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1. 5 New Toronto Venues for Holiday Parties

2. Developer Hosts Green Cocktail Party, Mini Trade Show to Unveil Eco-Friendly Homes

3. OCAD Gala Kicks Off Mystery Art Sale

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

5. Masked Raconteurs Tell Tales at Moth Ball, and I Have a Blast

6. How Do You Make Staffers Feel Appreciated—at Little or No Cost?

7. MoMA Gets Suitably Whimsical and Macabre for Tim Burton Tribute

FROM NEW YORK

Masked Raconteurs Tell Tales at Moth Ball, and I Have a Blast

Gap, Banana Republic, American Eagle Open Stores With Musical Performances

MoMA Gets Suitably Whimsical and Macabre for Tim Burton Tribute

3 New Hotel Restaurants for Business Entertaining, Private Groups

Nintendo Launches New Mario Game With Look Back at Franchise History

Scripted Models Play Up Key Notes at Victoria's Secret Fragrance Preview

Ad Age Looks to Boost Conference Interaction With Beer Tasting, Lounge Seating

More Photos From Louis Vuitton's Garden-Style Launch: Life-Sized Trees, Mounds of Mums

A Forest of Flora Marks Launch of Louis Vuitton's Saks Boutique

4 Made-in-New York Sweets for Gift Bags

FROM LOS ANGELES

Us Weekly Takes to Voyeur With Scantily Clad Models, Burlesque Feel

6 New Venues for Los Angeles Holiday Parties

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

$4 Million MOCA Gala Breaks Fund-Raising Records

Chrysalis Benefit Cuts Ticket Prices in Half, Draws Same Crowd

MOCA Gala Spawning Arty Online Auction—Including Gehry's Hat for Gaga—Through November 30

Wende Museum Closes Wilshire for Cold War Anniversary Celebration

3 Ideas for Stylish, Eco-Friendly Events

3 New Restaurants for Autumn Alfresco Dining

With Help From Lexus, Cedars-Sinai Gala Breaks Fund-Raising Record

News Archive for Inauguration 2009

EVENT REPORT 02.02.09 11:54 AM

Last Look at the Inauguration: More Photos From Google's Party

Giant plastic igloos at Google's inaugural party
Photo: Courtesy of Google

FROM WASHINGTON Our coverage of the inaugural festivities went online quickly after the events, but some new photos just came in from Google's bash at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, considered by some to be—style- and spectacle-wise, at least—one of the highlights of the week. Here's a look at the gleaming white Obama-influenced fete, overseen and designed by Google's group marketing manager of events, Lorin Pollack-Platto. MORE >>

Inauguration 2009, Google

NEWS 01.28.09 1:06 PM

In the News: Somber Times Kill Davos Party, Guerrilla Marketers Help Inauguration-Goers Make Friends

Here's are a few stories grabbing our attention this week:

Financial Forecast Calls for Subdued Davos: The World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, is taking an unsurprisingly somber tone this year. C.E.O.s of corporations like Citigroup and Sony have opted not to attend; the celebrity contingent is all but nonexistent; and the opulent parties of the past seem to be long gone. Goldman Sachs is among the biggest names ditching their perennially hot ticket parties, and although Brit bank Barclays is said to be going ahead with theirs, company president Bob Diamond just canceled his trip yesterday. [FT]

HuffPo and Meetup Help Obama Fans Network: By using street teams to hand out branded name tags in Washington, the Huffington Post and community organizing Web site Meetup attempted to introduce half a million strangers to each other at last week's inauguration. Creative agency Interference Inc. enlisted about 180 people to pass out the tags, and trucks had to deliver the 500,000 stickers two days in advance because of closed street traffic. [BrandFreak] MORE >>

Inauguration 2009, Davos, Huffington Post, Meetup, Condé Nast, Goldman Sachs, Barclays Capital, Citigroup

TED KRUCKEL 01.21.09 4:08 PM

On Inauguration Night, Purple Ball Had Color But Lacked Authenticity, and American Music Balls Were a Bust

FROM WASHINGTON On Tuesday night, as my taxi inched down M street to the Georgetown inaugural ball, held in two venues alongside the Georgetown Shops Mall, one shop owner had posted a hastily made but hard-to-ignore suggestion: “Why not go home already: Take it all in on your TV!” I wish I had.

