At the anniversary party at New York's Pier 92, staffers offered guests caviar and oysters from an ice bar that had brightly colored plastic sea creatures frozen inside.
To represent the Food Network magazine, artist Clare Herron spent the event inside an 8- by 8-foot Plexiglas cube with stacks of back issues and a pair of scissors. Throughout the evening, she created a collage by taping magazine cutouts to the walls.
On November 9, a tented space in New York's Duarte Square opened as the headquarters for “Talking Transition,” a nonpartisan forum for citizens to express their views to Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio’s incoming administration. In order to grab the attention of those walking by, black milk crates were stacked outside to spell out the word "talk." Above the entrance, a giant red arrow pointed inside, where more black milk crates hanging from the ceiling spelled out the word "here."
At its booth at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Acura set up several small informational tables that projected images of its cars onto smoky condensation that rose up from the tabletops. Using an iPad-like interface, guests could explore different aspects of the vehicles and make images larger or smaller by putting a hand close to the smoky screen. The event wrapped on December 1.
After the theater's performance of The Tempest at the Koch Theater, guests sat to dinner in a stormy environment designed by Bronson van Wyck. In the theater's promenade, seven 39-foot prop cyclones swirled up to the ceiling. In the dinner space, a hand-painted 180-foot storm scene wrapped one side of the balconies, and handmade paper cyclones stretched from the floor to the ceiling.
A photography theme was prevalent at the event, which benefited the Photography Gala Fund. INDO handled the decor, which included centerpieces made of glowing, vintage slides. To add to the shutterbug-friendly atmosphere, a curtain of slides hung from the second floor balcony. And, naturally, the event had no shortage of photo booths for guests.
The Holiday Chic Suite, a lush pop-up space at the 900 Shops on Chicago's Michigan Avenue, is rife with ideas for D.I.Y. office gatherings or home entertaining this season. Overseen by Debi Lilly of A Perfect Event, the setup features place cards tacked onto green apples with bejeweled pins.
Here's a new idea for breakfast catering: the Mexican breakfast buffet, or Cocina del Barrio, with Mexican hot chocolate, mango-passion-fruit and grapefruit-carrot juices, fruit empanadas, tropical fruit in a bag, pastel pan dulce, egg scrambles with squash blossoms and queso fresco, and tortillas, by Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado Santa Fe in New Mexico.
New York City caterer Carla Ruben of Creative Edge Parties is offering a new dessert buffet in time for the holiday season. On November 12, Ruben hosted an intimate pre-holiday luncheon to introduce her latest creations, including the company's “Bar Bar,” a selection of bite-size brownies, blondies, and dessert bars in flavors such as peanut pretzel, Oreo cheesecake, and apple crumb displayed in repurposed desktop file sorters.
Dufour & Company produced the event, which included dramatic overhead draping that brought the ceiling height down. The sheer white drapes changed with lighting from Atmosphere Lighting. Design Foundry fabricated the decor.
At the May 29 opening of Hudson Eats at Brookfield Place in New York, Shiraz Events created a step-and-repeat using stacked crates of fresh vegetables.
The Holiday Chic Suite was a lush pop-up space at the 900 Shops on Chicago's Michigan Avenue open this past holiday season. Overseen by Debi Lilly of A Perfect Event, the setup featured place cards tacked onto green apples with bejeweled pins.
More green apples appeared in the decor at the February event in Washington. Planners opted for a design scheme with spring-like green centerpieces from Your Event Solutions that contained actual fruits and veggies. Artichokes popped up on some tables in the dining room, while green apples sat atop illuminated boxes on others.
In 2013, the Chicago museum's gala was held for the first time in its warehouse. In an homage to the venue's bakery past, a Tube Buffet held various breads. Servers in bakers' hats doled out rustic country rye bread, salted pretzels, dark rye rolls, and more in sheets of deli paper.
At the chocolate brand's New York event in September, a custom tasting table from Abel McCallister Designs seated 16 guests. The table, which continued up the wall, featured artfully arranged truffles along with fresh fruit, nuts, and spices, all set in a bed of melted chocolate.
On May 6, Weston Family Foods hosted is annual group meeting at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Decor included a wagon made out of bread. It took 5th Element Events two days to build the structure, and the process involved shellacking real bread from Weston Foods and hot-gluing pieces to the wagon.
At the February event in Toronto, food-centric sponsor activations included jars filled with pasta and strainers holding fresh veggies.
