ACE Conference Center News & Events

This past Friday, the employees of the ACE Conference Center celebrated “Bring Your Child to Work Day” with over 15 employees and their children participating.  The idea behind the day is to give our employees’ sons and daughters a glimpse of the working world. While bring your child to work day began with a focus on empowering girls, most workplaces nowadays welcome boys and girls equally for inspiration and information.

Some of the highlights of the Bring Your Child to Work Day here at ACE:  All of the kids were given a tour of the golf course at our sister property, the ACE Club.  Not only did they get a chance to tour the gorgeous rolling hills, ponds and creeks that surround the golf course but they got to do it in golf carts!  The Golf Pro, Executive Chef and caddies all came out to speak with the kids about the golf club and what it takes to maintain the golf course for the members.  No tour would be complete without some play time on the course itself!  The kids were given putters to try their hand on the putting green before everyone headed up to the main hotel and conference center.

After their busy morning at the golf club, the kids were given a behind-the-scenes tour of ACE Conference Center, particularly the herb and vegetable gardens as well as the kitchen.  Once at the kitchen, they all were instructed on how to make their own Wolfgang Puck Catering pizzas for lunch!The Executive Catering Chef, Chris Stevens, had all kinds of delicious vegetables, meats and cheeses available for the kids to use to make their own personal pizzas.  But first, they would have to make their own pizza dough! Including learning to toss it in the air!

After lunch the kids were taught by our dedicated Housekeeping Department how to make a swan towel fold.

Although one of the hottest days on record, Bring Your Child to Work Day was a fun day of bonding between the parents and their children.

Tags: Employee Events, Kid Activities, kids parties, Philadelphia Event Venues, Pizza Stations

This hot July weather is only kept in check by seeking out ice cream at every possible opportunity! Whether that means you have to pop out on your lunch break or make a scheduled trip to get your favorite double scoop, don’t forget to sample more than your local Dairy Queen.  There are some truly delightful ice cream parlors and new frozen yogurt shops that offer tasty treats!  Some of our favorites are:

Bredenbeck’s in historic Chestnut Hill.  Since 1889 this bakery and ice cream parlor has delighted families with their tasty, homemade ice creams and beautifully decorated cakes.

Browns Cow on Main Street in the revitalized village of Phoenixville, just a hop skip and a jump from King of Prussia Mall.  What better way to end your day in Valley Forge National Park?

The Franklin Fountain in the historic Philadelphia neighborhood of Old City is a real ice cream “parlour” from days gone by! From the root beer floats made with real homemade root beer to the original creamy colonial ice cream recipes Ben Franklin loved, it’s a must-taste.

Gumdrops & Sprinkles in Wayne is an EXPERIENCE to be sure.  They not only offer a wide selection of homemade ice cream, but barrels and counters laden with candy and housemade fudge.  All wrapped up and tied with a colorful, upbeat and kid-friendly bow.

Handel’s Ice Cream and Yogurt in Berwyn has a Red Velvet Ice Cream that is worth the traffic and long wait in line to get to.  In a word, it’s DIVINE.

MaggieMoos Ice Cream and Treatery has Ice Cream Pizza that will rock your world! We recommend the Chocolate Lover’s Pizza.  Located in Exton, Glen Mills, Warrington and Lansdale.

Whirled Peace, in both Manayunk and Paoli, is an eco-conscious frozen dessert company that dishes out organic ingredients in biodegradable containers.  All in a WiFi friendly, comfortable environment that says “stay awhile.”

Yogo Sano in charming downtown Wayne also serves up gluten-free frozen yogurt made with organic or locally grown ingredients.  The pomegranate is to die for!

If you have a favorite local ice cream parlour that we should know about, please let us know!

Tags: Ice Cream Shops, Local Attractions, Main Line Hotels, Neighborhood, Philadelphia Hotels, Philadelphia Sightseeing

More and more wonderful changes are happening every day at the ACE Conference Center!  This week was no exception with the completion of our new tented event space!  A tented party can take place almost anywhere, but not every outdoor area can handle a tented party.  We’ve made sure we’ve covered all the bases to make our tented terrace ideal for any party or meeting.  Come take a look!

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Tags: Main Line Weddings, Outdoor Wedding Ceremonies, Outdoor Weddings, philadelphia weddings, Rustic Event Venues, Tented Event Spaces, Tents, Urban Loft Venues

We’ve found one of the most important things to remember when planning a child’s celebration is to make sure it reflects the child’s personality, hobbies or the theme of the event.  That includes the activities and games that are carefully chosen to entertain the honoree and his or her friends for the length of the party.  For the events with 75-100 children, that’s no easy feat!  For instance, a child interested in hip hop music may want to incorporate street break dancers, airbrushed graffiti t-shirts and “bling your own” cellphones into the party design.  Or, for a child interested in winter sports, perhaps a virtual reality skiing simulator, make your own snow cones, snowboarding digital photos and embroidered fleece hats are chosen.  Once the child has a particular theme or an environment in mind, it’s realitively easy to find activities, games, favors and performers to flesh out the concept.

