9 Whacky and unusual venues across the U.S

9 Whacky and unusual venues across the U.S

by | Aug 21, 2021 | Plan & Create

With the United States spanning a massive 3.8million square miles, there is an abundance of venues for you as the event planner to choose. This list won’t show you every option available in the U.S.; however, it aims to show you the wide range of unique venues available for your future events. If you’re looking for venues that will leave a lasting impression on your guests, look no further. Sit down, grab a beverage and your event planning notebook and let’s look at nine whacky and unusual venues across the U.S.  

1. Free Gold Watch: San Francisco  

Location: Free Gold Watch, 1767 Waller St, San Francisco, CA 94117, United States 

Free Gold Watch is an excellent venue for any event planner who wants to show off their geeky side and have their event take place in this tucked away arcade with over 50 pinball machines available. Free Gold Watch started as a t-shirt printing shop; however, they started accumulating pinball machines over time and became the largest pinball arcade in the city. This pinball arcade is an excellent venue for networking events, team building getaways, small workshops and general mixers. This space has the versatility and flexibility to cater for both formal and informal occasions. The arcade is a venue that encourages friendly competition and collaboration, which not only boosts your event’s productivity, but it’s one that your guests will honestly remember. 

 

2. House of eternal return, meow wolf: New Mexico 

Location: 1352 Rufina Circle, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507, United States  

House of Eternal Return resulted from George RR martin buying a vacant bowling alley and leasing it to a team of 135 creative artists known for creating elaborate and interactive art installations. The House makes its guests follow a narrative in which an extra-terrestrial event causes the nature of space and time to warp; thus, creating 70 otherworldly interconnecting rooms, including luminescent caves and an enchanted forest. The House of Eternal Return is possibly the most unique venue for an event such as team building workshops, mixer parties or whacky product launches. This space will awe your guests into a productive and creative trance that will transform their way of thinking and elevate your event’s success. Creativity is the name of the game at the House of Eternal Return, so enable the inner creative and wow your guests by hosting your event here. It’s an out of this world experience that your guests won’t forget! 

 

3. Trinity place bank vault 

Location: 115 Broadway, New York, New York, 10006, United States  

Own the vault at Trinity Place Bank Vault! A hidden, swanky bar set within an old 1904 bank vault in the heart of New York’s financial district. Take your Guests to a swish bar steeped in history. At each end of the bar at Trinity Place Bank Vault, there remain the original 5-inch-thick steel walls, which will give your attendees the sense of how impregnable the old vault was. Trinity Place Bank Vault is the perfect place for an exclusive networking event, product launch or fundraiser event that will show your guests you mean business. Its modern jazz style bar area will be an excellent place for your guests to unwind and mingle and for your event to flourish. Secure your guests at Trinity Place Bank Vault and take them to an unforgettable venue full of drinks, food and history. 

 

4. The Blue Lounge, museum of pop culture 

Location: 325 5th Avenue North Seattle, Washington 98109, United States 

The Blue Lounge is ample space for intimate gatherings ranging from small workshops, business meetings, networking events, and general mixers. The Lounge is a contemporarily designed space with balcony views of Sky Church within the museum itself. Your guests will enjoy this space’s intimacy and its relaxed and comfortable atmosphere but without the feeling of being cramped or stuffy. The Lounge comes with elevator access to the central galleries, meaning you can take your guests around the museum, stun them with iconic exhibits of pop culture and then head back to The Lounge and dazzle them with your presentation. This space’s atmosphere is perfect for inspiring your guests to create new and iconic ideas that will inspire. 

 

5. Garfield Park Observatory 

300 N Central Park Ave, Chicago Illinois 60624 United States 

This hidden gem right in the centre of Chicago is a stunningly beautiful venue to host your event.  When in a big city, it’s hard to find a place where you can relax and feel like you can breathe some fresh air; with the Garfield Park Observatory, you can relax and feel at ease surrounded by some of the world’s most beautiful flora. Why not give your attendees a walk on the wild side in this venue and host your own: product launch, workshop, conference, business meeting or networking event in this jungle in the city?  With 2 acres of indoor greenhouse space, you can be sure that your guests have the freedom to explore both the Gardens and your creative concepts, which you can proudly show off within this “landscape art under glass”.  

