Openings — Richard Williams Events

GREAT LAKES CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Guests received their table location on cards that paid homage to the main drape in the theater.

Opening Remarks

The chairman of the board of directors welcomed guests in the lobby before leading them into the theater for dinner.

Guests listened to remarks before we unveiled the theater and created a beautiful dinner environment.

Each table was preset with different wines, all donated from the private collection of one of the donors.

The menu that also acknowledged the wine donor.

The Reveal

To reveal the new theater, we invited top donors to “open” the main curtain, revealing the audience seats in the new arts center.

The Chandeliers

We flew in chandeliers over each table to provide a theatrical and magical element to the donor dinner. As the guests realize what is happening, you can hear their reaction.

Local protegee Young Min Yu gave the inaugural performance on the grand piano.

A toast!

A view from the theater seats.

Young Min Yun accompanied his wife, Chantelle, who entertained guests with several songs.

Following dinner, guests moved to the 2nd floor donors lounge and adjoining terrace for coffee and chocolates and the beautiful Michigan sunset!

Guests were given a custom made 2-dimensional crystal etching of the building as a commemorative gift.

Seat location cards for the “Meet Your Seat” reception.

Because the Gala was a fundraiser, we wanted the acknowledgment signage to make a statement and a marble panel right at the entrance gave us the perfect place.

Guests begin arriving.

Guests were greeted with champagne in branded flutes as they arrived at the Gala.

The commemorative program

The Detroit Symphony and the Interlochen Festival Chorus. With over 200 performers on stage, all of the curtain legs had to be raised to fit everyone in.

We had 70 minutes to transform the lobby and adjoining public spaces into a multi-station buffet dinner on 2 floors. What started out as this . . .

became this.

Top donors were given private seating areas.

Another top donor seating cluster.

With 225 VIP guests who had reserved dinner seating, we had to come up with seating for the other 275 guests.

A jazz ensemble was placed under the main staircase as real estate was a premium!

The guests emerge form the theater for dinner.

Lighthouses are very big in Michigan, so we incorporated a branded one into the dinner buffet.

All desserts were donated, so we wanted to make sure they were properly acknowledged.

Luckily for us, the weather was perfect so many guests enjoyed the large 2nd floor terrace where we incorporated light boxes to provide a beautiful glow in the space.

What is normally the donor lounge was available to all for dinner seating. Check out that sunset!

Community Open House - July 8, 2018

Over 1,500 people walked through the Great Lakes Center for the Arts during it’s inaugural open house.

RWE was hired by the Great Lakes Center for the Arts to produce a series of events for their grand opening in Bay Harbor, MI. We created 4 days of exciting events, including:

“Set The Stage” Dinner

This private on-stage dinner was “the reveal” to the theater to the center’s top donors – the people largely responsible for bringing this state-of-the-art performance venue to Bay Harbor. After cocktails and a welcome from the board chair in the lobby, guests were led to the theater via the backstage hallway, where the dressing rooms were populated with “talent” warming up for a performance – including a diva who let her presence be known. The guests entered the stage through large backstage doors to find tables and chairs set for dinner, but very bare, with nothing but work lights and a closed main curtain.

We took full advantage of the capabilities of a real theater, including a dramatic reveal of the theater house and chandeliers flown in to float over each table. Following dessert, guests enjoyed a short concert and then moved upstairs to the donor lounge and adjoining terrace for chocolates and coffee.

“Meet Your Seat” Reception

This event gave those who named the theater chairs the opportunity to see their chairs for the first time. Each chair was highlighted with a balloon and the named seat plaque covered with a name card that matched the ones given to guests in the lobby that had their seat locations on them.

“Raise The Curtain” Opening Gala

The opening Gala featured a concert by the Detroit Symphony, broadway singers, a ballerina from ABT and a 12-year-old violin protegee from the Michigan area. Guests enjoyed champagne in the lobby and then proceeded into the theater for the inaugural concert, which gave us 80 minutes to re-set the entire building for a roaming dinner (tables and chairs were hidden behind every available nook and cranny we could find. Following the concert, guests enjoyed a beautiful buffet dinner and watched the sunset over beautiful Lake Michigan.

Community Open House

The final event was an open house for the entire community, where 1,500 people visited the center, while a variety of local talent performed on stage.

“ What can we say but WOW and thank you! You have gone above & beyond your “job” to make this special. Thanks for making us look good! ”

— Deana Blackburn and Gigi Clements, Gala Co-Chairs

Arnold J. Damen student Center

Richard Williams Events - Damen Center Opening

Richard Williams Events - Loyola University Chicago

Loyola University Chicago unveiled a brand-new state-of-the-art student center (The Damen Center) in 2013. In addition to a ribbon cutting, the president asked for an all-day affair to show off the building. A lottery was held for one student to hold “the big scissors” at the ribbon cutting.

We created “The Damen Game,” a punch-card game that required guests to visit all the different areas of the building. Upon filling in the card, the student turned it in for the chance to win prizes, including a $500 Southwest Air gift card, plasma TVs and computers. The various food court restaurants offered tastings throughout the day and student groups performed in the main atrium.

A special “Hats Off To You” dance was held that evening just for the seniors, to thank them for tolerating all the construction work for a building that they wouldn’t get to enjoy. A special area was created for them to build their own custom hats throughout the day to wear to the dance that night and enter in a contest for a grand prize of a limousine ride for the winner’s family to Commencement and a $300 gift certificate for dinner afterwards. Twitter blew up that day with students showing off their hats!

INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Richard Williams Events - Loyola IES Opening

For the opening of Loyola’s new Institute of Environmental Sustainability, we were charged with creating two opening events – one for VIPs and one for the general public – that celebrated this state-of-the-art building. For the VIP ribbon cutting, we wove a “ribbon” made entirely of cattails, an invasive grass pulled from Loyola’s sustainable ecology campus in Woodstock. The food for the open house was provided by 10 local restaurants that pride themselves on their sustainable practices.

NORVILLE ATHLETIC TRAINING CENTER

Richard Williams Events - Norville Center Opening

For the opening of the new athlete training center, we created an open house that featured “game food” at sports-themed buffets staffed by “referees” throughout the building. For that evenings VIP dinner to honor the Norville family, we turned the student athlete lounge into a high-end dining room.