The fiery orange lights at the Catalina Casino evoked a giant campfire at the 2013 Catalina Island Conservancy Ball in Southern California. The fireside vibe carried through the rest of the evening's decor, which included centerpieces of illuminated apothecary jars filled with the makings of a classic campsite snack: s'mores.
The American Cancer Society's Discovery Ball took place at Chicago's Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel in April. Inspired by an urban street, the decor from HMR designs included a lemonade stand and a flower cart. A pastry shop edifice displayed sweets that guests could actually pluck off the decor and sample during the cocktail reception.
At the 2013 Butterfly Ball in Chicago, the gala had a farm-like atmosphere and Event Creative brought in vegetable-centric decor. Tables were decked with miniature gardens potted with tomatoes, colorful peppers, asparagus, and kale; around the centerpieces, fairy lights in miniature Mason jars added to the elegant yard-party vibe.
In Washington, Evoke has designed doughnut walls for clients. The wall was constructed out of pegboard, with 1,200 wooden golf tees showcasing chocolate-glazed doughnuts (forming a “J” for the guest of honor’s name) as well as cinnamon sugar and powdered white donuts. A server with a step stool can pull doughnuts off the wall for guests.
In December 2013, Chicago's Joffrey Ballet hosted its annual Nutcracker Family Dinner. In lieu of centerpieces, tables were decked with platters of gold-dusted cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery. At the dinner tables, a sign read: "In the Land of Sweets, it is proper etiquette to eat dessert first."
The 2010 benefit in New York was filled with arty, food-centric ideas. One example? Hanging cheese heads melted onto piles of crackers during the cocktail hour.
Though technically drinkable and not edible, Patron's 2011 bash in Orlando had interactive decor that guests could get a taste of. Just inside the front door, staff offered samples of five cocktails made with Patrón XO Cafe. They poured the drinks from fixtures placed on the wall in a gallery-like configuration.
To celebrate the grand opening of Downtown Summerlin, a new 1.6 million-square-foot shopping center near Las Vegas, splashy public events took place October 9 to 12. A parade of LED drummers kicked off the festival's first night.
Walt Disney Animation Studios premiered its latest film, Big Hero 6, at Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre on November 4. The film is set in the futuristic town of “San Fransokyo,” which combines elements of Tokyo and San Francisco. Inspired by that fictional setting, the red carpet area was decked with a structure that resembled both the Golden Gate bridge and Japanese-inspired torii gates.
To illustrate Talkspace’s goal to bring transparency and accessibility to mental healthcare, designer Alon Seifert of Not Grey created an installation dubbed “Pop-Up Therapy” November 5 and 6 at a plaza in New York's Flatiron district. Organizers chose to place the transparent domes—which contained staged therapist offices—near a busy intersection to remove the stigma associated with mental health.
Fight for Children's signature Benefit, Fight Night, took place on November 13 at the Washington Hilton. The ringside V.I.P. tables ranged in price from $50,000 to $100,000 each and came set with a raw seafood tower and bottle service.
The Austin, Texas, music festival took place November 7 to 9. Sponsor activations included the Shiner Bock Beer Garden, where Jenga and checkers made with the beer bottle caps were set up on picnic tables.
This Bar Saves Lives hosted its first “This Party Saves Lives” as a tie-in to World Food Day in Los Angeles in October. As guests arrived, they were given a box that would later be filled with food and delivered to a child. Guests were asked to place a box near a wall at the end of the night, and the boxes ultimately formed a thematic mural by California artist Jules Muck.
The TigerDirect Tech Bash, held at Marlins Park on November 7, is the most popular free technology summit in Miami. For its activation, computer sponsor Lenovo brought in a blimp that floated throughout the stadium releasing coupons and prize vouchers.
On November 13, Old Navy hosted a press preview for its spring 2015 collection at Cedar Lake in New York. The event had a "road trip" theme, and adjacent to one clothing vignette was a farm stand designed to recall what travelers might find along country roads, including miniature chicken potpies. MKG came up with the concept for the catering experience.
At the Los Angeles premiere of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Samsung created a designated area on the red carpet to accommodate fans who won a trip to the premiere and had photos taken with the film's stars. The event took place on November 17.
At its seventh annual film benefit on November 10, New York's Museum of Modern Art honored writer and director Alfonso Cuarón. On the dinner tables, blush-colored anemone flowers added a soft, delicate contrast to the sharp edges of geometric centerpieces that also decked tabletops.
