Celebration Belle
Moline
In Moline, Illinois, there’s a moving venue that delivers ever-changing views — and maybe even a glimpse of bald eagles.
It’s the Celebration Belle, the largest non-gaming riverboat on the Upper Mississippi River, with room for 750 passengers on four decks. Two are enclosed and climate-controlled and two are outdoor observation decks, so planners have several options for on-board events, and “there’s always a good view, no matter where you’re sitting,” said Susan Yarolem, sales and marketing manager for Celebration River Cruises.
The ship can handle receptions for 750 people or banquets for 500 with 250 people on each of the enclosed decks including a stage and dance floor. The full-service boat features five bars, and all food is prepared on board in two galleys. The third deck wraps around the ship, and the fourth deck is open; both have outdoor seating.
Both the lunch and sightseeing cruises include narration by the captain as the ship travels past Rock Island Arsenal to Lock and Dam No. 15, the largest roller dam in the world. The two-hour captain’s dinner cruise includes live entertainment and usually the paddle-wheeler’s signature dish. “We’re known for prime rib; it’s probably the best on the Mississippi,” Yarolem said.
Themed cruises, such as Fall Foliage, Big Band or Kickin’ It Country cruises, are popular for social outings, and the Celebration Belle also offers all-day cruises to Dubuque, Iowa, with three full meals, live music and captain’s narration.
www.celebrationbelle.com
Cedarhurst Center for the Arts
Mount Vernon
At Cedarhurst Center for the Arts in Mount Vernon, Illinois, meeting attendees can gather for a general session then wander through the sculpture park during their breaks or take a jewelry-making or stained-glass art class after lunch.
The center expanded in 2008, adding a 3,450-square-foot special event venue that can seat 240 for dinner or accommodate 300 for a meeting or concert. Glass walls provide views of the connecting patio and outdoors as well as into an adjacent corridor where art is displayed.
Two houses on the 90-acre site are also available for events. The Schweinfurth House, with indoor space and a patio, can accommodate receptions for 150 people or meals for up to 80. Next door to the museum, the Mitchell House has “huge windows” and is best for meals or meetings for 40 or fewer, said Sarah Lou Bicknell, director of sales and historian.
When groups aren’t doing business, they can have a little fun. Docents will lead group tours or guided walks of the Goldman-Kuenz Sculpture Park and its 73 large-scale, outdoor art pieces. It is one of the most extensive sculpture parks in the Midwest. The center also offers team-building scavenger hunts and group art classes, such as “Wine and Watercolor” and “Clay and Cocktails.”
www.cedarhurst.org
Ewing Cultural Center
Bloomington
When Hazle Ewing died in 1969, she donated the 6.5-acre Bloomington, Illinois, estate that she and her husband built in 1929, including the house and gardens, to the Illinois State University Foundation. That means the mansion was only ever occupied by “one family, one generation,” said Toni Tucker, Ewing Cultural Center director.
Today, the castle-like mansion hosts meetings, retreats and receptions. Groups of 150 can use the entire first floor for mix-and-mingle events or have breakout sessions in the living room, library, dining room, foyer and loggia. The Gold Room is the home’s largest conference space and can accommodate 80 people in a theater-style setup.
Groups often use the surrounding Genevieve Green Gardens for receptions or breakout sessions, or simply stroll there during breaks, Tucker said. A local charity recently set up a tent on the lawn for a 200-person fundraiser.
Next to the mansion is the third piece of the cultural center, the Ewing Theatre. The 430-seat, open-air theater is home to the Illinois Shakespeare Festival and available for events and presentations.
Group can tour the gardens on their own or make arrangements for private tours of the 44-room Norman-style home. The upper two floors house the family’s original furniture and art, so they’re closed to all except during pre-arranged tours, when visitors “would be able to see things that were not open to the public,” Tucker said.
ewingmanor.illinoisstate.edu
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Springfield
No visit to Illinois should overlook a chance to pay homage to its most-famous resident, Abraham Lincoln. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is a two-building complex in Springfield, Illinois, where planners can choose function spaces and experiences “a la carte,” said Britta Brackney, facilities rental and promotions manager.
“Every event can be unique because the client can decide what to include,” she said. The Lincoln Atrium, Lincoln Reception Room and Reception Gallery are three spaces that can be used for receptions, banquets or meetings, but the library’s 250-person multi-purpose room “is really our conference facility,” Brackney said. Smaller groups can also use the classroom, conference room or computer lab.
The museum can host groups of 500 for standing receptions or seated dinners for 300. The museum plaza is the center rotunda, which is several stories tall and bracketed by a replica of Lincoln’s boyhood cabin on one side and a replica White House on the other. Each is an entrance to exhibits about Lincoln’s pre-presidential years and his time as president, both of which planners can use for their events.
The museum’s two 250-seat theaters “are really popular,” Brackney said. “Lincoln’s Eyes” is a special effects program that gives a 4-D overview of his life, and “Ghosts of the Library” uses holographs. Planners can have a historian speak or bring in an actor to portray historic re-enactments about the Civil War and the night Lincoln was shot.
www.illinois.gov/alplm
