How This Annual Gala Used Eclectic Decor to Keep Things Fresh

Held before the museum's temporary closure due to COVID-19, the California Science's Center's Discovery Ball fundraiser shook things up with two out-of-the-box themes and a new after-party layout.

Claire Hoffman

April 28, 2020

"Inside the pavilion, guests were treated to an elegant, ethereal, and even a bit understated and humble dining environment under the space shuttle Endeavour, as they were asked to imagine themselves as the honored guests at the first dinner party on Mars," said Sion. The dinner space featured a color palette of burnt terra-cotta and cerulean blue, which was lit by Images by Lighting to evoke the colors of the Martian landscape.Photo: Nadine Froger PhotographyLOS ANGELES—When's the last time you attended to an elegant, black-tie gala featuring drone paparazzi, bartenders wearing astronaut suits, an eye-catching installation of Chinese takeout boxes, and a whopping one million LEGO bricks? For supporters of the California Science Center in downtown Los Angeles, that's not such an outlandish question—and the answer is March 7 at the museum's annual Discovery Ball fundraiser.

"Discovery Ball patrons over the past 22 years have come to expect the unexpected," said Christina Sion, the museum's vice president of food and event services, who has headed up the gala's planning since the beginning. After all, previous editions of the event—which is annually one of the city's most-anticipated fundraisers—have offered upscale takes on out-of-the-box themes such as King Tut, the human body, and even dogs.

This year's event, held before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the museum to temporarily close, tied into the center's new LEGO-theme exhibition, The Art of the Brick, which features more than 100 LEGO interpretations of classic art from artist Nathan Sawaya. Feeling inspired by the eclectic exhibit, Sion's team decided to embrace not one but two fully realized—and completely distinct—themes: LEGO bricks and Mars. While the two classic concepts don't naturally seem to go together, Sion said her team was inspired by NASA and LEGO Group's history of collaboration on STEM-related projects for children and adults.

But before guests could travel through space, they enjoyed cocktails in an upbeat, color-blocked space inspired by the classic toys. "Ironically, unlike the challenges that last year's dog theme initially presented, this year's featured exhibit actually elevated the concept of LEGO for us, and provided the perfect artistic backdrop for the black-tie fundraiser," noted Sion. In one fun twist, performers served color-blocked Jell-O in the shape of LEGO pieces. The shots were infused with Scandinavian vodka (a nod to the Danish inventor of LEGO), plus edible glitter.Photo: Snap Yourself!

The event team took an art-focused approach to the reception's decor and photo-friendly vignettes. Highlights included staffing outfits inspired by Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, plus wallpaper that evoked Andy Warhol's pop art. "[But] given our more sophisticated, artistic take on this theme, we had to remind ourselves to pull back at times, and to make sure we tip our hat to the fun and nostalgic childhood memories of LEGO that guests would be expecting," added Sion. "Bowls of colorful LEGO bricks, LEGO books, and three dozen mini LEGO sculptures—built by our awesome Education team using LEGO kits—replaced flower cocktail table decor and encouraged guests to 'play.'"

While LEGO was always going to be the theme, Sion received a surprise gift a month before the gala: Sawaya himself invited the museum's team to his art studio, and offered to lend any items from his collection for the evening. "This amazing opportunity changed our design direction for the cocktail reception so that we could now showcase these additional sculptures in unique and fun settings for our gala guests," said Sion. Suddenly, the evening was rounded out with eye-catching items such as a 10-foot-tall giraffe, a colorful evening gown, and even the iconic orange couch from Friends—all made from LEGO.

When it was time to think about the dinner and after-party, Sion continued to embrace the unexpected. In addition to the decor transition, the team utilized a new after-party layout, choosing to transform the dinner pavilion through lighting cues and performers rather than moving guests to a new location. "Because the venue for this event [typically] remains the same from year to year, which could easily lead to complacency and a more formulaic approach for the flow of the event, we were motivated to create different uses of the Science Center to keep guests pleasantly surprised," explained Sion.