 

6. Treehouse Point 

Location: 6922 Preston-Fall City R.D. S.E., Issaquah, Washington, United States  

Twenty miles from Seattle resides treehouse point, a small eco-resort home to 6 unique treehouses that offers beautiful views and hosts activities like hiking and winter activities. Treehouse point feels like an adventure world away from the city and the hustle and bustle of everyday life, which will reflect in the productivity of your: product launch, team getaway, seminar and workshop as the restraint of city ideas and city thinking no longer apply. Creativity is the main aim of any event you host as the event planner so take your guests to the forest, where the foundations become the foundation of your future ideas. 

 

7. Slate NYC

Location: 54 West 21st Street NYC 10010 

Slate New York is an exclusive bar and lounge within the heart of Chelsea. Slate offers your guests a fun and entertaining space where your attendees can unwind from everyday business and let out their inner child with the area, including ping-pong, bowling and an indoor 20-foot slide from the upper to lower levels of the building. This venue is perfect for networking events, business team getaways and informal, intimate gatherings. Slate is an excellent place where your guests can relax within a dynamic 16,000 square foot space that will allow your guests to unwind. Your event at Slate can show that you work hard and play hard. 

 

8. Seattle Space Needle 

Location: 400 Broad Street, Seattle, WA 98109-4607 

The Seattle Space Needle is the perfect venue to stun your guests with picturesque views of Seattle as well as the Olympic and Cascade mountains across the skyline. The Needle, with the world’s first glass revolving floor, will sweep you off your feet at a staggering 500 feet above the city. Every level of this venue will heighten your guests’ creativity, and the views of the city are an awe-inspiring addition. Whether you’re hosting product launches, seminars, workshops, networking events or mixers, the Needle is undoubtedly a perfect fit. Night-time events are also ideal at the Needle, with the astonishing views providing a relaxed atmosphere. 

 

9. Museum of Neon Art 

Location: 216 S Brand Boulevard, Greendale, California 91204, United States 

The Museum of Neon Art was founded in 1981 by artists Lili Lakich and Richard Jenkins and now is home to a wide variety of Neon signs. This collection consists of signs from Brown Derby and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and upcoming neon artists. With over 5,000 square feet of space, you can dazzle your guests with the bright, colourful neon lights which inspire creativity and artistry. The Neon art collection is the best backdrop for various events ranging from product launches, networking events, seminars and workshops.  

 

At Helm, we try to inspire creativity within you as the event planner to inspire the same creativity within your guests through the venues you choose. And we feel the best way to do that is to use unique venues that isn’t just bland old office space but a bold statement that speaks volumes about you and your event. Much like those who sailed on the mayflower all those years ago, we urge you to take the Helm and explore new ideas and venues that you may never have thought about before to make your event the best it can be.  

Market Your Event Like A Pro: 8 Effective New and Traditional Ways to Promote your Upcoming Event

Market Your Event Like A Pro: 8 Effective New and Traditional Ways to Promote your Upcoming Event

by | Aug 12, 2021 | Promote

You’ve put in the work. Set the date. The venue is booked. All the details are polished. Now you’re left with the last bit of work – market your event. A little worried? We’ve got you covered.

We have listed eight of the most effective ways to market your event so you can easily encourage people to show up and fill up the venue with the buzz and chatter – leaving a great impression on your guests and making it an ultimately successful one.

 

1. Optimize your Event Page or Website

The basic and yet the most powerful tool to help you promote any event lies in your event page or website. Whether it’s a page hosted on your website or listed on a different platform, a compelling and well-optimized website will immediately grab the attention of page visitors, converting them into guests.

