17 Fun, Interactive Ideas From Fall Benefits

In October, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County and Arsht Families hosted its children’s Imagination Ball. The afternoon event featured immersive activities and a light and dance show by iLuminate on the Lynn Wolfson Stage of the Ziff Ballet Opera House.

At Lonely Whale’s Into the Blue Gala, which took place at the Prince George Ballroom in New York in October, straw-sucking guests got “attacked” by a stray octopus-like tentacle in the #StopSucking photo booth by the Bosco, which debuted the technology at SXSW a couple years ago. Click here to see it in action.

L’Oréal Paris hosted its 13th-annual Women of Worth awards, a philanthropic program that honors women who are making a difference in their communities across the country, at the Pierre hotel in New York in December. Jes Gordon handled the event’s design, framing out the entrance to the dining room with an archway of branches and using a palette of rich purple hues, along with sparkling table linens.

The 25th anniversary of the Knock Out Abuse Gala raised $1 million in November to benefit women and children who are survivors of domestic abuse. Notable speakers at the event, which was held at the Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C. ballroom and designed by Events by André Wells, included former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, Senator Mark Warner, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. The decor featured plenty of sparkly silver sequins and glitter, accented with red, to commemorate the silver anniversary.

In November, Tyger Productions transformed the Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts into a sparkling purple space for the Boston Purple Party 2018, benefiting the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. The gala's co-chair Ty Kuppig of Tyger Productions and his team suspended floor-to-ceiling panels of reflective paillettes to create a more intimate setting within the large venue.

For this year’s event, Stoelt Productions ditched the traditional gala format, instead creating mini “studios” based on those at the Inner-City Arts campus so attendees could experience what the organization offers its students. The event was held at City Market Social House in Los Angeles in October.

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.

The dinner, which was held in November at New York Hilton Midtown, honored designer Diane von Furstenberg with the Freedom Award and Larry Fink, chairman and C.E.O. of BlackRock, with the John C. Whitehead Humanitarian Award. The annual dinner raised $16.8 million to support the organization’s humanitarian work. The table centerpieces were mirrored cubes featuring photos of refugees.

In December, Catholic Charities hosted the 29th-annual Spirit of Saint Nicholas Ball at the Hilton Chicago. The event raised almost $1.5 million, with proceeds benefiting the child development centers, after-school programs, counseling services, and teen parenting centers the organization provides for children throughout the Chicago area. The tables featured Father Christmas figures as centerpieces.

At this year’s event, held at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto in November, guests enjoyed a dinner created by Nota Bene executive chef David Lee on the stage of R. Fraser Elliott Hall. A close-up shot of roses was projected on the large screen behind them.

Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation for Cancer Research hosted its Angel Ball, which raises money for blood cancer research, in October at Cipriani Wall Street in New York. Artist Fer De Silva was on hand live-painting his iconic hearts; he also created an interactive installation. (Pictured: One of the evening’s performers, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, poses in front of the installation.) Event decor was provided by Birch Event Design.

In November, the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto hosted its annual RBC Innovators’ Ball, raising more than $730,000 to support the center’s community access programs. The event featured science fair-style experiences including a hair-raising Van de Graaff generator, an electrostatic generator that uses a moving belt to build up an electric charge.

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum honored the 2018 National Design Award winners with a cocktail reception and award ceremony at the museum’s Arthur Ross Terrace and Garden in New York in October. The decor by David Stark Design & Production was inspired by Cooper Hewitt’s exhibition “Tablescapes: Designs for Dining” and featured gravity-defying light fixtures made from chairs and a red-carpet backdrop of plates.

To celebrate Rethink Breast Cancer’s 17th-annual Boobyball fund-raiser, which was held at Rebel in Toronto in October, guests dressed in denim and cowboy boots for the “Wild West” theme. Partygoers even rode a mechanical bull.

At this year’s gala, held at the New York Public Library in October, guests were greeted by a 10-foot globe created by L'Atelier Rouge.

In November, the seventh-annual gala, which was held at 3Labs in Culver City, California, raised more than $4.3 million to support its work providing low-income children with basic necessities. Designed by Yifat Oren of Oren Co, the evening featured a stage backdrop created by Los Angeles painter Jennifer Guidi.

This year’s Harlem School of the Arts Masquerade Ball and after-party raised more than $1 million for the second year in a row. The event was held at the Plaza Hotel in New York in October. The dining setting included tall palm leaf centerpieces and African-inspired fabric chair tie-backs.