Five Grain Events

Chicago Event Planners

Chalk Howard Street 2019

We were so excited to partner up with a5 branding and digital and the Rogers Park Business Alliance last summer to put on an incredible Chicago street festival–Chalk Howard Street! We loved getting to know the Howard Street neighborhood as we worked on this event throughout the first half of 2019.  It is an extremely diverse and artistically charged area–over 80 languages are spoken and the plethora of ethnic cuisine dining options is a clear illustration of that.  And it’s so easily accessible from anywhere in Chicago via CTA red line.  

While there was certainly a ton of work that came along with this first-year festival, we were extremely proud of the result:  an event truly reflective of the vibrant community of Howard Street in Rogers Park. We love these photos that Chris Guillen Photography took showcasing the day’s festivities. 

Chris Guillen Photography

The week leading up to the festival was one of excitement and preparation. Along with a5, we prepared our festival headquarters and began marking off the streets for our artists and vendors so that when festival day came, we were ready for anything that might come our way. 

On Friday, the day before the festival, professional artists began to arrive and start working on their pieces. As we saw the pieces begin to come together, our anticipation increased to see what our 2D artists, Jennifer Chaparro, Chelsey Austin, Beth Niemczyk, and Jessi Queen, along with our 3D artists, Nate Baranowski, Anat Ronen, Craig and Jamie Rodgers were going to create!

The morning of July 20th came with a flurry of activity. The Five Grain Events and a5 teams both arrived bright and early to begin festival set up. Before we knew it, the artists had arrived and begun working, the smell of delicious food was wafting over from the vendor booths, and the first band was warming up, ready to begin playing for the crowds that would soon be flooding through our entry tents! 

Chris Guillen Photography

Chris Guillen Photography

Chris Guillen Photography

When 11 am hit, the festival officially began and we were overwhelmed with just how many smiling faces were on Howard Street, marveling at the street art, eating and drinking, enjoying the music, and visiting the local businesses nearby. Despite the official heat warning put out by the city of Chicago, the turn-out was fantastic and we were thrilled to have counted about 3,500 attendees!

Chris Guillen Photography

Chris Guillen Photography

Chris Guillen Photography

Chris Guillen Photography

Chris Guillen Photography

Chris Guillen Photography

Around 5 pm, the temperature suddenly dropped and dark rain clouds rolled in. Though the respite from the intense heat was welcome, we knew it was an  ominous sign for weather to come.  The full production team raced around securing plastic tarps over the artists’ works before the deluge began. Festival attendees ran, laughing and smiling, into the local businesses to sit down for dinner and a drink. 

Chris Guillen Photography

Chris Guillen Photography

The rain finally let up about an hour later.  Though the food and merchant vendors had packed up  their wares, and the stage equipment had gotten too wet to safely continue amplified music, dozens of attendees waited with bated breath to see whether the street art had survived under cover. Thankfully, most of the professional artists’ work had been preserved, and people were able to continue appreciating the art, brick-and-mortor local businesses, and even the serendipitously scheduled Four Star Brass Band through the remainder of the evening.

Chris Guillen Photography

Chris Guillen Photography

Chris Guillen Photography

Chris Guillen Photography

Chris Guillen Photography

Chris Guillen Photography

Chris Guillen Photography

Chris Guillen Photography

Chris Guillen Photography

Chris Guillen Photography

Despite the crazy weather we experienced throughout the day, we had an incredible time pulling together all the details for this one-of-a-kind event. The biggest reward was seeing all of the Rogers Park neighbors come out to enjoy Chalk Howard Street with friends and family. A big thank you to everyone who helped us make this day possible, and we hope to see you all at the 2020 Chalk Howard Street on Saturday, July 18th!

Chris Guillen Photography

Lincolnshire Marriott — The Big Event by Lake County Partners

Cobalt Photography

We look forward to working with Lake County Partners on The Big Event every year! It’s quickly becoming one of our favorite corporate events, as the people we get to work with are so much fun. This year’s event was no exception.  Thanks to Cobalt Photography for the wonderful photos!

We returned to the Lincolnshire Marriott to take advantage of their stellar event space for our multifaceted event. The salon spaces are perfect for large-group networking, and we love that there are smaller satellite rooms we can use for more intimate groups, like the Speaker Reception. The Grand Marquee Ballroom is a bright, airy space that works so well for our 500+ group of Lake County business professionals. We’re consistently blown away by the excellent service put forth by their Marriott’s team.

Cobalt Photography

The networking portion of The Big Event is always bustling as hundreds of professionals from all around Lake County mix and mingle. Midwest Young Artists provides the delightful background music.

Cobalt Photography

Cobalt Photography

Cobalt Photography

We loved working with AVP on the audio and visual needs for The Big Event — they really helped make sure the presentations looked their best and that all the speakers were comfortable with their set-up before the big day.

Cobalt Photography

Cobalt Photography

This year’s event featured a few special additions in honor Lake County Partners’ 20th anniversary, one of which was the incredible keynote speaker, Robert Safian. His history working with and interviewing innovative business leaders over the past few decades provided great insight and a very enthusiastic presentation. Working with APB Speakers made the logistical elements of his trip to the Chicago area so easy! Special thanks to Windy City Limo for working with us on his ground transportation.

Cobalt Photography

Cobalt Photography

Lake County Partners also created a special new award to bestow upon a company that demonstrates true innovation in the workplace. (Congrats, HydraForce!) We were happy to partner with Matthew Hoffmann to create a custom award for this event. The wonderful team at a5 branding and digital helped us bring this design, as well as all the other print and visual presentations, together for The Big Event.

