From Cabo to Canada, the West Coast is famous for its beaches. Some are dramatic with waves crashing against giant boulders. Others stretch for miles with gentle surf washing over golden sand. As attendees sit inside meeting rooms and see a bit of blue Pacific through the windows, they may wonder if a quick jog to the water’s edge is doable between sessions.
Anticipating this longing for a little beach time, savvy meeting planners like to include team-building events on the sand. Although these events can be costly and logistically complicated to set up, attendees love the opportunity to be outdoors and enjoy the beauty of the West Coast.
California
Thanks to pop songs, movies and television programs, the beach culture of Southern California is known throughout the world. But before a California beach party can become a reality, meeting planners must overcome a number of challenges.
“Policies differ from one municipality to another in Southern California,” explains Ilene Reinhart, a partner with Access Destination Services, a DMC with several offices in the region. “Alcohol may not be allowed and many municipalities charge 12 to 20 percent fees for holding an event. So it’s important for us to identify the private locations and state beaches where events can be held. Bays with no ocean currents can be good options since they are safer for water sports.”
Madelyn Marusa, vice president of industry relations for PRA Destination Management in San Diego, adds other qualifiers.
“Weather and music curfews are also factors,” she says. “Temperatures do drop at night in Southern California and people become uncomfortable when the thermometer is below 65 degrees. Amplified music may have a 10 p.m. restriction, so dancing needs to be scheduled earlier in the evening. And a separate catering company may have to be hired if the convention hotel catering staff is not allowed to work off-site.”
Yet, despite many restrictions, the beaches of Southern California have been the sites of incredibly creative events. In July 2006, 400 delegates from the GN ReSound Company were invited to an event called “Surf’s Up at Camp Pendleton.” Little did the delegates know what was in store for them.
The tropical-themed party on the U.S. Marine Corps base featured an amphibious assault vehicle demonstration with three vehicles driving onto the beach during the closing notes of the National Anthem. In addition, the fireworks show concluded with a custom client logo appearing in the night sky.
To top it off, the Beach Boys performed not only for the attendees, but also for the Marines who were on the base that night.
“PRA has been holding corporate events on the beaches of military bases since 1991,” Marusa says. “It’s costly and challenging to organize because the base cannot be used for profit. So we buy our food and beverages from the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Division of the U.S. Marine Corps Base and bring in everything else ourselves. Profit from food and beverage goes to this division, which works toward the betterment of the Marines.”
Cathy Monroe, general sales manager for the Marine Corps Community Service, explains that the demonstrations are part of the training missions for the Assault Amphibian School Battalion.
“These demonstrations are not shows,” she says. “The date of the group event must coincide with the date of the training mission.”
Other team-building events popular in Southern California include sailing regattas at Dana Point, boat building competitions and beach Olympics at Doheny State Beach, kite flying contests and surf lessons in Huntington Beach, and drum circles in Laguna Beach.
“We get lots of requests for the ‘Treasure Quest on the Harbor,’” says Margie Mills, president of Coastal Connections, an Orange County-based DMC. “Up to 10 adults ride a Duffy electric boat in Newport Harbor, searching for such items as a crab, the Statue of Liberty and a napkin from a bartender. The teams are then judged on the name of their boat, how clever their song is and the artistic creation of their scrapbook.”
“The quirkier the event, the more clients like it,” Reinhart says. “We organize volleyball games played with flippers or large blow-up beach balls. Doctors and engineers prefer brainteasers, so we also have scrabble played with ping-pong balls.”
The city of Long Beach is particularly rich in providing venues for group activities by the water.
According to Michelle Manire, president of Long Beach-based CTC Destination and Meeting Management, the various salons aboard the permanently anchored Queen Mary lend themselves well for swing band parties and progressive dinners with karaoke in one room and a mentalist in another. The Aquarium of the Pacific intrigues attendees with a Behind the Scenes Tour, followed by a reception at the outdoor Shark Lagoon.
Up the coast in upscale Santa Barbara, choices include a reception and dinner cruise aboard the Channel Cat catamaran, a whale-watching excursion to the Channel Islands, a moonlit kayak tour complete with champagne, and a corporate sailing regatta aboard oceangoing yachts.
Further north in Morro Bay, kayaking is popular in the calm waters of the harbor and estuaries. Organized by Central Coast Outdoors, groups go out on half-day outings and learn teamwork through “rafting,” a maneuver that pulls all the kayaks together on the water. Kayaking excursions can be topped off with either dinner on the dunes or a hike on a deserted beach.
For a major thrill, B.J.’s ATV Rentals at Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area offers all-terrain vehicles for groups to zip up and down the giant sand dunes.
Approximately two hours south of San Francisco is the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, one of the world’s most diverse marine ecosystems. Seeing the exhibits at the Monterey Bay Aquarium prompts most delegates to want an even closer look at marine life. This can be done via sea kayaks with curious seals and otters swimming all around.
