San Bernardino County Employees’ 2024 Summer Picnic
The Brief
The San Bernardino County sought an event to celebrate their diverse workforce and foster a sense of community. The event, a summer picnic for 9,248 employees and their families, needed to offer a wide range of activities and experiences to appeal to different interests and encourage collaboration across departments.
CA
San Bernardino
33
Entertainment Options
1340
Acres of Activities
9,248
Attendees
What We
Delivered
Event Solutions provided comprehensive planning and on-site management for the 10,000-guest picnic. Deliverables included extensive activities like a 5k walk, car show, and team-building games. The team also handled all catering, entertainment, and logistics, ensuring a variety of engaging experiences for the entire workforce and their families.
How
We Did It
Services Included
Event Planning & Coordination
RSVP Management
Venue Transformation & Setup
Entertainment & Activities
Catering & Food Services
Team Building & Games
Logistics & On-Site Management
Post-Event Evaluation
Who Made It Happen
Event Producer / Project Manager
Creative Director & Design Team
Logistics & Operations Team
Entertainment & Activities Coordinators
Catering & Culinary Team
Team-Building Facilitators
Guest Services & RSVP Staff
Safety & Hospitality Team
Media & Photography Team
The
Experience
Celebrating a Diverse Team with an Employee Picnic
Big events like these are extremely special to us. Bringing together thousands of families, friends, and colleagues for a summer picnic makes for an extraordinary event. When San Bernardino County contacted us to plan an employee picnic for their staff, we were all ears.
Company picnics are our specialty. Diversity in thought and experience makes for a strong and creative team, and these features are what this picnic was all about. San Bernardino County values their diverse workforce, and uplifts each individual and what they bring to the world. So, too, do they value diversity in how the county’s residents live, work, and play.
When planning their workers’ summer picnic, they sought to include a broad range of entertainment and activities to appeal to a diverse group of people, each with their own unique talents and play styles. Our event managers collaborated with the county to plan an outing to uplift every member of the 42 departments attending the employee picnic.
Making Magic
We began planning the picnic early, before summer had even begun, owing to the nearly 10,000 guests that would be attending. The RSVP process alone began months in advance. Our event planners worked together with the county’s event committee, planning and brainstorming themes, activities, games, and experiences that would strengthen the communal dynamics of the workforce and highlight diverse interests and strengths in the group.
It was a sunny day in Greater LA when our team arrived at Glen Helen Regional Park, in the heart of San Bernardino County, to prepare for the day. The guest list for the day consisted of 9,248 staff and their loved ones.
We worked with San Bernardino County for their previous employee appreciation day at this location (see the case study on our sister site), and our team wanted to ensure re the flow of this event was of peak efficiency.
Picnic Preparations
The following morning, we arrived bright and early. Our company picnic catering team fired up their grills. Our catering staff prepared thousands of hotdogs, both vegan and all-beef.
Our team and the county event committee spent the morning turning the expansive park into a treasure trove of experiences for today’s attendees. At the park’s entrance, we helped the client set up the finish line for a 5k walk organized by the county. In another section of the park, our team helped the event committee usher in vintage cars for today’s car show the county organized, somethign that was a hit in previous years.
Our picnic area was the final zone for today’s event. Adorning the greenery of the park were countless inflatables and activities. The registration booths at the front served to usher guests in from the finish line, moving them throughout the space fluidly. Bustling event managers buzzed by on gear-laden golf carts to span the 1,340 acres of the park. Each section was overseen by its own event management, creating a sense of miniature events staggered throughout the park. One event planner oversaw management and workers for all sections, ensuring that the day went without a hitch.
The Fun Begins
The 5k race brought employees into the park proper. Our event manager had spent the morning helping the county with registration for the race and coordinating the overseeing of volunteers. As the participants neared the finish line, they were welcomed by rippling flags flying in the wind and a towering inflatable arch marking the finish line.
It was 10:00 that morning as our guests entered and filed through our event registration service booths, which we’d made speedier by opening multiple lines and giving the option for registering through iPad or by paper. As they walked into the picnic proper, employees and their families were greeted and welcomed by the CEO.
Inflatables towered to the sky around the park, magnificently bright colors glinting in the sunshine. Our client had a lot in store for their guests today. Branded awnings over tables gleamed in the daylight, and crowds gathered to play a friendly game of volleyball together.
Educational Experiences
The day was filled with unique opportunities. The county had brought in some of its equipment, like a firetruck, sheriff’s car, and bulldozer, for guests to pose with or learn about. They even brought in a seismic simulator, to educate about the earthquakes San Bernardino is so prone to.
