Party Tent Rentals

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know what type of tent to get?

There are 3 types of tents to choose from Canopy, Frame, and Pole.

Canopy Tents are lightweight and are designed to provide shade or protection from light rains.  Perimeter staking is required and center poles every 10 feet are required.  Our canopy tents allow solid and windowed side walls which is an important factor when choosing a company in Chicago to rent from.  Most rental company tents are of lower quality and can not support side walls. If there is a chance for rain, having the option to install sidewalls is invaluable.  Ideal use for canopy tents are backyard parties and forest preserves when there is less than 100 people.  Canopy tents are for grass setups only. 

Frame Tents are made of a reinforced vinyl or vinyl coated canvas stretched over an aluminum frame. Since they have no center poles, the inside area is unobstructed. Minimal staking or weighting (if any) is required and they are perfect for installation in areas where staking is not practical, i.e. parking lots, patios, decks, driveways, etc. Ideal use for frame tents are Information booths, Vendor booths, Walkways, Presentations Seating.

Pole Tents is supported by perimeter poles and center support poles.  Pole tents require staking around the perimeter of the tent. Center support poles every 15 feet. (Be sure you have an additional 8' to 10' of space in addition to the tent size for staking.)  Pole tents can be setup on grass or asphalt.  For large events around Chicago, pole tents are usually the tent of choice.

Where should the tent be setup? 

Select a level area and make sure that you are not placing it in a low area where water will flow or accumulate if it should rain.  If staking is required, be careful of the unseen underground factors that may affect the tent placement, i.e. sprinkler systems (checking the sprinkler timers is not a bad idea either), gas and water lines, and telephone and electrical conduit or wires. In most municipalities the local utility companies will be happy to visit the site and mark the locations of their pipes, wires, etc.  If electrical service is required to the tent for lighting, etc. try to locate the tent in an area where power can be easily accessed and run to the tent.  Electrical generators are also available for areas where electrical power is not readily available.

What accessories are available?

Sidewalls - Solid and windowed sidewalls are available on all of our tents. Windowed sidewalls offer an upscale appearance and will not require additional lighting during the day.

Air Movers/Heaters - Depending upon the expected ambient temperature, these options can greatly increase the level of comfort.  (Tent sidewalls are needed when either of these options are used.)

Lighting -  Lighting can be used for practical application (like to see what you are eating) or to create a desired effect or mood.  Lighting is required when solid side walls are used.  (unless you are doing a haunted house...)

What is included with the tent rental? 

A: Our prices include setup and tear down on all of our tent, table, chair rentals. Most companies charge extra.  Delivery/Pickup charges are NOT included and are based on the distance to the delivery location.

When will you setup for our party?  

We setup the day before your event and take down the next business day.  For example if you event was on Saturday, we would setup Friday and tear down on Monday.  Don't take the chance of the tent still going up while the guests are arriving which leaves no time for the you, the caterer or band to set up the area prior to guest arrival.

Is the company insured? 

We carry a 1 million dollar liability policy should any of our equipment cause damage or injure someone.

History of Tents:

Party Tents have not changed much through history. Wikipedia has the definition as: A party tent is a temporary shelter consisting of fabric or other materials draped over or attached to poles and supporting rope. First used as portable homsteads by nomadic people, tents are now more often used for recreational camping and temporary special events.

When we say tents haven’t changed much, we mean fundamentally there is still fabric being stretched to provide shelter. The tents we rent in Chicago and throughout the country now come in a variety of types of party tents including pole tents, frame tents and clearspan structures the basic idea remains the same. Imagine 100’s of years ago a special event like a grand wedding was taking place in the town and no building was big enough to hold the guests. The solution was “Tents”!

When you look back to old movies you see tents used in old rodeos, by Indians and of course the circus. What would a circus be without the atmosphere of  the Big Top? Elephants today still assist the workers in putting up the large center poles of the Big Tops all over the world. Where will tents be in the next 100 years? Probably not much different is our guess, just doing their thing: providing shelter from the elements while the guests inside enjoy the gala.