When approximately 3,200 meeting and event planners convene in one place, the parties had better be great. So when the folks at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel were charged with hosting the opening reception for the 2005 Meeting Professionals International World Education Congress, they knew it had to be memorable. Michael Darst, Loews' director of conference and catering services, enlisted Barton G to help him create an indoor oasis full of lush decor, inspired edibles, and excellent entertainment.
Outside the hotel, guests encountered three live giraffes and the tribal sounds of acoustic ensemble Inca Spirit. Inside, butler-passed cocktails and sounds of the rain forest filled the prefunction area, leading guests toward the ballroom. When the doors opened, a breathtaking butterfly habitat was the focal point. Made of sheer white netting and filled with 1,000 live butterflies, the piece was suspended from the ceiling and rested just above a raised circular runway. Models from Parafernalia Productions wore costumes adorned with organic materials including feathers, greenery, ivy, and faux flowers. Others, who wore very little or nothing but body paint, represented birds, Inca deities, butterflies, and nature goddesses.
Two 24- by 24-foot multitiered pavilions—one lime green with yellow furniture, the other yellow with lime green furniture, and both topped with tulle netting, curly willow, and a cascading assortment of flowers including areca, licuala, tea leaf, and heliconia—served as lounges. Entertainment took place inside them, and throughout the ballroom. Among the performers were Chinese pole dancers, who climbed 16-foot poles in time to music; a strength and balancing act, where performers balanced on one another's bodies; a duo of saxophonists; a Paraguayan harpist; and a Spanish guitarist.
Continue reading about the opening reception.
Models from Parafernalia Productions wore costumes adorned with organic materials and posed under netting containing live butterflies at the opening reception for Meeting Professionals International's World Education Congress at Loews Miami Beach Hotel.
One section of the Loews Miami Beach Hotel ballroom was converted into a lounge with a 24- by 24-foot pavilion full of bright furniture.
Even the bars reflected the nature theme—they were made with glass tanks filled with koi.
Parafernalia Productions' models dressed as Inca deities added an element of drama to the event.
