Benefiting Epilepsy Toronto, the BuskerBall kicked off the Scotiabank BuskerFest, which runs through Sunday throughout the Yonge Downtown neighborhood in Toronto. The Tuesday-night event at the Mattamy Athletic Centre featured avant garde performers such as the "CandyMan" (pictured). With a slick, plastic aesthetic—and surreal contact lenses to complete his look—the performer greeted guests by giving them lollipops from the concession box he carried. He moved slowly, with motions that recalled a living doll.
Teen Vogue hosted Back-to-School Saturday, a nationwide shopping initiative, on August 10. An August 9 kickoff (pictured) took place at the Grove in Los Angeles. Approximately 12,000 guests made it out to the event, which was produced by Caravents. Kate Spade New York promoted its new doughnut-shaped accessories line with—you guessed it— a bright doughnut truck. Guests could purchase T-shirts, coin purses, and more at the truck and also nab a free glazed dessert. TH Productions handled the Kate Spade activation.
Tru was one of the restaurants to present a dish at Chicago's Taste of the Nation event, held on August 14 at the Navy Pier Ballroom. Chef Anthony Martin served maitake mushroom crunch with maitake puree and oxtails. The bites were presented on the same type of logs on which the mushrooms grew.
To introduce consumers to its new Paceman model, Mini teamed up with UrbanDaddy to provide concierge and chauffeur services in four major cities during the month of August. The event tour, dubbed Mini Night Out, kicked off in Chicago during Lollapalooza and traveled to San Francisco before hitting Miami August 16 and 17. Central to the initiative is the nightlife "adventure" curated by UrbanDaddy editors, which takes guests on a tour of local hot spots where exclusive menus and offerings are provided.
On August 15, Delvinia celebrated its 15th anniversary with an event that evoked 1950s Havana. In the Loft at Andrew Richard Designs in Toronto, the so-called "Hotel Delvinia" evoked the tropical country with cigar rollers, freely flowing rum, and a swimming pool—with no water. Made from an 8- by 18-foot decal, the shiny blue pool area was enhanced with lounge chairs, beach balls, and models in retro swimwear. Mary Pallattella of Capital C acted as the event's creative director, and Devan provided decor.
On August 12, Sears showcased its back-to-school denim selection at the Jean Scene Experience in New York's Central Park. Since Sears has 1,000 styles of jeans, the event's decor included a giant mock-up of the number 1,000, made out of shelves filled with jeans. LDC Design handled production.
To celebrate the opening of the Windows Store at Best Buy in West Los Angeles, Major League Soccer teamed up with the retailer to host a sporty activation on August 7. Produced and designed by Shiraz Events, the event included a custom tent, where an "App Bar" let consumers test out health and fitness apps on new Windows devices. Hanging above the bar were three four-foot weather balloons painted to look like soccer balls.
This year's Romance Novel Convention was held at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas August 7 to 11. For an appropriately lavish—and bookish—prop, Romantic Victorian Home Collection designed a dress using the covers and pages of damaged books that had been marked for disposal by the local library.
MTV's #RoadtotheVMAs social media campaign included posting Instagram shots of the Video Music Awards' Moonman statue traveling from last year's venue, the Staples Center, to this year's home at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The campaign serves as a promotion for the August 25 event.
On August 11, as a kickoff to DC Beer Week, Washington City Paper partnered with Brewery Ommegang to host the D.C. portion of its nationwide "Hop Chef" competition. Local chefs competed against one another to create a dish that used one of Ommegang’s brews as an ingredient. Clyde's Tower Oaks Lodge chef Jeff Eng, who took home the People's Choice honor, used the Hennepin beer in his braised pork belly served on chanterelle fried rice with a sunny-side-up quail egg. The innovative dish was accompanied by a spicy lobster summer roll.
Move over, sliders: miniature Âpizzas are trending. In Beverly Hills, California, Cory Martin Events is now serving an array of bite-size pies made with seasonal ingredients. Think fresh burrata caprese, organic enoki mushroom and truffle, and roasted fingerling potatoes with caviar.
Philadelphia restaurateur Stephen Starr continues his New York takeover: His catering and events division is now the in-house food and beverage provider at the New York Botanical Garden, handling all special events. This fall, Starr’s team will also become the exclusive caterer at Carnegie Hall.
A new way to serve cocktails, sorbet, and more: Molten Ice glasses are available in Toronto through the Idea Hunter. The special ice fits into a rentable glass or disposable container and won’t dilute drinks.
Something to smile about: New York’s newly renovated Affinia Manhattan hotel has partnered with Operation Smile to deliver a meeting break that lets attendees build their own classic banana splits; 15 percent of proceeds are donated to the nonprofit.
At MoMA's Party in the Garden in April, the arrivals backdrop—featuring the Cartier and MoMA logos rendered in neon and marquee lights—echoed the dense arrangements of tropical greenery found inside the dinner space.
In April, Havianas showcased its 2013 collection with a Brazilian-themed bash in its New York showroom. Tropical-feeling snacks from KG Fare Catering & Events included paella on a stick.
The Goodman Gala in Chicago May 18 celebrated the theater's upcoming production of The Jungle Book. Kehoe Designs transformed the Fairmont Hotel's ballroom into a tropical setting replete with lagoon-colored lighting, leafy centerpieces, and giant cutouts of animal silhouettes.
Brûlée Catering in Philadelphia offers tropics-themed spreads. The summery feast comprises ahi tuna salad with pineapple-sesame dressing, greens, tobiko, and sambal aioli; cucumber rolls; hoisin duck salad with quinoa, wakame, and roasted vegetables; macadamia nut biscotti; coconut alfajores; and Absolut Ruby Red vodka, Soho lychee liqueur, and Patrón Citronge cocktails.
At the 2010 gala in Los Angeles, guests' after-dinner options included dancing and cocktails in a tiki-theme room, complete with flower leis, towering palm trees, and mai tais.
At HBO's 2010 fete in Los Angeles, the banana-leaf-patterned carpet and animal print linens and seat cushions echoed the party's "Tarzan and Jane meet Palm Beach" motif. Banana and palm trees 30 feet high added to the lush jungle atmosphere.
A crew of more than 80 people spent four days working with turf flooring, waterfalls, and more than 600 plants and trees to transform a stark white airplane hangar into a lush tropical oasis for the Onyx Pharmaceuticals annual award banquet in Fort Lauderdale in 2011. To make the 120 guests feel as if they were having dinner in a clearing in the woods, decorators used fiber-optic draping to create a sky above and emerald green turf carpeting to simulate the forest floor below.
Entertainment company Zen Arts offers an array of entertainment options for dramatic outdoor entertaining, including fire dancers, costumed mermaids, and transparent “bubble spheres” that float on water while holding dancers. Most recently, six female Olympians joined the company’s synchronized swimming troupe. Based in Los Angeles, Zen Arts performers can travel worldwide; performances cost between $10,000 and $100,000.
At the launch of Absolut Mango in New York in 2009, a mango tree stationed behind the bar made guests feel like they were sipping cocktails in a warm mango grove.
At the South Beach Wine & Food Festival in 2011, Havaianas set up a tiki bar outside the Burger Bash tent, where Iron Chef Marc Forgione prepared Brazilian-inspired drinks, appetizers, entrées, and desserts. Guests who visited the booth took home a pair of Havaianas.
As a fun take on V.I.P. seating for its "Something to Share" gala in 2011, Dress for Success constructed 12 cabanas at the rear of the dining room. Situated atop platforms, the seating areas were marked with sheer drapes, wooden bench seating, and hand-painted signs.
