The travel industry buyers and exhibitors attending the U.S. Travel Association’s International Pow Wow at the Miami Beach Convention Center took over Lummus Park Sunday night for the travel marketplace’s kickoff event. Each year, the annual conference’s nightly events (a restaurant night is scheduled for tomorrow, a final wrap-up party downtown for Wednesday) are coordinated by the host city’s convention and visitor’s bureau and intended to showcase the city’s culture and woo future travel business.
The Miami Beach Convention and Visitor’s bureau enlisted Randi Freeman, president and owner of event production company Logistics Management Group, to design and produce the outdoor event, which garnered nearly 5,000 guests. Freeman contracted Florida Fence Rental Inc. to fence in the event's footprint—the park between 7th and 9th Streets—later dividing the space into three areas with Miami-centric themes: tropical, SoBe nightclub, and Deco jazz.
Barton G. provided themed decor for each of the spaces, including tiki bars in the tropical area, sparkling pink and purple linens on tables in the SoBe nightclub section, and small silver beaded lamps on tables in the jazz area. Tables, highboys, wood folding chairs, bar stools, and themed lounge groupings from Panache provided seating in each of the three spaces.
A variety of entertainment acts performed throughout the night, including salsa, hip hop, and break dancers from C&J Productions in the SoBe section, jazz singer Nicole Henry in the Deco space, and Jimmy Buffett-style band Jimmy Stowe and the Stowaways in the tropical area. The crowd gravitated towards the SoBe central stage as the evening progressed, with a few guests joining the dancers on stage near the end of the night.
Freeman set up activities in each of the themed spaces, including hermit crab racing, a decorate-your-own sunglasses station, and photo opportunities with snakes, parrots, skunks, and baby alligators from Jungle Island. Additionally, four caricaturists and two tarot card readers attracted lines throughout the night.
Sparktacular coordinated a five-minute finale fireworks show over the beach around 10:30 that stopped foot traffic inside the event and on Ocean Drive.
