BizBash New York News

EVENT REPORT: City Marine Corps Recreates Traditional Dinner With 1920s Menu and Fund-Raising Fines

]]>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.

EVENT REPORT: Interactive Circus Performers Lighten Mood at Cancer Fund-Raiser

]]>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.

EVENT REPORT: HSBC Replicates Wimbledon�Grass Court and All�Stateside for Tennis Promotion

]]>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.

GUEST QUESTIONS: Media Types Share Their Strangest Swag

]]>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

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

]]>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.

VENUE NEWS: This Week: Solar-Paneled Hotel Planned for SoHo, City Saturated With Too Many Arenas

New York may have too many arenas—a number that will grow to five when Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards facility opens sometime in the next few years—and not enough events to fill them. [NYT]
An environmentally friendly 26-story hotel on Varick Street will be powered by solar energy, with glass that could generate as much as 100 kilowatts of power. [NYO]
There's also another hotel planned, this time a 24-floor, 175-room Midtown site from Extell Development. [NYO]
The owners of Brooklyn Bowl, the bowling and entertainment venue expected to open this week, took care to create an eco-friendly site. [NYT]

THE WALKTHROUGH: Charlie Palmer's New Aureole Has More Seats, Modern Look

]]>After more than 10 years in an Upper East Side brownstone, chef Charlie Palmer's Aureole moved to a new location between Bryant Park and Times Square, a site that debuted to the public yesterday and will host a grand opening gala with Citymeals-on-Wheels on September 15. With more than double the capacity of the old space—up from 95 seats to 209—the restaurant now offers a private dining area, a casual bar room, an enclosed main dining section, and seasonal seating outside. Located inside the newly constructed Bank of America Tower, Palmer's progressive American eatery has a modern interior design from Adam Tihany to match its surroundings.

VENUE NEWS: Payard Patisserie Shutters, Off-Site Catering Still Available

Payard Patisserie & Bistro announced today that it will close. In a newsletter emailed out late this morning, the Upper East Side pastry shop and restaurant disclosed that its location on Lexington Avenue will shutter temporarily as it plans to relocate. (Crain's New York Business predicted the closing back in May.) Tastings by Payard, the catering arm of the business, will remain available for off-site events.

VENUE NEWS: This Week: Pomeranc Brothers Looking to Expand Overseas, New Brooklyn Space to Open in September

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Jason, Michael, and Larry Pomeranc, who run the Thompson Hotel Group and recently launched a restaurant management division called Do Not Disturb, hope to expand their business into the international market within the next few years. [Crain's]

The owners of Skylight are converting a Fort Greene site into a 15,000-square-foot event venue to be called the Clocktower at One Hanson. [BizBash]

The battle continues between Upper East Side residents and the Rose Group over the use of a Park Avenue property for events. [NYT]

On Thursday, the Discovery Channel and Running Subway Productions opened their 60,000-square-foot Discovery Times Square Exposition hall. [BizBash]

VENUE NEWS: Brooklyn Clock Tower Site to Become Event Venue

]]>Near the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Fort Greene, the former Williamsburg Savings Bank is currently being redeveloped into condo units and will, in September, be home to a new venue for meetings, dinners, and cocktail receptions. The Clocktower at One Hanson, as the event space is called, will be converted by the owners of Skylight and Skyline Studios & Gallery into a 15,000-square-foot facility with 10,000 square feet of usable space on the ground floor (not actually in the building's clock tower).

Since the site is landmarked, none of the changes being made are cosmetic, leaving much of the historic architecture—soaring 75-foot ceilings and wooden teller stations located around the perimeter of the room—intact. The Clocktower will also retain many of its cathedral-like characteristics and historic decor, including marble floors and old murals of New York as a Dutch colony. The space will hold as many as 1,000 for receptions and at present is available for photo shoots.

