| EVENT REPORT 04.25.08 5:14 PM |
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Fight for Children Brings Back School Night Benefit (With Help From John Legend)
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 | The dinner's deep-blue lighting and star-shaped projections
Photo: BizBash |
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Last night, the Fight for Children’s School Night benefit—for the nonprofit’s quality schools initiative—returned after a three-year absence, taking over the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The massive venue was awash in blue lighting, accented with star-shaped gobo projections that blanketed the walls (courtesy of Fandango).
“We haven’t done this event since 2004, and in the past it didn’t involve the award ceremony,” said Fight for Children events coordinator Libby Barton, referring to the $100,000 grants given that night to three district schools—one public, one charter, and one independent. “We wanted to play up the fact that we’re bringing the event back.”
The starry pattern also reflected the nonprofit’s new, more colorful logo. Orange and powder blue—prominently displayed in the graphic design—also became the inspiration behind the evening’s color scheme, visible in the blue linens and the orange centerpieces of tulips, roses, and snapdragons.
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Fight for Children, John Legend |
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| NEWS 04.03.08 6:44 PM |
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Recording Academy Brings John Legend and Kid Rock to the Fans
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FROM CHICAGO
Tonight, John Legend, Cat Power, and Colbie Caillat take the stage at Chicago's Vic Theatre, kicking off the five-city 50th Grammy Celebration Tour presented by T-Mobile Sidekick. After tonight's show, the tour will head to New York's Webster Hall on April 9, then on to Miami (April 16), Dallas (April 23), and Los Angeles (April 30). Each city features a different lineup chosen to fit with the local cultural flavor—Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliott headline New York's hip-hop-tinged show, and Kid Rock and a yet-to-be-announced artist fit with a country-rock theme in Dallas.
"The mission of the Recording Academy is to make a connection between music, its makers, and its fans," Branden Chapman, vice president of production and process management at the Recording Academy, said from Chicago today. "This tour is part of the academy's effort to keep our brand in the marketplace and connect with music lovers throughout the U.S. on more than just Grammy night." To create a strong connection between fans and the tour's mix of established and up-and-coming artists, Chapman said, he targeted small venues for the tour's "arena-worthy" acts.
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Grammys, John Legend, Colbie Caillat, Cat Power |
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| EVENT REPORT 03.31.08 10:00 AM |
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Common Threads Festival Lures Celebrity Chefs
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 | Chef stations featured elegant food presentations.
Photo: Lee Hoagland |
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FROM CHICAGO
Chef Art Smith has friends in high (or highly gourmet) places. This much was evident at the third annual Common Threads' World Festival, held on March 17 at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Attended by food-world celebrities ranging from Padma Lakshmi to Rocco DiSpirito and Paula Deen, the fund-raiser produced some culinary star power.
Founded by Smith four years ago, Common Threads educates underprivileged children about nutrition and international cuisine. The charity’s chef advisory board is made up of names from respected—and ethnically diverse—Chicago restaurants. Once a week, a chef from the board leads an in-classroom cooking demo for children 8 to 12 years old.
When creating a concept for Common Threads’ annual fund-raiser, “We tried to mimic what we do in the classroom by creating this world festival walk-around,” said Common Threads executive director Linda Novick O’Keefe. To that end, she employed staggered food stations. “Each chef is asked to represent a different country through food,” she explained. For its first two years, Common Threads' World Festival was held at the Chicago Cultural Center; this year, it was held at the M.C.A.
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Common Threads, Top Chef, John Legend |
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