Pumpkin flavored items are a big hit this time of year and Milwaukee has it's share of pumpkin food and beverages to tempt your taste buds.  Check out this great article from Milwaukee Magazine featuring the 9 pumpkin-flavored things to try in Milwaukee.   

China Lights is back at the Boerner Botanical Gardens starting Friday, September 21st.   According to a recent article in the Business Journal: "the glow of the cultural displays will light up 10 acres of Boerner Botanical Gardens, 9400 Boerner Drive, Hales Corners. Presented by Tri City National Bank, the festival celebrates Asian culture with entertainment, a marketplace and various food and beverage options. It will run from Sept. 21 to Oct. 21 and the festival's hours run from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.The festival drew 100,000 visitors in each of its first two years at Boerner.
This year's festival, "China Lights: Panda‐mania," features several panda‐habitat lantern displays, including a large panda sculpture covered in pingpong balls.
Here is a link to purchase tickets.  

Yes, you read that correctly, beer tourism is on the rise in Milwaukee attributed to the craft breweries in the city.  According to a recent article in Milwaukee Magazine, Andy Gehl from Third Space Brewing is quoted as saying, “Milwaukee is absolutely underrated nationally and even regionally as a beer destination,” said Gehl. “The craft drinkers in Milwaukee know that it is quickly becoming an amazing place for craft beer, but the development of our craft scene has happened so recently and so quickly that people who haven’t been paying close attention to it have no idea the wealth of craft beer riches we now have in this town. Everyone outside of Milwaukee knows of our beer history, but they don’t know that we are in the middle of a craft beer renaissance as well.”

Visit Milwaukee also provided some interesting statistics from Longwoods International, a leading travel and tourism research firm to back that up.    The research shows that breweries were among the top five activities by travelers on overnight trips to Milwaukee. Among day trips and overnights combined, breweries ranked as the top reason to visit. Approximately 11 percent of total overnight trips are due to beer tourism, compared to the national average of 5 percent.
You can read the entire article about Milwaukee's beer tourism here. 

I had the opportunity to tour two event spaces in Milwaukee today, one new and one that has been around a while but added on to their existing facility.   
JB's on 41 was voted 'One of America's coolest bowling alleys' by Travel and Leisure Magazine.   They have a lot of event space and the traditional bowling lanes and then Suite 51 Boutique Lanes, your own private bowling alley with 10 lanes for your next corporate event or staff party.   Their food is all made from scratch and they have menus for all budgets. 
Event Menu for JB's on 41 
I also toured the (soon to be open) Jan Seer Studio, a UW Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts facility.   They have many event spaces (indoors and outdoors) for clients to use and a 6th floor event space with a phenomenal view of downtown Milwaukee and the Lakefront with parking in the same building and Saz's as the caterer.   Milwaukee continues to add new event spaces and updates to existing ones, offering corporate planners many great options.  
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Planning a meeting is hard work and trying to plan the entertainment is even more difficult, you need to find something that appeals to all age groups.  According to a recent article in The Bizzabo Blog, listed below are four tips for planning a corporate event and then a link to 20+ ideas.   A Destination Management Company can help facilitate these ideas and more.   

1. Focus on creating an immersive experiences
We live in a world where experiences are valued more than ever before. It’s not shock that experiential marketing is booming think about escape rooms, pop-ups and more popping up everywhere. A recent study found 72 percent of millennials prefer to spend more money on experiences than on material things. People want to feel a part of the experience so why not take that knowledge and leverage it into your event entertainment? Not only will it make your event more buzz-worthy, but you will be adding value that your attendees will appreciate.
2. Keep an eye on the budget
Entertainment can be expensive. Always create an event budget prior to booking any entertainment. Be sure you know the costs of the entertainers and any supporting elements they may need. For example, an aerial artist might also need a structure they can perform from, lighting so the crowd can see them, and speakers so the crowd can hear the music. A live band may need a stage, lighting and sound as well. The additional supporting elements are not always provided by the entertainer so always check what is included while booking your event entertainment. Always think about the entire picture when hiring entertainment to avoid any surprises to your budget! 
3. Stick to your event goals 
With entertainment it is easy to get carried away with the latest trends for the sake of being trendy—but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good idea. Always think about your event goals. Why are you having the event in the first place? Everything you do from food to entertainment should support your overarching event goals. Just because an entertainment idea sounds cool doesn’t mean it will fit into your events overall concept.
4. Remember your audience
When planning your event’s entertainment you need to really think about the audience. Find out what they are doing before the entertainment is scheduled, and what the demographics are like. Sending out pre-event surveys and mining your event software for analytics from previous events is a great way to figure out what your attendees want.
If your attendees will be spending the entire day sitting in breakout sessions, having them sit down and watch a performance for an hour is likely the last thing they will want to do. In this case, something more interactive that allows them to move around will probably be more successful.
Did your attendees just spend the day training in the latest fitness techniques? In this case, they might want to just sit down and enjoy a show! If you keep in mind what the attendee has on their schedule before and after your entertainment you have a much better chance of making it a smashing success.