THE SCOUT: La Cense Beef Launches Burger Truck

]]>La Cense Beef, a Montana-based company specializing in all-natural, grass-fed meat, entered the food truck fray last week with the debut of its new burger truck. The menu is simple: six-ounce Angus burgers ($7 each or $7.50 with cheese), potato chips ($1), and a few beverages. In addition to making stops throughout Manhattan, the truck can also make appearances at events throughout the five boroughs. For $4,600, La Cense will provide 200 burgers over the course of four hours. Each additional burger is $7 and there is an extra charge if the event is in the evening or on a Sunday.

FRESH FACE: Set Designer Brings Whimsical D.I.Y. Approach to Event Decor��

]]>Sara Foldenauer began her career as a photographer’s assistant, learning the basics of prop styling and lighting from still-life and fashion photographers. When she ventured out on her own as a freelance photographer and stylist, she realized that her favorite part of the job wasn’t necessarily her subjects. She loved creating environments, from moody street scenes to a loft space filled with silver balloons. “I realized that it’s the most creative part of the process for me,” she says. “My goal, whether I’m working on an event or still photos, is to create an environment creatively and colorfully.” In fall 2007, she launched her company, Sets by Sara, which also offers prop styling and event design services.

THE SCOUT: Municipal Art Society Launches Book of Self-Guided City Walks

]]>The Municipal Art Society, long known for its various public and private tours throughout the city, officially launches its new guide, The Municipal Art Society of New York—10 Architectural Walks in Manhattan, today. Each route may easily be taken as a self-guided tour, as the publication includes detailed directions, easy-to-use maps, and more than 200 color photographs. Eminent society tour leaders Francis Morrone and Matthew A. Postal's guide includes excursions to Central Park, Grand Central Terminal, Park Avenue's corporate towers, the Flatiron district, Midtown's Art Deco landmarks, and two routes that take in downtown and the financial district, including a walk that examines areas around the World Trade Center site.

The book is a suitable gift for out-of-town visitors or city residents, and it could serve as the basis for a group excursion, if you're looking for a cheaper, D.I.Y. approach to teambuilding this summer. It retails for $29.95, and is available through Urban Center Books.

THE SCOUT: Catering Designed for Palates of All Ages

]]>Susie's Supper Club is a meal delivery company specializing in homemade, kid-friendly foods that adults can also enjoy. Former personal caterer Susie Cover opened the business in December, and also offers full-service catering for events in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Dishes include mini meatloaf, grilled chicken tacos, spinach and ricotta ravioli with tomato sauce, and farro with sweet corn and sugar snap peas, but Cover and her staff will work with clients to create custom menus. The company can also handle other event-related needs such as rentals, flowers, and staffing. In addition to catering, Cover and her team bake goods including mini pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, Key lime pie bars, and cinnamon rolls that can be packaged and delivered as corporate gifts.

THE SCOUT: A Mobile Cupcakery

]]>Two big trends, food trucks plying the streets and the continuing obsession with cupcakes, come together as Cupcake Stop launches today, bringing the sweet little creations to the public at various city locations. The truck offers a variety of flavors—triple chocolate, red velvet, oreo crumb, chocolate-peanut-butter swirl, chocolate vanilla, and chocolate chocolate—as well as specialty flavors including cappuccino, banana chocolate chip, peanut butter and jelly, coconut creme, and black-and-white cookie. Mini cupcakes retail for $1 each, and regular-size cupcakes cost $2.25. Cupcake Stop founder Lev Ekster can work with planners to have the truck and treats available as gifts outside events, and he says he is planning to open a catering operation soon.

Q & A: Monster's Phil Cavanagh on Taking Things In-House and Managing the Crowds at Career Fairs

]]>The demand for jobs has been particularly high in 2009, and to accommodate the need, online job placement service Monster.com decided to revamp its touring career fair by producing it in-house and making 140 stops in the U.S. alone throughout the year. Monster Worldwide Inc. senior director of global events Phil Cavanagh oversees all of the company’s corporate events and trade shows and worked with his team to launch Keep America Working. He spoke with us about what Monster did to make the tour's rigorous schedule go smoothly and how career fairs seem particularly rewarding in this economic climate.