Let it be known that this mostly jaded reporter was down with the oneness, surprising everyone who knows me by hopping the metro yesterday at 11 a.m. and, with careful planning, arriving on the mall in time to hear Barack’s speech, call my sister, take a picture, etc. It was touching and all that.

But a night of overly commercialized, under-organized (or failed) party planning reminded me that even the noblest of causes or movements are not free from shameless exploiters and profiteers. It's been a long trip.

So as I rush to Union Station—I decided to forego my business class reservation and early return to the calm and cool oasis that is Manhattan—herein are my parting observations. MORE >>

Inauguration 2009, Purple Ball

EVENT REPORT 01.21.09 2:30 PM

Inauguration Balls Feature A-List Performers, High-Tech Touches, and High- and Low-End Decor

The Obamas at the Neighborhood Ball
Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

FROM WASHINGTON After a day of inaugural festivities held outside amid biting winds and clamoring crowds, last night the masses descended onto a slew of balls celebrating President Barack Obama's swearing in. The 10 Presidential Inauguration Committee-sanctioned parties—the official bashes graced with planned appearances by the new president and first lady—were the tickets to land, with most going to politicians, Hill staffers, and donors. Private functions also dotted the event landscape, with first-ever parties from BET at the Mandarin Oriental and Google at the Mellon Auditorium.

Obama's popularity among the Hollywood set was more evident than ever before, as an award show-worthy roster of performers entertained around town. On the slate at the televised Neighborhood Ball were Faith Hill, Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and Alicia Keys. Other rosters included Sting and Elvis Costello at the Creative Coalition fete at the Harman Center, Wyclef Jean for BET, and Patti LaBelle at the Africa Ball at the Gaylord.

Street closures, freezing temperatures, and the ongoing taxi shortage made ball hopping a challenge, but as revelers showed throughout the weekend, little could dampen the spirits of those in town for the celebration.

Here are some highlights from the evening's biggest events. MORE >>

Inauguration 2009, Google, BET, Creative Coalition, Hawaii State Socity, Pennsylvania State Society, Congressional Youth Leadership Council

NEWS 01.21.09 1:34 PM

Chicago's Inauguration-Night Balls Range From Canceled to High Tech

The Bronzeville inaugural ball
Photo: BizBash

FROM CHICAGO A line of news trucks stood outside McCormick Place last night, where the Chicago Inaugural Committee hosted its official ball. There were more lines inside, where two cash bars—each staffed with a single bartender—catered to a crowd of roughly 700 guests.

Last week, planners expected the evening to draw a crowd of about 600, but the sudden cancellation of an inaugural ball that was to take place at the Aragon Ballroom led to a last-minute spike in attendance at McCormick Place. According to Alan Cottrell, who headed up planning efforts for the Chicago Inaugural Ball, organizers of the Aragon Ballroom event didn't sell enough tickets to hold the space, so he and his fellow committee members agreed to honor tickets to the Aragon event at their own ball. (Those with tickets to the canceled event who didn't go to McCormick Place got refunds.) MORE >>

Chicago Inaugural Committee, Inauguration 2009

NEWS 01.21.09 10:56 AM

Today in Inaugural News: Snubs, Last-Minute Cancellations, and a Whole Lot of Trash

The parties are over, and the last details about how everything played out are just coming in. Here's a look at the news this morning:

Producers for Dionne Warwick's American Music Ball scheduled for last night called off the celebration with just a day's notice. They expected upwards 6,000 guests but reportedly sold only a few hundred tickets. [Washingtonian]
As of this morning, it appears there were no inauguration-related arrests in Washington. [Washington Post]
Nearly two million people produce quite a bit of trash. [Wonkette]
Despite the extension of bar hours from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m., many bars started closing up by 3:00 a.m. [GOG Blog]

MORE >>

Inauguration 2009, Barack Obama, Desirée Rogers

TED KRUCKEL 01.20.09 5:36 PM

I Saw Fierce Models and Senator Feinstein at Two Presidential Inaugural Fashion Shows

Cancan dancers at California State Society's Inaugural Fashion Show and Luncheon
Photo: Chris Arnold

FROM WASHINGTON I was fascinated that there were not one but two Presidential Inaugural Fashion Shows on January 18. And let me tell you how glad I am to have seen both.

As a veteran attendee, promoter, and producer of fashion shows and events, I thought I had seen and done it all. But I was wrong. MORE >>

Inauguration 2009, California State Society

TED KRUCKEL 01.20.09 2:57 PM

Texas Black Tie & Boots Ball Had Winking Cowgirls, Giant Rooms

You can't have a Texas ball without cowgirls.
Photo: Stephen Elliot/Mud Productions

FROM WASHINGTON In Texas, you should know, they go big or they stay home ... where it is big.

So for the Texas State Society’s 11,000-person party on Monday night, organizers chose the Gaylord National Resort across the Potomac in Maryland. Yee-ha!

If you like greeters, and I do, the Black Tie and Boots Ball was your party. First, a dozen or so wannabe Dallas Cowgirls obeyed their matron, took the gum out of their mouths, passed it forward, then marched, two by two to the escalator, to get in position at one of the many entrances. Every third gal greeted me and every fifth winked. MORE >>

Inauguration 2009, Texas State Society Black Tie & Boots Ball

TED KRUCKEL 01.20.09 1:06 PM

In the Lobbies: Ritz-Carlton Draws a Crowd With Furs and Not-Quite-Free Makeup

FROM WASHINGTON Saks Fifth Avenue threw open its doors for the inaugural weekend at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel just north of Georgetown. The retailer decided to face the cold head on, with an entire lobby filled just with designer furs (J. Mendel, Dennis Basso, Berger Christensen, to name a few) of every shape and size. There were so many people milling around, I wondered if someone would walk off with a free coat.

“Washington is fur country,” explained Washington Life magazine deputy editor Karin Tanabe. “I think it has something to do with being near the South.”

Nuff said. MORE >>

Inauguration 2009, Saks Fifth Avenue

EVENT REPORT 01.20.09 11:07 AM

Massive Illinois Ball Conjures State Pride With Ferris Bueller, Deep Dish Pizza

The Illinois State Society Gala
Photo: Joseph Allen for BizBash

FROM WASHINGTON Cash bar and decor-void ballrooms are the backbone of many an inauguration party. So when the Illinois State Society's gala incorporated themed vignette after themed vignette, recognition must be given for the effort alone. The masses would come (and likely be pleased) regardless, but when they can do the electric slide in a diner alongside a pink Cadillac or eat deep dish pizza while listening to piano player warbling La Vie en Rose in a meeting room dubbed the Honky Tonk Lounge—well, that's when the masses go from pleased to elated.

Held at the Renaissance Washington just a few blocks from the Capitol, the 24th annual gala aimed to recognize all that's great about Illinois, from its Magnificent Mile and Doublemint Twins to its state fair and CAT truck. Produced by gala chair Suzanne New, the event took over two hotel floors and manifested itself in a dozen or so vignettes with names like Irish Pub (accented by an inexplicable cardboard castle), Disco Lounge, and State Fair. "We wanted to conjure up every area of Illinois, down state, upstate—the sights and sounds you'd see in Illinois, whether at a state fair, a homecoming game, or a movie filmed there," said New, who began the planning process 18 months ago. MORE >>

Inauguration 2009, Illinois State Society's Presidential Inaugural Gala

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