October 14, 2016: BuzzFeed Partners With Twitter to Stream Election Night Coverage, a Small-Scale Event Is Shaping California Music Festival Culture, How Curacao’s Tourism Board Plans to Drive U.S. Visitors to the Island

1. BUZZFEED PARTNERS WITH TWITTER TO STREAM ELECTION NIGHT COVERAGE: BuzzFeed has partnered with Twitter to produce a live election night broadcast. The Wall Street Journal: "The event marks the latest video play from Twitter, which has in recent months focused its efforts on live streaming big-ticket events from NFL games to Wimbledon tennis. The platform, long a favorite among political news junkies, has also live streamed the political conventions and presidential debates this campaign cycle through partnerships with CBS News and Bloomberg, respectively. 'As the vortex tightens around the election, Twitter is the heart of this giant American conversation,' said Ben Smith, editor in chief at BuzzFeed. Twitter said that its live stream of the second presidential debate averaged 369,000 viewers, up 7% from the first contest. Still, Twitter might not seem like the natural choice for a major BuzzFeed live-streaming event, given that the company is among the many media outlets, sports teams and celebrities being paid by a competitor, Facebook, to produce videos on its live-streaming service. The Wall Street Journal reported in June that BuzzFeed was slated to receive about $3 million for producing Facebook Live videos between March 2016 and March 2017, making it the highest-paid publisher. Unlike the Facebook Live payment arrangement, Twitter and BuzzFeed will share in advertising revenue for the event, according to a Twitter spokesman. Twitter will take the lead in selling mid-roll video ads in the live stream, and advertisers can also sponsor BuzzFeed-produced news clips across Twitter. No advertisers are signed up yet, since the event has just been announced, the spokesman said." http://on.wsj.com/2ekgXpn

2. A SMALL-SCALE EVENT IS SHAPING CALIFORNIA MUSIC FESTIVAL CULTURE: While Desert Trip kicks off its second weekend in Indio, a much smaller Southern California festival—Desert Daze—is making an impact on festival culture by providing a meaningful event for rock music fans. Los Angeles Times: "But the much smaller, much weirder Desert Daze festival might be a model for how Southern California festival culture may shift in the coming years. The four-year-old event has its biggest and strongest lineup yet (Television, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Primus) and the enthusiastic backing of local promoter institution Spaceland Presents and Knitting Factory Entertainment. But this year the fest has also had enough tough breaks to test anyone’s faith in the rock and roll cosmos—the death of a headliner and disputes over its venue. Growing pains, yes. But also the sign that something new might be on the horizon. 'We’re all going to see really innovative moves in festivals in the next few years,' said Desert Daze founder Phil Pirrone. 'These days there’s something every week from March to November, it’s so saturated. As the years go on, more and more people want to have an alternative.' For a fest that started as scruffy Coachella counter-programming, Desert Daze has now entered the big leagues (or whatever counts as the big leagues for a 2,000-capacity show of very outsider rock). Pirrone initially made his reputation booking sets under the aegis of Moon Block Party. When Spaceland and Knitting Factory announced a merger in September, each cited Desert Daze as the vanguard of a new festival culture that could come to define the company. Instead of trying to carve a slice of the mass-market festival scene, promoters would instead go deeper, exploring fringe scenes with devoted crowds and putting them in striking new venues." http://lat.ms/2ewDZZs

3. HOW CURACAO’S TOURISM BOARD PLANS TO DRIVE U.S. VISITORS TO THE ISLAND: The island of Curacao—which is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands—isn’t as well known as its sister Caribbean destinations such as Aruba. But the country’s tourism board wants to change that for U.S. travelers with a splashy ad campaign and events. Adweek: “‘Awareness in the U.S. has always been a challenge,’ said Rebecca Marval, marketing advisor for the CTB. ‘We don't have the natural draw from the U.S. market as Aruba does. It's new ground, but it's growing. We see an increase year over year, but we'd like it to be more.’ To drive up that awareness, the CTB and its agency, Catch New York, launched ‘Right Now in Curacao,’ a series of ads in New York subway stations and JFK airport designed to make New Yorkers dream about a trip to Curacao when they're stuck in tedious commutes. The effort also included events in August with batido (Caribbean smoothie) trucks parked at various locations in New York, where people could enter to win a trip to Curacao. The ads showcase Curacao's beautiful rocky beaches, crystal clear Caribbean waters and the colorful Dutch buildings in Willemstad. … The campaign is aimed at travelers in their mid-30s and up. (The average age of a tourist visiting Curacao is 43.) Most importantly, these travelers also are looking for off-the-beaten-path experiences. ‘We refer to them as 'innovative tourists,’ Marval said. ‘The traveler that we attract from the U.S. has been to the Caribbean before. They might have been to other islands before they find out about or even consider Curacao. We also refer to them as cultural explorers. They're not the type to go to the hotel, stay at the beach for four or five days, and leave. They're ready to explore. They like to learn more and get to know the local elements.’One of the unique local elements future marketing efforts will highlight is Curacao's Dutch-Caribbean heritage.” http://bit.ly/2eaiGOq

