Zone 5 takes Manhattan

Meat, Pillows and Dolls. Not the most comprehensible way to describe the Zone 5 ’08-’09 Holiday Party to New York City, but the briefest way to capture the main elements of the trip. You want comprehensible? Well, OK.

First, why a holiday party the first week of February? I think it was about 6, maybe 8 years ago, when every company, club, and society decided that the middle of December had gotten too busy, so they moved their holiday parties and gatherings to either the first week of December or the first week of January. We decided a few years ago to avoid the pre- and post-holiday schedule jam by having our holiday party at either the end of January or beginning of February. It was still festive, cold, and wintry. Plus, we weren't exhausted from attending all those other parties just a few days earlier.

Why such extravagant festivity? We decided to shoot a little over the top for a few reasons: we hadn't had a party in '08 because of our giant open house event, we were about to celebrate our 20th year in operation (coming up on February 15th), but mostly as a thank you gesture to our hard-working staff, who had produced some great work and achieved some lofty goals over the previous year. What better way than to celebrate with a trip?

Now to make it comprehensible. First, the MEAT. Our first adventure had us seating just under 40 staff and guests at one of the premiere eating establishments in the city that doesn't sleep - Churrascaria Plataforma, a fine, fine Brazilian Steakhouse in midtown Manhattan. As the largest party there on this night, our people enjoyed butlered service of over 50 prepared meats, including flank steak, prime rib, turkey, lamb, sausage, and more. You cannot leave this place hungry - not one member of our party had room for dessert! This is definitely one place you have to prepare yourself for.

Second, PILLOWS. Our choice for overnight lodging was the Hotel Novotel Times Square. The views were outstanding - both from our rooms and from the dining area. Extremely comfortable rooms (including pillows) made for a non-memorable sleep, which is exactly what you want when you sleep in a hotel - not to remember any of it! The service from the hotel staff was beyond wonderful - and the location couldn't be beat.

Third, there's the DOLLS. And Guys, too, I guess. Yep, you guessed it - Guys and Dolls to be exact. Our staff took in the first matinee of the newest show to hit Broadway, Frank Loesser's Guys and Dolls, starring Oliver Platt and Lauren Graham. For some, it was their first Broadway show - for others, a chance to see familiar movie and TV stars live in this presentation of great music and choreography. Of special note was the song, "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" which nearly brought the house down.

Special thanks to those who made the trip a smooth adventure, especially Frank the bus driver and Franc from Hotel Novotel. But especially to our owner, Todd Mosher, who chose this adventure as a way to show appreciation to our staff.