Unexpected Scottsdale

It’s time to discover the Scottsdale you only thought you knew! These unique venues and out-of-the-box event ideas are just what you need to put a fresh twist on your next Scottsdale program.

Foodie Town USA: Scottsdale was just ranked number two on Livability.com’s 2014 list of the nation’s “Top 10 Foodie Cities.” Meeting planners can capitalize on Scottsdale’s understanding of the farm-to-table movement with a downtown food tour. Browse the shops and galleries of downtown, stopping at various restaurants along the way for cocktails and appetizers. For your main course, choose a third restaurant or stop by the Food Truck Caravan, which sets up every Saturday night in the heart of downtown. The Caravan features between eight and 10 gourmet food trucks each week, as well as art and live music.

Grapes & Grains: Introduce your group to the bounty of Arizona’s finest wineries and breweries. The Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch hosts the Arizona Wine Experience every Friday evening. A sommelier teaches groups about the state’s various grape growing regions and then conducts a blind taste test that includes three Grand Canyon State wines and three challenger varietals. For beer lovers, Encore Creative embraces local brews with its Beer Tap Bar. This completely portable bar can be brought to any venue so that your group can try craft beers from Four Peaks Brewery, San Tan Brewery and others.

Sonoran Desert 101: Pink Jeep Tours is best known for their four-wheel-drive tours of Sedona’s red rock country. But did you know that they also conduct tours of Scottsdale’s amazing Sonoran Desert? Pink Adventure Tours‘ Sonoran Desert Experience starts with an easy half-mile walk in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve to learn about the various plants and cacti that live in the desert. Then it’s on to a private tour at Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center where your group will meet hundreds of rescued animals native to the Sonoran Desert, including coyotes, javelina, bobcats, owls and mountain lions.

Top-Tier Golf: Not everyone loves golf. We get that. But you’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t love TopGolf Riverwalk, which opened in June at Talking Stick: An Emerging Cultural and Entertainment Destination on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. The 65,000-square-foot venue features three levels of semi climate-controlled golf bays from which players hit micro-chipped golf balls at dartboard-like targets that track each shot’s distance and accuracy. TopGolf can accommodate groups of 10 to 1,200 in its board room, banquet rooms and large rooftop terrace.

Scottsdale’s Western Roots: Come January 2015, groups will be able to pull on their cowboy boots and Stetsons and mosey on over the long-awaited Scottsdale Museum of the West. The two-story, 40,000-square-foot museum will tell the story of history’s notable pioneers and frontier expansion. Plan an event in the museum’s five galleries of paintings, sculptures and cultural artifacts. As your group mingles over cocktails and appetizers, they can explore the ever-evolving American West, from cowboys on horseback to historic roads like Route 66. Pieces by famed artists such as Carl Oscar Borg, John Coleman and Maynard Dixon will take the spotlight.

from Official Travel Site for Scottsdale, Arizona | http://ift.tt/Xqb38C

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