Standing around the sheriff’s car, our youngest guests were invited to try on a badge, hat, and vest.
Over at the firetruck, firefighters posed for photos with attendees, who they costumed in firefighter helmets.
Revving up Excitement
Meanwhile, the antique car show was a major part of today’s event. Guests were looking forward to this experience long before it started. Advertised on summer picnic invitations and the RSVP, this extraordinary feature drummed up excitement amongst the attendees.
The county had brought in incredible vintage cars spanning decades of production. Each car was meticulously detailed and presented at its best.
Gleaming chrome muscle cars filled a paved area of the event, with signs beckoning visitors to vote on their favorite. Watching on as guests voted for their favorite, and took turns sitting behind the wheel, we knew this car show was a hit, just as we expected.
Team Building Tournaments
Team building activities for corporate events like this are important for adding value that goes beyond appreciation. The county wanted this day to foster collaboration, togetherness, and community, as well as highlight diverse experiences, and team building games are perfect for that.
Whether a guest wished to try out a kickball tournament, hula hoop contest, pool noodle toss, football, or giant cupstack, there were games for everyone. Teams made up of all ages played in the grassy lawns.
Catching a game of football or trying their hand at a potato sack race, cheers and laughter swept up the crowd in excitement. Each competition came with a choice of prizes from our prize table as well as medals for attendees to take home.
Field Game Fun
After the crowd had gotten settled, the first kickball tournament began. We had set up a field area for multiple competitions on the park lawn. Up for grabs today were not just the prizes, but trophies and medals for the winning teams, too.
Cheers filled the air for the players, who themselves had a blast. With nearly 10,000 attendees, the tournaments were incredible! Kickball is a great way to highlight collaboration and teamwork across a large group of people.
By the end of the tournaments, it was time to cool off with a water balloon toss. These games are a staple at summer picnics and make a splash on gamifying values like teamwork and coordination. Every game exemplified the three C’s of teamwork: collaboration, communication, and coordination. Gamifying a learning experience like team building makes it all the more fun.
Activities Aplenty
Crowds moved to and fro, trying out all sorts of activities. Daredevils had a blast at our obstacle courses or wrecking ball game, sports fans tried out football and soccer inflatables, and those looking for human spins on board games tried out our Human Hungry Hippo and our Human Foosball.
Laughter and shouts filled the air from our varying bounce houses. Colleagues bonded over shooting hoops or throwing faux axes, while others played a round of skeet ball or watched on as their children played in the play center.
A live band played as the crowd thrummed throughout the park. Live music, we find, pumps energy into any event. Our speakers projected the music throughout the open space, so no matter a person’s distance, they could enjoy it all the same. Music brings people together, and seeing crowds decked out in company swag during jam sessions proved it.
Furry Friends & Laidback Interaction
In addition to the other activities, the county brought in some of its shelter puppies available for adoption. Our furry guests wagged their tails at every passerby, receiving pets and treats. The puppies were irresistibly adorable and we felt these animals would have no problem finding a home today.
There were other relaxing experiences besides petting animals. For those looking for a laidback, creative activity, our arts and crafts station stood ready for them. Today, we invited attendees to paint rocks. Using paint markers, our guests created vibrantly colored designs, covering an entire table by the picnic’s end.
Guests looking to relax joined in on a game of bingo or corporate trivia, for which they too would win medals and prizes.
Summer Picnic Fun
Planning summer events sometimes means accounting for the season. Outdoor events especially means needing ways for attendees to cool off. If our attendees today needed to cool off, the park’s pool was open exclusively for them.
Whether ankle-wading or diving in deep, the cool water felt amazing after a round of field games in the sunshine. Guests also had Sno-cones and plenty of iced drinks to take part in. We find treats like these and a pool or water feature make summer picnics even more fun.
Though the temperature was in the 100s, the mood of the crowd was chill as they rejuvenated between field games by the water. Once they felt refreshed, the groups went back to the center of the picnic to play even harder.
The End of a Great Summer Day
The sun began to creep its way to the horizon as the picnic wrapped to a close. Our guests were still smiling as they left, medals, puppies, prizes, and crafts in tow. We knew we’d uplifted this diverse workplace and highlighted their sense of community.
As the park grew bathed in golden afternoon light, we began to pack up our trucks. The picnic’s success carried us through our work.
If you’d like to plan an amazing company picnic like this one, feel free to contact our event planning company. Use the form below or call us at 800.366.0603. We’re excited to work with you to create an unforgettable company picnic in Los Angeles for your team.
