Food and Wine

At the culinary event at New York's Pranna on April 2, large marquee letters spelling out "Food & Wine" surrounded a lounge area.

Organizers scattered circus-style signs depicting food-related phrases and pictures throughout the park to create an amusement-park-like setting.

Try serving the crowd-pleasing dessert du jour in a creative way: For a Boston event, the Catered Affair set up a doughnut-on-a-stick bar, where folks could top their own treats with colored sugar, candy, and more.

D.C.-based bakery Georgetown Cupcake opens its first Boston outpost in Back Bay this May. The shop offers catering for meetings and events, as well as gift boxes of the "Summer Dozen," a seasonal assortment that includes key lime, strawberry, banana-split, and lemon-blossom cupcakes. Treats cost $15 per half-dozen, and $29 per dozen.