Casual, cheap, 200-250 people...ideas needed

Seems I'm planning my HS reunion. Class of 800, figure contacting 400 is optimistic, thinking 200 attending is possible.

Consensus on facebook is to keep it casual and inexpensive. Anyone know of something with reasonable prices (like under $30/pp), decent space with bathroom facilities, indoor/outdoor option would be great. Prefer NOT to have to rent tables, chairs, etc, but someplace all inclusive. Big dinner not the goal, just a comfy place to catch up.

Any suggestions will be considered! Thanks.

Maybe you can provide some additional detail, such as the city or suburb you want to hold it in and (and if in Chicago, what part of Chicago) also whether or not your "under $30/pp" budget is assumed to include cocktails/liquor and, last but not least: the approximate date you're looking to have this event.

Having been on the planning committee for my own reunioin for a class of a similar size, never underestimate the power of word-of-mouth. Even with the planning not really gearing up until a month in advance (long story involving the original committee chair being a complete flake), we still ended up with 350-ish for the main Saturday night event.

Thank you both for replying.

Bill, the location is actually flexible though since I'm doing all the legwork I wouldn't mind it staying in the north/northwest burbs! Some people would prefer the city but I think the coolest places would be out of our price range and hard to find parking. Though Manny's was an idea. ALSO, re cocktails, I had 2 ideas, one simply a cash bar and second maybe allowing people to buy wristbands if they buy a drink package but there's the fraud part of that so probably cash bar. Seriously would be happy with finger food/burgers & dogs, that sort of thing, it's just the space situation. Finally, the date has been set as July 24 2010.

One guy has offered his house with some acreage but I fear the additional legwork (tents, portapotties, chairs etc) would be a pain AND cost more. There's liability issues if there's alcohol (which granted would be much cheaper, especially since people would probably end up bringing their own favorites), noise ordinances, that sort of thing. I have a few people offering to help with bits and pieces, so easy is the catchphrase.

Eva, good point. I'm using the class of 79 experience this past summer as my guide, would LOVE to have more people show up if we are somewhere that could accommodate us. They held theirs at Arlington Trackside, but I believe it was $75pp and since no one really wants a sit-down dinner or a DJ (a great playlist of the years 76-80 should suffice), we only need to pay extra for a photographer (if that).

If you can do this for under $30, I'd love to hear how you did that.

A quick thought, if this were to be an event that could be held during an afternoon (ending prior to, say, 7 p.m.): One of the pavilions at a Cook County Forest Preserve. They're typically easy to locate/get to and offer covered pavilions, restroom facilities, free and ample parking and lots of lawn space for people to spread about - and space for a caterer to set-up grill stations (burgers, dogs, tacos or other grilled foods). The forest preserves are also child-friendly, some games could be organized for the post-graduation attendees, etc. I think some of the groves allow liquor consumption and you could possibly provide kegs of beer and/or attendees could BYOB.

I went to a company outing at 10-Pin on Willow Rd in Northbrook and that place is quite cavernous. You may want to make a call to see if they could accommodate that sized crowd and if there could be an appetizer menu for your price point.

I went to a company outing at 10-Pin on Willow Rd in Northbrook and that place is quite cavernous.

Are you referring to Pinstripes?

http://www.pinstripes.com/

They advertise accommodating groups from 20-600.

This may be doable. My first thought is Bar Louie, while the food is not the best, it doesn't sound like food is high on your list. They'll put a few sandwiches (while it definately has slipped over the years the Vesuvio Chicken sandwich is still ok), some quesadillas, chips, mini burgers, etc out on buffet for you. The real question is where is one that has the capacity? You could probably get the one on Polk or the one in evanston to consider whole place use.

Another thought is Lalo's in Des Plaines. They may rent the joint out to you.

The main problem is the size of your group. Think cheap food (greek, pizza, mexican) with a bar, enormous place.

Maybe Joe's on Weed St.? Not the type of place I frequent (major sports bar thing) but I remember it being a HUGE space.....dogs, burgers, pizza....and the price should be right I'm guessing....looking at their site, they seem to have various packages for large groups...

And, it appears to have the "indoor/outdoor" option you are looking for....

No idea what their party pricing is like, but the GameWorks at the Woodfield Mall does have food and alcohol and can accommodate a group of that size.

spinynorman99 wrote:

I went to a company outing at 10-Pin on Willow Rd in Northbrook and that place is quite cavernous.

Are you referring to Pinstripes?

http://www.pinstripes.com/

They advertise accommodating groups from 20-600.

Yep, that's it. I get them confused. In my mind both are called 10-Pinstripes. Sorry about the confusion...

BTW, they do have the indoor/outdoor thing as well.

I planned my 10 year HS reunion and we had it a Joe's On Weed in 2005 (so my recollections of specifics are a tad fuzzy but I will do my best here).
Joe's is not a place I would normally frequent, but their size (we had a class of 300 and ended up having nearly 300 attendees with spouses) and willingness to work with my requirements made it perfect.

It was on a Saturday night. I think it was from 7:00- 10:00.
The committee wanted a casual place where people could wear jeans and just hang out and catch up. We weren't into the cocktail attire and dancing idea.
I didn't want a cash bar. There were definitely some hors d'oeuvres...typical sports bar kind of fare...but we specifically told people that there would be no dinner so most people went to dinner prior.

Our big stipulations were:
An all you could drink package of beer/soda.....but maybe wine and well drinks were included
No room rental fee (we didn't want to front any money, but I did sign a contract and secure the room with a personal CC)
Keeping it at $40 pp or below (but I honestly don't remember what the cost was...I think $40...it was 4 years ago)
and the most important one for me was:
Having the venue collect the cash at the door. I didn't want anyone to get the impression that anyone but the venue was making any sort of profit off of our class.

The staff at Joe's was fantastic, as a professional event planner, I would definitely work with them again if I needed a space like that. They have a DJ booth as well as a stage for live music. They let us use their microphone for some announcements with no AV charge.

I would definitely give them a call to see what they can do.
Or if you want suburbs (with that size group) and want to spend a little more cash I would call Maggiano's.

My main concern about Joe's is the parking situation there. Now that we're all so old and crotchety, people from the burbs don't love driving around looking for parking. No idea if they'd offer valet, that's a good thought and a great casual suggestion.

Re: Maggiano's, I had my son's bar mitzvah there and already called...they have a $7000 minimum the night we need them and while we should reach that with beverages, I don't want to be in the position of having to worry about that minimum. Not sure how "firm" that number really is.

AND, for Pinstripes, great suggestion, I'm going to meet the woman in charge there next week. They apparently do lots of reunions there, are flexible in their minimums and dining options, have a drink package if we want it, AND they are close to the new Sheraton if people want to spend the night (or come from out of town and NEED to spend the night).

I realize $30 is a really tough number, but when I factor in the tax & gratuity plus the cost of printing the booklets, etc., I just don't think anyone cares enough about the food to want to spend lots of money on it and still keep it reasonable for everyone. Not everyone can afford a $75 night out.

Thanks to all for your suggestions, I'm considering all of them and appreciate that you've taken the time to reply.

We did front the cost for the booklets on someone's credit card and asked people to pay a small fee if they wanted one....which everyone did and we actually ran out. We ended up covering the cost without a problem.