A La Carte Event Pavilion and conceptBAIT joined forces to produce the ceremony for the winners of the Tampa Bay Builders Association (TBBA) Parade of Homes awards. More than 50 local builders participated in the Parade of Homes, a Tampa Bay-area showcase of the latest home design innovations aimed at buyers and building enthusiasts from March 5 through 20. A Southern-themed awards banquet—inspired by Southern Crafted Homes, builder of the Parade of Homes' featured "showcase home"—was held to honor the winners of the best-designed model home in each of the 20 price categories and those who sold the most homes during the showcase. Robin Lane, director of special events for TBBA, initially hired A La Carte to cater the event. But A La Carte and conceptBAIT, both platinum sponsors of the event, decided to collaborate and donate the decor, foliage, and lighting. The result was an atmosphere of Southern elegance mingled with cutting-edge sights and sounds.
ConceptBAIT created an atmosphere inside A La Carte where 650 guests could experience being inside the great hall of an old Florida plantation, replete with corner window dressings of washed white fabric, lush palms and ferns, and romantic topiary centerpieces made of willows and blue hydrangeas. The room's crowning glory was a five-piece floral chandelier. Anchored by a grand bouquet of hydrangeas, orchids, roses, lilies, and eucalyptus, generous swaths of rich blue-washed white fabric billowed across the ceiling. The drapes were connected to the ending points of four smaller bouquets, each finishing a corner of the room. The tables and chairs were elegantly dressed in conceptBAIT's stretch forms of white, blue, and black.
A La Carte's lighting expert, Mark Miller, conjured a full yellow moon across one wall. State-of-the-art lighting, Skybeck Production Services' rear-projection screen presentation, and Bob Floyd Show Company's funky rock music provided modern touches. The total effect evoked images of gentlemen and ladies sipping mint juleps—in a hot, new, neon-infused nightclub atmosphere.
The gourmet menu, courtesy of A La Carte executive chef James Crawford, was also in step with the sophisticated Southern style. The three-course meal included field greens with blue cheese crumbles and balsamic vinaigrette; A La Carte's signature rolls of cheddar, blue cheese, and dill; a tender, petite filet mignon; spicy barbecued jumbo Gulf shrimp; and a rosti potato boursin cake with roasted spring vegetables. For dessert, guests indulged in a bittersweet chocolate ganache tart with hazelnut meringue and coffee butter cream.
—Kathy L. Greenberg
Photos: Stephen Rudd (decor, stage, tables)
ConceptBAIT created an atmosphere inside A La Carte where 650 guests could experience being inside the great hall of an old Florida plantation, replete with corner window dressings of washed white fabric, lush palms and ferns, and romantic topiary centerpieces made of willows and blue hydrangeas. The room's crowning glory was a five-piece floral chandelier. Anchored by a grand bouquet of hydrangeas, orchids, roses, lilies, and eucalyptus, generous swaths of rich blue-washed white fabric billowed across the ceiling. The drapes were connected to the ending points of four smaller bouquets, each finishing a corner of the room. The tables and chairs were elegantly dressed in conceptBAIT's stretch forms of white, blue, and black.
A La Carte's lighting expert, Mark Miller, conjured a full yellow moon across one wall. State-of-the-art lighting, Skybeck Production Services' rear-projection screen presentation, and Bob Floyd Show Company's funky rock music provided modern touches. The total effect evoked images of gentlemen and ladies sipping mint juleps—in a hot, new, neon-infused nightclub atmosphere.
The gourmet menu, courtesy of A La Carte executive chef James Crawford, was also in step with the sophisticated Southern style. The three-course meal included field greens with blue cheese crumbles and balsamic vinaigrette; A La Carte's signature rolls of cheddar, blue cheese, and dill; a tender, petite filet mignon; spicy barbecued jumbo Gulf shrimp; and a rosti potato boursin cake with roasted spring vegetables. For dessert, guests indulged in a bittersweet chocolate ganache tart with hazelnut meringue and coffee butter cream.
—Kathy L. Greenberg
Photos: Stephen Rudd (decor, stage, tables)
Co-sponsor conceptBAIT re-created the look of an old Florida plantation's great hall with a funky New Age twist at the Tampa Bay Builders Association's Parade of Homes event.
State-of-the-art lighting and Skybeck Production Services' rear-projection screen presentation provided modern touches.
Tables and chairs were elegantly dressed in spandex forms from conceptBAIT.
The room's crowning glory was a five-piece floral chandelier, anchored by a grand bouquet of hydrangeas, orchids, roses, lilies, and eucalyptus.
