Aerialists in Toronto
Launched in the fall, No Parachute Theatre is an aerialist and dance company headed by Katelyn McCullouch. The ensemble consists of three female performers, and the troupe is available as event entertainment.
Photo: Courtesy of No Parachute Theatre
Live Karaoke in Washington
HariKaraoke Band, a live four-piece band that backs amateur singers, can play for corporate groups in the Washington area and offers a catalog of more than 300 songs that guests can sing along to on stage via an iPad displaying lyrics. And if a performance is truly painful, guests can bang on a gong à la The Gong Show—all in good fun, of course. Pricing starts at $1,050 for two-hour events.
Graffiti Teambuilding Classes in San Francisco
San Francisco street-art gallery 1:AM hosts graffiti-themed teambuilding activities for groups of 15 to 25. Most teams opt for the three-hour “whole works” workshop, which includes an introduction to the history of graffiti, a mural walk tour, and hands-on T-shirt stenciling and mural production sessions. Activities can be customized, and prices range from $80 to $200 per person. If the workshop takes place during regular gallery hours, a $300 closure fee applies.
Photo: Courtesy of 1:AM
Painting Classes in San Diego
Painting & Vino offers groups the chance to learn painting skills while sipping wine. The company provides the paint, brushes, aprons, canvases, and an art instructor who guides guests as they paint a selected work of art during the two- to three-hour class. The cost starts at $45 per person, not including food and beverages, with a 15-person minimum.
Courtesy of Painting & Vino
Graffiti Teambuilding Classes in Philadelphia
Street art tourism company Graff Tours offers tours and learning experiences that explore graffiti culture in Center City and South Philadelphia. Teambuilding activities include 90-minute lessons led by professional graffiti artists and construction of a collaborative mural. Ninety-minute tours start at $15 per person, and workshops start at $45 per person.
Photo: Courtesy of Graff Tours
Dancers in Orlando
Drip combines live music and dancers who utilize elements such as sand, paint, and water in an up-close, sexy performance before an audience that stands for the duration of the show. The production opened in November 2012 in a new 5,100-square-foot venue on International Drive. Groups can book a private performance for 300 people. The venue is also available for concerts, art shows, and other purposes.
Photo: Marc harmon
Theatrical Entertainment in New York
Available for bookings in New York through Elan Artists, Earth Harp Entertainment is a collective of musicians led by artist William Close, who was featured on America’s Got Talent. The Earth Harp is a string instrument that is rigged to the surrounding architecture and environment with strings that can extend to as many as 1,000 feet. The performer plays the musical instrument-installation combination by running his or her hands along the strings to create cello-like tones. Accompanied by percussion and other instruments, performances can range from ambient and trance-like to theatrical and energetic.
Photo: Courtesy of Elan Artists
Liquor Tastings in New York
Add an educational element to an event’s liquor offerings with a tasting bar and a spirits sommelier. “Alcohol professor” Adam Levy from All Spirits Events can gear tastings towards topics like Whiskies from Around the World or Craft Spirits From New York State.” Because the company is not tied to specific brands, it can provide a variety of liquors.
Photo: Paul Martinka
Trivia Events in New York
NY1 morning news anchor Pat Kiernan has joined forces with trivia event production company TrivWorks to host live trivia entertainment and teambuilding activities for corporate groups. Kiernan-hosted events typically start around $10,000 and include pre-event planning assistance, 40 custom trivia questions (with Kiernan’s personal counsel), plus an iPod round and picture round, one-on-one mini games between each round, a high-stakes showdown finale between the top two teams, a staff of runners to collect score sheets, audiovisual equipment, and prizes. The company has produced events for as many as 300 people.
Photo: Patrick Donahue/Super Duper Photographic
Soccer Teambuilding Events in Miami
With three F.I.F.A.-regulated outdoor fields, Soccer Town opened in March 2012. They can be combined into one large field for teambuilding events, parties, and coaching sessions. The fields are lit for night play.
Photo: Matt Horton/Artist Group Photography for BizBash
Live Portrait Sketching in Miami
Erin Una Chainani offers live portrait sketching throughout South Florida. Drawings typically feature fluorescent colors, but she can sketch in any requested color combination. The cost averages around $150 per hour, with reduced rates for charity events.
Photo: Courtesy of Erin Una Chainani
Walking Tours in Miami
The Discovery Miami Beach Audio Tour is a 90-minute audio presentation that delves into the South Beach area’s architecture, celebrity culture, and hotel landmarks; the tours are available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. For groups of at least 10, the program can be combined with bus passes, bike rentals, or a luxury tour bus.
Photo: Courtesy of Discovery Miami Beach
Perfume-Making Parties in Los Angeles
Fragrance company Ka-Mil-Yin can arrange perfume-making parties for a girlie group. Event packages include a display of glass cork-topped perfume bottles with 20 different oils to choose from and a fragrance mixologist to assist guests in creating their signature scents. Custom labels, which can include logos, are available for a $65 fee.
Photo: Elizabeth Messina
Illuminated Dancers in Los Angeles
Companies such as Google and Disney have booked North Hollywood-based iLuminate. The performance troupe combines art and technology to create illusions and choreography in the dark for a buzzworthy effect. Dancers wear bodysuits outfitted with wirelessly controlled lights that coordinate with the dancers’ movements. Performances by iLuminate start at $6,000.
