Miami, South Florida Event Coverage of Benefits, Galas, Public Promos, Launch Parties, Movie Premieres, Fashion Shows, Art Exhibits and Live Music in Miami, South Florida by BizBash

FROM NEW YORK Now in its second year, the Museum of Modern Art hosted its annual film benefit Tuesday night. The gala raised $800,000 for MoMA's department of film, honored director Tim Burton, and kicked off an exhibition of his work with decor inspired by more than two decades worth of movies.

A crowd of 240—including event co-chairs Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, as well as Danny DeVito, Brooke Shields, and Gabourey Sidibe—joined the director for cocktails, a short presentation, and dinner, before the museum lobby opened for a less exclusive after-party. MORE >>

Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Modern Art Film Benefit, Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter

EVENT REPORT

11.18.09 6:03 PM

Diesel Wraps International Music Tour With Kid Cudi, Santigold

Diesel's U: Music Tour's Miami stop at the Paris Theatre
Photo: Joseph Cancellare & Assoc. for BizBash

Diesel’s U:Music Tour, an extension of the brand’s online emerging band competition, stopped in Miami Tuesday night as part of its inaugural 10-city international tour. Miami served as one of only two U.S. cities on the tour, which also stopped in New York on July 30, and attracted more than 1,300 guests to the Paris Theatre. Local Diesel stores handed out free wristbands for entry to the concert over the previous weekend.

The clothing brand created the tour as a way to further promote the bands who won its online competition by pairing the winning band with established artists in each city on the tour. “There’s nothing better than showcasing [music] live to the public with our fans, our key customers, and people who really love the brand,” said Steve Birkhold, C.E.O. of Diesel USA. MORE >>

Diesel

EVENT REPORT

11.18.09 8:00 AM

New Moon Premiere Beckons 10,000 People and 2 Live Wolves

The premiere for The Twilight Saga: New Moon in Westwood
Photo: Line 8 Photography

FROM LOS ANGELES Westwood, being a college town, is accustomed to groups of young people roaming about—but Monday night was no ordinary night in the village. The young people were out, for sure, but many weren't yet old enough to drive, and they were pressed behind barricades on closed streets for the premiere of Summit Entertainment's new installment of the Twilight series, New Moon.

Summit's Eric Kops oversaw the hotly anticipated event, tapping ELS for big-time tasks like crowd control and security, and Chad Hudson Events for roles including theater management and R.S.V.P.s, plus production of the after-party at the Hammer Museum. MORE >>

Summit Entertainment, Twilight, New Moon, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner

EVENT REPORT

11.11.09 4:15 PM

More Photos From Sleepless Night: Giant Slingshots, Fire Dancers, Parades

A fire dancer at Nikki Beach's What Women Want event
Photo: Rolo DeCampo

Miami Beach's overnight arts event Sleepless Night had more than 150 exhibitions and performances staged throughout the city from 6 p.m. Saturday until 7 a.m. Sunday. As a follow up to our story, here are some more images from the night. MORE >>

Miami International Piano Festival, ANK by Mirla Sabino, Salinas, SocialMiami.com, WLRN, SoBe Arts Chamber Ensemble

EVENT REPORT

11.11.09 3:06 PM

Public Art, Performances Draw 100,000 at Audi-Sponsored Sleepless Night Miami Beach

Artformz Alternative's Titanic slide
Photo: Matt Horton/Artist Group Photography for BizBash

The City of Miami Beach held its second Sleepless Night, a 13-hour overnight contemporary arts event sponsored by Audi, starting on Saturday evening, with more than 150 individual events taking place throughout a six-mile stretch of the city. Heavy winds didn't deter the more than 100,000 people who attended the various art installations, exhibits, galleries, and dance and music performances held from 6 p.m. on Saturday until 7 a.m. Sunday.

