MEA delegates rock on at Marquee

Published On:May 3, 2012

This post is in: articles head slider, In Any Event, Industry Events, MEA

The MEA conference opening night party was held at the Marquee nightclub at The Star. The nightclub had opened just three weeks earlier.

The journey from the conference centre to The Star was made through threatening rain with student volunteers guiding the way with light wands (and with umbrellas at the ready). Then up the purple carpet from The Star’s porte-cochère over what seemed hundreds of stairs to the media wall where guests were greeted by Marquee Marc, a drag queen with inexhaustible energy, and phalanx of photographers.

MEA high rollers

The nightclub itself is labyrinthine. The main dance floor area featured DJ Josh and the resident podium dancers – on pointe. Also in this room were chefs preparing sushi and oysters while waiters plied guests with a continuous assortment of nibbles.

Next door, the pool room had been set up with gaming tables where guests could learn the finer points of blackjack without losing their shirt – the chips and tables were those used for training.

Then on through the library – some very interesting titles on the shelves – and into a very cosy cocktail bar.

Roaming entertainment included a stilt walker who still looked small in the vast atrium, while inside a juggler and snake dancer wove their magic.

The food was great and the booze plentiful. But above all, the service was outstanding. OK, the waitstaff have obviously been chosen for their looks, but they are also very friendly and intelligent (definitely no bimbos).

The main decorative feature of the rooms is the bars – the rest is comfortable sofas and nightclub lighting. So Decorative Events were brought in to add some more pizazz to the space – and it gelled nicely.

The nightclub is open to the public on Friday and Saturday nights, so is available for corporate use during the week – perfect for conferences as it is just a short walk (or tram ride) from SCEC.

The event was organised by Jakki Temple (a long-time supporter of MEA) and Bryce Clarke. Jakki is Executive Director of Sales at The Star and Bryce is the Event & Sales Manager for Marquee.

Jakki told ASE, “The opening party at Marquee was the first business event to be held in this brand new venue. The timing of MEA couldn’t have been more perfect, the committee felt that the style of the venue fitted with the theme of the conference “open your mind” and being a new venue would attract more delegates. The Star knew the word of mouth would assist in business bookings and the feedback on the service and food was extremely positive. Having the closing after party in Cherry simply sealed the deal.”