When it comes to choosing an off-site location that reflects the characteristics Washington is known for, there are many ways to go. The theme can be as current as biotech innovation or as timeless as a Native American salmon bake. It can tap into Seattle’s rock music scene or celebrate rural Washington’s agricultural bounty.
From Seattle to Spokane, the Evergreen State is filled with
iconic and out-of-the ordinary choices that reflect Washington’s one-of-a-kind allure.
Signature Seattle
Washington’s major city boasts a wide menu of venues and experiences that are unique to Seattle. Of course, the most iconic of them all is the very symbol of the Emerald City itself—the Space Needle. Built for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, the 605-foot structure features an observation deck that accommodates up to 500 people for special events and boasts panoramic views of Puget Sound and the Cascade and Olympic mountains.
Hella Cascorbi, president of PRA Destination Management Seattle, is among event planners who like to use the Space Needle as a venue.
“The Space Needle is what people associate with Seattle, so if you can include it in a program, you should,” she says. “If it’s not tourist season, you can usually reserve the observation deck.”
When securing the entire deck is not possible, Cascorbi has reserved part of the deck for a cocktail reception, followed by dinner and dancing at the neighboring Experience Music Project (EMP), which is also part of the Seattle Center museum and park complex.
At EMP, the roots and impact of rock music are explored in an arresting structure designed by Frank Gehry to resemble a free-form electric guitar. The permanent collection includes an exhibit devoted to Seattle native and 1960s guitar phenomenon Jimi Hendrix.
Visitors can listen to the stories of musicians in videotaped oral history interviews and view galleries devoted to guitars and the Pacific Northwest’s own music scene. Event possibilities run the gamut from intimate dinners to parties for 3,000 people.
“It’s a great venue where you don’t need to bring in a lot of decor because there’s so much there already,” Cascorbi says. “People can use the sound labs and put together their own recordings. All the tech and audio there is top-notch, so it’s great to bring in a live band. Seattle has many great local bands, so we try and use them. People get a feel for the local music scene.”
To make an evening complete, Cascorbi likes to make use of the Monorail, another remnant of the World’s Fair, which runs from Westlake Mall in downtown Seattle to the Seattle Center.
“You can have rock star look-alikes at Westlake greeting the guests and handing them champagne as they board the Monorail,” she says. “It’s a great way to kick things off.”
Seattle’s working waterfront is the backdrop for another popular venue with local flair, Bell Harbor International Conference Center. The 57,000-square-foot facility, which offers a 300-seat auditorium equipped for simultaneous interpretation and state-of-the-art conference rooms, is used for both serious meetings and evening galas.
When designing an event for last January’s PCMA convention, Cascorbi used Bell Harbor for a party with a Seattle: The Smart City theme celebrating the metro’s role as a hub for innovation.
“We were able to use various parts of the center to showcase different time periods, including the current era with a biotech theme, which we did in the International Promenade area,” she says. “We had decor in white and lime colors, with servers in lab coats and gazpacho served in test tubes.”
Another only-in-Seattle experience is provided by Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour, a leisurely walking excursion that begins in Pioneer Square at Doc Maynard’s Public House, a restored 1880s saloon and live music venue, and proceeds through subterranean passages that were once the main roadways and first-floor storefronts of old downtown Seattle.
The 90-minute tours, which can be arranged for groups with at least two weeks notice, end up at the Rogues Gallery, a display area devoted to colorful characters from the city’s past.
Heritage Hot Spots
When it comes to experiences that get to the roots of Pacific Northwest culture, one of the biggest crowd- pleasers is an outing to Tillicum Village, which celebrates the heritage of Northwest Coast Native Americans. Groups of up to 1,000 people can be accommodated at the venue, located on Blake Island in Puget Sound.
The four-hour excursion begins with a ferry ride from downtown Seattle out to the island, where participants head for a cedar longhouse and a salmon dinner cooked over an alder wood fire. Afterward, there is entertainment by Northwest Coast dancers and the chance to explore the island.
“There really is no place like Tillicum Village,” says Terry Quick, president of Entco, a Seattle-based DMC. “One real advantage is that if the weather is nice, people can walk to the departure point right from downtown hotels. And it’s a real bargain. For about $100 per person you get a harbor cruise, dinner and a great show. What’s really spectacular is the return trip to Seattle when you see the skyline in the sunset.”
Another window onto Native American culture is the Yakama Nation Cultural Heritage Center, which is located in central Washington about 18 miles south of Yakima. The center includes the Yakama Nation Museum, featuring dioramas, historic photographs and exhibits that feature life-size replicas of traditional dwellings.
For events, the center offers Winterlodge, an extension of the museum featuring a soaring 76-foot ceiling and room for 300 people banquet style and 400 theater style.
Offering a variety of spaces for groups, the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma is filled with interactive exhibits such as the History Lab Learning Center, where visitors can play detective by uncovering historical facts through the use of artifacts, reference materials, maps, images, and other tools.
