The Buses Are Here!
Posted on July 1, 2014
See that picture above?
Do you know what it means?
It means 500 awesome kids were here from the North Kansas City School District Adventure Club for our summer Ranch Round-Ups.
500 kids! That’s the equivalent to a company picnic, y’all!
So, how do you keep 500 kiddos entertained at the ranch?
Easy!
In addition to groups visiting 5 stations with their cowpoke hostess (cow milking, petting farm, pony rides, hayride, and water balloon toss), they also got to enjoy our other ranch activities such as the zip line, corn cannon, moonwalk, pedal karts, and our Wild Western playground.
This the Adventure Club’s sixth year visiting Faulkner’s Ranch and we aren’t kidding when we say that we look forward to them coming back every year. Plus, it was so much fun to see this year that some of their teen helpers had originally visited as Adventure Clubbers!
Man, time flies!
Anyway, thanks again North KC School District for choosing Faulkner’s Ranch!
We hope y’all had fun!
Have a great day, y’all!
The Country Fair Shick-nic
Posted on June 30, 2014
Last year we were blown away by Shick’s employee and guest appreciation at their Annual Shick-nic (you can read all about it right here). Well, this year they outdid themselves once again! Seriously, their employees are so lucky to work for such a cool company!
This year they chose our brand new Country Fair Picnic Package and pulled out all the stops.
First things first, let’s just start with their awesome t-shirts. Having a shirt specifically for your picnic is a great way to get people pumped about the event. Plus, they look great in photos!
Speaking of photos, one great idea that they had was to provide a photo-op.
They had a professional photographer here to take family photos. Isn’t that awesome? This is such a great way to show your employees that you not only appreciate them, but the families that support them as well.
Shick went all out with the Country Fair theme. Of course, no country fair would be complete without some funnel cakes and cotton candy.
YUM!
The yummy treats didn’t stop there. They also had a dessert competition!
The winner for Best Presentation was awarded a $25 gift card to Hy-Vee.
There were some pretty creative (and delicious) cupcakes in the house…
The winner for Best Presentation was awarded a $25 gift card to Hy-Vee.
There were some pretty creative (and delicious) cupcakes in the house…
But the Cotton Candy Cupcakes were the grand prize winner!
Our beloved caricature artist, Dean the Machine, was also there to sketch up the guests.
He was a big hit! Plus, it gave the guests yet another keepsake from the event to take home.
Shick also chose to have a face-painter – that was fun of all ages!
There was a little bit of rain that day, but that didn’t stop everyone from enjoying the ranch activities. We had everything in full swing from our ranch recreation to the duck pond to the zip-line to skee-ball and the mechanical bull (under cover, of course.)
After all, duck races are perfect for a rainy day!
There was even a huge inflatable obstacle course for the kiddos to enjoy!
Our friendly petting farm animals were there too.
Not to mention that they had the most epic egg toss we have ever seen – and we have seen A LOT of egg tosses, folks!
Of course, no Shick-nic would be complete without their Bingo Tradition. During this they did fun Shick-nic trivia and gave away prizes galore. Did you know that their picnic tradition spans back to the 1970’s?!
A huge thanks to Shick for once again choosing Faulkner’s Ranch! You guys are AWESOME!
For more information on our four exciting Company Picnic Packages, including our BRAND NEW Country Fair Package, click here!
Have a great day, ya’ll!
Word From the Herd: Meet Lisa!
Posted on June 28, 2014
With the Company Picnic Season in full swing, we couldn’t think of a better time to introduce and put the spotlight on one of the nicest and most hard-working people at Faulkner’s Ranch,
Lisa Frogge, our newest Event Coordinator!
Lisa has been a part of our Faulkner’s Ranch family for awhile now, so we thought it was about time ya’ll meet her and get to see first-hand just how great she is.
Read on for a little Q&A with this awesome lady!
Howdy Lisa, can you tell us a little bit about yourself? I am married to Doug and have two daughters, Katie (age 16) and Jillian (age 11). I previously was an executive assistant and have been the wedding coordinator at FBC Lee’s Summit for the past 12 years. I still do the wedding coordinating on a part time basis.
What is your job at Faulkner’s Ranch? My job title is “Event Coordinator” which means I do everything from setting up events with clients to wiping down tables!
What is your favorite/most rewarding part of working at Faulkner’s Ranch? My favorite part of my job is seeing an event come together and the guests having a good time. And of course, I have the BEST co-workers!
You’ve actually been coming to the Pumpkin Farm for awhile. Can you tell us about that? I’ve been coming to Faulkner’s since Katie was a baby! I’ve been on numerous school field trips with the girls to the Pumpkin Farm when they were younger and always enjoyed picking out pumpkins to take home with us.
