Are those glory days about to pass you by? Hit the brakes by spending time with your college buddies and associates. Facebook, LinkedIn, and whatever other social media is currently in style are fab for networking and checking out your colleagues’ endeavors. Still, there’s nothing like seeing one another in person – especially if there is fun involved. And with a few alumni event ideas, you can throw an event like no other.
Let’s face it: most larger cities have a chapter of a university alumni association. Members get together regularly to socialize and reminisce. In addition to networking, the main point of alumni events is to raise donations for various college-related causes like scholarships, building additions or upgrades, and technology. So, what should your chapter do that hasn’t been done a thousand times before? This list is designed to help whoever is planning the get-together by providing creative alumni event ideas. (And you know it’s the same person who planned all the events in college – that’s a permanent role.)
1. Casino night
Games, entertainment, maybe some alcohol – we all love an evening together, just playing. Even better if there are winnings to enjoy! Various companies in cities all over can set up a genuine casino environment wherever you meet up, with opportunities to win cash and prizes if it’s legal, of course.
Casino night activities can be big or small, with anything from just bingo to live poker, blackjack, and craps. Some companies even provide rental slot machines. Creative alumni event ideas like this will provide laughs for players and non-players alike, and some of the revenue can be set aside as a scholarship fund or whatnot. The house always wins, after all.
2. Rent a Peerspace venue
Peerspace uncovers thousands of unique spaces in hundreds of cities, providing fabulous places to meet and celebrate. You can rent a mansion like this one in Beverly Hills to host a fundraiser masquerade party or screen a feature film together. Rent a stunning outdoor space like this one in St. Louis (pictured above) for a giant picnic or stargazing party. Rent an art gallery like this one in Portland, Oregon, for the chance to mingle, discuss masterpieces, and maybe make a great video for your chapter. Peerspace is the largest online marketplace for meeting and event spaces, so the opportunities are all but endless for where to host a creative alumni event idea.
3. Rage room
What’s a rage room, you ask? It’s a place where folks with anger pay to violently break stuff, like, say, when your team loses. Ragers use a baseball bat or another provided tool to destroy whatever they want to within their well-stocked rented rage room. The human body is protected from flying debris, but the glassware, electronics, vehicles, or anything else in the rage room is definitely not safe. You can go in together or take turns, depending on the size of the facility and the number of alumni you’ve managed to wrangle. This is a great way to blow off steam and a creative alumni event idea to boot! Everyone can go to the bar afterward and savor their inner peace, networking while calm instead of stressed to the max – for once.
