VENUE REPORT MEETING WITH ANIMALS
In a state where nature takes center stage, it’s only fitting that wildlife should be a part of your next gathering. We’ve rounded up venues that will please clients looking for something unusual, entertaining and gentle on budgets. Your money will go a long way at any one of these spaces, and you will be supporting wildlife conservation.
More than 1,600 butterflies and moths glide around the Butterfly Pavilion.
GET A LITTLE WILD
Enjoy great venues, have fun and support conservation at your next event. B Y K I M B E R L Y L O R D S T E W A R T IMAGINE AT YOUR NEXT EVENT howling with a wolf, tickling the tummy of a tarantula or gazing into the big brown eyes of a giraffe. It’s all possible at Colorado’s zoos, wildlife pavilions and animal sanctuaries.
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COM+E
| SUMMER 2019
This Westminster attraction is literally crawling and buzzing with cool creatures. As guests enter, Rosie, a fuzzy and friendly Chilean tarantula greets guests. Yes, you can hold her while she tiptoes across your hand. In the main pavilion, more than 1,600 butterflies and moths gently glide over the rainforest fauna. Ask about a butterfly release for a memorable way to celebrate a company’s success and strategic goals for the future. In the newly opened Colorado Backyard exhibit that can hold groups of up to 120, see the animals and invertebrates that we call neighbors. There are two classroom-style meeting rooms well-suited for 65 people, a large ballroom for 150 and an outdoor patio that holds 100. The entire Butterfly Pavilion can accommodate 650 people. A food truck is on-site, and additional food trucks and approved caterers are allowed. The private events team will guide teambuilding classes, rainforest yoga and lectures about bees, planting pollinator gardens and even eating cricket protein. “The little activities from the guest speaker to lunch, to Rosie and then the tropics, kept the group entertained and guessing what was next … that’s exactly what I was envisioning,” says John Pinaud, administrative assistant for Wells Fargo. “All my guests kept telling me how much fun they were having and actually learning this stuff was fun!”
Denver Zoo Adjacent to City Park, the animal, bird, sea and reptile residents of the Denver Zoo are ready and waiting to liven up your next event. “We typically look for a venue away
P H O T O : B U T T E R F LY PAV I L I O N
Butterfly Pavilion
