J. Brown Photography
The Southbank Park Grand Opening was a beautiful event from start to finish. We will never forget how that day felt: a picture-perfect autumn day with the warm sun shining on the Chicago River and Cityscape. It was an event that really brought the South Loop community together through music, art, food, libations, and merriment. We can’t wait to work with Lendlease again for their next celebration: and we’ll all be champing at the bit for a reason to gather! It takes a village to make an event like this flow seamlessly and we are forever thankful for the vendor team that brought it all into fruition.
J. Brown Photography
The Southbank Park is a 2-acre publicly accessible green space with an adjacent riverwalk bordering the South Branch of the Chicago River. The park anchors Lendlease’s “new 7-acre Southbank neighborhood development underway in the South Loop that, upon completion, will include several mixed-use towers, the first of which, The Cooper at Southbank, opened in Fall 2018″ [source]. Our job was to gather an incredible vendor team to create an open-house and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the beautiful park.
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
Setup for the event began the day before with tents being erected and rentals delivered by Marquee Event Rentals. We also met with the geniuses at Gen Power who helped power the whole event with their massive generator drop-off. Blue Star Security came on site and stayed overnight to protect all of our setup (and break down) needs through the duration of the event. Kleen Teem provided a mobile bathroom for our guests and worked in tandem with Waste Not Compost to ensure that our event was sustainable, eco-friendly (and kept tidy). Greg from Twin Oaks Landscaping had been working on the gorgeous landscaping for months prior to the Grand Opening and the hard work showed–the area looked picturesque. Thirst was in charge of all of the event’s branding and Event Medical Solutions was on-site to ensure the safety of our guests. Everything was good-to-go, and we couldn’t wait for event-day to arrive.
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
The day of the event (a breezy, sunny 72 degrees–thanks Mother Nature!) was a complete success! J. Brown Photography did a wonderful job documenting the day’s festivities, which included delicious bites from Good Eats Group and beer sampling from Marz Brewing. Actor’s Gym Entertainment provided a face painter, tree “statue”, and incredible acrobats throughout the day. Sean Masterson from Masterson Magic came ready to astound with his close-up magic. Tiny Tunes, a neighborhood institution for kids’ music classes, came mid-afternoon to provide musical entertainment and movement for our littlest attendees. Celebration Authority provided lawn games, which included giant Jenga, Connect Four, and a cornhole set. Nate Baranowski, who had worked with us previously at Chalk Howard Street was working on a live painting surrounded by all the madness of the event. Lastly, we could not have done it without the hard work of Sound Investment and Beat Mix Music who facilitated a ribbon cutting ceremony and played us wonderful blue-grass inspired hits well into the evening.
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
J. Brown Photography
Thank you again, so much, vendor team that made such a lovely day possible. We can’t wait to work with you all again.
With Love and Solidarity,
Colleen, Joan, Emily, and Theresa