How is the Keep America Working Tour different than previous Monster.com job fairs?
Our old model was a straightforward career fair. Job seekers would come in, present resumes to recruiters and then leave. It used to be managed through a third party, but this time we decided to do it all in-house by our global events team.

We looked at people's needs this year, and we found that they're really just looking for information and a sense of empowerment. So we created the event with three components. It does have the recruiting area where employers interact with the job seekers, but we've added a theater presentation that has our career experts telling people how to stand out in the market and a kiosk area that shows attendees how to use the different career tools on Monster.com.

TED KRUCKEL: The U.S. Open Is All About Getting Close to Tiger, and the Sponsors�

]]>It’s just like standing in the square at St. Peter’s. He’s far away, but unmistakable. There’s his little hat. Everyone is oohing and aahing. And taking cell phone pictures, which is so against the rules. While some may think it sacrilege to compare the Pope to Tiger Woods, for this lifelong, reluctant attendee to both houses of worship, it is exactly the same thing.

Everyone is quiet. Well, quiet except that they’re whispering all the time, always whispering the same things. Here are the top ten musings that everyone is murmuring at the 109th U.S. Open, held at Bethpage State Park on Long Island.

TED KRUCKEL: Balloons and Fashion Week Plans Rise at Lincoln Center's Spring Gala

]]>I can’t imagine a New York without Lincoln Center, and if you’re in the event business, I bet you can’t either. I remember one season where I had dinner in the lobby of the David H. Koch Theater lobby (formerly the New York State Theater) every Monday for a month. I went to the Council of Fashion Designers of America awards almost every year (that’s nine times) they were held in Lincoln Center, where they will return June 15. And of course you have heard by now that Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, produced by IMG, will move from Bryant Park in fall 2010.

With an unveiling of the Alice Tully Hall revamp combined with a Lincoln Center 50th anniversary spring gala, and a performance by Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin last Tuesday, May 28—well, it seemed like all my eggs were being put in one basket. So off I went.

TED KRUCKEL: My Night as a Hipster on Gawker's Rooftop and at the New Ace Hotel �

]]>It is refreshing that while all the traditional media are fading faster than we can blog about it, Gawker has to suck up to its advertisers to survive just like everybody else. Also refreshing is that they do it with their snark intact.

The Starz Network, a premium channel that we all get and never really know why, was thanked for sponsoring the celeb-transfixed Web site with a rooftop party for Gawker's community of commentators. The wisdom behind the idea that this group of opinion leaders who traffic in both delicious and indefensible blind gossip would somehow be swayed into a supportive audience for two of Starz’s original series, Head Case and Party Down, was something I wanted to see for myself.

A young digital media buyer from Kirshenbaum Bond + Partners’ Media Kitchen by the name of Andre Woolery at least convinced me that the cable channel’s money was being thoughtfully spent. Both fairly well-reviewed shows poke pointedly at the service industries they portray, psychiatry and catering, respectively, so why not recruit the most sarcastic of audiences first and hope that their invective trickles down?

TED KRUCKEL: Talking to Ted: Daniel Boulud Is Excited About Sausages and Beer

]]>This is the fifth in a series of five conversations with event pros about what's working now.

Chef Superb Daniel Boulud had an excuse to be worried last fall, re-opening his flagship Daniel after a multi-million dollar facelift just as the market tanked. But a re-garnering of four stars in the The New York Times has led to new rush of gourmands. His other restaurants are, of course, Café Boulud, DB Bistro Moderne, and his newest will be a Lower East Side beer and sausage bistro, DBGB, which is scheduled to open officially June 8. And don’t forget Feasts & Fêtes, his catering arm.

So business at Daniel is good. How do you do it?
There are challenges. Corporate business has been soft. But we’re trying to show our customers that we’re willing to offer more for the dollar. For example, we now offer a prix fixe five-course tasting menu with wine pairings for $98 at early hours. The same meal without wine is normally $105. Our regular customers are responding to that.

