The largest annual electronic dance music gathering in the world, Winter Music Conference celebrated 30 years in Miami from March 24 to 28. At the Red Bull Guest House, which took over the Sagamore Hotel, the Breakfast Sessions buffet served munchies including Pop-Tarts with dipping sauces, mac 'n' cheese, chicken-and-waffle sandwiches, and Twinkies. The buffet was offered as a late-night snack.
A whimsical dessert from Truffleberry Market in Chicago is a flight of miniature pancakes, served with sweet toppings such as chocolate hazelnut, Meyer lemon curd with berries, and maple bacon.
The 28th Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Ball took place on April 28 at Walter E. Stephens Convention Center. Hargrove set up the ballroom in a theater-in-the-round configuration with the main stage in the center of the space surrounded by dinner tables.
Rachel Zoe hosted an intimate brunch with DVF and Moët & Chandon Ice Imperial at the dFm House in Palm Springs. Fare Trade and Workshop Kitchen & Bar provided food.
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.
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.
Todd Events designed the October 2013 event at the Rachofsky House in Dallas. "The black-and-white theme was selected because every year the event has an honorary artist," said a rep for the company. "The artist from last year worked in a black-and-white medium for his art pieces, so we played the event decor off that." Tables were decked with striped linens and glassware that reflected the theme.
The event's menu items also reflected the black-and-white theme.
Instead of a red carpet, designers laid down a black-and-white-striped carpet at the entrance.
This year's event took place at Toronto's the Carlu in February. To bring the old-Hollywood-style Casablanca theme to life, planners filled the dining room with tables decked in simple black linens and surrounded with white-cushioned chairs.
Books and the printed page inspired the Walrus Gala in Toronto in January. The black-and-white color scheme carried over into decor elements such as festive cocktail straws.
For the 2008 event in Toronto, graffiti artist Mike Echlin painted trees against a black backdrop for a haunted-forest effect.
For a 2012 wedding in New York that promoted the series, Sylvia Weinstock designed the cake, which was a black-and-white confection designed to look like a large vase of flowers. Fran Drescher (pictured) officiated.
The museum hosted a gala in 2013 to fete its "Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity" exhibition. Event designer Bill Heffernan of HMR Design Group used a black-and-white color scheme inspired by some of the 19th-century dresses on display. To complement the fashion-inspired setting, tables were topped with 19th-century-style wire urns set atop black-and-white hat boxes.
Here's a clever idea for a black-and-white centerpiece: at the 2009 event in Miami, miniature working pianos were used as centerpieces in the dining room.
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.
The 2011 event in Boston had a Batman theme. In a subterranean carnival area, black-and-white signs for sponsors hung above the games. Winners received prizes from the designated sponsor.
At an HP promotion in Los Angeles in 2013, a palette of black and white created a visually striking scene.
The 2011 Emmy Governors Ball had the theme of "mod illusions" with a 1960s-style black-and-white decor scheme that hearkened back to the era of Truman Capote's famous bash.
At the museum's 2012 event, a streamlined, modern bar stood at the center of the room with an arrangement of black-and-white lanterns hanging overhead.
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.
The 2013 event took place at a Los Angeles mansion, and black-and-white decor took on a residential feel. To celebrate the heritage of British Airways, the Union Jack appeared on black-and-white pillows at a seating group that surrounded a modern fire pit.
The theme played out in an exotic, draped setting at the 2010 premiere in New York. The venue was divided into three distinct areas, one of which was the black-and white-toned Rink Bar. The producers built custom cabanas in the area, using striped draping, votive candles, and seven-watt globe lights for illumination.
In 2012, the symphony decked its ball in elegant, black-and-white decor from Blueprint Studios.
In 2010, the summertime event took place at an East Hampton sculpture garden and preserve. Presenting a more casual take on the black-and-white theme, planners erected a tented white lounge with large black scrims. The scrims displayed lyrics from honoree Laurie Anderson's songs, including "Falling," "Strange Perfumes," and "Thinking of You."
