The Field Museum of Natural History’s impeccable reputation as an ideal place to hold a charity event was sealed at the 1996 gala party for Diana, Princess of Wales, declared a hit by the more than 1,300 society folk who paid up to $2,500 to dine and dance with royalty.
With that kind of legacy to uphold, Field officials were dismayed Friday by what sometimes seemed more like a mosh pit than a New Year’s Eve charity event in the Chicago museum. By the end of the event, which featured Chicago Bulls star Dennis Rodman, police were called to break up several shoving matches at the coat-check desk.
The museum’s priceless exhibits were left intact, but the museum’s pride in its reputation was bruised as its officials tried to figure out why the evening turned rowdy and many partygoers left disgusted.
“This doesn’t happen to us,” said Pat Kremer, spokeswoman for the museum, which was not responsible for organizing the event. “We can carry off a party for thousands of people and Princess Di. This is very upsetting.”
One of the city’s more popular sites for private company parties, weddings and high society charity events, the Field early last year was more than happy to allow a Chicago company to organize a fundraising event for pediatric AIDS research for Children’s Memorial Hospital.
But that was before the producers turned the event into a much more public party than the museum had bargained for, Kremer said. In an unusual move for a Field charity event, she said, the party was promoted in ads, and the public was urged to buy tickets through Ticketmaster, the same agency that distributes concert tickets.
Add to the mix some ticketholders’ misguided belief that they’d get to chat with Rodman, the party host, as well as the museum’s contention that there were too few bartenders and coat-check staff to serve the crowd, and the stage was set for one very restless crowd.
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The evening began with all the makings of a smash event: a world-class museum for a setting, a popular local sports star as host and performances by two widely known bands.
Laura Hausman, 33, paid $125 for a VIP ticket and borrowed a vintage black cape from a friend for what she thought would be a night to remember.
“Boy, was I wrong about that,” said Hausman of Chicago Ridge. “I had such high hopes for the evening, because I always heard about how nice parties are at the Field Museum.”
Soon after arriving, she and others waited for more than an hour outside in freezing weather before they wound their way inside to the coat-check area. Still more lines awaited them inside at the 10 bars set up for the party.
The caterer did not provide enough hors d’oeuvres, upsetting those who expected more for the $95 they paid for a regular ticket, Kremer said.
“We were promised hors d’oeuvres and open bars,” said Sarah Johnson, 23, of Tinley Park. “We got maybe three servers who came out a few times with trays. And before they could walk 10 feet, people devoured the food. Then (the servers) disappeared for the night.”
One band, Monaco, starring Peter Hook of the popular 1980s’ band New Order, didn’t show because one member was ill. The other act, the Violent Femmes, was introduced by Rodman, who performed with them.
But as the evening wore on, some in the crowd became careless, spilling beer on the museum’s floors, dropping bottles and defying the museum’s no-smoking policy.
Most partygoers were in their 20s and 30s, and many appeared to be drinking beyond their limit.
“People were throwing up all over the place,” Johnson said.
“Bottles dropped on the floor. There was broken glass around the stage, and one girl had fallen and landed on her back on glass. Another girl had broken her nose, and she was holding an ice pack to her face,” said Kit Walling, a free-lance photographer there on assignment for the Tribune.
When the crowd began leaving after Rodman left the stage around 2 a.m., the crew handling coats couldn’t keep up with the crowd, and, at one point, partygoers stormed into the check room to look for their own coats.
According to Chicago police, some 30 people called them to report that their coats were stolen. Police were called to the scene to break up a couple of scuffles.
Kremer placed most of the blame on Bacchus Productions–not to be confused with Bacchus Group Productions, which provides music for corporate and society events.
Julie Pesch, a spokeswoman for Children’s Memorial, said the hospital was not involved in the event and did not learn of the party until it was advertised.
Before agreeing to the event, the museum checked out Bacchus Productions’ credentials and was told that other events it held–for example, at the State of Illinois Center–went smoothly. But the company apparently surprised museum officials in December when it promoted the event and sold tickets through Ticketmaster.
Despite their reservations, Field officials agreed to the last-minute changes only after Bacchus Productions and its vendors assured them they would provide enough security, food and drinks, Kremer said. They didn’t follow through, she said, and the crowd became restless because the company Bacchus Productions contracted with to serve food and drinks and check coats was understaffed.
“We believe they weren’t prepared for the volume of people who attended,” Kremer said.
But Srin Reddy, Bacchus Productions’ president, said the museum was aware for many months the event would be promoted and Ticketmaster would sell tickets. There was plenty of food and bartenders, Reddy said.
But he agreed that “the coat check situation was extremely poor” and blamed the subcontractor hired for the job. Only six inexperienced workers were on hand to check coats, although the company had earlier agreed to bring 10 to 12 experienced staff members, he said.
Fortunately, Reddy said, he made sure the catering company had a $1 million loss, damage or theft policy before the event.