News & Special Interest
Friday Night Delights
Jennifer Christman
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
May 6, 2005
For some time, the Peabody Little Rock hotel management had been toying with the idea of bringing the Peabody Memphis hotel's legendary, long-standing RoofTop Party to Little Rock.
"The RoofTop party has a 40-year tradition as the place to be Thursday night for great music, mingling, to see and be seen — that kind of thing," says Gregg Herning, general manager of the Peabody Little Rock, who served as director of sales and marketing at the Memphis hotel.
"I saw what that party meant to that hotel and that community. Our goal was to introduce [the Peabody] to the community as a sense of place. This event was going to be very ripe for the picking. The community is looking for and needing a signature event to get involved with."
There was one problem.
There isn't a rooftop here. The hotel has a roof, of course, but not one suitable for partying.
Hence, the genesis of the Peabody RiverTop Party, which will be held on the Peabody's upper terrace, which overlooks the Arkansas River. Today marks the first installment of the regular event that will take place from 7 p.m. (early enough for happy hour, pre-dinner drinks or pre-show drinks) to midnight (late enough for a nightcap or an early after-party) each Friday through the summer.
Friday? But isn't the Memphis hotel's event every Thursday?
It is. But the focus group surveys the Peabody conducted with its target market — area young professionals — helped the Peabody Little Rock decide on Friday. The Arkansas Young Professional Network, an event partner, has its own blog on www.rivertopparty.com for those who care to "eavesdrop on the beautiful people," the site says. Said beautiful will be featured in photos in the site's Soiree photo gallery section.
"There is a void here in the city on Friday night," Herning says, adding that the hotel didn't want to interfere with existing events, such as Little Rock's Big Downtown Thursday concerts.
There is a void if the successful turnout of an April 22 private RiverTop kickoff party for organizers, friends and media proved anything. Several hundred people showed up, sipping drinks, modeling halter tops, chatting with friends and dancing to covers like Earth Wind and Fire's "September" and the Gap Band's "You Dropped a Bomb on Me," performed by the wigged members of Dr. Zarr's Amazing Funk Monster.
And Herning says he's hoping for hundreds more: "We'd love to get 400 to 600 people."
So would the good causes that stand to benefit from the RiverTop parties' success, as a portion of each week's proceeds will be donated. This week's recipient is the Arkansas Children's Hospital Foundation.
But where do 400 to 600 people park on a busy Friday when hotel guests are checking in, etc., asks the reporter who waited no less than 20 minutes for her car to be retrieved by the valet the evening of the kickoff?
"People find a place to park," Herning says.
In addition to music acts, many of whom will be performing at the Peabody Memphis RoofTop Party the night before, the RiverTop Parties will feature fully stocked bars and drink specials. At some point this summer, expect the official launch of a signature hard lemonade drink, Ryan's Flying Duck, complete with souvenir glasses. Speaking of ducks, the outdoor/indoor party shares the same space as the hotel's Royal Duck Palace patio, so attendees can catch up with their feathered friends. As for food, some dry bar snacks will be available. (Still hungry? May the management recommend the upscale Capriccio Grill right downstairs?)
RiverTop regulars might consider spending $100 to join The Mallard Crue, which entitles members to special discounts all summer long, as well as a special members-only season pass, which allows the member and a guest free party admission.
Herning says the RiverTop parties are just the beginning. When the party season ends, the hotel will introduce a big Halloween event, Boo Bash, and that will lead into a "grandiose" New Year's Eve Party and plenty more opportunities for folks to come out and shake their tail feathers.
PEABODY RIVERTOP PARTY FEATURING THE VENUS MISSION
7 p.m. to midnight today and every Friday through Labor Day. Peabody Little Rock hotel, 3 Statehouse Plaza, Little Rock. Open to those ages 21 and older; valid identification required.
Admission: $5
(501) 399-8059
www.rivertopparty.com
» Read previous article
» Read next article
» Back to main news