Ep. 44: Water-Skiing Squirrels to A-List Celebrities

Events experts Meri Ryan and Sierra Goerg share the storied history + behind-the-scenes tales of events at Mall of America. In 2023, the Mall hosted more than 370 events, and is set to surpass that mark in 2024. This team helps imagine, create + implement these amazing guest experiences.

Like the entire events team, Meri and Sierra have super personas. Meri – known as the Pineapple Powerhouse – began as an events intern in 2012 and joined the team full time in 2015. Her early event memories include the One Direction autograph signing, the appearance of the Hunger Games cast + the 100th Birthday Celebration for the Girl Scouts – and all the cookies you could ever imagine!

Sierra’s persona is the Sparking Superhero and her first claim to fame was being in the audience for One Direction including holding a sign which stated, “Harry, prom?” It didn’t work. But she did later land a spot on this world-class events team. Her favorite event memory was a pop-up performance by Ed Sheeran at the Lego Store.

Meri is the mastermind behind bringing Twiggy the Water-Skiing Squirrel to Mall of America. From Sumo wrestlers to drag shows the conversation spans the gamut. If you want to know the ins and outs of events at the world’s greatest mall you won’t want to miss this episode.

To learn more about Mall of America events, visit our events page. 

Guests: Meri Ryan, Senior Experiential Events Manager and Sierra Goerg, Experiential Events Specialist at Mall of America

Hosts: Chris Grap, Daniel Jasper

Presented by the Bloomington Convention and Visitors Bureau the official destination marketing organization for the city of Bloomington, Minn.