Unique Decor

Presented by Louis Vuitton, the Pérez Art Museum Miami gala took place on January 17. The museum's Geodesic dome was illuminated in the museum's West Portico, doubling as a photo backdrop for guests interested in printed souvenirs at Remix, the samba-theme dessert party.

Paper silhouettes were a whimsical decor touch and became popular takeaways at the evening's two dinner parties.

The Women's Wear Daily Beauty Summit took place at Metropolitan Pavilion on May 21 and 22. The meeting had a sleek, all-white design from Shiraz Events. At breakfast, guests sat in clear Miro chairs at communal tables topped with white linens. The floral arrangements were simple birch vases holding cobble moss balls. "WWD aims for all summits to have an environment that is 'digital, modern, and global,' so we chose to work with the space at hand and create a futuristic aesthetic by the use of all white," said Brian Hanley of Shiraz.

At the 2007 event in Washington, designer David Tutera wrapped napkins in paper filmstrips to create an old Hollywood look.

The 2006 ball had a look inspired by writer and illustrator Edward Gorey. Grayson Bakula Design's enchanted forest looked slightly more sinister with Bentley Meeker's barren branch projections.

Striped tablecloths and mismatched seating offered a funky take on the theme at the 2011 event in Los Angeles. White messages decorated black walls in the dining room, and bright green floral arrangements added a pop of color.

In 2012, the symphony decked its ball in elegant, black-and-white decor from Blueprint Studios.

Lush canopies of natural greenery popped against neon green Lucite tabletops at the Museum of Modern Art’s 2013 Party in the Garden benefit in New York. 

More than 1,200 guests donned white garb for the fresh concept of Dîner en Blanc’s flash-mob-style dinner in New York in 2011.

At UrbanDaddy and Stoli’s launch event in New York in 2012, a pure white room was later transformed into a playful and colorful space as guests painted on the walls and lighting projections filled the room. 

For the massive gala's 2014 iteration, planners chose a "Bridge to Possibility" theme. Held at the cavernous Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, the event featured screens printed with the New York City skyline and bridges. The screens enclosed the entry hallway that led to the reception space. David Stark Design designed the event.

Studio 54 inspired the look and feel of the Recording Academy's Grammy after-party at the Los Angeles Convention Center in 2011. Curtains made from reflective beads added a vintage touch, and lots of sparkle.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation celebrated with its annual Breath of Life gala at the National Building Museum in Washington in 2011. Streamers divided the National Building Museum atrium into three spaces.

For the 2008 event at the New York Public Library, trees provided a natural curtain to separate the cocktail area from the center of the forum, where the dinner and awards took place later in the evening. Bakula Design handled decor.

To separate the perimeter—where cocktails were held—from the dinner area for the event's 2010 iteration, the team hung large lampshades from the ceiling. The pieces measured about two feet high and 22 inches in diameter, and their black and white embellishments were replicated in a pattern projected on the floors. The event again took place at the New York Public Library, with Bakula Design overseeing decor.

In 2006, the gala had an English garden look that tied to the Met's "AngloMania" exhibit of Britain's posh and punk fashion. Event designer David Monn set up 70 tables in separate mini gardens that were hedged by 400 feet of apple trees. The floors were swathed in carpets of spring grass.

Held May 20 at New Yorks's Skylight at Moynihan Station, the event featured foliage in its entry gate. The plants included passion flower vine, plumosa fern, ming fern, steel grass, and sheet moss. Van Wyck & Van Wyck handled design.

For the 2005 event in New York, Guests passed through Raul Avila's 16- by 12-foot curtain of hand-strung orchids before entering the cocktail reception area.

The Daffodil Ball turned the historic Windsor Station in Montreal into an Alice in Wonderland-inspired gala in 2012. A topiary divided the cocktail reception and dining areas. Guests entered the dining room through keyhole-shaped entrances.

