This week's roundup includes edible outfits at a fashion show in Orlando, flaming sculptures in Los Angeles, a hotel cake replica in New York, and a luxury cruise line doubling as a conference hotel in San Francisco.
As part of this year's Best of France festival, which is taking place Saturday and Sunday in Times Square, dancers from the Moulin Rouge of Paris traveled to New York for the first time in 126 years. The dancers made appearances at the city's most well-known landmarks, including the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty.
To celebrate National Cheeseburger Day on September 18, fast-casual eatery the Melt partnered with cheese sculptor Troy Landwehr to create a Guinness World Record-breaking cheese sculpture. The 100 percent aged Wisconsin cheddar sculpture, resembling the restaurant's cheeseburger, took more than 30 hours to carve and weighed 1,524 pounds. The sculpture debuted at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles.
Salesforce's annual Dreamforce conference brought 170,000 people from 78 countries to the Moscone Center in San Francisco from September 15 to 18. Since there weren't enough hotel rooms for all the attendees, a new option for accommodations was the Dreamboat—a Celebrity Cruises’ luxury ship docked on San Francisco Bay and decked out with the conference logo.
Chicago's Adler Planetarium hosted its annual Celestial Ball on September 12. The benefit raises money for programs including those that inspire young people to pursue science careers, and to connect guests to that cause, local students became "science sommeliers" during dinner. Dinner menus contained science experiments that could be performed table-side by the young scientists.
The Toronto International Film Festival took place September 10 to 20, inspiring a number of casual parties. Entertainment One hosted its annual TIFF event at Andrew Richards Designs on September 14. Designed by Jeffry Roick, the event featured an installation from the Los Angeles street artist known as "Can't Stop Goodboy."
Gifting suites also had an informal vibe this year. At Diaz Contemporary, the Essentials Lounge offered products from such companies as Cake Beauty, Glaceau, Krispy Kreme, and Knix Wear. To tease all the swag that was available throughout the lounge, a display case held products from each sponsor. The event was presented by EGPR and took place on September 9.
To celebrate the hotel's new ownership by Lotte Hotels & Resorts, the newly rebranded Lotte New York Palace's food and beverage team reproduced the Midtown Manhattan hotel as a cake. The cake was unveiled at the hotel's relaunching celebration on September 16, an event that was attended by Brooke Shields, Lotte C.E.O. Yongdok Song, and the hotel's managing director, John C. Tolbert.
HBO's after-party took place at the Pacific Design Center's outdoor space. Real fire was used as a decorative element as 24-foot-long reflecting ponds showcased flaming sculptures. Inside the 120- by 100-foot dining pavilion, guests ate fare provided by Wolfgang Puck, including burrata and peach salad, New York steak, and doughnut bread pudding.
Caravents produced the first 'Vanity Fair' Social Club program at the Emmys—previously it had only been an Oscars event—which had a new twist on a photo booth: An activation by sponsor Viktor & Rolf took the form of a floral bed, with a camera positioned above.
Cake artists and pastry chefs from around the world attended the inaugural Americas Cake and Sugarcraft Fair, which took place September 18 to 20 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. Models in the event's fashion show wore outfits created entirely of edible materials such as chocolate, fondant, gum paste, and sugar art.
