The Inn at St. John's

Last week Crain's Detroit Business held its General and In-House Counsel Summit at the Inn at St. John's in Plymouth. Normally I have thought about the Inn as a wedding venue but it was so much more. It is also a huge conference center that can accommodate 500+ guests for big events and summits.

If you are looking for a venue that is unique and has good history then this is the place for your next conference. The location is good for statewide events as well. It is right off of M14 and is convenient for travelers from the west side.

It is a high class venue, the service was exceptional. The food was wonderful and they even accommodated our last minute lunch needs for 50 people. The lawyers and government officials could not say enough about this venue.

If you are planning a big statewide summit consider the Inn at St. John's.

Emagine Theatre Royal Oak

Last week I planned an event at the new Emagine Theatre and Star Lanes in Royal Oak. It was a great event. The staff was attentive and very helpful in every detail. Not only can your presentation be in a state of the art movie theatre you can also allow your guests the opportunity to bowl and have some drinks! I look forward to planning another Crain's event at Emagine Theatre and Star Lanes in Royal Oak.

The nice part about this venue is it is accommodating to large and small events. Check out this venue for your next party! http://www.emagine-entertainment.com/

Motor City Casino Hotel

This week was Crain's Health Care Leadership Summit at the Motor City Casino Hotel. It was amazing. The Motor City Casino Hotel is top notch! The service was wonderful. I need to give a shout out to the AV crew at the conference. They were amazing.

Our evening event on Wednesday was at Amnesia. It was gorgeous. Amnesia is located on the 16th floor of the hotel. It is a really cool club and venue. Very hip and fun. The food was great and the view of our great city was breath taking. I would recommend this club for anyone throwing a party for 50-300 people!

The hotel rooms at Motor City were beautiful. If you are staying in Detroit for anything I would recommend this hotel as your destination of choice. The staff is helpful, friendly and attentive.

Thanks Motor City Casino Hotel for a great event!!!

Wedding Season

This summer has been a blur. I have been in and attended more weddings than I can count! It has been busy and fun all at the same time. But with weddings come unique venues to spy on! One of my favorites was this past weekend in Campus Martius Park. Jeanette Pierce, co-founder of Inside Detroit, had the very first wedding in the downtown city park. It was fabulous. I can not believe how alive and beautiful the whole day turned out.

It started with the ceremony in the park. Being right in the heart of the city was magnificent. It was perfect for Jeanette and Richard. After the ceremony we made our way to Pulse a nice bar in Detroit for a cocktail while we waited for the reception. The reception was in the atrium at the Compuware Building. It was a great place to mingle and taste the fan fare of the city!

Afterwards dancing and drinks were back out in Campus Martius park. The whole experience was great! If you are thinking about an outdoor wedding be sure to check out Campus Martius as a location.

We ALL play our part in Society

Today I received a very interesting article on events and the industry. Most people believe that the event industry is all fun and games but it also makes up 263 billion dollars of the U.S. Economy, according to the Convention Industry Council.

This is a lot of money. That tells me that more people are going back to the grassroots way of networking and that even though our society has moved digital it still craves to meet with each other. I was rather impressed about how much money the event industry makes and contributes to our overall U.S. economy.

The meetings industry creates millions of jobs in every city. That is impressive. I am excited to be a part of this great, fast growing industry!

For the full article go to:
 http://meetingsmags.com/article/meetings-industry-provides-263-billion-us-economy-2009

Off The Beaten Path

Yesterday I took a road trip with some friends to Cleveland! It was really fun. We saw Joe Purdy in Concert at the Beachland Lounge in the heart of Cleveland. It was a cute little venue. The seats were good, the company was great and Purdy was fun to see.

But, as usual, I had to take a look around. This venue, the Beachland Lounge, held about 300 people and was connected to a bar. The set up was great for a small band and even the bathrooms were decent. My favorite part of the trip was Melt Bar and Grilled in Cleveland Heights. It was a cute bar that we found on Man vs. Food. Adam of course was challenged with eating a 5lb grilled cheese. None of us attempted that but the place was amazing.

Melt Bar and Grilled is a Grilled Cheese place. Every grilled cheese you could think of was there. You could even create your own. It was a really unique place to start the evening off. It had over 50 different kind of beers and sandwiches. Beware the hot peppers are more than just hot!!

So if you are ever in Cleveland and need a unique place to visit I would give it a try. Check them out at http://meltbarandgrilled.com/.

Enjoy!

Shriners Silver Garden

Last night we celebrated the unsung heroes of the business community, the CFOs. This group of professionals are rarely thanked and they are the ones who keep all the parts together. It was a great event!

We honored them at the Shriners Silver Garden Event Center in Southfield. This event center is AMAZING! I was blown away by the amount of space there was and how beautiful it was. They have two huge ballrooms and an outdoor garden area. They also have a lobby that holds over 500 people. If you haven't heard about it check them out at www.silvergardenevents.com.