OVERVIEW

On the morning of the Chicago Cubs first Opening Day as World Series Champions in 108 years, the team and Hickory Street Capital (HSC) celebrated the opening of The Park At Wrigley. Located adjacent to Wrigley Field, the newest offering of the 1060 Project campaign is a community-oriented, open-air plaza featuring landscaping, welcoming green space and a playful water feature.

Upon guest arrival, VIPs were credentialed and offered Starbucks Reserve Coffee & delicious Green City Market crepes. Green City Market, a proud partner of the Park, also set up an interactive element where guests had the opportunity to plant seedlings, which signified the beginning of The Park At Wrigley.

Old Town School of Folk Music, another partner of HSC, provided entertainment throughout the celebration. The entertainment consisted of an 8-piece instrumental band that played various songs, including the famous “Go Cubs Go” song as part of the ceremony. Clark the Cubs also made an appearance that added to the excitement of the festivities.

When it was time for the ribbon to be cut, the stage participants including, Crane Kenney, Tom Ricketts & Mayor Rahm Emanuel took their positions and each held branded, oversized scissors ready to make the cut. More than thirty children from the local community were invited to sit on stage in front of the stage participants to be a part of this celebration.

OVERVIEW

PWE’s relationship with NMH began in 1993 with the ground breaking of the Galter & Feinberg pavilions. We continued our involvement into the campaign culmination celebration, topping off ceremony and eventually the major grand opening celebration of the new hospital, which encompassed 14 events over 10 days.

We then were invited to be involved in the Prentice Women’s Hospital campaign in 2003 that included a ground breaking, topping off ceremony, family days, tours, construction appreciation days and a week-long series of events including the Grand Opening Gala. Since the facilities’ focus is primarily on women’s health, we decided to concentrate on the feminine spirit as the underlying theme to the various events that we produced. The Groundbreaking Ceremony was held in a tent on the construction site. We surrounded the stage with dirt giving the impression that our speakers were sitting in the middle of a construction site. Following the program, a specially choreographed ballet took place on the dirt, representing femininity and grace, featuring women in all stages of life showcasing what the completed hospital would embody.

The campaign culminated in 2007 with a series of Grand Opening events including an official building dedication. Held in the building’s driveway, the ribbon cutting ceremony was highlighted by a custom video production of Maya Angelou’s poem Phenomenal Women, read by many of the hospital’s staff and donors representing strength and character of women. Lastly, the black tie gala, the crown jewel of the series of events, featured Aretha Franklin as the headliner.

OVERVIEW

Since we were not allowed to use the construction site as our venue, we transformed the North Sculpture Garden to set the stage for the celebration. We brought in our partners from the Superbowl to build risers and staging on top of all of the art and sculptures in the garden to create more real estate for the festivities. The North Garden was transformed into a magical setting with characters on stilts animating the space and entertaining the crowd. The celebrations were accompanied by a performance from the Chicago children’s choir & Chicago Symphony Orchestra. A blueprint for the new building, designed by the celebrated architect Renzo Piano, served as the backdrop to a program that featured remarks by Renzo Piano, AIC President James Cuno & Mayor

OVERVIEW

Our principal responsibility was the creative and strategic development of the event, production of the show and on site logistics for the Dedication Ceremony.

We had to create a one-of-a-kind grand opening event for a library that was not opening to the public. Former CNN anchor, Bernard Shaw emceed a public ceremony that featured Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, and members of the State Legislature. A flyover by the Illinois Air National Guard 183rd Fighter Wing opened the program followed by 2002 Miss America Erika Harold singing the National Anthem.

This dedication was televised live and in full on C-SPAN, and attracted over 100 news media from all over the world as well as being attended by 1,000 VIPs and 3,000 guests.

A special video tribute commemorating the 139th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address included Presidents Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell. Our grand finale was a powerful performance of the Battle Hymn of the Republic by Calvin Bridges and The Chicago Praise Choir and a special effects light show, intertwined with confetti and pyro blasts from the top of this brand new Presidential Library.