Kehoe Designs provided decor for a private reception at the Art Institute of Chicago in winter 2014. The event featured blue spotlights cascading down the wall in a snowy pattern that matched the season.
For a P.C.M.A. event in Chicago in January 2015, Kehoe Designs created a mirrored bar with a backdrop in the shape of the Chicago skyline. Pink and blue lights bathed the structure. The event took place at the Museum of Science and Industry.
The billowing wall of a poolside cabana also served as a projection surface. In addition to Dawn of Man images, guests also saw a preview of the Spring 2016 collection from Canadian fashion designer Marie Saint Pierre.
Corona’s Electric Beach event series came to Miami Beach, with Chilean street artist Dasic Fernandez creating a live art installation at the Clevelander on December 5. The artist spray-painted a 10- by 10-foot mural on a wall covered in vinyl records.
The Celebration of Hope Gala, which benefits Lungevity, took place at New York's Pierre hotel on October 14. Events by André Wells designed the event and decked tables with bright bunches of flowers. The tables also held cards that provided information on lung cancer.
To raise money for Cure SMA, which supports those affected by spinal muscular atrophy, the Gala of Hope took place on November 12 at Ferrari-Maserati of Fort Lauderdale. The event was inspired by an Italian circus and featured entertainment from speed painter Michael Israel.
Salazar restaurant opened in East Los Angeles in April, offering mesquite-grilled meats and one of the largest patio spaces in the neighborhood. Formerly an auto body repair shop, the restaurant offers a menu from chef Esdras Ochoa, owner of Mexicali Tacos, which was named to Jonathan Gold’s 101 best restaurants list in the L.A. Times. Highlights from his menu include taco de carne asada, grilled mesquite meat in a homemade tortilla, and Arrachera, a staple of the north with skirt steak and salsa vaquero. Beverage director Aaron Melendrez crafts cocktails using Mexican flavors, served in hand-selected glassware. The venue is available for partial buyout for events with 100 seated guests.
Howard Brown Health held its second annual Halloween soiree, the Big Orange Ball, at restaurant and event space Carnivale in Chicago in October. More than 400 costume-clad guests attended and raised money to provide health and social services to Chicago’s L.G.B.T.Q. and allied community. RuPaul’s Drag Race season eight winner Bob the Drag Queen performed and emceed the event, along with a special meet-and-greet for “R.I.P.” ticket holders. Kehoe Designs provided the themed decor.
The American Cancer Society’s 11th annual Discovery Ball, which was held in April at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, featured the theme "Discover Your Power." HMR handled the decor, which included a bold red, black, and white palette.
The Museum of Modern Art’s annual benefit was held earlier this month at the New York institution and featured colorful floral projections by Bentley Meeker Lighting throughout the dining space.
In honor of its 50th anniversary, South Coast Plaza hosted the Art, Excellence & Friendship gala in October at the Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, California. The space featured a luxe black, white, and gold decor scheme with all-white floral arrangements, including cascading Phalaenopsis orchids as centerpieces. Local design company White Lilac handled the decor and florals.
The New York Public Library hosted the 2018 Library Lions Gala in November, with honorees Ron Chernow, Francis Ford Coppola, Jessye Norman, Claudia Rankine, and Elizabeth Strout. The event raised more than $2.7 million. Once again, event designer David Beahm transformed the Rose Main Reading Room into the gala’s dining room with floral projections by L&M Sound and Light cast on the walls and table decor that included white blooms.
In a fun touch, a wall of doughnuts created the shape of the symphony’s logo.
#8 Benefit
The Library Lions Benefit, the New York Public Library’s largest fund-raiser of the year, draws 500 guests to the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building to honor outstanding achievement in arts, culture, letters, and scholarship. Since its inception in 1981, the event has recognized leaders including Oprah Winfrey, Nelson Mandela, Margaret Atwood, and Gloria Steinem. In 2018, the event raised more than $2.7 million. Next: November 4, 2019
Held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington in March, the Leukemia Ball, which was designed by Hargrove, featured the event theme of “Illuminate: Shining the Light on Progress.” This idea was translated through the use of light throughout the design, including the stage and stage chandelier. The event raised $3 million.