The museum also offers a Model Railroad, where visitors can climb aboard steam and diesel engines, and the Great Hall of Washington History, where interpretive exhibits allow visitors to ride a covered wagon, walk through a traditional Salish plank house and take a virtual trip down the Columbia River.
Meeting and event spaces at the museum include the Grand Lobby for gala receptions of up to 300 guests, a 200-seat auditorium, a flexible mezzanine area above the Grand Lobby, special exhibit areas, and a boardroom with a giant arched window and sweeping views of the Chihuly Bridge of Glass.
Must-See Museums
Museums devoted to the fine arts as well as to specialty subjects are plentiful in Washington. One of the most popular is Seattle Southside’s Museum of Flight, where visitors can enjoy the new Personal Courage Wing, which contains a collection of vintage aircraft, including the first Air Force One presidential jet, a Concorde jet and 28 fighter aircraft. Accommodating up to 1,000 people for a reception, the wing traces the story of flight from the dawn of aviation to the Space Age.
In addition, the museum has a full roster of event spaces that includes the Great Gallery, with its dramatic lighting and full-size aircraft suspended from the ceiling, and the Red Barn, the nearly 100-year-old birthplace of the Boeing Company.
“This is a really great venue for large groups, and you don’t need to do a lot about the decor, because it’s already there,” Cascorbi says of the Museum of Flight. “It offers flight simulators and lots of fun things to do. You can bring in aviator impersonators, pilots who are the real deal or, if there’s the budget, actors from movies such as Airplane.”
In Spokane, the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture boasts a diverse collection of artwork and historic objects, in addition to the largest collection of Northern Plateau Native American artifacts in the world. Exhibits include an extensive collection of quilts and clothing from the 19th century as well as the circa-1898 Campbell House complex, which was built by a mine owner and contains original furnishings and documents.
A wide range of event facilities includes the top floor of a new exhibition building with views of northern Spokane and built-in decor such as rotating art exhibits. The museum also offers a boardroom, a 176-seat auditorium and outdoor spaces that include a spacious plaza with an adjoining lawn and an amphitheater accommodating up to 300 people.
The Seattle Art Museum, the crown jewel of the city’s fine arts facilities, opened a new wing last year that has doubled its public and exhibition spaces. The museum maintains extensive galleries devoted to modern and contemporary art, textiles and Northwest Coast Native American art and culture, as well as galleries exhibiting art from Europe, Africa, Australia, and Asia.
Along with extensive gallery and lobby areas for large groups, the Seattle Art Museum’s new Taste restaurant sports a private dining room with seating for 32 guests. Other spaces include an auditorium, a lecture hall, a grand stairway, and boardrooms.
Farm Fresh
Among venues that celebrate Washington’s agricultural bounty is Remlinger Farms, located about 25 miles east of Seattle in Carnation. The farm encompasses pick-it-yourself berry fields as well as Farm Market, which sells produce, Washington wines and other local products, and Northwest Crafts Showcase, a gallery stocked with crafts, garden and home decor items and clothing designed by local artisans.
Popular for corporate outings, Remlinger maintains a series of lushly landscaped picnic areas accommodating anywhere from 10 to 10,000 guests.
“It’s a great place to go when the group wants to be outdoors,” Quick says. “They will do the cooking, including putting on a barbecue. And people can play softball and other games.”
For a more upscale outing, Quick likes to take groups to Herbfarm, which has been recognized by Gourmet and other top food magazines for the quality of its multicourse meals using ingredients from its own gardens as well as from small growers in the area. Located outside Seattle in Woodinville, Herbfarm serves delicacies such as handcrafted cheeses, heirloom fruits and vegetables, and artisanal caviar.
Groups of up to 90 people can book the entire restaurant, while small groups can reserve the Founders Room or Chef’s Study Library.
For More Info
Bellevue Convention Sales Group 425.637.1020 www.bellevueconventions.com
Bellingham/Whatcom County Tourism 360.671.3990 www.bellingham.org
North Olympic Peninsula VCB 360.452.8552 www.northwestsecretplaces.com
Ocean Shores COC 360.289.2451 www.oceanshores.org
Olympia/Lacey/Tumwater VCB 360.704.7544 www.visitolympia.com
San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau 360.378.6822 www.visitsanjuans.com
Seattle’s CVB 206.461.5800 www.visitseattle.org
Seattle Southside Visitor Information 206.575.2489 www.seattlesouthside.com
Snohomish County Tourism Bureau 425.348.5802 www.snohomish.org
Southwest Washington CVB 360.750.1553 www.southwestwashington.com
Spokane Regional CVB 509.624.1341 www.visitspokane.com
Tacoma Regional CVB 253.627.2836 www.traveltacoma.com
Tri-Cities VCB 509.735.8486 www.visittri-cities.com
Wenatchee Valley CVB 509.663.3723 www.wenatcheevalley.org
Yakima Valley VCB 509.575.3010 www.visityakima.com
