From cute and cuddly to gigantic and exotic, nearly everyone has a favorite animal and loves the chance to be around magnificent creatures. Animals are often calming, and watching the graceful movements of a giraffe or the stealth walk of a cheetah can help you relax and de-stress - criminal justice colleges. It's no wonder animal attractions are top venues for special events.

Zoos, wildlife parks and other animal-themed venues are no longer just for field trips or children's birthday parties; these venues appeal to adults for corporate retreats, business dinners, fancy galas and fundraisers. Events on the "wild side" lend an animal magnetism that will wow guests and ensure a memorable occasion (cisco careers).

Wild Things
The Denver Zoo is Colorado's premier animal venue-perfect for any large or small event-in an exotic setting. "With nearly 4,000 animals on 80 acres of diverse landscapes, Denver Zoo offers an amazing backdrop for those who want their event to be special," says Sophia Sun, corporate events and group sales coordinator. "From meetings to company picnics and holiday parties, we have the space to accommodate groups from 20 to 6,000 people."

The zoo's main banquet space is Norgren Hall, a large indoor room with ample windows overlooking the animal exhibits. The hall is equipped with a sound system and can be rented for four or eight hours each day. The three rooms can be divided to accommodate meetings of 20 to 300 people - cosmetology colleges.

The Conoco Zoo Gardens feature a spacious covered picnic pavilion and two gazebos, available for rental from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Rental of these facilities includes access to the zoo. Daytime rental is available for up to 500 people; nighttime rental is available for up to 6,000 people.

Additionally, the zoo's Samburu Patio space can accommodate up to 350 people and overlooks the Predator Ridge exhibit. "The exhibit is designed to recreate the look of the Samburu National Reserve in Kenya, and is home to lions, African wild dogs and hyenas," says Sun. "It's truly unlike any event rental in Colorado."

Tim Gilmore, a legislative specialist at Brownstein, Hyatt & Farber, one of Denver's largest law firms, attended a company barbecue at the zoo organized by The Arrangers, a Denver-based event planning company - interior design institute. The firm rented out the entire zoo for an evening, which Gilmore says was an enjoyable experience. "It was a real joy to have the zoo [just to ourselves] for an evening," says Gilmore, adding that zoo staff entertained the 400 guests with specialty animal shows. "It was something new and different, and great for families."

Events at the zoo can have added pizazz with staff-coordinated extras, such as the live
animal demonstrations performed at the Brownstein, Hyatt & Farber barbecue. Additionally, the zoo offers a scavenger hunt and a wildlife show, where birds and talented mammals will entertain and educate guests.

The Butterfly Effect
Imagine a tropical rainforest setting filled with fragrant, blooming plants and flowers, and brightly colored butterflies discreetly and delicately fluttering around. This enchanted setting exists at the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster. Their new 2,000-square-foot event center provides a variety of arrangements for meetings or social events of up to 500 people.

"The Butterfly Pavilion is a great place to have an event because guests are able to enjoy a beautiful tropical rainforest environment while educating themselves about protecting the invertebrates in our world," says Ann Conway, events coordinator at the Butterfly Pavilion. "With 1,200 free-flying butterflies of many species, as well as turtles, birds, fish and blooming tropical flowers, the Butterfly Pavilion brings you to a different place in the middle of Denver, Colorado."

Conway notes the setting is spectacular for photographs, and children particularly think the setting is fun. "It's an activity the whole family can do," she says. Jeannie Eckenrode, chair of the fundraising committee at Stargate Charter School in Thornton, organized a dinner, dance and silent auction at the Butterfly Pavilion in November 2004. "We were searching for a venue that would attract parents, yet be different than a hotel. The Butterfly Pavilion was perfect," says Eckenrode, noting that 100 people attended the fundraiser. "Just to be surrounded by all these chirping things and the butterflies, it was great."

