Canadians got a taste of all things Chicago at Rogers Communications Inc.'s Museum of Contemporary Art event on May 13. The Toronto-based media company, in town for the first local iteration of International Telecoms Week, tapped Debi Lilly of A Perfect Event to manage and design a post-conference cocktail bash infused with local flavor.
Aimed at client networking, the 100-guest gathering took on a retro theme. "The challenge," Lilly said, "was to create an intimate, cozy-nightclub, 1940s atmosphere in a massive, modern space. We did so by designing oversize, warm, glowing furniture groupings."
Lilly and her team decked the airy space with lit-up red bars, wrought iron shelving, leather banquettes, glowing coffee and highboy tables, and a 24-foot long communal table decked with—of course—deep red linens. "Every possible surface was covered with vintage silver cups filled with massive red ostrich plumes and surrounded by red glass votive candles," Lilly said.
Wolfgang Puck Catering's chef action stations dished out supper-club-inspired fare. Items included carved Porterhouse steak with Bernaise sauce and arugula on brioche rolls, miniature creamed spinach tarts, Waldorf salad, and chicken Vesuvio bites. More's dessert table held cocktail-flavored cupcakes, and a Garrett Popcorn bar let guests sample fistfuls of the iconic local snack.
For the last touch of quintessential Chicago, planners arranged for blues singer Shirley King, B.B.'s daughter, to perform.
