Los Angeles Event Report is a news archive for Event Planners on recent past Benefit Galas, Public Promos, Launch Parties, Movie Premieres, Fashion Shows and New Releases by BizBash

It might have been an unlikely year for it, but Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's board of governors gala vastly surpassed its past fund-raising success. The gala on Wednesday night at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza raised more than $2.6 million for the Board of Governors Heart Stem Cell Center through event revenue like sponsorships and ticket sales (which began at $500 for individual tickets, or $2,500 for packages). The Cedars events team, led by senior event specialist Stacy Seligman Kravitz and senior event coordinator Ken Hudson, oversaw the production, and the honorees were Justin Timberlake; SBE head Sam Nazarian and his father, Younes, and brother, David; and financier Larry Post and his wife, Sandy.

Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush hosted the program, which included cocktails and a silent auction followed by dinner and the entertainment. R&B artist Brian McKnight and up-and-comer Charice performed for the crowd, which included Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Ben Silverman, and Andy Garcia. MORE >>

Cedars-Sinai, Justin Timberlake, Sam Nazarian, Lexus, Brian McKnight, Charice

11.03.09 10:43 AM

Hello Kitty's Anniversary Pop-Up Takes Over Japanese-Inspired Royal/T

Sanrio's Hello Kitty pop-up
Photo: Lester Cohen/Getty Images for Sanrio

Sanrio's cutesy Hello Kitty brand is celebrating its 35th anniversary. And for a pop-up sponsored by Target to honor the occasion, there was perhaps no better-suited venue choice in the land than Royal/T, a 10,000-square-foot art exhibition space, retail store, and Japanese-inspired café, itself bearing the same visual and thematic traits.

Free and open to the public, the pop-up Hello Kitty-related art exhibit and Sanrio retail shop, known as "Three Apples," runs from October 23 through November 15. Sanrio's team unpacked and installed the exhibit, and Japan L.A. shop owner Jamie Rivadeneira curated the Hello Kitty artwork, which is for sale. Royal/T supplied the catering and service staffing for a private, invitation-only grand opening party on October 22 to kick it all off. MORE >>

Hello Kitty, Sanrio, Target, Pop-Ups, Sapporo

10.30.09 3:00 PM

Gen Art's Fresh Faces Opens Inaugural Rock Fashion Week L.A.

Gen Art's 12th annual Fresh Faces in Fashion event
Photo: Tiffany Rose

Thursday night marked Gen Art’s 12th annual Fresh Faces in Fashion Los Angeles show—and the first time the organization produced the event in the city since merging with Rock Media in September. Aside from its billing as the "official opening show" for the debut of the two-day program known as Rock Fashion Week L.A., Fresh Faces remained unchanged for the most part, even returning to the Petersen Automotive Museum for the third consecutive year, despite previous plans to take Rock Fashion Week L.A. to Paramount.

“We definitely expected a lot more corporate sponsors—that definitely had a big impact,” said Gen Art C.E.O. Ian Gerard, referring to the venue change and truncation of Rock Fashion Week L.A. from four days to two. “I think bringing the shows to the Petersen and combining sponsors made a lot of sense in terms of where things are economically in October. A four-day show was just not economically viable.” MORE >>

Gen Art, Plastics Make it Possible, Rock Fashion Week, L.A. Fashion Week

10.30.09 9:42 AM

Microsoft Introduces Windows 7 With Cute Kid, Product Vignettes

TV commercial star Kylie introduced Microsoft C.E.O. Steve Ballmer at the Windows 7 launch.
Photo: Richard Koek

FROM NEW YORK Given Microsoft's enormous customer base—a January 2009 report put the technology giant's market share at 88 percent—when it launches a product, there's always a certain amount of buzz surrounding it. But rather than replicate the elaborate marketing stunt it produced for the debut of the Windows Vista operating system, Microsoft took a simpler approach to the press event introducing Windows 7. Inside Skylight Thursday, October 22, some 340 journalists, software testers, and executives from hardware manufacturing partners gathered for a six-hour launch that combined art gallery-style exhibits with live demonstrations and product vignettes.

