Corporate Entertainment & Activities

Nothing says summer like fresh seafood. At the Power Ball in Toronto, V.I.P. guests helped themselves to shrimp and freshly shucked oysters at a chilled seafood bar provided by Petite Thuet.

Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park just opened its first local outpost of the walled trampoline court in Torrance. The sea of trampolines, all connected to form one massive surface, includes angled trampolines that allow groups to literally bounce off the walls. The 31,000-square-foot venue can accommodate groups as large as 100.

Just right for summer entertaining, Zen Arts offers an array of entertainment options that can work over or around a pool space. “Bubble spheres” are transparent spheres that hold performers and float on water. The company started with just one, and recently expanded to six, which are now available for dramatic outdoor entertaining. Zen Arts can also bring in costumed mermaids to provide poolside drama.

For Heineken's Inspire Tour in 2010, the food was adapted to the New York market with items like Reuben sandwiches, Chinese dumplings, hot dogs, and falafels served from street carts.

Markus Daly Ryan produced Univision's Deportes launch in New York, where picnic tables formed the bulk of the seating and found lumber was turned into cocktail tables for a neighborhood-block-party feel.

At a Belvedere-sponsored event during the 2012 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, guests sat on haystacks covered with bright orange blankets and chevron-patterned pillows.

For an indoor summer-themed gathering, Swank producers used beach balls to create playful "chandeliers." Tables were covered in summery yellow and orange linens.

The recent Beverly Hills Hotel & Bungalows 100th anniversary bash kicked off with a performance by the Aqualillies, a troupe of water-ballerinas.

At last year's Stella McCartney spring preview, guests played ping-pong at a table set up outside.

Pop-a-shot basketball was a popular activity at Sunglass Hut's summer party.

Game Trucks offers mobile video game theaters as a casual teambuilding activity for corporate groups.

Blushington opened in the fall in West Hollywood and is a fun pick for a female-centric pampering event. The makeup-only salon has a smart, girlie peach-and-white look. Buyout of one room is available for eight people for $350. Two rooms hold 16 for $700, or the entire venue accommodates 28 people for $1,500 per hour, including full makeup application for all guests. The whole space holds about 75 in all for a reception.

New Movement Films has acquired a new penthouse in the Sunset Vine Tower, with the only north-facing balcony for sweeping, panoramic city views. The 1,800-square-foot space, known as Top of L.A., is available for events of about 100, and there's a pool table for casual competition or a meeting-break activity.

In the Santa Monica Mountains of Malibu is the 60-year-old Calamigos Ranch, which has several new offerings among its teambuilding activities. “Cake Wars” challenges teams to come up with a design and concept and then, using the provided baking necessities, plates of sheet cake, frosting, and decorating kits, work together to execute their projects. Afterward, all participants are invited to a dessert party with each of the cakes and a champagne toast. The activity can be done completely outdoors, weather permitting, on Calamigos' sprawling grounds.

Lucky Strike at L.A. Live has 18 lanes, billiards tables, plasma TVs, and a bar. Luxe Lounge, a private room within the venue, contains four bowling lanes, two billiards tables, and its own bar, with a capacity of 110. The Luxe Lounge also has a high-definition projection screen. For Hollywood events, there's also a Hollywood & Highland Center location.

Catalina Island is now offering what it bills as the first nighttime zip line eco-tour in California. The two-hour adventure covers three quarters of a mile on five separate lines, reaching speeds of nearly 45 miles per hour, at heights up to 300 feet above the canyon floor. At each station, guides discuss the ecology and bio-diversity of the island, as well as its nocturnal wildlife, history, and culture. Group packages that include lodging and other activities can also be arranged. 

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 holding an array of 20 different oils to chose from, a fragrance mixologist to assist guests in creating their signature scents, and custom labels (which, for a $45 graphic design fee, can include logos).

Planet Dailies L.A. and the Mixology Lounge, a new hybrid coffee shop and handcrafted cocktail bar concept from Planet Hollywood, is slated for a March opening. Mixology Lounge bartender Joseph Brooke is available to lead group classes at the new bar space or at any off-site location. Brooke can lecture on cocktail philosophy or mixing, lead tastings, talk about how to build a home bar, or cover any other custom topic.

Last summer, Montage Beverly Hills launched £10, an exclusive hideaway within the hotel that is available for private events and scotch tastings. (The space derives its name from the Scottish ten pound note which displays a rendering of the famed Macallan Distillery’s copper stills.) £10 bills itself as the only establishment in the world where guests can experience a glass of Macallan's 64-year-old whisky, priced at $64,000 per shot. (Don't worry—there are more-realistically-priced whiskys available, too.) In addition to scotch tastings, the lounge offers a range of wines and champagnes by the glass and Scott Conant’s Scarpetta Beverly Hills provides the snack menu.

Six Taste, which bills itself as the largest food tour company in Los Angeles, offers guests to experience the cuisine of specific neighborhoods during four-hour guided walking tours. Groups get the chance to sample popular dishes from five to eight different restaurants while learning about the history and culture of the area. Six Taste currently offers tours for groups as small as six in Little Tokyo, downtown, Santa Monica, San Gabriel, Arcadia, Hollywood, and Thai Town.

Activities at the Trapeze School