What is a Virtual Event with Chicago Detours?

Hosted on Zoom or your virtual conference platform.

A live, expert event host tells stories of people, places and buildings across time.

Guests gaze at a variety of visuals.

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Enjoy quality swag!

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Compete in games or creative challenges for team bonding.

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Team-building for the future

Inspired by the past.

Which sounds right for your group?

four colors of events for remote teams

One of our four curated virtual events (60 minutes long) for remote teams.

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A customized experience that we design for your conference or other event.

Keep reading for custom events

How a custom event works

Innovation, meet creativity.

We can build an event from the ground up to highlight a timely story, the history of your business, or the evolution of a building special to your group. 

Or we can enliven your virtual conference with brief “brain breaks.” 

To customize a live virtual event to your needs, we may:

  • Learn more about your meeting objectives.
  • Create live or recorded content to fit a desired duration.
  • Write an interesting narrative and present fascinating visuals
  • Help you select from our menu of virtual games, creative challenges, and other interactive elements
 
Austin Town Hall Open House Chicago 2018

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We want to help with a custom virtual event that explores Chicago!
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OUR CUSTOM EVENT SERVICES

Company Histories

Share the history of your company with a custom virtual event. Great for on-boarding new hires, company anniversaries, and big celebrations. We’ll research, design and host an event that tells your unique story.

 

Live Events for Digital Marketing

Enhance your company’s digital marketing with a custom virtual experience. For example, we designed a “Virtual Chicago Neighborhood Tour” led via 360-degree Google Street View images for a real estate company. They invited the community to attend for free as a “goodwill marketing” event.

 

Pre-Recorded Digital Content

Liven up a long meeting, conference or professional development seminar with custom-made “brain breaks.” See a video example of our pre-recorded storytelling content from the Choose Chicago Virtual Road Show.

 

Live Streaming Virtual Tours

Enjoy a live-streamed tour from the streets of downtown Chicago and our diverse neighborhoods! An expert live-streaming videographer facilitates while an event host provides commentary and responds to chat messages in real time.

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Want to learn more about a remote team-building event for your group?

Call us! 312.350.1131 | Email us! sales@chicagodetours.com

why chicago detours?

Our team of expert event hosts know how to engage an audience. Our virtual events can integrate and enhance your corporate storytelling initiatives.

We have hosted more than 27,000 virtual event guests, with clients including Gatorade, Belvedere Trading, Northwestern University, Motorola and more. 

"We wanted to give our new hires something special. We had really positive feedback from everyone!”
Sarah Gehrdes
Enova International

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Let’s Connect!

 


Ellen

Private Tour Coordinator and Tour Guide

There is no shortage of things to discover in Chicago—I love being an urban explorer and uncovering its hidden places. I have an MA in Public History from Loyola University Chicago, and I have worked as a museum educator and kindergarten teacher. My desire to learn new things fuels my passion for educating others, which I get to experience every day as a Chicago tour guide. I live in the northern neighborhood of Rogers Park.

“Our guide Ellen was exceptional and gifted with a great personal touch.”
Robert
GetYourGuide

Jen

Tour Guide

Whether you are a first-time visitor or a lifelong resident, the vibrant history and modern majesty of Chicago never ceases to amaze. I’m a graduate of Columbia College with an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Art. I’ve worked for many years as an educator at City Colleges of Chicago. As tour guide at Chicago Detours, I integrate my enthusiasm for culture and architecture with my passion as an educator. West Town/Noble Square area is home for me.

“Jen was a perfect storyteller and kept us spellbound for hours.”
Heather
TripAdvisor

Elyse

Tour Guide

With our Chicago neighborhoods, vibrant cultural institutions and nearly two centuries of larger-than-life stories, there’s never a dull moment here! I’m a fifth generation Chicagoan and a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis. In addition to guiding tours, I’m a creative writer and amateur genealogist. I also enjoy the city’s dynamic theater scene. You can also read overlooked stories from 19th-century newspapers on my “Second Glance History” blog. I live in River North.

Anthony

Tour Guide

Chicago is unique as it always evolves into the future while holding on to the past. I’m fascinated by how people latch on to old architecture but happily pave over others. My background is in theater and performance and I’ve been a tour guide here for more than 10 years. Currently I’m finishing my Master’s in Public History at Loyola University because I love to teach the history of this scrappy city. I’m in the Edgewater neighborhood.

Marie

Operations Coordinator and Tour Guide

Chicago’s history is so fascinating, you could spend a lifetime uncovering its secrets…I’m willing to give it a try! I have an M.A. in US History from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and then pursued doctoral studies in Urban History at the University of Illinois at Chicago. I love to learn new aspects of Chicago’s rich history and then share my knowledge as a tour guide with Chicago Detours. I live in Ravenswood.

“Marie was a bubbling fountain of information and contagious enthusiasm.”
Lorit
TripAdvisor

Sonny

Operations Coordinator and Tour Guide

As a fourth generation Chicagoan, I have been living and loving Chicago by bike, on foot, public transit or automobile. I am a graduate of UIC where through the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, began my eagerness to understand the nature, history and impacts of urban planning and development. It is incredibly rewarding to give back to this wonderful city by helping out in the office of Chicago Detours. I live in the incredibly diverse neighborhood of Albany Park.
“Sonny was extremely knowledgeable about all things Chi-town.”
Wade K
TripAdvisor

Alex

Content Manager and Tour Guide

Chicago has so many neighborhoods, buildings, and by-ways that it’s hard to go long without seeing something new, or something familiar from a new angle. I studied Cinema History for my M.A. from the University of Chicago. I’ve worked as a culture writer for various publications and as an educator of the humanities at the City Colleges of Chicago. I’m thrilled to share my love of this city’s busy past and unique architectural spaces with Chicago Detours. I live in the Chicago neighborhood of Lincoln Park.

“Alex was fascinating to listen to. He clearly knows his history and it shows.”
Katie K
Yelp

Amanda Scotese

Executive Director and Tour Guide

I’m an interpreter of personal stories from the past and the city’s landscape. I love to imagine what originally happened inside old unmarked buildings, and what forces have shaped their design. I studied Chicago history, architectural history, and anything Chicago-related through my M.A. in the Humanities at the University of Chicago. My love for stories was enriched by my B.A. in Literature from the University of Michigan. I’ve written travel articles for publications like Rick Steves’ Italy best-selling travel guides, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, and The Chicago Food Encyclopedia. I live in the Chicago neighborhood of West Avondale.
“You can TELL Amanda is hyper-passionate about doing the research and getting the story that nobody’s heard before.”
Shelby F
Yelp