Although events carrying a patriotic theme may be the most requested by planners holding meetings in Philadelphia, Mike Lyons, DMCP, president and CEO of Global Events Partners—GEP Philly for short—recommends taking an alternative tack to truly wow an audience.
“Guests often want Ben Franklin, Betsy Ross and the fife and drum corps to greet them, but there’s so much else about the local culture we can use to create a memorable event,” he says. “A couple of years ago, we did one for PCMA’s convention that they are still talking about. They had had their first convention here in 1956 and returned for their 50th anniversary, so we did a ‘Music Through the Decades’ party at the convention center. Each of five spaces showcased the music of one decade, like go-go dancers and an Austin Powers lookalike for the ’60s, a John Travolta lookalike and disco for the ’70s, and so on.”
One association group recently produced an American Bandstand event, and because Philly was the home to the iconic show, GEP brought in members of the original Bandstand cast to greet and dance with guests.
“Our main objective is to have lots of interactive things for guests to do, not just a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres standup kind of thing,” Lyons says. ”Depending on the occasion, that might be line dancers or country singers to instruct guests, a ride the bull competition, and so on.”
For upscale and elegant, GEP likes the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, located a couple of blocks from the Pennsylvania Convention Center. This piece of Victorian architecture offers excellent interior space for high-end occasions that call for the best decor, flowers and linens for about 200 people, he says.
Options abound inside Independence National Historical Park, ground zero for Center City Philadelphia.
“The National Constitution Center, a 5-year-old museum at one end of Independence Mall, is wonderful for events because it has multiple levels and great bare space for themed parties,” Lyons says. “We recently did an event for a large convention that we themed with earth, water, fire, and air elements. The water room, for instance, was done in blues with lovely lighting and an ice sculpture over which drinks cascaded. The front of the building was awash in red, white and blue lighting. Events aren’t allowed in the museum portion of the center, but people had access to it during the event.”
The National Constitution Center can host up to 2,000, says Lyons, who recommends Max&Me Catering as a great in-house provider.
Of course, if you really crave that historic touch, you can always hire Ben Franklin impersonator Ralph Archibold and Betsy Ross impersonator Linda Wilde, who actually just tied the knot in June!