Dinner's "mission to Mars" setting offered an upscale and whimsical take on a space theme. Guests were asked to picture themselves as guests at the first dinner party on Mars, a feeling that was evoked through a cerulean blue and terra-cotta color palette, centerpieces made from simple flowers and branches, and pottery-inspired tableware. As the evening progressed into the after-party, costumed performers loosened things up with futuristic alien costumes and space-theme cocktails.

Check out the long list of vendors it took to pull off the gala, and keep scrolling for pictures and details from the nostalgia-filled cocktail hour, the elegant seated dinner, and futuristic after-party.

VENDORS
Audiovisual Production: Seamless Video Solutions
Carpet: Primo XL
Catering: Good Gracious! Events (guest dinner), Command Performance Catering (crew), Bar One Complete Beverage Catering (bar), Ancient Peaks Winery (dinner wine)
Custom Stamps: PhotoStamps at Stamps.com
Decor: Edge Design & Decor, Backdrops Fantastic, Jackson Shrub Supply
Design, Event Production, Venue: California Science Center
Entertainment: Artists Creating Entertainment, Foto Spark, LA AllStars
Flowers: CJ Matsumoto & Sons
Graphic Design: I Five Design
Lighting: Images by Lighting
Linens: GBS Linens, Cloth Connection
Photography: Leroy Hamilton, Nadine Froger Photography, Snap Yourself!
Printing: Automation Printing Co.
Props: The Brick Bank
Rentals: Town and Country Event Rentals, Hollywood Piano
Special Effects: Event Special Effects
Stage Manager: Lauren Coulter
Valet: Everpark

Upon entering the 650-person black-tie Discovery Ball, guests passed through a fun step-and-repeat that introduced the evening's LEGO theme, and had their pictures taken by "drone paparazzi" from Foto Spark. As in previous years, the decor was intended to evoke the museum's new exhibit; this year was The Art of the Brick, which sees artist Nathan Sawaya creating and reinterpreting classic art—using LEGO as his medium. The exhibit was made using more than one million LEGO bricks and 100 sculptures, and Sawaya loaned an additional 12 pieces from his collection to serve as decor for the March 7 fundraiser.

Photo: Nadine Froger Photography

The 90-minute cocktail reception, which took over three floors of the museum's main building, immediately evoked the exhibit with a registration table filled with colorful bricks. Other on-theme highlights included an evening gown fabricated entirely from LEGO bricks, which Sawaya had created for Her Universe's Ashley Eckstein to wear at Comic-Con. The eye-catching dress was displayed on a mannequin at the entrance to the party and helped draw attention to the evening's raffle: a 2020 Lexus UX 250h Hybrid donated by Toyota Motor North America, Inc.

Photo: Snap Yourself!

Staffing outfits also tied into the theme. "Taking our cue from [Sawaya], we looked at fashion that pulled inspiration from Dutch painter Piet Mondrian," explained the museum's Christina Sion. "We worked with Artists Creating Entertainment to create costumes for a dozen performers mirroring the Mondrian Collection, designed by French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent in 1965—but with a cheeky, creative twist. These human LEGO 'mini-figures' provided key guest engagement roles at the event, as well as fun photo ops throughout the cocktail party."

Photo: Snap Yourself!

In one fun twist, performers served color-blocked Jell-O in the shape of LEGO pieces. The shots were infused with Scandinavian vodka (a nod to the Danish inventor of LEGO), plus edible glitter.

Photo: Snap Yourself!

The color-blocking continued through the space, including color-coded food stations such as a "noodle wall" made from Chinese takeout boxes. The boxes were filled with a noodle salad from Good Gracious! Catering.

Photo: Nadine Froger Photography

Keeping the mix of art and LEGO going was a "milk bar" using wallpaper from Andy Warhol's pop-art cow series. Edge Design & Decor created custom diving panels and cocktail table toppers that tied into Sawaya's pink "Eight Maids-a-Milking" sculptures, which served as a focal point for the 32-foot bar. Sion called the sleek setting "another example of how we infused and played with the world's most recognized artists along with LEGO bricks."

Photo: Snap Yourself!

