New York City - Manhattan Event Coverage of Benefits, Galas, Public Promos, Launch Parties, Movie Premieres, Fashion Shows, Art Exhibits and Live Music in New York City - Manhattan by BizBash

There's pretty much only one hard, fast rule at most fund-raising events: donate some cash. The Marines, however, don't really play like that. Potential infractions that could be committed at the second annual New York City Marine Corps Council's "Mess Night" benefit on Tuesday evening included "placing elbows on the table," "consulting the time," and "arriving late to appointed places." Should any of the many violations be noticed by the evening's enforcer, "Mister Vice," the Mess president determined an appropriate fine to be paid by the renegade guest. For the uninitaited, the proceedings of a Mess Night can be a tad stressful, but also fun. MORE >>

New York City Marines Corps Council, Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation, National Foundation for Facial Reconstruction

EVENT REPORT

07.01.09 1:21 PM

Interactive Circus Performers Lighten Mood at Cancer Fund-Raiser

Cancer101's interactive entertainment
Photo: Dan Hallman for BizBash

Nasty weather—not to mention the economy—threatened Tuesday’s Cancer 101 benefit, but in the end neither put much of a damper on the cocktail party fund-raiser. The planners of the event, where guests included cancer survivors and their caregivers, settled on a circus theme because “we wanted to celebrate all the people who do survive,” said Susan Shin of Shin Advisors, which co-produced the event with Bon Vivant. “Plus—and you’re going to laugh—we liked the alliteration of Big Top at the Bowery.”

The evening’s entertainment at the Bowery Hotel was in keeping with the circus theme: Circulating among the 315 guests were a juggler, magician, tarot card reader, contortionist, Hula-hoop dancer (with extra hoops for partygoers), and a man on stilts. Before performing, Broadway in South Africa—a nonprofit troupe of Broadway artists—walked the room, the men dressed in sparkling tuxes and top hats, the women wearing body suits, fishnets, and feathers. Guests ate popcorn and cotton candy in addition to passed hors d’oeuvres served by men in suspenders and colorful, oversize clown ties. MORE >>

Cancer101

EVENT REPORT

06.29.09 5:35 PM

HSBC Replicates Wimbledon—Grass Court and All—Stateside for Tennis Promotion

HSBC's slightly narrow grass court
Photo: John Minchillo for BizBash

Wimbledon may be in London, but the tennis tournament's official sponsor, HSBC, wanted to include New York fans in the festivities—and its related marketing—so it played host to match simulcasts and free grass-court tennis last week at Rockefeller Center.

To pull off the five-day event, HSBC's internal events team turned to sports and entertainment producers IMG UK and media agency Mindshare Performance, both based in the bank's native Britain. The partners wanted each aspect of the event to bring fans closer to the festivities across the Atlantic, but public attention seemed focused on its structural centerpiece, the city's only (albeit temporary) grass court. MORE >>

Wimbledon, HSBC

EVENT REPORT

06.29.09 1:43 PM

Cisco Caps Three-Day Partner Summit With Executives-Only Rock 'n Roll Gala

Performers break dancing at Cisco's gala
Photo: David Fox

FROM BOSTON Global networking technology company Cisco held its annual Partners Summit in Boston June 2 through June 4, when it looked for ways to wow its sales partners on a significantly reduced budget.

"The whole program was scaled down from years past," said Richard Toscano, director of special events at George P. Johnson, who worked with Cisco to plan the summit. "In the past we’ve had 4,000 to 5,000 attendees—this year it was cut down to 2,000."

A smaller event meant a more exclusive crowd. "We strategically scaled back to a more executive level," said Stacy Glavinos, event program manager at Cisco. "We went from 43 percent executives last year to 59 percent, so everything had to be tweaked to that executive level." MORE >>

Cisco

GUEST QUESTIONS

06.26.09 11:58 AM

Media Types Share Their Strangest Swag

Some of Assme's Swag-a-Thon haul
Photo: Amy Mitten

The American Society of Shitcanned Media Elites (Assme) offered a happy hour to journalists at Lower East Side bar Fontana's Wednesday night, when the tongue-in-cheek support group for recently laid-off journalists hosted a small fund-raiser for HIV and AIDS nonprofit Housing Works. All guests needed to gain entrance was a piece of unwanted promotional swag (or a $5 donation) that Housing Works could sell off in one of its local thrift stores. We chatted up a few attendees to learn more about what they brought and their memorable swag—good and bad—from events past.

What's one of the strangest pieces of swag you've gotten in the past?
“At my old job, I got this promotion from Subway. It was Jared’s fat pants."
—Erin Clements, Elle.com MORE >>

American Society of Shitcanned Media Elites, Housing Works

EVENT REPORT

06.26.09 11:50 AM

Gen Art Reaches $100,000 Fund-Raising Benchmark With Alumni Support

Alumni and honorary chairman Zac Posen at Gen Art's fund-raiser
Photo: Alexis Corchado for BizBash

On Wednesday night, confronted by the weak economy and reduced funding from corporate sponsors, Gen Art held its first benefit in nearly a decade, appealing to its supporters and alumni for help. To bring them out and raise the much-needed funds for the nonprofit organization, the foundation solicited donations from its network of contacts—pulling in 70 pieces of artwork to sell and 28 items to auction off.