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| Katie – October 2002 |
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Katie & Jillie – October 2003
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You get to work with lot of awesome guests at the ranch so you must have some fun stories. What is one of your favorites? At my first big event, I went up to check on the petting farm and the goats had escaped from their pen! I spent the next several minutes chasing goats and luring them back into their pen (thank goodness they are greedy for feed). After coming from a corporate environment in my last full time job, I got a good laugh out of the fact that I was having so much fun goat wrangling!
What are you looking forward to the most at Faulkner’s Ranch for 2014? I’ve enjoyed meeting so many new people and look forward to welcoming them to Faulkner’s for their special events. I love the fact that each and every event at the Ranch is a celebrated as someone’s birthday, wedding or picnic. No two are the same and we get to see people relax and have a good time together.
Isn’t she just the coolest?! Thanks again to Lisa for this awesome interview!
Have a great day, y’all!
Pony Party Highlights: Cute Loot!
Posted on June 18, 2014
We sure have been having our fair share of ADORABLE Pony Parties this year!
One of our favorite things to see is the creative party favors that our party mamas and papas come up with. Giving your guests a party favor to take home is a great way to say thank you for presence! It doesn’t have to be anything complicated. Something as simple as candy or cookies, western toys, or a bandana are great ideas!
Here are just some of the cute ways that they have packaged them:
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| Isn’t it amazing how a brown-paper bag can be made to look this cute? You can find stickers like this on Etsy! |
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| We love the use of a bandana in place of tissue paper! Plus, the Washi tape to attach the sign adds that extra special touch! |
For more info on our Indoor Pony Parties, click here!
Have a great day, y’all!
Vroom, Vroom!
Posted on June 17, 2014
Our 2014 Picnic Season has just begun and boy, are we already having a blast!
We are so lucky to have the BEST of the BEST clients. They’re always fun and ready to have a good time. Summit Technical Solutions is no exception. This group was SO much fun!
After all, it’s not just any picnic that has their own car show!
That’s right! During the picnic, guests got to display their hot rides. Picnic goers got to vote on their favorite to win the 1st place prize of a $75 gift card! How do you even choose among these?
The car show wasn’t the only exciting thing that happened. They also took place in our Mini Rodeo (part of our Wild Western Picnic Package)! They got pretty competitive with the cow milking contest, ranch frisbee, water balloon toss, and a fan-favorite, the Roller Roper.
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| Got ’em! |
The rest of the party was spent enjoying some delicious food and our ranch amenities.
We’re so glad that we got to kick off our Picnic Season with these awesome people! Thanks again to Summit Tech for choosing Faulkner’s Ranch!
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| Banners are always a good idea! |
For more interest on our company picnic packages, including our brand new Country Fair Package, click here!
Have a great day, y’all!
Wedding Wednesday: A Perfect Spring Wedding
Posted on June 12, 2014
We are so excited to share with you the photos by The Two McClouds from this BEAUTIFUL wedding. Enjoy!
It couldn’t have been a more picture perfect spring day for Natalie and Brian’s wedding. It was April 26th and the grass and trees were that gorgeous, fresh spring color.
Just stunning!
Just stunning!
You know what else was stunning?
The bride and groom – what a lovely couple!
These two were such a special couple. You could see their love for each other through their special ceremony.
A few of the special touches included taking communion together and a foot washing ceremony.
After the ceremony, everyone headed to the banquet barn. One of the things that we love about hosting a variety of events is seeing how the decor can truly transform the space. Here, the mother of the bride created all of the centerpieces. We especially love the pops of yellow, the brides favorite color.
Ivory linens with burlap table runners, wood slice chargers, and ivory chair covers with cappuccino colored organza sashes pulled it all together.
Ivory linens with burlap table runners, wood slice chargers, and ivory chair covers with cappuccino colored organza sashes pulled it all together.
The beautiful (and delicious) cake rested on a wood slice charger that belonged to a friend of the bride. Those small touches are what really makes a wedding unique!
Another special detail that we loved was the adorable mason jar party favors. The best thing about them was that guests got to put them to use during the reception!
Overall, this was just the perfect spring wedding for a perfect couple.
Congrats once again to Natalie and Brian and thank you for sharing your special day with us!
Congrats once again to Natalie and Brian and thank you for sharing your special day with us!
For more information on how we can make your dream wedding come true at Faulkner’s Ranch, click here.
Have a great day, y’all!
An Exciting Announcement!
Posted on April 22, 2014
We are excited to announce that we have a brand new Company Picnic package available this year!
We checked in with Cowgirl Christine to catch the latest on this fun new choice.
Why did you decide to do a new package this year?
