Morgan Casey built her St. Louis business around curated social events, including Date Ideas and Things To Do and the Morgan Casey Experience. After years of producing events in the city, she is now pursuing opportunities beyond the St. Louis market.
Casey's event brands have developed a substantial local following, and her programming has repeatedly drawn audiences at St. Louis venues. The next stage of the business is taking those event concepts to other cities.
Before she was hosting sold-out events, Casey worked as an activities director at a senior living facility in St. Louis, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
From Senior Living to Sold-Out Nightlife
Casey began producing events in 2013, and the Morgan Casey Experience is one of the brands connected to that work. Its programming has included an R&B event at Mississippi Underground, which publishes technical specifications for its space, according to Mississippi Underground.
She has since partnered with the City Museum to host events at the downtown landmark. Casey has continued expanding her event programming.
A Block Party That Feels Like a School Reunion
Per Jamo Presents, Atomic Pavilion is an outdoor venue that is part of the Atomic By Jamo complex at 4140 Manchester Avenue in St. Louis's Grove district. The complex includes three distinct event spaces operated by Jamo Presents.
Casey's event slate has ranged across formats, including Adult Prom and other themed gatherings. The events have helped establish a recognizable model for social programming in St. Louis, where her brands have built a record of drawing strong audiences.
Building an Audience Before the Events Existed
Casey's business roots include a Facebook community called Date Ideas & Things To Do In STL, which she created in June 2020. VoyageSTL reported that the group grew to 168,000 members and averaged 2 million monthly views within its first year after Casey launched it in response to a friend's request for a single page of local venue recommendations. The outlet also reported that Casey had been organizing events since 2013.
The City Museum later became one of the St. Louis landmarks connected to Casey's programming. VoyageSTL reported that she partnered with the museum in September 2021 for a rooftop experience, part of the expansion of her event offerings into prominent local venues.
Identity, Community and What Comes Next
Casey has spoken publicly about navigating her path as a Black, openly gay female entrepreneur in St. Louis, telling VoyageSTL that self-acceptance was essential to growing her personal brand and business presence. Her events, per that report, intentionally bring together diverse crowds across race, gender and sexuality. During her years in senior care, Casey also created a bucket-list program for residents, which included taking a 103-year-old to throw the first pitch at a St. Louis Cardinals game and taking a 96-year-old on her first helicopter flight.
Casey has said she plans to expand beyond the St. Louis market, according to Feast Magazine.
That expansion would build on a regional arts and culture economy that generated $868 million in activity and supported nearly 12,000 local jobs in 2022, according to a study released by the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis. The study also reported more than 8.1 million local and out-of-town attendees, with out-of-town arts and culture attendees spending an average of more than $53.
What Expansion Could Require
Kansas City offers a sizable visitor economy for event businesses to consider. According to Visit KC, the city recorded $4 billion in annual visitor spending in 2024. That measure is broader than the St. Louis arts-and-culture figures cited above, so the two totals are not direct comparisons, but both provide context for the potential audiences and economic activity surrounding Casey's expansion. Expansion would also involve local rules beyond audience demand. If Casey stages a qualifying outdoor event in Chicago, the city's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events processes applications for outdoor festivals, street and art/craft fairs, and athletic events, according to the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The requirement illustrates why each new market would require venue and permitting planning in addition to Casey's existing event formula.
