7 Ideas for Fall Entertaining in Chicago

With new locations in Rosemont and Naperville, iFly Indoor Skydiving offers a unique group activity: participants "fly" or float on a column of air that's generated by winds blowing at 75 to 175 miles per hour. The venues are available for corporate outings for as many as 50 guests; as many as 12 guests can participate in the flying at once. Before the activity, all guests take a brief course that covers body positioning and hand signals for flying; they then suit up with helmets, flight suits, ear plugs, and goggles. The venues also offer corporate boardrooms that groups can use to hold meetings before or after the activity.

Foxglove Studio is a new floral company that provides arrangements for weddings, corporate events, meetings, and gastronomic experiences such as farm dinners. Owners describe their signature design style as "natural, whimsical, wild, and free," and they are looking forward to working with dahlias, wild grasses, and branches this fall. Each event is custom, so pricing varies. But for a full-service event on a Friday or Saturday night, rates start at $2,500. Designers request three to four weeks' notice for full-service floral design.

Pure Kitchen Catering is offering back-to-school theme meeting fare inspired by the fall season. Starting at $18 a head, the lunches and breakfasts include a jar salad, a sandwich, and chips; planners can add yogurt parfaits for $5 a head. Menu items include Southwest salad with spiced nuts and peptitas, Taleggio grilled cheese with orange-onion marmalade, and homemade granola with maple-spiced nuts.

Lil Epic Event Design, a new event and design firm, specializes in weddings but also services nonprofit and corporate functions. "We would be considered corporate-friendly and quirky," says a rep. One of the company's specialties is creating large-scale, sculptural paper backdrops for events. The custom structures typically cost $400 to $600 including setup and strike, and staffers can arrange for LED lights to shine against the backdrop.

Through her company Unveiled Wellness, local health counselor Venessa Rodriguez (pictured) leads "lunch and learn" workshops for corporate groups. After meeting with the host and assessing a group's needs, Rodriguez puts together a proposal for a one-time event or for a series of workshops. Her sessions incorporate PowerPoint presentations and Q&A sessions, and Rodriguez distributes handouts with health advice, tips, and recipes. She's spoken for corporate groups with as many as 150 guests, but is available to work with any group size. Lunch and Learn topics include "The Real Fountain of Youth: Eating for Vibrant Energy" and "10 Keys to Healthy Living: A Superwoman's Guide to Balance."

Chicago Chocolate Tours has a new arm, the Onward and Upward Travel Club. Producing incentive and leisure trips for groups of as many as 15 guests, the club focuses on exploring a city's luxury and culinary offerings. During an upcoming trip to Paris and Belgium, for example, guests will visit chocolate shops and boutiques, take an "eclair tour," take cooking classes, watch fashion presentations, visit art museums, and sample food-and-wine pairings. The trip costs $10,000 per head, land-only. Company owner Valerie Beck can also arrange custom trips for private groups and works with a travel agent who can book air transport.

Catherine Cooper, the chef and owner at Bon Macaron Chicago, recently opened a West Town bakery that's open by appointment. Specializing in gluten-free baked treats, Cooper can provide custom goods for meetings and events. Her Parisian-style macarons can be created in corporate colors and wrapped up in custom packaging. The desserts come in seasonal flavors such as carrot cake and pumpkin pie; more classic flavors include pistachio, raspberry, and salted caramel. The treats cost $2 to $3 apiece. Cooper requests around a month's notice for large event orders, and can create 24 or fewer macarons with one week's notice.