Event Planning Photos » Rexfest 2017
To mark 125 years in business, Rexnord celebrated in an unusual way… with screeching monkeys swinging from trees, elephants stomping to the beat of live music, and peacocks strutting their stuff as they strolled through a party of 3,800 guests made up ofemployees and their families.
Yes, once again, Underwood Events accepted the invitation from Rexnord to conceptualize and orchestrate their anticipated family picnic – coined RexFest – at the Milwaukee County Zoo. The elephant in the room was how could UE possibly make this the most untamed affair of them all, in recognition of the monumental milestone the company reached? UE decided to transform the family event into a rip-roaring birthday party, complete with party hats, colorful sunglasses, and even gourmet birthday cupcakes for every single guest.
Brightly colored signage, overflowing with a festive typeface and custom-illustrated zoo characters in full party mode, alongside towering birthday cakes, greeted guests as they checked in.
These same beasts, in oversized hand-painted glory, stood tall on tables and graced everything from event invitations, handouts and the signage that welcomed guests to the entertaining amusements spread out on the grounds. Travelling performers in vibrant striped costumes handed out the day’s must-have accessories. And food stations included delectable finger-food fare like mini pretzels, cheese curds, Johnsonville brats®, homemade ice cream, fresh lemonade and corn-on-the-cob complete with a “weeping willow” tree of dangling salts and seasonings!
When Rexnord employees and families weren’t enjoying the zoo’s feeding time, they could stampede over to hear live music from 5 Card Studs, who made sure to lead the captivated crowd in several renditions of Happy Birthday, or they could stop by the cheerful photo booth to don masks of their favorite furry friends.
As joyful as RexFest always is, Rexnord never forgets those who are less fortunate and uses the occasion as an opportunity to collect food for the hungry. Over 5,400 pounds of food made it to the Hunger Task Force this year, making this a furr-ociously successful collaboration between Rexnord and UE for the seventh year in a row.
