Five Grain Events

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Southbank Park Grand Opening

August 26, 2020

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

Filed Under: Blog, Corporate Events, Festivals

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Dudefest 2019

February 4, 2020

Dudefest, a fundraising event benefiting Misericordia, has been put on by the Creevy family for the past 9 years. We were so thrilled to have been brought on this year to take part in this event that helps an incredible organization!

Photo by Kim Ryan

On the day of the festival, the Five Grain Events team arrived early at Eris Brewery and Cider House to begin set-up. Soon, the stage and sound equipment had been set by Sound Investment AV, all the pop-up tents were up and ready to give much needed shade to the patrons, and excited guests began pouring into the festival!

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

As people arrived to Dudefest, they gave donations to Misericordia, entered the raffle, and bought drink tickets to enjoy the many ciders and beers that Eris Brewery and Cider House was serving  from their pop-up bar in the parking lot. There was even the opportunity to buy some really awesome Dudefest 2019 merchandise!

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

As the drinks, music, and food kept people engaged outside, there was a silent auction to benefit Misericordia going on inside Eris. Attendees could bid on numerous items, such as sports tickets, one-of-a-kind artwork, and even a walk-on role in Chicago Fire.  All items were donated by Dudefest groupies to benefit Misericordia.

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

Throughout the evening, bands played on the stage, entertaining the entire crowd. We had an incredible emcee crew for the evening who kept everyone engaged and laughing in the breaks between performances.

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

One of our personal favorite moments of the festival was the crowning of the Queen of Dudefest, and the tasty queen cake that followed. Inside the cake a little plastic shoe was hidden, and one very excited girl found the cake and was named Queen of Dudefest 2020!

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

At the very end of the evening, we were treated to the Creevy Family Band, which has been the hit at Dudefest for many years. Their most popular song was “Hey Dude,” a rendition of the well-known Beatles song “Hey Jude,” that was dedicated to their sister, known as “the Dude,” who was the inspiration for this fundraiser. 

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

To the Creevy family and all of the attendees of Dudefest, thank you for letting us take part in putting on this fantastic festival. We cannot imagine a more worthy cause than Misericordia to be fundraising for, or a more fun way to do it  Looking forward to the 2020 event!

Photo by Kim Ryan

Photo by Kim Ryan

A very special THANK YOU to Chris Brandt who captured the day’s festivities.

Filed Under: Blog, Festivals

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