Georgia Aquarium – Event Space

First class event space! 3^rd year for Venture Atlanta! Attending many events around the country, they all seem to look the same. Having an event at the Georgia Aquarium makes the entire experience more memorable, more engaged, stay longer and look forward to coming back again!

First I hope I have/​am posting this in the right section for Ga Aquarium events. I attended the «jazz function» on Fri nite. I had heard this event advertised and love jazz. The band was very good and the drinks were equally as good and inexpensive for a cash bar. The big + is you also get to tour the Aquarium … A family member who had never been really enjoyed the viewing… I would return, however I do not recommend dining there. Parking is a challenge as well but they do offer a parking deck and golf-​cart service from the deck to the door (be sure to tip :-)

I was lucky enough to attend a party there last night celebrating Tobago and the new Delta non-​stop. I’d never been to the event space before, but I’ve been to the aquarium several times and even done the behind the scenes tour. I really enjoyed the opportunity to see both the main tank and the beluga tank from a new vantage point.
I spent the cocktail hour with my face pressed against the glass looking at the whale sharks and Nandi the new manta ray, emerging only sporadically to grab chicken/​pineapple pizza, fish cake with mango salsa — both ehh, or the fantastic rum punch. I really loved the punch and the neat curvy glass it was served in, but I cut myself off after two since I didn’t know how strong it was and I had to drive home, as MARTA is not convenient for the aquarium.
When we went into the main ballroom, I was surprised to see only hightop tables and about 10 chairs against the back wall. For an event lasting two hours, making everyone stand that long seemed a bit odd. I was lucky to score a table directly in front of the belugas and was able to watch them quite a bit. The food was not fantastic, really fishy fish filets, dried out chicken, etc. although the beef carving station at the end looked tasty, but I can’t eat beef. Dessert was scoop your own mini cones of raspberry sorbet and some kind of cake and grilled fruit kabobs. Nothing fantastic.
I enjoyed the color changing lights projected on the wave ceiling, which I felt like did a good job of keeping the noise level low, but also was surprised by the completely plain white tables. All in all a very unique and fun event space, but the catering could use an upgrade.

I recently attended the Jack Hanna Celebrity Benefit for GROW, the Georgia Rehabilitative of Wildlife hospital… they are trying to build the first Georgia Wildlife hospital in South Fulton. The event itself was very nice and amusing, but I wanted to comment on the venue.
The catering was Wolfgang Puck, and really very very good for a meal served to a crowd of hundreds. The bar was nice and efficient. The majority of the folks staffing the event were pleasant and helpful. The passed hor d’oeuvres were very good.
The tables were «aiight.» Though not particularly inspiring. They initially had lovely blue glass chargers, but when they pulled them away it was just white table cloth… no center piece or whimsy. Now I’m a minimalist, but I like a little bit of flava.
The space did not overwhelm me. I enjoyed the viewing window in the outside hallway more than I did the beluga viewing inside the ballroom, as it was like a million feet from where we sat, and truly seemed kinda just like an awkward add on at the back of the room. I had hoped the exhibits would have been more integrated into the design of the ballrooms. I really didn’t like the «wavy» ceiling either. The architecture was just not up to par with the sophisticated integration of style and the sexiness of the aquatic life that I had imagined.
I don’t know. The event, I was enthusiastically supportive of, but I supposed I had high hopes for the event space itself, but was ultimately underwhelmed.