At the 2011 fund-raiser in Miami, Truman Capote's famous Black and White Ball inspired the look. Deco Productions created two 16- by 42-foot prints to display on either side of the stage, one showing a reclining model, the other showing a large eyeball. Each was divided into six individually framed panels and suspended from the ceiling.
About Face Theatre hosted its annual Wonka Ball at Chicago's Moonlight Studios on April 10. The event had a "Warhol" theme, and servers passed shots of bloody Mary cocktails in miniature soup cans that recalled the artist's famous work.
As part of the silent auction, local artist Matthew Lew created a Pop Art-inspired piece on site. The highest bidder took the piece home at the end of the night.
Gay Men's Health Crisis hosted its second annual Savor dinner in 2009 at Skylight in New York. Gobos moving across the room during the cocktail hour echoed the lines in Keith Haring's silk screen on display at the silent auction.
Inspired by Jeff Koons's "Puppy" sculpture at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, event producer Van Wyck & Van Wyck built a four-foot-tall topiary shaped in the form of a griffin at the 2012 event in New York. The mythical animal is sponsor JW Marriott's logo, and the floral version, which was created as a surprise for the brand executives, had eyes made of mums.
In the Pop Art garden at the Chicago show, moss and plants spell out the words "bloom" and "flower" in comics-like signage. The show runs through April 24.
In 2013, a fete took place at Washington's Carnegie Library to honor radio show host Kojo Nnamdi. Decor included Pop Art paintings of D.C. monuments.
In 2001, Target put together a reception and fashion show in New York based on its then-current ad campaign, which paired photos of the typical commodities sold by the retailer—Cheer, Puffs, and others—with youngsters wearing the chain's clothes. The Pop Art-style gift bag was filled with Target products including Bounce and Puffs, as well as a vest.
A Pop Art-inspired bat mitzvah, designed by Danielle Couick of Magnolia Bluebird Design & Events, was held at the Decatur House in Washington in 2014.
2011 marked the end of Richard Daley’s tenure as mayor of Chicago, a position he occupied for more than 20 years. In April, the Art Institute of Chicago had a tributary gala for him and his wife, Maggie. Held in a tent in Millennium Park, the gala had Andy Warhol-inspired decor from HMR Designs.
Chicago artist Hebru Brantley blew out the candles on a stack of abnormally sweet soup cans in 2013. Alliance Bakery created the eye-catching confection for Brantley's birthday bash, an affair that was presented by Hennessy Black. Weighing approximately 30 pounds, the red velvet cake with cream-cheese frosting was inspired by a classic Pop Art image. “The idea came about by trying to capture the Warhol cans, in a way that would serve 100 people,” said the bakery's owner and executive chef, Peter Rios. “The cake was constructed over two days and was entirely hand-painted.”
In 2012, the Art Institute of Chicago celebrated its Roy Lichtenstein retrospective with a gala that included an elegant dinner, a burlesque show, and fun snacks such as corn dogs. HMR Design Group's decor was inspired by Roy Lichtenstein's painting "Whaam!" Designer Bill Heffernan said, "Giant crossed mirror shards exploding from a mirrored table splashed the artist's primary colors against the blank white canvas of Griffin Hall at the Modern Wing.
For three nights in 2011, the then-unfinished lobby of the Sanctuary Hotel in New York was bedecked with colorful Pop Art-style graphics and filled with diners supping on a menu created by a 15-year-old chef, Greg Grossman. In a makeshift kitchen adjacent to the hotel lobby, Grossman and a team of chefs provided by Guerrilla Culinary Brigade prepared a menu inspired by Pop Art works like "Balloon Dog (Orange)" by Jeff Koons and Takashi Murakami's "Flower of Joy" (pictured).
Gershwin's classic song "Rhapsody in Blue" inspired the Los Angeles Philharmonic Season Opening Gala in 2011. At the event, blue fabric inspired by the Art Deco period (when the song was composed) draped the ceiling.
When throwing its annual Best New Chefs event, Food & Wine magazine usually opts for a new or recently opened location. But in April 2010, a Mad Men-inspired theme drove organizers to select a classic New York institution: the Four Seasons Restaurant. Organizers dressed the space with hanging feathered orbs, candles, and pink lighting.