Hosted by Gen Art C.E.O. and founder Ian Gerard and chaired by an honorary committee that included designer Zac Posen and actor Adrian Grenier, the event drew approximately 1,300 designers, artists, musicians, and members to 7 W New York. MORE >>

Gen Art, Café Bustelo, Campari, Kenneth Cole, Aperture Magazine

EVENT REPORT

06.24.09 1:13 PM

Honey-Loving New Yorkers Push for Legalized Beekeeping With First Annual Beekeeper's Ball

Bee enthusiasts sipping samples of honey wine
Photo: John Minchillo for BizBash

Chickens can legally be kept in New York City residences. Bees cannot. This doesn’t seem right to local culinary coalition Just Food, so it plans to take a big step toward changing the laws prohibiting beekeeping with New York City Pollinator Week. Festivities kicked off Monday night when a crowd of 350 gathered at Water Taxi Beach in Manhattan for the first Beekeeper’s Ball.

Produced and organized by Just Food, a New York City nonprofit dedicated to hunger issues, the event intended to raise awareness for beekeeping as a positive form of agriculture. But judging by the number of bee enthusiasts present, there was also a great deal of preaching to the choir. MORE >>

Just Food, Beekeeper's Ball, New York City Pollinator Week

EVENT REPORT

06.23.09 2:37 PM

Uniqlo Courts Gamers to Sell T-Shirts With Pac-Man Challenge

The Pac-Man labyrinth on the mezzanine floor
Photo: John Minchillo for BizBash

To promote its new Pac-Man-themed T-shirts and draw customers to its Soho flagship, Uniqlo hosted a competition last Friday night, pitting arcade-loving ambassadors from companies like Vice magazine and New York Comic Con against each other in a Pac-Man playoff.

The Japanese retailer releases a new collection tied to its homeland each year, but not all of the previous iterations have had the brand recognition of the popular game, which originated in Japan in 1980. So the company saw it as a promotion that could have the power to bring in a wide variety of customers. "We picked a less familiar Japanese game last year," said Uniqlo USA marketing manager Jean Shein, "but partnering with [game distributor] Namco just before Pac-Man's anniversary meant that we could really exploit the game's popularity with something that related to both our brands and products." MORE >>

Uniqlo, Pac-Man, Namco

EVENT REPORT

06.22.09 5:26 PM

Artists Perform on Four Outdoor Stages at 20th Annual MuchMusic Video Awards

The John Street stage
Photo: Gary Beechey for BizBash

FROM TORONTO More than 6,000 fans surrounded three outdoor stages in the MuchMusic parking lot—and a fourth performance space on John Street—for the 20th annual live broadcast of the MuchMusic Video Awards on Sunday. "It's probably the biggest stage we've ever built," Neil Staite, director of operations for MuchMusic, said of the structure, which included three rows of stand-up bleachers built into the back wall of the set. "It's like something from the 'Thunderstruck' video. It really is a show in 360."

Michael Parks, who goes by Spike, designed the the set for this year's show, which covered more than 4,000 square feet. "He's been responsible for some of our greatest looks over the past few years," said Staite, who reported that the in-house production team tries to make the stage a bit different each year. “It's definitely a challenge to make it bigger and better in the space that you have,” he said. Staite planned the event with a key group that included Brad Schwartz, senior vice president and general manager of the Much MTV Group; lighting director Dave Fairfield; production manager Mike Elder; and programming director Sheila Sullivan. MORE >>

MuchMusic Video Awards

EVENT REPORT

06.22.09 5:12 PM

Candy, Ice Cream, and Rachel Maddow Accent MSNBC's Radio and TV Correspondents' Dinner After-Party

MSNBC's after-party for the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association dinner
Photo: Tony Brown/Imijination Photography for BizBash

FROM WASHINGTON Guests at the 65th Radio and Television Correspondents' Association Dinner on Friday shouldn’t have had any problem finding the after-party hosted by MSNBC. They simply walked across the street from the dinner at the Washington Convention Center to the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., where giant light projections of the MSNBC logo on the building’s exterior lit up the night sky.

The annual dinner, which was held at the convention center for the first time and included a speech by Barack Obama and a performance by Sweet Honey in the Rock, ended at around 10:30 p.m. As the journos and politicians on the guest list made their way across the street to the party, music pumped from speakers outside and red and blue rotating LED lights cast a glow on the society’s classical building. “We wanted to make an impact and put our imprint on the city,” explained Dana Haller, producer of strategic marketing for MSNBC, who worked with producer Philip Dufour of Dufour & Co. and lighting production company Atmosphere to design the look.

MORE >>

MSNBC, Rachel Maddow, Radio and Television Correspondents' Association, Starbucks

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