With COVID disrupting normal Fourth of July plans at the club, management decided to host five distinct events in separate areas on its property on the same day in mid-July of 2020. The events were: Cocktails and Carts; Dinner and a Show; Picnic at the Pool; Drive-In and Dine; and Dessert After Dark. The evening culminated with everyone watching the same fireworks show.
Philadelphia Country Club typically hosts an Independence Day Extravaganza, but had to rethink the normal plans when outdoor events had attendance restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020.
With the coronavirus forcing the cancellation of many 4th of July events, club officials tackled the challenge of offering a holiday celebration for its members.
“The team really came together and we [said], ‘we do separate events, we can make it work,’” says Missi Johnson, Clubhouse Manager at Philadelphia Country Club. “We really just had multiple brainstorming sessions as a management team.”
The club’s usual Independence Day Extravaganza typically involves a heavy amount of planning where everyone on the management team plays a role. So, Johnson says, “it was very normal” for the management group to do a large amount of planning and coordinating for this alternative event.
“Everyone was really excited to have the opportunity to be able to put on an event like this,” Johnson says.
The club decided to host five distinct events in separate areas on its property on the same day in mid-July of 2020.
The events were: Cocktails and Carts; Dinner and a Show; Picnic at the Pool; Drive-In and Dine; and Dessert After Dark. The evening culminated with everyone watching the same fireworks show.
Each event was restricted to no more than 200 people, according to information provided by the club at the Club Management Association of America’s Idea Fair.
Prospective attendees had to select one of the events and register for it on the club’s website.
“They were all priced differently and appropriately for what the experience was,” Johnson says.
She notes there was a lot of coordination that needed to occur among club employees for the offering of events.
“We had the arrival for some of the different experiences at different times so we could move staff around [to different locations],” Johnson says. “… We didn’t have our full staff at that time for a multitude of reasons.”
For Cocktails and Carts, members enjoyed drinks while sitting in a cart on the 10th hole fairway. Dinner and a Show gave members a chance to have an outdoor five-course meal. Picnic at the Pool was for members who wanted to spend the evening in a casual setting with their children. Drive-in and Dine was an event where people could park on the cart path along the course and enjoy it as a “tailgate” type of activity.
The club tried to provide something for everyone since members had varying comfort levels regarding attending an event during the pandemic.
Drive-in and Dine had the most social distancing, while Picnic at the Pool offered the highest level of interaction.
“For the drive-in option, we did that because we thought it would be fun to come in with your family and essentially stay in your car and stay together, [and] not really have to interact with anyone else,” Johnson says. “Whereas, obviously the pool party was more interactive … more people were together, moving from group to group.”
Since club officials had discussed possibly hosting outdoor movie nights, Johnson says Cocktails and Carts offered a chance to test the concept. Staff members parked the carts on the 10th hole fairway and assigned a cart to each registered group. Johnson says staff diagramed the set-up similar to the way assigned seating occurs for a wedding.
“[Attendees] had that space, they had their assigned golf cart, but they couldn’t drive them around,” Johnson says. “… We had [the carts] all parked and staged and set up appropriately distanced apart.”
Dinner and a Show, which was the most formal event, happened on the club’s outdoor dining terrace. Due to the pandemic, a buffet-style meal could not be offered.
“It had the nice menu cards, linen napkins,” Johnson says. “It was a nice dinner and then the members just hung out until the fireworks started.”
For Dessert After Dark, members arrived close to dusk and enjoyed dessert and drinks while sitting on blankets on a large hill near the dining terrace.
Having these multiple activities during the pandemic meant that club staffers had to figure out distancing and restroom accessibility issues. It was essential to provide clear communication with members leading up to the event.
“We sent out very clear directions and rules and guidelines prior to [the events],” Johnson says.
Instructions told attendees when they should arrive for their event and where they should park. Johnson notes the membership enjoyed the festivities.
“I think they really thought it was so creative and so neat,” she says. “… Coming out of it, everyone was [saying], ‘I think we should do this every year.’”
But Johnson says since it would be difficult to do a hybrid event, the choice would be between the five separate activities in 2020 or the one traditional carnival-style event on the golf course.
“The members would much rather be all together and on the fairway having a great time,” Johnson says.
The traditional event returned in 2021, but Johnson says the 2020 activities reflected club management’s determination to provide members with a sense of normalcy during the pandemic.
“It was a great way to celebrate that year when everything else seemed to be canceled … I know [the members] felt very lucky that we were able to do it and make it work and that it was safe and enjoyable for everyone,” Johnson says.
The Goal: With the COVID-19 pandemic restricting the number of people that were allowed to attend an outdoor event in 2020, Philadelphia Country Club’s management team tried to figure out how to offer an Independence Day
celebration for its members.
The Plan: The club’s management team had multiple brainstorming sessions and crafted a plan to host five separate activities on club property on the same day in mid-July: Cocktails and Carts; Dinner and a Show; Picnic at the Pool; Drive-In and Dine; and Dessert After Dark. The evening culminated with everyone watching the same fireworks show.
The Payoff: The events were well-attended and gave club members a unique way to celebrate the country’s birthday in a year that had been anything but normal.
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