Ocean World recently had the grand opening for its new marina, casino and God only knows what else. They always have so much going on there it?s hard to keep track. The owner, Stefan Meister, was kind enough to give DR1 passes to the invite-only affair so I bothered Robert until he promised one to me. It was worth scrounging for.
The evening was the most organized event I have personally been to in this country. Satellite parking with shuttle to the event only took moments and we were on our way?with VIP passes. Woo hoo!
The event was billed as semi-formal but we just couldn?t see wearing jackets and ties to see the Beach Boys. They were the main attraction after a great cocktail hour and buffet. There were approximately 1,000-1,500 (over-dressed) people there and still there were never any lines for anything because it was managed so smoothly by the Ocean World staff. They have an impressive team. The crowd consisted of a wide variety of people?plenty of senior government officials?business people?babes?and, of course, us.
The Beach Boys played for about 2 hours and in addition to their own hits played others from the 60?s and 70?s (Mamas and Papas, some Doo Wops). Their last song ended with the most fantastic fireworks display I have ever seen. Robert was commenting that in Europe or the States you probably have to shoot them off a certain distance from shore. These were right there in the marina. Absolutely beautiful.
Then we went upstairs, played in the casino a bit (nice place) and grabbed seats for Bravisimo! the Vegas-style show. I have seen several shows in Vegas and this one certainly holds its own. They mesh the classic Vegas show with aspects of Dominican cultural and it works really well.
At the end of the night every guest was given a gift bag with chocolates, other goodies and a DVD all about Ocean World. The Meisters have invested over $100 million in Ocean World and it shows. Everything they do is first class and I absolutely can?t wait to see what they do next?as long as Robert can get us the gold bracelets.
Scandall
The evening was the most organized event I have personally been to in this country. Satellite parking with shuttle to the event only took moments and we were on our way?with VIP passes. Woo hoo!
The event was billed as semi-formal but we just couldn?t see wearing jackets and ties to see the Beach Boys. They were the main attraction after a great cocktail hour and buffet. There were approximately 1,000-1,500 (over-dressed) people there and still there were never any lines for anything because it was managed so smoothly by the Ocean World staff. They have an impressive team. The crowd consisted of a wide variety of people?plenty of senior government officials?business people?babes?and, of course, us.
The Beach Boys played for about 2 hours and in addition to their own hits played others from the 60?s and 70?s (Mamas and Papas, some Doo Wops). Their last song ended with the most fantastic fireworks display I have ever seen. Robert was commenting that in Europe or the States you probably have to shoot them off a certain distance from shore. These were right there in the marina. Absolutely beautiful.
Then we went upstairs, played in the casino a bit (nice place) and grabbed seats for Bravisimo! the Vegas-style show. I have seen several shows in Vegas and this one certainly holds its own. They mesh the classic Vegas show with aspects of Dominican cultural and it works really well.
At the end of the night every guest was given a gift bag with chocolates, other goodies and a DVD all about Ocean World. The Meisters have invested over $100 million in Ocean World and it shows. Everything they do is first class and I absolutely can?t wait to see what they do next?as long as Robert can get us the gold bracelets.
Scandall
