Tibco

This past January, TIBCO Software, a major San Francisco-based provider of business integration solutions, decided to host a year-end company party to end all parties, and boy was AEC ever ready to help them do it!

Our party-professionals rolled up their sleeves and began negotiating all the details of the event-from entertainment and food, to coat check and cocktail napkins-so that our TIBCO friends could relax, leave the coordinating up to us, and enjoy the big event.

A sensory delight

The celebratory spirit couldn’t have been more alive as TIBCO’s eight hundred guests arrived at San Francisco’s City Hall, handed off their pesky keys to Soiree Valet parking service, and proceeded inside for an event so ornate, even the Great Gatsby would be impressed.

Mardi Gras was the theme of the evening, and Patricia Howard set the tone by bestowing colorful beads upon each lucky guest as he or she walked through the door.

McCall & Associates catering and Hartman decor came together to transform the Civic Center into an exotic fantasy world with lush burgundy drapes, festive feathers, ceiling-high flower arrangements, and a larger than life Mardi Gras mannequin.

The room was enlivened by the amazing Starlite Strings-a masked and tuxedoed thirteen piece musical ensemble lining the grand stairway-an unbelievable Louis Armstrong impersonator, and several lavishly-costumed stilt walkers, courtesy of Skyana Creations and topping things off with expertly-arranged burgundy mood lighting and perfectly-placed paisley holograms, Key Events cinched the atmosphere (as usual) with a luminous, starlit, visual extravaganza.

Icing on the affair

Of course, this party proved more than just beautiful-it was also action-packed, especially on the balcony level where hundreds of guests gathered to try their luck at our fully-loaded casino, equipped with several craps stations, black jack tables, and roulette wheels.

And many thanks to the Venetian Masquerade who graced the affair with their breathtaking talent. A hush came over the crowd as this exotic group, decked in gilded masks, chiffon scarves, beaded harem pants, and colorful parasols, slowly danced down the grand marble staircase

Fit for a king

No room for the weak of appetite at this decadent soiree, complete with sumptuous carving stations, sushi and oyster bars, smoked salmon galore, and McCall’s signature jumbo prawns, to name only a few of the evening’s divine treats.

Guests were also provided with an open bar, butlered wine services, and (for the designated drivers of the evening) a large assortment of sodas, juices, and sparkling waters.

Dancing the night away

And as for the music, well, where should we begin?

How about with Dick Bright’s SRO, a nineteen piece non-stop party machine in the north light court? With its four lead vocalists, a full horn section, SRO dancers, three violinists (in hot pants!), and catchy tunes from yesterday and today, this funky musical force was armed to keep the crowd dancing. And boy did they ever!

For those of a more mellow disposition, Abe Batatt and his musicians delivered intimate jazz in the south light court. This smooth quintet, complete with piano, drums, bass, guitar and vocals pitched a perfect background for delightful conversations and romantic dancing.

In with the new

And a delightful and romantic night it was indeed! As the party ended and starry-eyed guests headed back to the valet station, we knew it would be work again as usual for everyone on Monday. But at least we had helped TIBCO commemorate the end of a great year and reward its employees with a night to remember and dream about.