Whale-watching boat tours during the winter months show the annual migration from Alaska to Baja California of blue, gray, humpback, and orca whales. Birders like the leisurely cruise aboard a 27-foot pontoon boat on Elkhorn Slough near Monterey, which gives close-up views of hundreds of species of birds.
Oregon
While the dramatic wind-swept beaches of Oregon are spectacular in appearance, they offer plenty of challenges for meeting planners. The weather can be unpredictable. There are no power sources on the beach for lights, food service, music, or heat, and most cities have noise curfews.
“We like to suggest renting a tent for wind and temperature control, as well as for privacy from curious outsiders and our native seagulls,” says Lesle Palmeri, consultant for the city of Seaside. “Guests should also wear appropriate clothing since the beach cools down considerably in the evening.”
Weather notwithstanding, Seaside, which is located two hours from Portland and 15 minutes from Astoria, provides such team-building activities as scavenger hunts, volleyball and kite tournaments, and beach bike relays. The Best Western Ocean View Resort and the Seaside Civic and Convention Center organize events to clients’ specifications.
On the southern Oregon coast by the towns of Coos Bay, North Bend and Charleston, Wavecrest Discoveries helps meeting planners plan fishing and whale-watching excursions as well as the popular Cape Arago Tour. On this tour, groups learn little-known facts about Oregon beaches and where the treasures washed up on beaches originated. Groups can also rent dune buggies to ride over gigantic sand dunes rising up to 250 feet at the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.
In the town of Lincoln City, 2,000 handcrafted glass floats are hidden annually on the beach from October through Memorial Day to commemorate the Japanese glass fishing floats that washed up on shore for decades. Delegates who are unsuccessful in finding a float have another option. The Jennifer L Sears Glass Art Studio in town presents glassblowing demonstrations and a hands-on session to blow one’s own unique float.
Also in Lincoln City is a restaurant called Restaurant Lee Gray, the Wild Gourmet, which specializes in preparing ocean plants for human consumption. Kelp, seaweed, bivalves, and crustaceans are all on the menu. Chef Gray takes guests to the beach to examine tide pools and learn proper harvesting techniques. A tasting is available.
Washington
Seattle’s Argosy Cruises offers chartered cruises on sleek yachts, restored ferries and the Royal Argosy cruise boat. One of the most popular cruises is to Blake Island State Park in Puget Sound where delegates enjoy a salmon-bake dinner and a Northwest Coast Native American cultural performance in an authentic cedar longhouse.
Two hours from Seattle in Union, Wash., is the Alderbrook Resort & Spa, situated on the shores of the Hood Canal on the Olympic Peninsula. Outdoor activities include kayaking on the Hood Canal and Beach Olympics with bocce ball contests.
In the northernmost part of the state is Rosario Resort & Spa, an historic hotel on Orcas Island, which is part of the San Juan Islands. The historic hotel sits on 30 acres of waterfront property overlooking a marina where its two-masted schooner, the Morning Star, is docked. Private whale-watching, kayaking, and sailing excursions can all be arranged.
British Columbia
“Vancouver and Victoria are known for their outdoor lifestyle, yet clients are surprised when we suggest outside activities,” says Vivian Farkas, president of Rare Indigo Adventures, a Vancouver-based DMC. “Our coastline is full of beaches and inlets which provide calm water for water activities. Building sand castles is becoming more popular. For an upcoming event, world sculptors will be attending.”
A Canadian version of the Lifeguard Games is another favorite team-building event. Competition includes mini rowboat races, an obstacle course and wheelbarrow races.
“It’s fun to act like a kid again,” Farkas says. “But we always plan one competition that is more cerebral, such as identifying ocean life by smelling, feeling and possibly tasting it.”
Baja California
Adam Lawhorne, president of Meeting Incentive Experts, specializes in Baja California, which he says has its own set of challenges. There are no swimmable beaches on the Pacific Ocean and very few on the Sea of Cortez. Furthermore, supplies for team-building games cannot be purchased easily in Cabo San Lucas, whereas bringing in items from the U.S. causes havoc in customs.
Nevertheless, ingenuity wins out in the end. Popular team-building events include the Guacamole Games, with delegates riding donkeys that are impossible to budge, and a boat building competition on Medano Beach, that gives delegates 50 minutes to construct a floating vessel from cardboard, two-by-fours and duct tape.
A lavish event, which plays up the history of the area, is the Pirates of the Caborrean, held at the Dreams Resort and Spa in Cabo San Lucas. After a cruise onboard a replica of a pirate ship that shoots fireworks from a canon, delegates arrive on shore to witness a “fight” between rival buccaneers. As a bonfire is lit, the band starts playing. Everyone is dressed as pirates—performers, staff and, of course, the meeting attendees themselves.
Best of all, no one needs to walk the plank.
