Toledo Museum of Art
Toledo
For more than a century, the Toledo Museum of Art has offered visitors free access to its renowned art collection, which includes a sizable selection of European masters and modern glass art. Today, meetings and other private groups have access to a whole other side of the museum both in terms of space and activities.
“We have a lot of workshops and team-building activities for corporate functions,” said events manager Maricarmen Westmark. “Generally, in smaller groups, they can attend a glassblowing demonstration in our hot shop and watch our artists make glass pieces, or do a hands-on tile-making or visual literacy workshop. We can also take a group of 35 to 40 and divide them up amongst things.”
Between the main museum building and the Glass Pavilion, the Toledo Museum of Art has two campuses available for events, but only some can be used during the day, including the modern glass salon and the more historic cloisters. “We are a museum first, so events in the galleries can only take place after hours,” said Westmark. On Thursdays and Fridays, the museum does not close until 9 p.m.
This summer and fall, the museum will host two unusual exhibits, “Play Time,” which uses locations throughout both the museum grounds and the city of Toledo for interactive, multisensory experiences of puppetry and spectacle, and another focused on the history of political advertising, beginning with Lincoln, who popularized the use of photography in political campaigns. In 2016, in honor of the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Glass Pavilion, the museum will feature a five-month exhibition of glass art.
Westmark also advised that the museum requires all external events to be scheduled a year in advance, and May is typically booked well in advance with local high school and university graduations.
Carillon Historical Park
Dayton
Few cities can so visually trace their history as Dayton can thanks to its Carillon Historical Park. The site includes historic buildings, such as the tavern and home of George Newcom from 1796, when the city was founded, and inventions, such as the Wright brothers’ 1905 Wright Flyer III and a lock of the Miami and Erie Canal.
Taking its name from the 151-foot-tall Deeds Carillon bell tower, the Carillon Historical Park gives groups dozens of location options. Multiple museum buildings can accommodate 150 to 180 and give planners the option to mix one or more buildings with outdoor spaces to create a private, open museum for an evening reception.
“Most clients choose to have a museum portion open for part of their event, as it’s a great opportunity both for guests who are from out of town as well as ones who have lived in Dayton all their lives to come away with something new about Dayton,” said events manager Sarah Baranski. “The transportation center has antique trains that you can board, while the heritage center has a full-size carousel with each hand-carved piece highlighting something about Dayton, and I’m always surprised how much adults love it.”
Baranski said planners should get in touch at least six months out to book events on Saturdays, as the park is very popular for weddings, especially in the warmer months.
Landoll’s Mohican Castle
Loudonville
A castle in the middle of Ohio? It’s not as unusual as it sounds. There are several castles scattered throughout the state, but Landoll’s Mohican Castle is one of the most singular, built entirely from stones and naturally fallen trees found on the property.
Thanks to the vast 1,100-acre estate, Landoll’s specializes in offering guests and meeting and event attendees the sense of separation from everyday life that has made glamping meetings so popular. “It’s a nontraditional getaway,” said Georgia Kauffman, executive director of the Mohican-Loudonville Convention and Visitors Bureau. “While it’s extremely luxurious in the rooms and the space they use for meetings and events, you can unplug and unwind and get those creative thoughts going.”
Some of the most creative activities available at Landoll’s, even more unexpected than the forest-wrapped castle itself, are its popular ghost walks and hunts. One-hour guided ghost walks take in the main areas of the castle grounds, including the contentious history of the 230-year-old graveyard up the hill from the castle. Overnight ghost hunts bring guests to usually off-limit areas of the estate.
The main rental space at the castle holds up to 250 people and uses on-site catering from the castle’s Stepping Stone restaurant; special events staff can also arrange a hospitality suite for board meetings. Small groups can stay onsite in the 11 rooms in the castle and six in an adjacent building, but Kauffman advises that there is ample overflow space in other hotels within an easy driving distance.