"We wanted to create an event that represented the product and be mindful of the current state of the economy and the broad consumer mindset. So we set a tone that was simple, approachable, and authentic while demonstrating the excitement we all feel for Windows 7," said Windows group marketing manager Ed Chase, who led the planning of the project. To pull it off, Chase collaborated with Pinnacle Exhibits and a crew of other local and West Coast companies. MORE >>

Microsoft, Windows, Dell, Samsung

10.28.09 12:50 PM

This Is It Premiere Sprawls Over L.A. Live With Aerialists, LEDs, and Fans Galore

The entrance to the tented after-party
Photo: Line 8 Photography

In his life and death, Michael Jackson was a larger-than-life figure, surrounded by seemingly limitless pomp and glitter. Appropriately then, the premiere for the movie culled from his final rehearsal footage, Michael Jackson's This Is It, was an event that fit into the same category, and conjured its own mystique and energy in a bustling, fan-mobbed downtown Los Angeles Tuesday night. Columbia Tristar Marketing group senior vice president for special events Alison Bossert, along with executive director Mary Powell and manager Dori Golod, oversaw the event, with production by 15/40. "It was the premiere event of the season," Bossert said.

The spectacle began with arrivals on the Nokia Plaza at L.A. Live. The atypical setup felt more like a stage than a standard arrivals line: Instead of the usual carpet, a red laquer dance floor lay underfoot, inset with video and lighting elements to evoke Jackson's iconic "Billie Jean" video. Dancers from the planned tour, known as the "Crystal Divas," performed an aerialist routine overhead in Swarovski crystal costumes and chandeliers. Glass cases displayed costumes from the intended tour, some unfinished. Video elements and LED screens surrounded the area, and a fan pit in the middle emanated energy. Craig Waldman of 15/40 described the scope of the arrivals scene as "like an awards show." About 200 photographers and 120 television crews lapped up the coverage. MORE >>

This Is It, Michael Jackson, Sony, Columbia Pictures, L.A. Live, Ultimat Vodka

10.28.09 9:52 AM

Shriver's Women's Conference Adds Second Day of Programming—Plus a Step-and-Repeat—for 25,000 in Attendance

Helen Devore Waukazoo on the podium with Maria Shriver at the Minerva Awards
Photo: Gold/Wong

It might be said that 2009 is a year that created a particular need for inspiration and community support—especially in a state like California, where budget shortfalls and the unemployment rate have become notorious. Either in spite of or because of that climate, California's first lady, Maria Shriver, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Women's Conference once again drew masses of women from all over the state to join a packed roster of about 70 high-level speakers and participants at the Long Beach Convention Center.

This year, the program ballooned from a single day to two full days—to accommodate the increasing number of would-be attendees. (Each year, full-day passes to the conference sell out in record time. Tickets this year sold out in less than two hours, beating last year's record of three.) The first day's program, a Day of Transformation, served as somewhat more informal programming, with two 1,500-attendee sessions and six 400-person breakout sessions. "We were getting so much feedback from people who wanted to participate and have access," said executive producer Alexandra Gleysteen. "It's a way to get more hands-on information—how to get a new job, start a nonprofit—all in a spiritual context and a serene environment. It's on a different scale, more intimate, than the main program." MORE >>

The Women's Conference, Maria Shriver, Arnold Schwarzenegger

10.26.09 1:19 PM

Volkswagen Party Launches Car and Its iPhone App Counterpart

The 2010 GTI
Photo:John Minchillo for BizBash

FROM NEW YORK More than 100 members of the gaming and automotive press made their way to the mouth of the Holland Tunnel last Wednesday, where Volkswagen launched both a tangible and video game version of its latest GTI model at the Classic Car Club. To cater to the tech savvy crowd, Volkswagen brought in G4TV's Olivia Munn to host, built several gaming stations, and filled the room with suggestions to guests to post comments about the party to Twitter.

