen."
This year team opted to keep the crowd engaged (and surprised) with eight different forms of entertainment. As guests exited cabs or turned their cars over to the crew of valets near the museum's entrance, the Roberto Clemente High School Steel Drum Band provided a curbside welcome concert. The band members' uniforms—bright orange tees scrawled with "Close Encounters"—helped brand the event.
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Shedd Aquarium |
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