“The weather certainly made it more challenging for us, and except for the one event we had to cancel, we were able to adapt,” said Max Sklar, director of tourism and development for the city, who noted the Dream Engine “Heliosphere” that connected a helium balloon and an acrobat had to be canceled due to safety concerns. “It’s the one thing you can’t control, but I’m happy to say that despite the weather, the crowds were larger than the previous event.” MORE >>

City of Miami Beach, Audi, Comcast, Red Bull, American Coach

EVENT REPORT

11.10.09 5:22 PM

Make-a-Wish Boosts Fund-Raising, Channels Beatles Songs in Decor

Beatles tribute band Beatlemania Now
Photo: John Parra/WireImage

Sold out for the fifth year in a row, the Make-a-Wish Foundation of South Florida’s annual fund-raiser took place on Saturday night at the InterContinental Hotel Miami with nearly 800 guests. The 15th annual event's decor took inspiration from famous Beatles songs of the 1960s and garnered more high-level sponsors—those donating more than $20,000 each, such as Wachovia—than in 2008.

“It’s earned a reputation over the last half dozen years as the place to be,” said the charity’s vice president and C.O.O., Richard Kelly. “So when you have people who want to be somewhere and be in the thick of the action, they’ll come in at a higher level of sponsorship to do that.” MORE >>

Make-a-Wish Foundation of South Florida, Publix, Wachovia, Trafalgar Capital Advisors

EVENT REPORT

11.10.09 5:07 PM

Dark and Moody Accents, Animal-Inspired Decor Appear on Tabletops at Diffa's Dining by Design

A table designed by Mario Pinto with Scott Heuvelhorst Interiors
Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash

FROM CHICAGO "This looks like a serial killer's home. There should be conspiracy theories written on the wall," said one guest at Thursday night's Cocktails by Design event, which served as a kickoff for a three-day Dining by Design benefit hosted by Design Industries Foundations Fighting AIDS. The event filled the eighth floor of the Merchandise Mart with 42 dining environments decorated by design-industry professionals ranging from painters to architects to fashion designer Maria Pinto. With so many creative professionals behind the tables, the environments ranged from a wooden box tacked with newspaper clippings and bathed in an eerie blue light—which inspired the serial-killer comment—to a cozy gazebo setting filled with fairy lights and plush Ralph Lauren pillows.

Though there were tables that defied categorization, some dining environments illustrated popular design trends; one theme was "dark and sexy atmospheres, which we're seeing everywhere this year," said Diffa's director of special events, Peggy Bellar. At an installation from Interior Investments by Gensler, black moving blankets hung behind a table surrounded with dark leather chairs; a chandelier made of painted black cardboard crowned the scene. Hermes glasses in deep purple hues spruced up place settings at a table that Herman Miller by Richard Bliss and Solomon Cordwell Bunez designed; and lacy black napkins dotted the table that Maria Pinto decorated with Scott A. Heuvelhorst Interiors. Artist Francine Turk's design also created a dark, moody ambience with black chalkboard walls, charcoal sketches of crows, and framed paintings of gold Gothic crosses. MORE >>

Diffa, Diffa Dining by Design

EVENT REPORT

11.10.09 9:00 AM

Dominican Charity Stages Interior Design Contest at Its Largest U.S. Event To Date

V.I.P. lounge areas on the first floor
Photo: Matt Horton/Artist Group Photography for BizBash

Mission International Rescue, a Dominican Republic-based organization that provides education, family, and health services to the country's underprivileged communities, held its largest fund-raiser in the United States at the Moore Building in Miami Thursday night for 350 people.

“The charity has really grown in the past few years and most of our supporters are from the States—they all fly to Casa de Campo [the group's Dominican headquarters] for our events—so we wanted to do something for them here,” said the organization’s executive assistant and only stateside employee, Ana Alba, who organized the event. MORE >>

Mission International Rescue, Atlantico Rum, Presidente, ZYR Russian Vodka, Chloé, Bal Harbour Shops, Home Miami, Home Fort Lauderdale, HGTV

EVENT REPORT

10.30.09 12:42 PM

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

EVENT REPORT

10.28.09 12:52 PM

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

FROM LOS ANGELES 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

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