Each year we like to develop a new themed picnic package. Many of our picnic clients are repeats so by changing the theme each year gives their guests something new to look forward too. Each themed package includes food and activities relevant to that theme. For example, the Wild Western picnic package includes delicious BBQ, the mechanical bull, and a mini rodeo at the end that includes our roller roper, cow milking contest, and ranch Frisbee throw! Our Wild Western Picnic clients like to take the theme and run with it. It’s fun to see them encouraging everyone to dress Western for a “Best Dressed” contest or hire a photographer and provide hats, bandannas, mustaches, and other props for fun party pics.
We are really excited about this year’s new theme, The Country Fair, which is based off of the traditional county fair.
Where did you get your inspiration for this year’s theme?
We drew tons of inspiration for this new package on Pinterest!
One neat idea that we will be doing is hanging pennants on the bandstand for decor. We will also be encouraging companies to bring their own pennants and banners to hang.
What can guests expect with the Country Fair Package?
In this package the first hour is spent playing our Midway games with carnival prizes included and enjoying cotton candy, popcorn, and either a fresh squeezed lemonade or root beer float at the adorable stand.
The Ranch J in this package not only plays music but acts as a “barker” during the Midway games, straw hat and all!
The Country Fair picnic package includes 5 ranch style midway games, but we offer even more on our Ranch Specialties and Extras page.
Guest should come hungry! What is on the menu?
Food is a HUGE part of any county fair! That is why we chose to serve cotton candy and popcorn right from the start. The buffet includes our delicious pulled pork slider sandwiches, nachos, corn on the cobb, and seasonal fruit cobbler with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. We have a long list of additional menu choices to consider adding. One really exciting addition is our new partnership with the Funnel Cake Truck (listed under FUN Food Additions). How fun is that to have the funnel cake truck pull up to your company picnic? We just know that our guests are going to love it!
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| YUM! (image via) |
What other fun activities can guests look forward to?
Of course we included our friendly petting farm animals, adorable pony rides, and moonwalk into the package. We also decided to include the pedal karts. We love the pedal karts because the seats are adjustable so they are fun for adults too! In fact in the third hour of the picnic, those pedal karts will be used for our mini tractor pull! Yes, the racers will choose a volunteer to be pulled in a little red wagon behind the pedal kart. The first one to the finish line wins.
Speaking of winners – everyone loves to win at a cake walk, right?! Well, we have included a cupcake walk into the package! We can’t forget about the Pie Eating Contest too. The Country Fair package guarantees that guests will have a great time from start to finish!
For more information on our how EASY it is to plan a Company Picnic at Faulkner’s Ranch, click here.
For more details on our four exclusive Company Picnic Packages, click here.
Have a great day, y’all!
5th Birthday Fun
Posted on February 18, 2014
It might be chilly outside, but it is nice and warm in our Pony Party Barn!
We’ve been celebrating lots of little buckaroos big birthdays this year and we’ve seen some really cool ideas. Just check out these pictures from Kloe’s 5th Birthday. Her mama put so much attention into the little details. And you know what we say, little details make a BIG impact!
Just see for yourself!
We love this fun 5! It gave such a great focal point in the Pony Party room. Plus, it is the kind of decoration Kloe can keep it up in her room all year long.
How sweet is this cake? Some pony toys and a plastic fence added the perfect touches!
Of course, you have to have something to eat that cake with. These silverware holders were made using cow print napkins and gingham ribbon. This is a quick and simple project that has a nice visual impact. Plus, your little guests just have grab one thing before they sit down to eat.
One of our favorite things that we like to see at our birthday parties is the names for different food that people come up with. Here we’ve got Cow Pies (no-bake cookies) and Hay Bales (Rice Krispie Treats).
Of course, no party would be complete without a cute party favor! Here, a cute little sign and some ribbons turns this brown paper bag into an adorable take-home treat!
Thanks again to Kloe for choosing Faulkner’s Ranch to celebrate her 5th Birthday!
For more information on our Indoor Pony Parties, click here. Also, be sure to check out our 2014 Pony Camp Schedule. Session 1 is already sold out – call soon to book your spot!
Have a great day, ya’ll!
Word From the Herd: A Florist Tells All
Posted on February 12, 2014
Alright, folks – it’s time for an awesome ideas overload!
Kelly Acock from The Monarch Flower Company has been joining us for our recent Wedding Barn Warmings. Not only is she one of the nicest and most fun people we’ve ever had the privilege to work with, but her creativity is out of this world!
So, needless to say, we are THRILLED that she is joining us today here on the blog to share some of her favorite ideas from our last open house.
So, needless to say, we are THRILLED that she is joining us today here on the blog to share some of her favorite ideas from our last open house.
ENJOY!
Rustic Chic Wedding Ideas
*Burlap is not just for table runners these days ~ Use strips of burlap table runners to create a darling rustic styled chair cover! Simply fold a section of the edge over back of the chair, wrap and tie. Make banners with scrap pieces and layer on the buffet for additional detail. Its vintage charm adds texture to almost any setting while being eco-chic when re-purposed after the event into home décor items such as window treatments and pillows.
