Boston’s historic 1900s-era Wilbur Theatre was transformed into a swinging ‘60s night club Thursday night as part of Stella Artois’ Cannes Cinema Club. The goal of the time-traveling affair was to celebrate Stella Artois’ selection as the official beer sponsor of France’s 65th Annual Cannes Film Festival, which begins tomorrow. With palm trees, Roulette tables, and impersonators of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., the swanky lounge set the stage for the evening’s screening of Ocean’s Eleven—the original 1960s version, of course—featuring Rat-Packers Sinatra, Davis Jr., and Dean Martin.

Stella Artois’ brand manager Chris Hanson said his aim for the event was to bring the classic film to life for members of La Société Stella Artois, the online members-only community of Stella Artois enthusiasts, who were the evening’s invitees. “[We wanted to] celebrate the timeless era of the Rat Pack … [and provide] an exclusive consumer experience for members,” he said.

With 150 guests, the event included multiple hostesses—wearing dresses embroidered with Stella Artois’ red and gold logo—to greet guests and hand out popcorn. The movie snack came fresh from two custom popcorn kettle machines in the lounge.

Four bars offered the featured beer on tap, with each bartender following the brand’s signature nine-step pouring ritual from purification to bestowal. Red kerchiefs and bowties, men’s and women’s old-fashioned glasses, and black fedoras were available to guests who wanted to dress in line with the ‘60s theme and have their photos taken by hostesses.

In contrast to the fete’s recreation of the bygone age, the event had its fair share of 21st century marketing technology. “Attendees were given RFID-tagged bracelets allowing them to instantly connect with their social media networks to share their experiences with their friends and earn prizes,”  Hanson said. With a tap of the RFID bracelet at Stella Artois kiosks throughout the room, photos and status updates such as “Enjoying a perfectly poured Stella Artois at the Cannes Cinema Club” were instantly transmitted to guests’ Facebook pages.  

Along with Eye5 Marketing and Talent’s Sinatra and Davis, Jr. impersonators, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and Andy Warhol lookalikes were on hand to encourage guests in their pursuit of fake casino tokens at the Roulette tables.  The three-piece Doug Acosta Band from Elan Artists backed up the Sinatra impersonator, who sang classic favorites such as “Fly Me to the Moon” and “Bésame Mucho” before the movie screening.

At the end of the five-hour event, guests could catch a free ride home in a luxury town car though a partnership with Uber, an on-demand car service.

In-kind sponsors included Harpoon Brewery and Gordon’s Fine Wine & Liquors, which offered drinks at open bars flanking the V.I.P. reception and the general event. Wolfgang Puck Catering provided appetizers such as potato latkes and corn dogs. Chinese food bars, decorated with cherry blossoms in porcelain vases, held glass noodle salad in mini Chinese-takeout boxes, vegetable spring rolls, and shrimp pot stickers. Party by Design assisted with event production, and Be Our Guest outfitted highboy tables in forest-green linens.

The event is billed as a "waterfront dance extravaganza," and high-octane music fueled the vibe. DJ M.O.S ruled the third floor, spinning decade-crossing mash-ups of hits like Billy Joel’s “My Life” and Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head.” First-floor spin master DJ Kiss provided more contemporary beats, playing Timbaland's “The Way I Are” and The Wanted’s “Glad You Came.”

The Earth Day celebration-cum-benefit had the dual goal of highlighting an environmental cause and raising money for the nonprofit's Youth Enterprise Program, which grooms under-served youth to find paid employment in the arts. The annual fete hosted 450 guests and raked in $155,000.

When dreaming up a theme for the event, Elements Event Design and Production owner Shane Hassey perceived a likeness between cross-pollinating bees and young artists collaborating on innovative works of art. He said the goal was to "raise awareness about the importance of bees and how vital they are to our ecosystem … but also celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit and creative ingenuity of Boston's teens."

For a $250 donation, benefactors could attend a pre-event V.I.P. reception to preview and purchase student art. The work was displayed in a temporary gallery on the third floor, where many of the 150 artworks had a bumblebee theme. Student-run art stations were set up throughout the studio, and placards with the young artists' success stories were placed on large, paint-splashed easels.

More bees showed up in elaborately decorated serving pieces, where sculptures of the winged creatures rested alongside offerings such as chicken and waffles with acacia honey and honey-seared scallops. The evening’s specialty drink, called the Bee’s Knees, was a mix of gin, honey syrup, and lemon juice.

The theme carried over to whimsical fund-raising techniques. A display of a partially filled-in honeycomb advertised a $167,000 fund-raising goal for a program that sponsors summer jobs, and a written plea urged guests to pledge donations to help "fill the honeycomb." In an area dubbed the “Buy Art Store,” items for purchase ranged from $12 bee and daisy stickers to $1,500 tables with arty decorations like colorful bits of shredded paper.

The $150 general-admission tickets let patrons take part in an energetic celebration on the first floor. Large decals decked the walls with bees and daisies, flower-and-insect-shaped lights swirled across the room, and honeycomb decals clung to the open bars. On the walls behind the bartenders, tangerine and yellow signage called out bee-related fun facts.

Entertainment included aerial and hoop artists from the Boston Circus Guild and performances by the Brazilian syncopated-rhythm dance crew Samba Viva. The funk and disco band Booty Vortex kept the dance floor filled until evening’s end, when guests snacked on chocolate-covered strawberries, gourmet Oreos, and chocolate mousse tartlets.      
 