In a fun photo op, Warner Bros. Entertainment donated a portion of its LEGO depiction of Central Perk, the iconic coffee shop from Friends. The set, also created by Sawaya, had previously toured the country to promote the sitcom's 25th anniversary. At a bar adjacent to the Friends set, a LEGO monkey evoked Marcel, the pet monkey from the series.

Photo: Nadine Froger Photography

Marcel wasn't the only LEGO animal that appeared during the cocktail hour. Three additional Sawaya sculptures made up a "safari diorama" that depicted endangered species including a cheetah, a rhino, and a 10-foot-tall giraffe. The LEGO animals were surrounded by 15-foot trees from Jackson Shrub Supply. "[It] served as the perfect selfie station," says Sion. "And to add an educational message and fun additional interactivity, the Science Center's Living Collections team hosted a live animal encounter nearby."

Photo: Snap Yourself!

The cocktail hour wasn't all photo ops, though. The exhibit itself has an interactive component where guests used LEGO bricks to solve engineering and design challenges—so to bring this idea into the Discovery Ball, event organizers set up a "group build" project where guests could add a building to an imagined cityscape. Guests could also try out a space-theme VR station, which provided a virtual walkthrough of the museum's upcoming Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, which will serve as the permanent home of the space shuttle Endeavor along with the rest of the air and space collection.

Photo: Snap Yourself!

At 8 p.m., guests began to transition to dinner by walking through the museum's Ecosystems Gallery. The space functioned as a decor transition too, from the cocktail hour's LEGO theme to the dinner's futuristic Mars theme. A museum-like display of space-theme LEGO kits marked the path. Sion and her team decided to transition the theme in order to keep things fresh, and to nod to a long history of STEM-related collaboration between NASA and the LEGO Group. "Although what one might envision as the more obvious design for a LEGO-inspired event—a look that included colorful and playful decorative elements—seemed very appropriate for an upbeat cocktail party, we felt compelled to change up the vibe to be more elegant as we planned the next phases of this progressive event," explained Sion.

Photo: Nadine Froger Photography

As in previous years, dinner took place in the Samuel Oschin Pavilion underneath the space shuttle Endeavour. Guests entered by walking through a wall of fog from Event Special Effects, which was projected with a countdown sequence as they entered the space.

Photo: Nadine Froger Photography

'Inside the pavilion, guests were treated to an elegant, ethereal, and even a bit understated and humble dining environment under the space shuttle Endeavour, as they were asked to imagine themselves as the honored guests at the first dinner party on Mars,' said Sion. The dinner space featured a color palette of burnt terra-cotta and cerulean blue, which was lit by Images by Lighting to evoke the colors of the Martian landscape.

Photo: Nadine Froger Photography

On the dinner tables, floral centerpieces from CJ Matsumoto & Sons were intended to feel "plucked from a Martian colonist's primitive garden," said Sion. "The tablescape also employed rudimentary Saltillo tiles in lieu of traditional charger plates, to reinforce the primary hue of the 'red planet.'" Pottery-like plates from Town and Country Event Rental's Rapallo collection rounded out the look, along with printed materials featuring LEGO astronaut artwork.

Photo: Nadine Froger Photography

Unlike in previous years, where guests traveled to a third location for the after-party, this year's event brought the dance party to them. Lighting transitions were used to transform the dinner area into a "sci-fi fantasy Martian dance party," Sion explained. LA Allstars' nine-piece dance band took the stage, and performers from Artists Creating Entertainment emerged wearing futuristic alien costumes. Bartenders and waiters served space-theme cocktails in glowing green martini glasses, and Good Gracious! staffers wearing astronaut-inspired jumpsuits circled the room serving artisan cheese and Californian port from bar carts.

Photo: Leroy Hamilton Photography

Event staff also transformed the adjacent lobby into a space-theme piano lounge, which served as a more laidback alternative to the rowdy dance floor. "Guests initially walked through the space on their way into the dining area, and our team had only an hour and a half to transform before the after-party began," noted Sion.

Highlights of the Edge Design & Decor-designed space included a white grand piano, a light blue and copper color scheme, and fur shag carpeting. To tie the whole event together, guests received LEGO-shape cookies as they departed for the evening.

Photo: Nadine Froger Photography