*Prop tiny vintage accents on layers for a big impact. ‘Layers’ can be old trays, blocks covered in burlap, wooden crates, vases turned upside down and wood slices.
*Hang mason jars or other tiny vases from candelabra for some fun ~ jars can hold flowers, candles or even candy!
*Burlap doesn’t always have to lay flat. Simply gather and tie the ends with twine to add some texture and depth to tables and buffet.
*If it holds water, it’s a vase! This list includes these darlings shown above…vintage spice and medicine jars that are the perfect little detail.
*Pop a solo cup in a clay jar and voila’ ~ instant vase! You can recreate this lovely layered table with a base of burlap, a few wood slices, and perfectly placed doilies…all completed with a pop of fresh to fit your theme. I chose hydrangea and garden roses…who could resist?!
We love when people add touches of vintage elements to the event décor, especially when those items hold sentimental meaning such as these doilies made by the grandmother.
We love when people add touches of vintage elements to the event décor, especially when those items hold sentimental meaning such as these doilies made by the grandmother.
*For your cake table, think outside the box. For example, wouldn’t this wagon that was salvaged from The Historical Benjamin Ranch make an amazing addition as a cake base, holding food on the buffet or holding treats for your guests?!
*These floating barn doors are just the perfect feature for creating an indoor altar, focal point for any décor or backdrop for photo booth!
*I love to have fun with the buffet display by including old wooden crates, rustic tin buckets and wood slices.
These crates and buckets are the perfect addition to a rustic buffet at Faulkner’s Ranch. …imagine filled with our yummy food!
A big thanks to Kelly Acock of The Monarch Flower Company for these awesome ideas! Be sure to check out her website and more of her floral masterpieces right here!
Then come see her creativity and more for yourself at our next Barn Warming Open House on Wednesday, February 26th from 5pm to 7pm. No reservations required! Just stop on by, enjoy some delicious food and refreshments, and get a first hand look at our unique venue all dressed up! Wedding coordinators will be available to answer your questions and tell you about all that we have to offer when it comes to making your dream wedding come true!
Have a great day, ya’ll!
Throwback Thursday: Benjamin Ranch Memories
Posted on December 19, 2013
Earlier this month we asked our ranch team what some of their favorite memories were of The Benjamin Ranch.
Here’s what they had to say:
Coordinating 5 events and turning the facilities over for the next day. Whew! The Harley “Hog” Rodeo and Dance was exciting. Nothing but the sound and sight of Harley’s on 435 highway for miles and miles! The Fourth of July Rodeo with Benny Benjamin at the reigns of a 6 horse hitch galloping at full speed in a crazy eight pattern!
-Marilyn Faulkner
I absolutely loved the rodeo. It was such a colorful and festive time. And now every time I hear Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to be an American” it takes me back to watching the fireworks in the rodeo arena. I have also enjoyed celebrating so many major milestones at Benjamin to include my Sweet 16, college graduation party, J-me’s college graduation party, our couples wedding shower, and numerous birthday parties for Glory and Miles. Benjamin Ranch is also the place where I started my event planning career and learned so much!
– Christine Loneman
I have many Benjamin Ranch Memories. For one, my husbands and I had our wedding reception there. We arrived in the Benjamin Ranch Stagecoach. The entire reception was awesome.
Also, I remember working 3-4 Christmas parties happening at once there in different barns (the barns were decorated beautifully). The 4th of July rodeos and the Haunted Benjamin Ranch will never be forgotten either. I am blessed that Benjamin Ranch was a big part of my life.
– Lisa Faulkner-Gosselin
When I think of my childhood, I immediately think of Benjamin Ranch. It feels like I practically grew up there. I remember how exciting it was every summer when the rodeo arena would start to buzz around the Fourth of July. Just hearing Garth Brook’s “Rodeo” sends me back to it. I remember riding in the Grand Entry and feeling like a rockstar and then line dancing the night away to the honky tonk bands following the rodeo. Benjamin Ranch was also the place where I learned how to horseback ride, celebrated countless birthdays, sang the Star Spangled Banner for the first time, and celebrated my college graduation. Then, I got the chance of a lifetime when I got to be the creative director of The Haunted Benjamin Ranch and bring the old stables back to life (or should I say, back to dead?). The Benjamin Ranch has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I am so sad to see it go, but I am exciting for the memories that we will continue to make at Faulkner’s.
– Kelly Jo Jordan
A lot of things I remember must stay at the ranch, lol!
– Michael Foley
That’s right, Foley! What happens at the ranch, stays at the ranch! 😉
Of course, we love what Bob Faulkner had to say about his favorite memories when Fox 4 News Kansas City joined him the morning of the auction. For the full story, click here.
Now, we wanna know:
What are you favorite memories of The Benjamin Ranch?
Have a great day, ya’ll!
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