Photo: Courtesy of iLuminate
Buggy Racing in Las Vegas
For an outdoor adventure, Sun Buggy Fun Rentals now offers daylong group tours of the Amargosa Big Dunes. After staffers show the group how to operate the buggies and navigate over the sand dunes, participants are free to explore on their own, though special teambuilding events like time trials can also be arranged. The package includes a round-trip two-hour shuttle ride to and from the Strip, lunch, and bottled water. A single-seat buggy is about $514, and a two-seat buggy is about $720, with a four-vehicle minimum to book. Discounted corporate rates kick in at around 25 vehicles or more. Sun Buggy can accommodate groups of as many as 500.
Photo: Courtesy of Sun Buggy Fun Rentals
Rat Pack Impersonators in Las Vegas
The Rat Pack Tribute is an homage to ’60s-era Vegas. Spot-on Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin impersonators sing their respective hits and banter with one another in character. The Las Vegas-based act can be performed as a 90-minute theater-style show with a visit from a faux Marilyn Monroe or as a shorter opening-act style bit.
Photo: Courtesy of The Rat Pack Tribute
Scavenger Hunts in Dallas
The Go Game provides technology-driven teambuilding events, including a smartphone scavenger hunt through downtown Dallas’s historic west end area. Groups from five to 10,000 follow custom routes that can include location-based puzzles or company-specific trivia. Costs vary; contact for price quotes.
Photo: Amanda Boggs
Mobile Pub Crawl in Chicago
The Pedal Pub puts a bar crawl on wheels. The driver takes groups of 16 through neighborhoods such as Ukrainian Village and the West Loop. Guests cannot drink while the vehicle is in motion, but hosts can supply food and beverages to be consumed while it’s parked on private property. Available April through October, fees range from $160 to $190 per hour.
Photo: Courtesy of Pedal Pub
Soul-and-Blues Band in Chicago
The Great Divide is a Chicago-based soul-and-blues rock band that is available for corporate events. The group has played at festivals like South by Southwest and has also entertained crowds at events for brands like Timberland.
Photo: Cory Dewald
Body Painting and Airbrush Tattoos in Boston
Gin C Productions provides airbrush face painting and tattoos, living art statues, and body painting for corporate and nonprofit events. As roving entertainment, the company can body paint models or waitstaff with custom stencils, and jewelry embellishments and custom headpieces are also available.
Photo: Avrian
Mixology Classes in Boston
Chef Ken Oringer’s adjoining restaurants Clio and Uni, inside the Back Bay’s Eliot Hotel, underwent renovations in February 2012. They now host two-hour cocktail classes for 20, headed by respected mixologist Todd Maul. Maul’s unusual techniques include smoking glassware, ice garnishes, and citrus painting.
Photo: Melissa Ostrow
Corporate Event DJ in Boston
With experience spinning at weddings, clubs, universities, and nonprofit and corporate events, DJ Addam Bombb uses Denon CD turntables—no iPods, preplanned sets, or sync-button mixing allowed. The remix producer customizes sets based on clients’ musical preferences. His typical rates for nonprofit and corporate events range from $1,400 to $2,200. Preferred dates are best secured nine to 15 months prior to an event.
Photo: Greg Cooper
Mobile Photo Booth in Austin
Photographers Chris and Yvonne Johnson of Austin Imagery Photography have converted a vintage 1967 Airstream trailer into a mobile photo booth that event guests can climb aboard for impromptu photo shoots. The Airstream Photo Booth, which has instant Facebook uploading capabilities, offers packages from $1,150 that include as many as three hours of on-site photos and USB digital image delivery.
Photo: Courtesy of Airstream Photo Booth
Imax Theater Rental in Atlantic City
The Tropicana Casino and Resort’s new Imax 3D Theatre, on the third floor of the Quarter, is the only movie theater in Atlantic City. The 55-foot-tall screen is available for private screenings for groups of 50 to as many as 280; rental prices vary.
Photo: Courtesy of Tropicana Atlantic City Casino and Resort
A percussion group dressed as construction workers used some unusual instruments to perform for guests at the Cirque du Soleil-inspired holiday party for Traffic Control Services, held at its corporate office in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, in December 2014. The event was designed by Camp Hill, Pennsylvania-based catering and events company JDK Group.
Photo: Samuel Costello Photography
At the Groupon party, held at the Aragon Ballroom in December 2014, guests posed in front of a striped circus tent backdrop. The event was inspired by the Chicago World's Fair.
Photo: Sheri Whitko
Best Nonprofit Event Concept—Budget Under $250,000
Smithsonian Gem Collectors Dinner
Submitted by National Museum of Natural History
Last year’s Smithsonian Gem Collectors semiannual meeting, held at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., had an “All Things James Smithson” theme in honor of Smithsonian namesake James Smithson. The centerpiece dinner of the two-day event included authentic period-appropriate details such as a 19th-century-style tavern, which was created on the museum’s balcony, as well as a menu inspired by Smithson’s favorite recipes.
Photo: Courtesy of the National Museum of Natural History
Best Rooftop Space
Flight Deck at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York is home to the space shuttle Enterprise, the world’s fastest jet, a Cold War-era submarine, and the Intrepid aircraft carrier. The flight deck houses the majority of the aircraft collection and offers sweeping views of the Hudson River and the New York City and New Jersey skylines. Events on the flight deck can gain access to the museum’s collections.
Photo: Courtesy of the Intrepid Sea, Air, & Space Museum