Cobalt Photography

Cobalt Photography

Cobalt Photography

We were also delighted to offer a treat to attendees as they were leaving — cake pops from Candy’s Cake Pops! In hues of blue and white and an assortment of flavors, they may have been the biggest hit of the day!

Cobalt Photography

Cobalt Photography

We’re already looking forward to getting started on next year’s event — and hope for many more years of fun and collaboration with Lake County Partners!

Find Your Way with Matthew Hoffman

Matthew Hoffman is a Chicago artist whose work has been showcased across the globe.   Chicagoans, in particular, probably recognize his work from his many “you are beautiful” murals, stickers, and art installations plastered throughout the city and beyond.  When he asked us to help with his new exhibition opening back in September, titled “Find your way,” we were ecstatic.

Find Your Way with Chicago Artist Matthew Hoffman

The event took place at Workshop 4200,  a shared artist workspace housed in the historic Hammond Organ Factory.  The event took place as an open house to show off the renovations headed up by Baum Revision and each artist’s space.   It was awesome to see so much going on and the wide range of artisans who call Workshop 4200 home.  Matt’s work was featured in the main hall of the building.  He also had a popup shop where attendees could buy some of his very popular “you are beautiful” merch.  In the pop-up, guests were able to send off their very own “you are beautiful” postcard to an addressee of their choice, courtesy of Matt and his team.

You Are Beautiful campaign by Chicago Artist Matthew HoffmanThe event wouldn’t have been possible without the help of an amazing vendor team and several volunteers.  Erin from Baum Revision was our point person for the space.  Pastoral provided an incredible artisan cheese spread for the soft opening on Thursday.  At Friday’s larger event, DönerMen brought their food truck and served up their delicious menu for guests to enjoy.  Essentia provided water for thirsty attendees.  The always amazing Carol’s Staffing provided a bartender to serve up donated beer from Marz Brewing and cordials from Leatherbee.

Beverages available at Bar featuring Letherbee Distillery

Here’s a sneak peak of some more incredible pieces we snapped that day:  Forever by Chicago Artist Matthew Hoffman Everything by Chicago Artist Matthew Hoffman

Signs at the Matthew Hoffman Art Showcase

The by Chicago Artist Matthew Hoffman

Thanks, Matthew! We had so much fun helping host this incredible event!

Check out more of Matthew Hoffman’s work here.

Marriott Lincolnshire — Lake County Partners Big Event

We were so thrilled when we were asked to help with Lake County Partners‘ Big Event again this year. The team at LCP is a blast to work with, and the event has so many interesting components to keep their guests engaged during the early morning meeting.

Cobalt Photography

The Big Event took place in late June at the Marriott Lincolnshire, a wonderful space for a corporate gathering (and social events, too!). We were grateful to work with Brad from Cobalt Photography again this year to capture the event energy and audience engagement.

Cobalt Photography

As guests filtered in throughout the early part of the morning, they were invited to join a networking salon with pastries and coffee. Student musicians from Midwest Young Artists, a proud organization from within Lake County, played a selection of music to complement the coffee and conversation.

Cobalt Photography

Soon it was time for guests to transition into the Grand Marquee Pavilion for breakfast and the speaking portion of the event. Each place setting was set with informative collateral designed by a5 Branding + Digital, who also designed all the signage and marketing pieces surrounding the event. We loved how they incorporated a collection of faces to represent the diversity and talent that exists within Lake County.  AVP was there to provide Audio/Visual help for the day; they did a fantastic job!

Cobalt Photography

Cobalt Photography

Cobalt Photography

The speakers chosen for the morning’s program covered a variety of topics, from economic forecasting to the factors that lead to attracting and retaining younger residents to join the community.

Cobalt Photography

Cobalt Photography

Cobalt Photography

Cobalt Photography

This year’s Big Event was a great success, and it’s always inspiring to see how this tight-knit community of business leaders connect to ensure the businesses and residents of Lake County feel supported and inspired to thrive!

PaperSpecs Magazine Launch Party

When Sabine Lenz, owner of PaperSpecs reached out to us for help planning her new magazine’s launch party, we were thrilled! We absolutely love working with the design community.  Sabine found us through a recommendation from Rick Valicenti, whom we worked with on the CHGO DSGN opening event at the Chicago Cultural Center.

RoboToaster

PaperSpecs chose the meeting space at Xavier Apartments to host their launch party during the HOW Design Conference. The open concept and incredible views made it a natural fit for their gathering, as it allowed people to easily mingle while taking in the breathtaking Chicago skyline and sunset — a real treat for folks who had traveled from other cities.

RoboToaster

RoboToaster

RoboToaster

RoboToaster

RoboToaster

RoboToaster

We worked with Food Evolution to provide hors d’oeuvres and beverages, and everyone complimented the delicious the savory and sweet combinations throughout the night. When you serve tiny tacos and mini margaritas, how can you expect anything less?

RoboToaster

RoboToaster

To bring an added element of entertainment to the event, we worked with Actor’s Gymnasium who provided performers to delight guests with their juggling expertise.  As the sun began to set, they transitioned into some LED equipment to up the “wow factor”. A few of the guests even joined in to try their hand at juggling!

RoboToaster

RoboToaster

RoboToaster

RoboToaster

Special thanks to RoboToaster for the wonderful photos and recap video!

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