A well-optimized event page or website should include the full and necessary details of your event. Write a compelling event description on why guests should attend alongside event photos and videos, speakers’ bios, a registration button, and a payment link for tickets.

Use usability testing to know whether the design of your page is relevant enough to users to make them engage with you. Leverage analytics to help you decide whether your event page is effective and analyze how many of your page visitors might turn into attendees.

 

2. Leverage the Power of Social Media

An event is a social occasion, so why not use social media platforms to help you generate the buzz you want?

With their massive user outreach, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn can benefit event promotion.

You can try doing the following on social media:

  • Include the event page on your social media bios to send visitors straight to your event site.
  • Creating a short, catchy, and unique event hashtag to use on all your social media posts would prove valuable. It allows users to find content related to your event easily. You can use this hashtag for pre-event promotions such as contests or promotions, real-time event posts, as well as post-event roundups. The use of hashtags will also allow for user-generated content from your guests. What a great PR move, right?
  • Join different groups on Facebook and LinkedIn to promote your event. There are tons of groups on these platforms, but make sure you find the relevant ones to attract the right audience.
  • Generate compelling social media content. Dynamic and exciting content apt for different platforms will help you reach the right people. Depending on the nature of the event you’re hosting, play around with it to help you create the content needed to boost your event.
  • Lastly, don’t forget to post updates. Let users know how and where to register, when the registration ends, how much the tickets are, etc., right on their social media accounts.

 

3. Use QR Codes

Quick Response (QR) codes have been around for some time now and are famous for their ease of convenience. And since most smartphones have built-in QR code readers, you can utilize this technology for some incredible and fun event promotion stunts.

You can include QR codes in all the promotional items you print, like traditional billboards or digital banners. Allowing users to quickly get the details of your event by just a simple scan.

 

4. Hand Out Branded Merchandise

Who doesn’t love free stuff? Hand out exclusive, branded merch to help promote your upcoming event. These can include branded caps, tote bags, pens, or even digital kits like cable organizers.

If you are promoting a regular event, hand out the merchandise after every event to help guests remember to sign up for the next ones.

 

5. Create Dynamic and Exciting Content

Pull in attendees by generating photo and video content relevant to the people you want to attract.

Try creating infographics to help people understand the value of your event and why they should attend.

Video forms of content work well when done right. They have the potential to go viral hence it’s vital to create videos that work to your advantage. You can try creating short and subtle videos to pique the interest of users in your event. And then create a long-form one to explain why this event will be beneficial to them.

You can also share photos or videos that include previous event highlights, trivia related to your event, or even feedback quotes from previous attendees. Just make sure your content uses the same branding to ensure consistency and is all visually attractive so you can take your event to the spotlight it deserves.

 

6. Put up Banners and Print Outs

As much as digital promotion works, the traditional form still holds power. There is nothing like putting up a printed banner and handing people printouts in high-traffic areas to generate the buzz needed for an upcoming event.

Banners and leaflets are robust and are highly effective, especially when promoting a local event if the venue allows a banner to be displayed, put up one leading up to the event.

 

7. Utilize Influencer Marketing

A truly effective marketing tactic, influencer marketing should be on your event promotion to-do list. A study suggests that it provides 11x higher ROI than usual banner ads.

Strong partnerships with the right people who have loyal followers can put your event in front of a massive audience. More people seeing your event, more attendees are most likely to sign up.

Collaborate with a relevant influencer, like an industry expert or an advocate identifying with your brand.

 

8. Use Email Marketing Tactics

Email marketing is an effective digital channel to use when you want to directly reach people and a great way to market your event.

The power of a great mailing list plus promotion can never go wrong. Here are a few ideas to help you:

  • Special group rate for people signing up together
  • Announcement when special tickets go on sale (early bird, last chance, etc.)
  • Exclusive previews of event speakers and activities

Event promotion can be a little daunting if you don’t know where to start. But with the help of these eight proven and effective techniques, you are sure to get on the right track to market your event. Start promoting your event and get ready to fill in those seats in no time!