Chicago hosted the U.S. Travel Association's IPW conference (formerly known as the International Pow Wow) in 2014. For the opening-night event, held in Chicago's 90,000-square-foot Cinespace film studio, 20 Event Creative staffers worked to together to create a custom "El" train that circulated one room on a set of handcrafted tracks. Video mapping projected images of local Chicago attractions onto two 20-foot-long railcars.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Starlight Express inspired the theme of the 2008 gala benefit for the Children's Place Association. To separate the reception from the dinner area, Joseph Leigh Designs hung fabric panels from the ceiling of Union Station.

About 3,500 people attended the 18th annual dinner October 25 in Washington at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in 2014. The silent auction areas were defined by white cubes created from slats of Coroplast. The word "evolve" came into focus above the entry. Hargrove produced the event.

At Thinkery's Imaginarium gala, held in Austin in September, staff wore necklaces with Scrabble pieces that spelled out their names. These were used in lieu of traditional name tags.

At Stella McCartney's store opening at St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort in South Florida, Scrabble sets served as name plates. The event took place in 2012.

The Pacific-12 Football Championship Game took place at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on December 5. The day-of tailgate party, organized by staffers of the Pacific-12 Conference, took place at the new Great America Pavilion adjacent to the venue. Mascots from each of the college football teams represented by the Pacific-12 Conference attended the event and played "Giant Jenga" with guests.

At a Svedka vodka promotion in Los Angeles in 2013, guests played "life-size Jenga" using huge game pieces stamped with the name of the vodka brand.

One of the largest installations at the 2013 Maker Faire at the New York Hall of Science was a life-size version of the board game Mouse Trap. Maker Faire is put on by Make magazine, and it's a place to sample what the magazine calls “the Maker Movement": a tech-focused D.I.Y. community of hobbyists and students who profess to be more concerned with creating than consuming.

In 2012, the designer gathered a crowd at the New York restaurant One if by Land, Two if by Sea for a fashion presentation that included game-playing models staged in intimate vignettes.The mezzanine of the restaurant was converted into a games room for the soirée, and included a table where models clad in the pre-fall collection played Scrabble.

A modified Twister board replaced the game's classic colored circles with Havaianas flip-flops at a promotion for the brand at Miami's Shore Club in 2009.

A different type of Twister board—this one inflatable—beckoned guests at a 2009 celebration for The Simpsons 20th anniversary. The event took place at Barker Hangar in Los Angeles.

In Chicago, the Joffrey Ballet's annual Nutcracker Family Dinner in Chicago offers activities for children and adults alike. At the 2011 event, young guests played Twister on the ballroom floor at the Palmer House Hilton.

Born in Miami, Sunglass Hut returned to its roots in 2011 for the opening of its largest outpost to date, located on Lincoln Road. At the game-filled gathering, adults and celebrities played chess with life-size pieces set up in the 11 11 Lincoln Road parking structure.

At the July 2014 music festival in Chicago, V.I.P. guests could play checkers at staggered tables or rest on colorful hammocks.

Starbucks hosted its first Lollapalooza activation in 2013 at the It's so Miami Lounge at the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago. The suite offered oversize chess and Connect Four games, plus small café tables stocked with buckets of bottled iced coffee.

In October, New Yorkers gathered in Times Square to play a life-size version of Monopoly to celebrate the launch of Monopoly Millionaires' Club, a multi-state lottery game and TV show. The gathering featured appearances from actor Billy Gardell, New York Lottery personality Yolanda Vega, and a costumed "Rich Uncle Moneybags" character.

The top-hat-wearing character also made an appearance at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show, where Toyota Hybrid teamed up with Hasbro to create a 30,160-square-foot "Monopoly Ride Experience." The closed course let guests test out the Prius, Pruis V, Camry Hybrid, and Highlander Hybrid. Attended by costumed staffers, the course was inspired by the popular board game and had S-curves, tight roundabouts, a bridge, and train tracks based on Reading Railroad.