| NEWS 03.26.09 10:30 AM |
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Mindful of the Recession, Planners Open Doors to New Vendors
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 | Elton John's Oscar party organizers considered bids from multiple vendors.
Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage |
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Once upon a time—say, roughly prior to the autumn of 2008, when the economy took its dramatic turn—many planners enjoyed a committed relationship with vendors. For annual events, tried-and-true vendors got the job year after year based on demonstrated performance and an understanding of the specific challenges of those projects. But now, in tough financial times, many planners are being forced to look outside the bonds of existing vendor relationships, instead sending out multiple requests for proposals—or at least keeping an open mind to pitches from new vendors—in the hopes of sealing a better deal.
“I am often accused of being overly loyal to my vendors, [but] I have sincerely come to enjoy the peace of mind that [they] give me when I ask them to assist us with a large event. They know what I like, have proven themselves, and instill confidence that all will go smoothly,” said California Science Center vice president of food and event services Chris Sion. “That being said, this is the perfect time for the savvy vendor to offer goods or services at a discounted introductory price."
For this year’s Discovery Ball at the museum, Sion had a reduced budget, and was consequently more open to cost-saving ideas. "I listened to sales pitches more carefully when [vendors] dropped a too-good-to-be-true price," Sion said. "It’s a win-win situation because if all works out well, I wouldn’t hesitate to include them on my vendor list for future events, and I did not have to risk as much to try them out in a year when every dollar counts. A good deal was definitely a driving factor in vendor selection more than usual during this economy.” Paying special attention to deals when they were offered up led Sion to include six new vendors at this year’s ball.
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RELATED TOPICS
Budgets, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Discovery Ball, U.C.L.A., Warner Brothers, Chivas Regal |
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| EVENT REPORT 02.23.09 11:23 AM |
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Elton John's Recession-Appropriate Gala Still Glitters—and Offers Guests a Chance to Hit Vanity Fair, Too
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 | Elton John's black-and-white Oscar party
Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage |
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With Vanity Fair’s party canceled last year on account of the writers' strike, Elton John’s bash rose to the top of the Oscar-night clutter. But the reemergence of the magazine’s party this go-round did little to quash the glitter of last night's 17th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation benefit at the Pacific Design Center—and neither did the woeful economy, which necessitated careful budget review, but no cuts that looked jarring to guests.
John and husband David Furnish hosted the viewing dinner and party, and Chopard, Jo and Raffy Manoukian, and VH1 were the evening’s cosponsors. Foundation executive director Scott Campbell oversaw the event, tapping Virginia Fout again this year to produce it.
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RELATED TOPICS
Award Season, Oscars, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Raphael Saadiq, Chopard, VH1, Ciroc, Sterling Vineyards, Budgets, Vanity Fair |
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| NEWS 02.18.09 11:17 AM |
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Oscar Week: Vanity Fair's Back, Mercedes Moves to Montage, Governors Ball Tones Down, Suites Abound
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 | The 2008 Governors Ball
Photo: Nadine Froger Photography |
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The catastrophic state of the economy hardly bears repeating here—except to say that it hasn't done much to diminish the sheer number of Academy Awards-related event offerings on this week's calendar, even if it has affected those events' budgets. From an array of suites to Vanity Fair's apparently triumphant return, many guests' dance cards—even in this recession—are completely full.
The plethora of gift and hospitality suites around town include GBK’s “Circus of the Senses” at the SLS Hotel on Friday and Saturday. The event will give 20 percent of its proceeds to four charitable organizations. Melanie Segal’s “Be the Change” Oscar lounge, presented by Sensé Beautiful Science, will take to the Pali House on Thursday and Friday. Silver Spoon’s suite today and tomorrow benefiting the Chrysalis organization offers spa treatments, caviar tasting, and gifts. Stuart Weitzman's Oscar styling suite kicked off yesterday at the London West Hollywood hotel, and runs through Saturday with beauty treatments and a chance to peek at the shoe designer's 2009 red-carpet collection.
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RELATED TOPICS
Oscars, Award Season, Vanity Fair, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Gift Suites, Chrysalis, 95.3 the Beat, Brandaid, Sense Beautiful Science, Tag the World, Essence Magazine, Stuart Weitzman, Governors Ball, W.W.E., Global Green, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, U.S.-Ireland Alliance, Montblanc, Unicef, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Children Uniting Nations, Dior, BMW, Chopard, VH1, AIDS Project Los Angeles |
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| NEWS 02.17.09 11:12 AM |
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Oscar Night Menu Preview: Sushi at the Governors Ball and Italian Ingredients at Elton John's Bash
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 | Sushi from Wolfgang Puck
Photo: BizBash |
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With the economy having only a moderate effect on Oscar events, caterers around town are busily preparing menus for still-glittering parties this Sunday. Among the biggest, most food-filled bashes are the sit-down dinners at the Governors Ball in the grand ballroom at Hollywood & Highland, and the Elton John AIDS Foundation bash at the Pacific Design Center.