NEWS: ISES Celebrates Lifetime Achievements, 26 Awards Categories, and New Board Members at 2009 Big Apple Awards

New York's chapter of the International Special Events Society held its annual Big Apple Awards last night at the Lighthouse at Pier 61, and the group marked its 21st anniversary by doubling the number of award categories—and winners—to recognize new and nontraditional achievements in events.

In addition to praising work from the past year, the Big Apple Awards honored event professionals for career-fontning contributions to the industry. Four people were inducted into the ISES Hall of Legends: Compass Group premiere hospitality division C.E.O. Dick Cattani, IMG Fashion senior vice president Fern Mallis, Jack Morton Worldwide chairman and C.E.O. Josh McCall, and New York International Automobile Show show director Candida Romanelli.

NEWS: Vogue Appoints Sylvana Soto-Ward as Event Director

Vogue has named a replacement to Stephanie Winston Wolkoff's recently vacated director of special events post. According to WWD, the magazine promoted accessories editor and six-year staffer Sylvana Soto-Ward to the position this week. Soto-Ward—who has also served as editor Anna Wintour's assistant—will have additional support in her new department with the addition of Megan Salt as a special event consultant. Salt is a former employee of the HL Group and previously worked with the magazine on its Fashion's Night Out iniatitive.

NEWS: Facing Severe Sponsorship Drop, Gen Art Brings Back Benefit to Raise Funds

]]>Gen Art, the frequent event host that matches up emerging creative talent with corporate sponsors, has seen a 70 percent drop in sponsorship dollars from 2008 to 2009. So after relying on money from marketers to fund both its for-profit event production company and its nonprofit wing during most of its 15-year history, Gen Art has made drastic cutbacks and will put on its first benefit in nearly 10 years this week in New York.

"If the recession had hit three months later, it would have been a completely different story," said Gen Art C.E.O. and founder Ian Gerard, thinking back to last October, "but because it all happened before the 2009 fiscal year came, everyone drastically cut back their marketing budgets from the start."

Those cutbacks affected ongoing initiatives with Gen Art. Despite having yearlong deals in the works, official partners such as Acura, American Express, and Citibank all pulled back. "We're still working with all of those companies," Gerard said. "It's just been at such a reduced amount. It's more event-by-event versus an annual deal across all of our events or a large number of them."

NEWS: White House Social Secretary Desir�e Rogers on Conga Lines, Crashers, and Why She's Avoiding Sit-Down Dinners

]]>The Creative Coalition hosted its annual meeting inside the posh screening room of HBO's Sixth Avenue headquarters Thursday night, where 100 or so members and entertainment industry big wigs voted in new board members (actress Dana Delaney among them) and munched on mini crab cakes and chips and salsa. The real reason for the packed house? A Q&A with press-shy White House social secretary Desiree Rogers.

Moderated by Delaney, the 45-minute conversation touched upon what a typical day for Rogers is—"I have three morning meetings, first with the president in the West Wing, next with the special events teams and house staffers, and third with the first lady in the East Wing,"—and the many challenges the nation's leading event planner faces. "The job comes with lots of logistics," she explained, adding that she's already planned 150 events since inauguration. "I'm essentially working in a house that is someone's home. But it's also a museum, an office, there are tours. Lots of coordination goes on to make sure things end and begin when they need to."

NEWS: Vogue Event Director Stephanie Winston Wolkoff Resigns

Vogue special events director Stephanie Winston Wolkoff resigned this week after 11 years with the magazine, according to WWD. As editor in chief Anna Wintour's go-to strategist, her largest task each year was producing the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute gala.

Winston Wolkoff began her tenure at Vogue as manager of public relations and, since being promoted to special events director, has overseen the execution of initiatives such as 7th on Sale and the C.F.D.A./Vogue Fashion Fund. In a statement published in WWD, Winston Wolkoff had this to say about her departure: "It’s so hard to walk away from it all, but 11 years and three children later, it’s just time for me to step away and spend more time with my family."

There's no word yet on whether Vogue has a replacement in mind.