* LOCAL NEWS *

AUSTIN:  Italian eatery Red Ash, which is led by chef John Carver and restaurateurs Larry Foles and Guy Villavaso, will open in the Colorado Tower on Saturday. The 4,400-square-foot restaurant seats 150 and features an open kitchen and a community table for special events.

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA:  The Carolina Inn, a Destination Hotel, has named Brandon Sharp executive chef. He will oversee the menu of the hotel's signature restaurant, Crossroads Chapel Hill. 

LAS VEGAS:  The UNLV Medicine Ackerman Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment Solutions celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday.

LOS ANGELES:  The Environmental Media Association's 26th annual EMA Awards will take place October 22 at Warner Bros. Studios. Hosted by Nicole Richie, the event will honor Jaden Smith, Shailene Woodley, Moby, Robyn O'Brien, and the United Nations PRI.

Starlight Children’s Foundation will host its annual “Dream Halloween” charity event on October 22 at the Park Plaza.

For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  The Sacred Space Miami, a wellness campus in Wynwood, will celebrate its grand opening on Saturday. The event will include a daylong mindfulness festival hosted in partnership with Modern OM, and will include more than 20 workshops, guided teachings, cooking classes, and more. T.S.S.M. also serves as the home for vegan chef Matthew Kenney’s Plant Food & Wine, a culinary academy where students are classically trained in plant-based cooking, as well as the Garden, an event venue.

This month, Pincho Factory—a Florida-based fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in burgers and kebabs—is opening its second location at the AmericanAirlines Arena. In addition, N.F.L. star Jonathan Vilma has signed a five-store deal with Pincho Factory; the first location under the deal is slated to open in Brickell in late 2016.

NEW YORK:  Monarch Rooftop & Indoor Lounge will host its second annual Pumpkin Carving Contest on October 29. The event will serve apple cider mimosas and spiked pumpkin hot chocolate, as well as Halloween-theme "mocktail" for kids.

The Humane Society of the United States' annual To the Rescue! New York Gala will take place November 18 at Cipriani 42nd Street. The event will honor Hugo Boss and Georgina Bloomberg.

Sons & Daughters of NYC, an American restaurant, has opened in Chelsea. Executive Chef Jon Bignelli is overseeing the food menu, while the cocktail menu is created by Tim Cooper, Eryn Reece, and Leo Degroff.

For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA:  Amazon Restaurants, a delivery service available for free for Amazon Prime members, is now available in Orlando. The site lists 34 restaurants with delivery available primarily near downtown Orlando and Winter Park.

SAN FRANCISCO:  James Beard Foundation's fourth annual Taste America San Francisco will take place November 4 at the InterContinental San Francisco.

TORONTO:  This year's Snow Show Toronto, Canada's largest ski and snowboard show, runs through Sunday at International Centre.

WASHINGTON, D.C.:  The medical conference Women Leaders in Advanced Cancer Research will take place Saturday at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. The Sbarro Health Research Organization is hosting the event, in collaboration with Temple University’s College of Science and Technology, the National Italian American Foundation, and the Giovan Giacomo Giordano Foundation. 

Fuego Cocina y Tequileria—a restaurant/bar in Clarendon, Virginia—will permanently close on Sunday. The eatery had been open since 2012.

YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected]. 

JOB BOARD: Post a job or find a job: http://jobs.bizbash.com

With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin and Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Carla Hay, Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, and Ian Zelaya in New York.

BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.

Feed the Sheet: [email protected]

Subscribe: www.bizbash.com/bizbashdaily

Advertise with BizBash: [email protected]