We went out of our way to make this part of Illinois a destination on our vacation road trip for…read morethe specific reason to visit this wonderful zoo! For a small zoo that's kind of in the middle of no where, they have more impressive animals than the zoo in the suburban area of Southern California where I'm from! They have Red Pandas, Penguins, Wolves, Zebras, a Sloth, Armadillo, Camels, Owls, Flamingos, Cheetahs, Alligator and even a Wallaby! Not to mention other primates, reptiles, birds and farm animals. The extensive animal selection is extremely impressive! You can also pay around $250 (reserve in advance) for a behind the scenes tour of some of their animals. My family did this and we learned so much plus my kids were thrilled with the customized animal adoption certificates they received. The Zoo has an educational train ride tour and a fun carousel with zoo animals to ride on. The gift shop is also top notch and parking is free and plentiful. Overall this is one of the best zoos I've ever been to because it's not crowded at all so you get up close personal experiences with the animals and this zoo has such an amazing variety of them. I'll defiantly make a return trip here!

When visiting Decatur a must stop is the Scovill Zoo. Lots of animals to look at. Great concession…read morestand with tasty snacks. Not big but you can easily spend a couple of hours exploring. If you are a member of a reciprocal zoo the admission is half off.

We had the unfortunate experience of using these people for a non profit fundraiser. The kids they…read morehad putting our (2) tents together were higher than a kite. And then when they finished, I took these photos to show the ownership the straps weren't even connected, and most of them were broken at that. To no surprise, one of the tents collapsed the day before our event during storms. They did not have parts or a replacement tent. Still charged is for both tents, and blamed us for the storm bringing the one down. Will go out of my way to keep people from dealing with these people. No way these reviews are real. Happy to provide photo evidence upon request.

We recently used Elite Events for the 5th time in the span of one year. The number one thing I…read moreappreciate is their reliability. We never have to worry about them dropping the ball. They also have become our one stop shop for our events, in that they not only offer inflatables, but they offer chairs and tables, face painting, etc. We no longer have to work with multiple companies. Lastly, their staff is easy to work with and are accommodating. From the office staff (Kyle and Jade) to their lead guy on the field (John) to the many workers, face painters, set up crew, workers staffing the inflatables and other products, they excel in customer service. Thank you Elite so very much for making our events successful!

The food was fantastic, the temperature were kept cold when needed and hot when needed. The service…read morewas wonderful. The staff was easy to work with. The food presentation was awesome. We ordered a fruit waterfall that was beautiful. This event was my daughters wedding and all the guest was telling us how good the food was, how beautiful the fruit waterfall was, and how impressed they were with HyVee. I total recommend HyVee fir all your catering needs.

Catered employee holiday party for 80. Two meat option with three sides for $1200.00. Included…read morerolls, butters, serving utensils and plates/napkins---- could not ask for a better deal! Food delivered on time, meat was excellent and no complaints at all. Already decided will return to Hy-Vee Catering for next employee event.

We used Palace Events for our wedding and were very happy with how everything turned out! Our…read morewedding reception was held in a machine shed, so we needed some elegant decor to dress it up. Palace Events provided drapery, lighting and a chandelier, which created the perfect setting! Courtney was the coordinator we worked with and she was polite and very organized. She also was proactive in seeing an issue with the lighting and fixed it before I had to mention anything. In addition, we used their Standard Photo Booth and were so glad we did! Sam was easy to work with and created the perfect photo design for our wedding! There were many options, including videos and GIFs--our guests had a blast with it! Overall, we're very pleased with Palace Events and are happy we used them for our wedding! *Professional photography by Miranda Malliet Photography

The staff was amazing! There was a snow storm and they were very understanding and helpful! Would…read moredefinitely recommend

Janella did a fabulous job assisting our family in the planning of the funeral and celebration of…read morelife for our loved one. She dealt with all of the vendors, kept a timeline, a to do list, and gently and lovingly kept our family on task for all the decisions that needed to be made during this difficult time. So much attention was paid to detail and following the event, we received many comments on what a perfect sendoff it was. We can't say enough good things about Janella! We look forward to hiring Vinella Events and utilizing her wonderful company and skills for a more happy occasion in the future. Thank you, Janella!

My fiancé and I just become engaged in September, and we were planning to hire Janella to help plan…read moreour wedding for New Year's Eve 2024. Unexpectedly, my fiancé passed away in mid-October, and I was faced instead with planning his funeral. I turned to Janella to help me work through the planning and execution during this painful and difficult time. She helped me create a vision of how I wanted to celebrate my fiancé, and with great compassion, support and clarity, she helped bring that vision to life. Janella is everything I could ask for in a planner. She was so pleasant and easy to work with. Starting with my vision of his services, she was a strong communicator with a great sense of how to work with people going through a wide range of emotions as we do during funerals (and weddings). She listened carefully and kept all arrangements and details on point and moving forward on a tight timeline of three weeks. She brought strong assessment skills and ideas, problem solving, did a great job working with vendors to keep them on task, multi-tasked throughout, worked diplomatically with family, was flexible and resourceful, effectively negotiated with vendors, and more than anything, I felt her genuine desire and reassurance that we would create the best event I could for my fiancé. The result was the most beautiful, personal funeral mass and Tribute Celebration that I could have hoped for and that was worthy of the incredible man that my fiancé was. I have no doubt that our wedding would have been as beautiful of a celebration, and I'm so deeply grateful to Janella for all that she did to help me honor this man that I loved so much. My deepest thanks to her for her incredible service. Through her beautiful work, she lifted the hearts of many people, including me.

We were in town for the WPBL and were looking for a cute place to catch a vibe and a drink. We were…read moreabsolutely taken aback how stunning Bloom Wine Bar & Florals is. We originally opted for another place because it was closer but changed our minds last minute, and we were so happy about it! Not only did they have wine offerings but their cocktail menu was 5 stars. Even though we stayed until close, the staff was super friendly and accommodating. We were not shooed or rushed out by any means. Highly recommend this establishment! Date tip: If you bring your date here end the night by buying them a bouquet of flowers off the wall. LIKE SO CUTE.

I was in town for a Rural Postal Carrier's union meeting and this sweet wine bar had a much better…read morewine selection and ambiance than my hotel. It's right across from the capital, so the view is nice, and Abraham Lincoln is just outside (I had to adjust his tie, see PIC). Like pretty much everyone else in this town, the people who work here are genuine and friendly. This place is right next to a true American hero's office, Tammy Duckworth. I wonder if she ever comes in here.

Our family enjoyed using the Community Room! There were so many amenities, a lovely property right…read morenext to a park, and a spacious room to meet. Jan and Mike were so nice to work with and provided prompt and detailed communication as we tried to plan our special day. We needed Mike while we were there, and he was came almost immediately. The entire event was a wonderful experience from beginning to end!

Not sure why the other reviews are not recommended but they are all positive as is this one. First…read morethe hall is affordable (almost ridiculous what the nearest venue charging-$800 for this hall versus $6000 for the motel). Second the room is huge and holds a lot of people comfortably. The parking lot also is not cramped. Third, the place sits above the river and the site is picturesque. The people are easy to work with and services like caterers are not only available but excellent. We have rented the smaller "community room" several times for birthday parties and it is perfect.