As of the morning after the party, the 2010 GTI became the first vehicle launch on Apple's app store—with a role in a free version of the popular Firemint Real Racing game—so the mobile application was woven into the fabric of the party almost as much as the car itself. MORE >>

Volkswagen, Apple, Twitter

10.23.09 10:59 AM

Walk of Style Awards Honor Princess Grace and Cartier With Rodeo Drive Ceremony, Beverly Wilshire After-Party

The red carpet on Rodeo Drive
Photo: Alex J. Berliner/Berliner Studio/BEImages

Beverly Hills' storied shopping street, Rodeo Drive, conjures a certain image through its reputation worldwide. And the district's advocates attempt an annual event—the Walk of Style—that itself evokes the same air of status and luxury. To that end, on Thursday night, the city of Beverly Hills and the Rodeo Drive committee hosted the award ceremony honoring its 14th and 15th recipients, Cartier and the late Princess Grace of Monaco. The Donahue Group's Craig Donahue, who has produced the event since its inception in 2003, collaborated on the project with the Rodeo Drive merchants' event co-chairs, Peri Ellen Berne and Susan Moseley.

The ceremony, which began with remarks from Beverly Hills mayor Nancy Krasne, took over the closed 200 block of Rodeo Drive. Demi Moore presented the award to Cartier, which Pierre Rainero, Cartier International's image, style, and heritage director, accepted on behalf of the jeweler. And Debra Messing presented the award for Princess Grace, which Prince Albert II of Monaco accepted on behalf of his late mother. A video reel showing the accomplishments of each honoree—feature film clips and philanthropic works for Princess Grace, assembled by Turner Classic Movies, and the equivalent of bauble porn for Cartier—preceded the presentation of each statue. MORE >>

Walk of Style, Cartier, Princess Grace Foundation, Prince of Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Rodeo Drive Committee

10.20.09 2:58 PM

Elle Fetes Hollywood Women With Intimate A-List Bash Awash in White Decor

The white palette in the ballroom for Elle's awards
Photo: Line 8 Photography

Every so often comes along an event with enough star wattage to nearly overcome the paparazzi waiting outside. Such was the case at Elle's Women in Hollywood awards on Monday night. A scant 220 guests came to the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills to join the program, and most of those were boldface names—including honorees Katie Holmes, Julianne Moore, Julie Andrews, and Renée Zellweger, and their presenters and industry friends. This year, a 60-foot-long carpet (versus 28 feet last year) helped keep the arrivals scene sane.

The magazine's New York-based special events manager, Caitlin Weiskopf, oversaw the event, tapping Caravents to produce it for the first time. The look was nearly all white, in honor of sponsor Calvin Klein. In the entry area, an Elle-logo plexi wall stood in front of a Four Seasons' fountain, and a gallery of 18 framed images—celebrity beauty shots and imagery that spanned a century—from sponsor L'Oreal Paris lined the walkway. Baubles from sponsor David Yurman decked a display made from materials such as silver trays and mirror detailing, rather than a standard glass case. And at the end of the arrivals carpet, a representative from sponsor Moët encouraged arriving celebrities to sign an oversize bottle of bubbly, which would be auctioned for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. As to the sponsors' integrations, they were "a little more modern, more clean, more integrated," than is typical, said Caravents' Cara Kleinhaut. MORE >>

Elle, Moët & Chandon, Calvin Klein, David Yurman, L'Oréal Paris, Alec Baldwin, Ovarian Cancer Research Fund

10.20.09 11:33 AM

Simpsons Halloween-Carnival Party Shows Episode on 60-Foot Screen

The Simpsons party at Barker Hangar
Photo: André Maier Photography

Now a two-decade-old brand, The Simpsons has had plenty of time to establish itself as a playful, even slightly subversive, household name. Apropos of the show's reputation, the party for The Simpsons 20th anniversary and "Treehouse of Horrors" Halloween episode took on the look and feel of a cartoonish carnival. Fox Broadcasting Company special events producer Bob Stillo oversaw the production of the event—all done with family-friendly touches and Halloween overtones—with production and design by Angel City Designs.

The October 18 event for about 1,200 guests filled Barker Hangar with games like Twister played on a huge inflatable board, and bowling with a willing human strapped into a giant ball. Simpsons toys served as prizes for game winners. Guests could scoop up custom T-shirt designs from a silk-screening station by Hit & Run or pose for a photo op in front of a Simpsons step-and-repeat complete with a prop and accessory station. MORE >>

The Simpsons, Fox, Patron

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