[Photo:  Airgraphics Entertainment]

Generally, we suggest at least two but up to five different games or activities for the kids “cocktail hour” to keep the children fully engaged and entertained before the dance party begins.  The number of activities varies depending on the style of the activity, the number of children attending and the other entertainment planned.  We also suggest choosing to offer games and activities for the entire party.  Not all children are dancers; hence, why party deejays also incorporate dance floor group games and party activities into the whole evening.  Other entertainers may not want any distraction away from the dance floor after the kids come into the ballroom.  The deejay, band or emcee for the party will work on a party timeline to determine the best scenario for the party, which may or may not include times to open and close the activities throughout the evening to avoid an empty dance floor.

At the ACE Conference Center we’ve worked with countless companies, performers and entertainers who provide a wide range of activities to suit every event.  Some of our recent favorite games and activities for bar and bat mitzvahs include:

• Funky Heads:  Remember the good ‘ole Dance Heads?  Well take it up a notch to Funky Heads!  Kids get to star in a music video without having to sing or dance!  They sit and bop they’re heads to a funky 70’s song that they select which gets superimposed onto the bodies of professional dancers against an animated background.
• Nascar Racing:  This giant 20’ x 25’ track and lifelike driving experience is loved by both girls and boys.  Players stand behind steering wheel consoles and operate radio-controlled race cars on a miniature track.
• Photo Booths:  There are many versions available of the old-fashioned photo booth that you remember from the boardwalk.  Since they don’t require a large space they’re perfect to tuck into the corner of the ballroom for hours of fun!  Guests sit and pose for their four picture black & white or full-color strips. Some even print in duplicate so the host can get a copy of the photo strip as a keepsake.
• Air-Brushed Graffiti T-Shirts:  Each child gets their name or a fun design airbrush painted by an airbrush artist onto a t-shirt.  Plain white tees or tanks are readily available but hats, towels, boxers and a wholla other options can be had.  [Photo of supercool airbrush artistry above provided by Airgraphics Entertainment]
• Vintage T-Shirt Pillows:  For the crafty, take home favor activity, pillows are made using classic or vintage t-shirts!  During the party the t-shirts are cut and sewn into a trendy pillow for take home.

Tags: ace conference center, bar mitzvahs, games and activities, kids parties, party favors

As a suburban Philadelphia event venue that offers multiple spaces for social gatherings, we are privileged to host a wide variety of family celebrations including weddings, birthdays and anniversaries.  But it’s the bar and bat mitzvah parties that seem to be on the rise on our busy event calendar.  In fact, we’ve booked three bar mitzvahs alone this week and it’s only Tuesday!  We’re lucky enough to have several synagogues in the immediate neighborhood around us, such as Congregation Or Ami, Temple Beth Tikvah and Temple Brith Achim, to name a few.  Certainly, most people think of bar mitzvahs as large family celebrations but do you know the religious symbolism behind the party?

The term “Bar Mitzvah” literally means “son of the commandment.”  “Bar” actually means “son” in Aramaic, which used to be the vernacular of the Jewish people and much of the Middle East.  The term “Bat” means “daughter” in both the Hebrew and Aramaic languages.  ”Mitzvah” means “commandment” in both Hebrew and Aramaic.  Technically, the term refers to the child who is coming of age and now has the same religious rights as an adult, including being morally and ethically responsible for his or her own decisions and actions.  Oftentimes, it is correct to refer to someone as “becoming a bar (or bat) mitzvah.”  However, the term is more commonly used today to refer to the coming of age ceremony itself, and you are more likely to hear that someone is “having a bar mitzvah” or that your child is  ”invited to a bat mitzvah.”

So, really, what exactly does it mean to become a bar or bat mitzvah?  Under Jewish Law, children are not obligated to observe the Commandments in the Torah, although they are encouraged to do so as much as possible to learn the obligations they will have to their community as adult members.  However, at the age of 13 for boys and 12 for girls, children become of age to observe the Commandments of the religion because they are now able to distinguish right from wrong and take responsibility for their actions.  Specifically, the child formally joins their community by leading the weekly religious service as their first public announcement of that obligation.  The celebrant is required to recite the weekly Torah portion, direct parts of the service and lead the congregation in prayer during the Saturday services at the synagogue.  All in Hebrew!  Quite impressive for a twelve or thirteen year old let alone an adult!   Indeed, it is common practice for the mitzvah celebrant to spend months and months (and months) in Hebrew School at their synagogue studying the Torah cover-to-cover and learning the Hebrew language specifically needed for the ceremony.  But it’s a tremendous achievement for the child and his family to become a bar or bat mitzvah.  Relatives and family friends will travel from far distances to witness and participate in these milestone celebrations as proof of their importance and social standing.

Like a wedding, if not more so, to become a bar or bat mitzvah is something to celebrate!   Generally, from what we have seen over the years, the religious morning service is followed by a kiddush luncheon at the synagogue shared with the other regular congregants.  Then, later that same day, the celebrant’s friends, camp friends and family members gather for a party that includes games and activities as well as dinner and dancing.  That’s where we come in here at the ACE Conference Center!   Mazel Tov!

[Photos courtesy of Susan Beard Design]

Tags: bar/bat mitzvahs, Jewish events, Private Parties, religious events, social events