Case Study: Winter Olympics–Themed Event
- Christy Johnson
- Apr 1
- 7 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
By Christy Johnson, Natasha Amos, Lindsay Erstad, and Annie Pennings Edmond
THE SNAPSHOT
After nearly seven years of working together, Chowgirls and Ovative Group have the kind of relationship where both sides show up at their initial planning meeting already excited, trusting, and thinking about how to top last year's event.
The annual Year Beginning Party is one of the most anticipated dates on their calendar. It's a night that brings together 600 employees from offices across the country — yes, people actually fly in for it — alongside guests who, as Ovative's own team put it, "make the whole night magical." It’s part employee appreciation, part celebration of a new year, and a reflection of the company’s spirited, "all-in" culture.
THE BRIEF
Leading up to the February event, Chowgirls brainstorms a wide range of concepts to present to Ovative's planning team. This time, however, they came to the table already inspired by the buildup to the Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games. And when the Opening Ceremony was scheduled to land on the same date as the party, the theme became obvious.
As they have every year, Ovative's team told Chowgirls to go full throttle. They know that their employees love to get creative with their attire, so the dress code call-out was to "wear what makes you happy." The goal was for guests to genuinely feel like they were attending the Olympics, and asked us to help build an immersive, celebratory, and electric vibe.
Chowgirls set out to provide exactly what was asked for, with a formal-yet-fun atmosphere, Olympic-themed food and décor, interactive moments, and the kind of details that guests would never forget — even if just hours earlier they'd been sitting at a desk in the now-transformed office.
THE CREATIVE CONCEPT
The challenge with this theme was dreaming up a look and feel that was high end rather than party-store cliché. Our team tackled this with a unique approach. Instead of designing an event around the Olympics, we set out to make it feel like the Ovative employees were actually walking into the Olympic Village.
To do that, each area was anchored to a sports genre found at the Games. For example:
Dessert Station = Alpine Skiing = sleek and snow-capped
International Food Court = Team Sports = a global gathering hub
Crêpe Station = Figure Skating = elegant with a touch of flair
Bars & Beverages = Sled Sports = high-energy and interactive
We decorated the spaces with country flags, wintry scenery, and sports gear like figure skates, curling rocks, and hockey gloves.
Meanwhile, the menu celebrated the global spirit of the Olympics through fare like sambusas from Somalia, ceviche from Peru, and crêpes from France. There was an International Food Court that highlighted the flavors of different countries, and we even built out an Italian gelateria complete with a gelato cart and large-scale, arched wall menus.
Those with a sweet tooth were mesmerized by the incredible dessert station, which included the three-tiered "Cortina Cake" that was covered with snowy, white chocolate buttercream and adorned with tiny skiers and snowboarders made from edible wafer paper.
For a late-night snack option, Chowgirls served up sushi and empanadas, both of which were a big hit with the Ovative crowd.
One of the evening's most beloved details was the edible cookie medals created by our talented pastry chefs. Guests could step up to the winner's podium and place a ribbon-adorned, gold-dusted cookie medallion around their necks.
Throughout the office’s four floors, we made sure brand integration was intentional. Thanks to a previous event they'd hosted, our client already owned a very realistic sports-announcer desk, so we simply had to re-skin it with a custom-designed "Ovative Olympic Village" logo. The result was a polished, professional setup that looked just like the ones seen during TV coverage of the Games. We also hired actors from Enticing Entertainment to provide lively commentary as guests entered the party.
THE EXECUTION
Planning an event of this scale in under two months, inside a working office, with multiple vendors, 600 guests, and a theme that needed to feel like a world-class sporting event, requires the kind of strategy that most guests never see. And that's where Chowgirls shines.
"Logistics are our expertise!" says Lindsay Erstad, Chowgirls' sales manager. "We’ve done this event for a handful of years, so we continue to adjust, correct, and come back the next time with creative solutions to improve."
Sometimes we really want an item on an event's menu, even if execution could be a challenge. For example, we were logistically nervous about the crêpe station because we typically offer them made-to-order, but that wasn’t an option for an event this size. So the kitchen spent the week prior R&Ding them, and the crêpes ended up being a huge success.
Another thing that gets a lot of consideration in the planning stages is vendor choreography. To keep the details organized, Erstad built out a master spreadsheet that tracked every contact, load-in time, and set-up location. Since the building's loading dock and freight elevator are notoriously tight, we staggered arrival windows so vendors weren't competing for space. The Chowgirls team also installed our larger display elements before the kitchen, bar, and live band moved in.