Students from the school had made brightly colored paper butterflies decorated with glitter, which Eckenrode says were used as decorations in the main room at the Butterfly Pavilion. "We hung them with tulle netting and white twinkle lights," she says. "Butterflies were everywhere, and we had balloons and centerpieces donated by a florist. The guests loved it."

Eckenrode's invitations also tied in to the butterfly theme, inviting guests to "come dance with the butterflies." Guests enjoyed the opportunity to walk through the conservatory before having dinner.

Colorado's Wildest Experience Colorado is home to many animals, and when thinking of the Rocky Mountains, animals such as the mountain lion and buffalo often come to mind. At The Wildlife Experience in Parker, guests can learn more about wildlife found in Colorado, including buffalo, as well as wildlife from around the world.

The 111,000 square-foot center is a museum with an extensive collection of natural history artifacts, paintings, sculptures and film exhibits. The Back From The Brink exhibit documents the return of the American bison from near extinction, and the Vanishing Africa exhibit focuses on the African Maasai culture, the grasslands of Africa and the wildlife that can be found there.

The Wildlife Experience's 315-seat state-of-the-art iWERKS theater houses a 45 by 60-foot giant screen. Groups may rent the theater for presentations, lectures, film screenings and other special events. With a small stage area and digital projection system, the theater is perfect for evening events.

The 8,400-square-foot reception hall on the first floor of the complex is a beautifully decorated banquet space capable of facilitating high-tech audio-visual presentations. The hall can accommodate up to 600 for seated banquets and 850 for presentations or non-seated events. This year, the facility added a 40 by 60-foot tent on the beautiful outdoor grounds, called the Conservation Courtyard. The spacious tent can be rented alone or in conjunction with the indoor meeting space, and can seat up to 200.

Kathy Graveley, director of development for Excelsior Youth Center in Aurora, selected The Wildlife Experience to host Excelsior's annual benefit gala for the past three years in a row. "We just love the location and the wide open spaces," she says. "It's a magnificent building, it's just gorgeous. The catering company is wonderful and so is the staff."
The theme for the Excelsior gala, held in May 2005, was "Ever Upward," with hot-air balloons used to depict the theme. Tables were decorated with large, colorful helium balloon bouquets. Although the event's theme did not have a tie-in to the wildlife setting, Graveley said the guests enjoyed looking at the select exhibits that were open for viewing.

Amber DeBerry, vice president of marketing and sales for The Wildlife Experience, says the ambiance and open spaces of the facility make it a unique venue. "It's so aesthetically pleasing," she says, noting the two-story high ceilings, hand-cut and hand-placed Colorado sandstone atrium, abundance of natural light, earth-tone colors and unique decorative touches.

Many bronze wildlife sculptures can be found throughout the building, including sculptures of a large mountain lion, a manatee and a sea otter with a baby sea otter, adding authenticity to the environment.

Dana Lauren Berry is a freelance writer from Littleton, Colo.

Ready for a quick game of word association? OK, first word is Colorado. What comes to mind? The mountains, skiing, river rafting, fly-fishing, backpacking, golf, hiking; the list goes on, and so does the high-altitude allure of the Rocky Mountain state, especially from the perspective of destination management companies offering incentive travel programs.

Home to some spectacular geographic and cultural attractions, Colorado is a decided hot spot in the incentive travel biz.

Destination Services of Colorado, Inc. (DSC) is a destination management company that works as a partner with incentive travel companies. According to Mike Wolf, DSC's Denver/Mountain Division general manager, Colorado offers "wow" types of destinations that make for very attractive group travel programs that reward employee performance.

"Our focus is primarily with Fortune 100 to Fortune 500 companies," explains Wolf. "Those companies begin to build their incentive programs with what is known as a third-party incentive house. Once the program has been built, the next step is to decide the reward, which is the destination. It could be an African safari, a Caribbean cruise or a Colorado adventure trip to Beaver Creek. Once the destination has been selected, the third-party incentive house will work very closely with a full-service destination management company. Destination Services of Colorado is this type of company."