The celebration raised more than $400,000 for the nonprofit's bullying prevention, family support, and education programs, and saw more guests and more dollars than its previous iteration: only 480 supporters attended in 2011, and this year's take was 30 percent higher than last year's.

The increased attendance was thanks, in part, to more square footage on hand. "Last year's venue had a max capacity of 480 guests," said event manager Liz Page, owner of Liz Page Associates. This year, "It was important to us to identify a unique event space that would not limit our capacity to sell tickets and sponsorships. Black Falcon Cruise Terminal has a capacity of 700, and wouldn't you know it, we sold out."

While the venue took care of one challenge, it raised a few—rather daunting—others. "The [terminal] is a federally regulated port, and ship arrivals and departures always take precedence over events that are scheduled at the terminal," Page said. At the time of booking, there were no ships scheduled to be in port on April 25. Then, two months out, planners learned that a ship would arrive on April 24 and was not scheduled to leave until noon of event day. When ships are in port, no event setup can take place in the terminal unless every five staffers on setup duty are escorted by one Port Police officer.

And there was one more issue: "We were also warned that [in case of] mechanical difficulty, passenger emergency, or several other possible scenarios that may have prevented the ship from leaving port, we would have to cancel our event," Page said. "Cancellation was not an option, so we created a contingency plan to move the event to a different location if necessary."

Planners developed a detailed communication plan to get in touch with guests, speakers, vendors, and the 15 participating chefs in case of a venue change. They also designed a load-in schedule that had them holding furniture rentals, linens, china, and other items until the ship had definitively sailed or stayed in port.

Finally, at noon on Wednesday, planners received official confirmation that the ship was leaving and the event could go on as scheduled. "Ninety-nine percent of our guests, sponsors, and celebrity chefs were unaware of 'Plan B' and the potential venue change," Page said.

But for those who were aware, final setup felt like a giant sigh of relief. "It's always exciting to arrive at event site and watch that first truck pull up and begin to load in, [and it was] especially [so] for this event, when we didn't know what site we would be loading into," said Danielle Gollenberg, associate producer at Liz Page Associates.

Planners were also excited to watch support pour in for a heart-tugging cause. "Raising a record-breaking amount of money to bring the anti-bullying and family support programs of Greater Boston PFLAG into high schools and middle schools across the state, you realize that you are so lucky to be a part of something bigger than yourself," Gollenberg said.

Now in its second year, the conference is still developing. “This year we have tried to focus more on innovation," Farhadieh said. "[We] incorporated a whole Impact Weekend that included musical showcases, a 'Hacker’s Weekend,' and a 'deconstruction experience' catering to students and musicians.” The conference's emblem, which appeared in all collateral and decor, was a spark meant to represent the genesis of a powerful new idea.

The Impact Weekend programming took place on the Friday and Saturday before the conference’s official start. Both evenings included performances from artists including folk rock trio The Lumineers and alternative rockers Green River Ordinance. The showcases took place at three different clubs—Café 939, Brighton Music Hall, and the Paradise Rock Club—that were close enough for registrants to bounce between them.

On both days, the Hackers’ Weekend took place at the Microsoft N.E.R.D. Center. The event brought together technology developers, designers, programmers, musicians, and industry pros to create their own rapidly developed apps, referred to as "hacks." On Sunday, the Music Deconstruction Experience was held at the Berklee Performance Center, where professors offered full-day music clinics.

During the conference itself, some 80 speakers included reps from organizations like Pitchfork, Creative Artists Agency, Spotify, and Converse. Musicians and bands also spoke, with sessions led by indie rockers Portugal the Man and pop-rock duo Karmin.

Through the conference's custom mobile app, attendees could share thoughts on the event using its hashtag. Planners used Tweet Wall Pro, a large screen created to broadcast tweets at events, to showcase feedback at the convention center. Through a partnership with Balloon, a Web and mobile solutions company, attendees could pose questions, and other guests could vote on the questions, giving higher scores to those they found most interesting. Queries receiving the highest points on the Tweet Wall Pro screen were transmitted to the speakers' handheld devices.

 

Called Theatre1 and Space 57, a movie theater and event space will take over the former Stuart St. Playhouse. Theatre1 will have 225 seats, each with its own workspace and power source. The room will also have ambient lighting and new projection and audiovisual equipment. Its lobby will have a full bar and will serve as a pre-function space.

During the class, Shire will offer one-on-one cooking instruction and tips on home entertaining. The class will end with a meal, where participants and Shire sit down together to taste the dish they just prepared. Each guest will leave with a $50 gift card to Towne and a catalog featuring some of Shire's favorite recipes.

Flowers: “Stapleton Floral in South Boston has the quality of much bigger shops without the high prices and with far better customer service.”

Catering: “Talk of the Town Catering in nearby Hingham always does a fabulous job, even on a less than ideal budget.”

Audiovisual Production: “If you want professional quality and a firm that can accommodate any size job, A.D. Handy is the vendor to call.”

Entitled "Legacy Relationships," Rafanelli's speech stressed the importance of forming connections with other vendors. "The success in this city is relationships—how we come together, take care of each other, and grow our businesses," he said. After showing a photo montage of his staff—including golden retriever Henry, whose title is "love tzar"—Rafanelli spoke about other local companies that support him and his crew.

Association/Nonprofit Planner of the Year
Erin McEvoy, Boston Bruins Foundation

Caterer of the Year
Lyndsay Picciano, Fairmont Copley Plaza