For the Governors Ball, Wolfgang Puck will offer tray-passed hors d'oeuvres, including mini Kobe burgers with aged cheddar remoulade, spicy tuna tartare in sesame miso cones, and wasabi-pea-crusted crab cakes with mango and Thai basil. A sushi and seafood station will offer rolls including tuna, vegetable, California, and unagi, as well as nigiri including shrimp, hamachi, and salmon. Dinner will begin with Asian vegetable salad, and proceed with smoked salmon Oscar, Vietnamese vegetable spring rolls, and pumpkin coconut soup. Entrées include slow-braised Asian spiced short rib, or spring vegetable risotto for vegetarians. A chocolate bento box rounds out dessert. Puck's menu features sustainable seafood, natural beef, and organic produce—appropriate to Hollywood's pet cause, the environment.
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RELATED TOPICS
Oscars, Award Season, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Governors Ball |
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| EVENT REPORT 02.25.08 3:05 PM |
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Brightly Hued Elton John Party Assumes Oscar Night's Top Slot
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 | Elton John's brightly colored Oscar bash
Photo: Stefanie Keenan/WireImage |
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With Vanity Fair's exclusive bash off the slate this year, a new entity claimed the title of biggest Oscar party last night (apart from the academy's own ball): the Elton John AIDS Foundation fund-raiser. Sir Elton John and David Furnish hosted the foundation's 16th annual party at the Pacific Design Center, with Chopard and VH1 cosponsoring. The event raised $5.1 million—up considerably over last year's $4.2 million and by far a record.
The gala event began with a cocktail reception, followed by a formal dinner and viewing for 680 (more guests than last year by a small margin, but considerably fewer than in previous years after a decision to cut superfluous guests who weren't contributing to the benefit's bottom line). Following dinner offered by Mark’s Restaurant owner and chef Wayne Elias and co-owner Chris Diamond with their Crumble Catering team, guests bid on live auction items including Sharon Stone's 1974 Corvette and a world travel package patterned after Oscar-winning film Around the World in 80 Days. To cap off the night, Elton John and his band performed for more than an hour, along with guests Mary J. Blige and Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters. About 200 more guests joined the dinner group for the auction and performances.
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RELATED TOPICS
Elton John AIDS Foundation, Oscars, Award Season, Writers' Strike, Chopard, Vanity Fair, VH1 |
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| NEWS 02.22.08 3:14 PM |
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Oscar Event Update: What's Really On (It's a Lot)
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 | Silver Spoon's suite at the Kress
Photo: BizBash |
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You may have heard something about the matter of a certain labor dispute that was threatening Oscar events in Los Angeles. With some hugely significant exceptions, though—Vanity Fair's A-list-only bash, plus Ed Limato's pre-awards soiree, and some less heady others—many of the major events around town are going on as planned now that the strike has ended. Here's the rundown.
Silver Spoon is putting on a two-day gift suite, which began yesterday, at the strikingly revamped historic venue the Kress. Entertainment Fusion Group is handling PR. Guests traveling to the suite along Hollywood Boulevard from the west have to detour around the Oscar red-carpet setup, already being placed in front of the Kodak a few blocks away.
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RELATED TOPICS
Oscars, Award Season, Writers' Strike, Elton John AIDS Foundation, AIDS Project Los Angeles, Diamond Information Center, Night of 100 Stars, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Gift Suites, Motion Picture & Television Fund, WGA Strike Fund, Billboard, Children Uniting Nations, Variety, Lexus, Essence Magazine, Target, AOL, Night Before |
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| NEWS 09.27.07 4:31 PM |
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Elton John Apologizes for Appetizer
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FROM NEW YORK
At least Elton John is an honest host. According to WWD, he didn't care for the "gelatinous tomato and mozzarella starter" at the Enduring Vision/Elton John AIDS Foundation gala at the Waldorf-Astoria on Tuesday night. "I'd like to announce that the first course is on its way to the Federal Drug Administration to figure out what it was," John joked to the crowd. "My sincere apologies. That qualifies as the worst thing I've ever eaten at one of these events."
The security procedures got better reviews. Even with President George W. Bush staying at the hotel that night after speaking at the United Nations, WWD said, "the arrivals and security detail went rather smoothly."
RELATED TOPICS
Elton John AIDS Foundation, Elton John |
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| EVENT REPORT 02.26.07 12:00 AM |
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Elton's Party Goes More Exclusive, More Luxe
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Like other parties hoping to reclaim exclusivity, the Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar party got smaller on its 15th birthday. What used to be a viewing dinner followed by an after-party that swelled to 1,000 guests was this year limited to just over 600 for an expanded dinner, with no additional guests welcome to attend the after-party alone. The result? A more coveted ticket to the sold-out event at the Pacific Design Center—which raised the most money in the party’s history, and indeed had a far richer and more civilized atmosphere.
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RELATED TOPICS
Oscars, Award Season, Elton John AIDS Foundation |
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