Derek Alpert Picks Paramount

Venue: “Our favorite venue to hold our enormous annual block party is Paramount Studios’ New York back lot. We have held the event there for seven years, since moving off the streets of Rodeo Drive, and the venue is a fantastic backdrop that can adapt itself to the changing of our annual theme. The space can accommodate a crowd of our size [3,000-plus], with 300 or more seating tables, 50-plus restaurants, four stages of live entertainment, a 70-table casino, and a huge silent auction. The various parking lots on and just off-site make for easy in-and-out access for the guests. Most important, the special events staff there is the most professional group I have ever worked with, which makes any undertaking of this magnitude a wonderful experience.”