You could join the mass exodus of New Yorkers from the city in the summer, or you could recreate right here in Manhattan thanks to fun, relaxed outdoor events like the summer kickoff barbecue at Milk Studios sponsored by Kia and GQ. The early-evening event had a surf theme to tie in with the opening of Milk Gallery's surf art exhibit, and attracted a young, tan and sparsely dressed crowd of 1,000 artists, press and industry guests who looked more après-beach than après-work. Milk managing owner Mazdack Rassi and event manager Kana Manglapus coordinated the event with GQ creative services director Renee Ifill, executive director of creative services Pamela Norwood, and special projects director Matthew Hallman, with financial help from Kia.
While some guests feasted on summer staples like burgers, macaroni salad and popsicles, others tried to drink enough vodka cocktails—sponsored by Absolut—to quell their inhibitions enough to ride a mechanical bull. When California beach kid Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray took the street-facing stage, some guests fled to the loading dock to escape the crowd under blue and purple patterned lighting by See Factor (a design that looked similar to Strohmeier Lighting's work at Teen People's What's Next party at Crobar in January).
But the invited guests were likely the only ones who could appreciate the intrusive block party: As mesquite smoke rose high into the meatpacking district, cabbies on West 14th Street shook their fists at the set-up and security that forced the closure of lanes on the crosstown thoroughfare. The party even appropriated the billboards on the High Line overpass, projecting gobos of sponsors' logos on top of the existing advertisements and the surrounding buildings.