In the days leading up to the event, office transformation prep becomes the focus and furniture must be relocated across multiple floors. And when you add on top of that prep time for multiple kitchen areas, AV coordination, building access requests, and stairwell unlocking, the pre-event checklist looks something like a small construction project.
"Making an office feel like the Milano Cortina Olympics, while it's still full of computers and desks, is challenging," says Annie Pennings Edmond, Chowgirls' event design and sustainability manager. "Something I've learned, design-wise, over the years is sometimes you can't hide all the parts you don't want people to see, so you just have to create epic design moments that draw the eye away.
"With such a high guest count and complex event, it's a challenge to find a balance between design and function, and Lindsay and the team had to remind me many times along the way that some ideas weren't going to work, or weren’t worth it," Pennings Edmond adds with a laugh.
When there are hundreds of people spread across four floors over a five-hour event, it's extremely important to have a deliberate plan for guest-flow design. We built wayfinding signs that were displayed near the entrance so partygoers knew which experiences were located on each floor.
To keep bottlenecks at bay, upon arrival, invitees were greeted with a flute of Sbagliato — a popular celebration drink from Milan that's similar to a Negroni but substitutes Prosecco for gin — and then guided up a flag-adorned staircase that led to multiple food stations and bars. After years of running this event, we have refined our formula to perfect the spacing. However, we did note that the top floor saw higher-than-expected traffic this time, partly due to the popularity of our "Drink Around the World" feature in which five beverages were paired with a complementary snack that shared the drink’s country of origin. So we’ll keep that in mind next year.
In the weeks preceding the 2026 event, plans had to pause for a reason we never could have anticipated: Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers had flooded Minnesota, which generated an anxious climate and raised real questions about whether or not Ovative's party should be postponed. We kept communication open with our client, and after a few days of careful consideration, they decided to move forward with it.
THE MOMENTS THAT MADE IT
A few days after the party, the Chowgirls team always gathers for a post-event recap to talk through items we feel could make the experience better next time. We can get a lot of genuine feedback in real time. Our team overheard multiple guests at the coat check area exclaiming, "It doesn’t even look like our office!" With so many employees working in this building every day, we found that reaction to be particularly validating.
Chowgirls was also intentional about making as many elements as possible interactive. For example, the "Icebreaker" cocktail, which was inspired by electrolyte drinks and dreamt up by Beverage Program Manager Rachel White, was delivered to guests' glasses by way of an ice luge.
Then there were the cannoli shells presented by servers wearing "usherette-style" trays. Partygoers could customize their treat with various filling flavors and toppings.
Another hands-on feature were the cookie medals. The combination of the visual moment (a guest stepping up to a podium, wearing a medal) and the immediate payoff (it's also dessert) made it one of the most photographed and talked-about details of the night. Guests weren't just attendees, they were gold medalists!
Finally, incorporating Ovative Group's logo into their broadcast-quality sports desk wasn't just a nice branding touch, it set the tone for the event the moment guests arrived.
THE RESULTS
Ovative Group's leadership described the Year Beginning Party as "always one of our best events of the year," and the 2026 edition lived up to the hype. Guests did not disappoint with their creative outfits, and donned everything from formal gowns to athletic uniforms to après ski attire.
The combination of an immersive theme design, seamless logistics, and so many unforgettable, interactive details made for a night that guests carried home with them — whether they were heading a few blocks down the street or embarking on a return flight back to their state the next day.
We look forward to working with Ovative Group again in 2027. They typically reach out to us in the early winter months, so in the meantime we'll be mentally preparing some ideas to pitch to their ambitious team.
THE TAKEAWAY
When a client has trusted us for so many years, the relationship itself becomes part of the creative toolkit. We know Ovative Group's culture, guests, building, and what raises the bar for them. And they always trust us to push it.
While a two-month timeline and a fraught political climate are not part of an ideal plan, Chowgirls found a way to turn an office into an Olympic Village and produce an event our client's guests will likely never forget.
BY THE NUMBERS
600 guests
5-hour event
4 floors of an active office space (shared with other event vendors, including a casino that occupied 1/4 of the main floor)
Planned in less than 2 months
(All photos: Lucas Botz)
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