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New Orleans, Louisiana
A medical company hired Schreiber Event Planning to show 800 conventioneers how lively, exuberant, and decadent the Big Easy can be. This party, which lasted over four hours, was one of our more extravagant accomplishments.
The first stage of the event involved a Mississippi River cruise on a luxury paddle wheeler, the Creole Queen. We shuttled the guests to the dock from various hotels, and then arranged a traditional “second line” parade with the musicians leading them to the boat in style playing Dixieland jazz. Upon boarding, each guest received strands of Mardi Gras beads to wear with the medical company’s logo, plus a map of all the boat’s activities especially designed for the evening.
The Creole Queen has three levels, and each level was outfitted with its own distinctive theme—a Mardi Gras festival, a jazz speakeasy, and a gambling den. Our decorators gorgeously appointed each level in accordance with its theme, with different music and delicious food throughout the different locations on the boat. Caricaturists and close-up magicians circulated the decks, entertaining the crowd. Many guests particularly loved the Big Easy gambling scene, where they could try their luck at various tables with fake chips while sipping on classic cocktails and afterwards trying to win one of the several valuable gifts that were raffled off.
After 45 minutes of cruising upriver, the paddle wheeler landed near the Audubon Zoo at a dock we constructed especially for the event. Motor coaches ferried the guests to the zoo’s swamp exhibit, a recreation of a 1930s Cajun village, which also was lavishly decorated for the evening. The sponsor’s name was projected above the party and appeared on four enormous illuminated helium balloons. As the festivities proceeded, a traditional Zydeco band played upbeat music for the crowd, while wandering palm readers told guests their futures and party-goers took part in an auction.
Everyone returned to the Creole Queen to find that the gambling deck had been reworked for a Bananas Foster dessert party as the boat cruised downriver to its starting point. Ten minutes before it docked, the guests were treated to a fabulous fireworks show over the water to the tune of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.” The revelers disembarked by walking in-between two rows of a vivacious 30-member gospel choir! Each participant received a departure gift. They also left with memories of a terrifically unique party!
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