This week's roundup includes a futuristic car projection at the Los Angeles Auto Show, a sign made out of milk crates in New York, cyclone-inspired decor at a ballet gala, centerpieces comprising photo slides in Chicago, and new ideas for the breakfast buffet.
At the anniversary party at New York's Pier 92, staffers offered guests caviar and oysters from an ice bar that had brightly colored plastic sea creatures frozen inside.
To represent the Food Network magazine, artist Clare Herron spent the event inside an 8- by 8-foot Plexiglas cube with stacks of back issues and a pair of scissors. Throughout the evening, she created a collage by taping magazine cutouts to the walls.
On November 9, a tented space in New York's Duarte Square opened as the headquarters for “Talking Transition,” a nonpartisan forum for citizens to express their views to Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio’s incoming administration. In order to grab the attention of those walking by, black milk crates were stacked outside to spell out the word "talk." Above the entrance, a giant red arrow pointed inside, where more black milk crates hanging from the ceiling spelled out the word "here."
At its booth at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Acura set up several small informational tables that projected images of its cars onto smoky condensation that rose up from the tabletops. Using an iPad-like interface, guests could explore different aspects of the vehicles and make images larger or smaller by putting a hand close to the smoky screen. The event wrapped on December 1.
After the theater's performance of The Tempest at the Koch Theater, guests sat to dinner in a stormy environment designed by Bronson van Wyck. In the theater's promenade, seven 39-foot prop cyclones swirled up to the ceiling. In the dinner space, a hand-painted 180-foot storm scene wrapped one side of the balconies, and handmade paper cyclones stretched from the floor to the ceiling.
A photography theme was prevalent at the event, which benefited the Photography Gala Fund. INDO handled the decor, which included centerpieces made of glowing, vintage slides. To add to the shutterbug-friendly atmosphere, a curtain of slides hung from the second floor balcony. And, naturally, the event had no shortage of photo booths for guests.
The Holiday Chic Suite, a lush pop-up space at the 900 Shops on Chicago's Michigan Avenue, is rife with ideas for D.I.Y. office gatherings or home entertaining this season. Overseen by Debi Lilly of A Perfect Event, the setup features place cards tacked onto green apples with bejeweled pins.
Here's a new idea for breakfast catering: the Mexican breakfast buffet, or Cocina del Barrio, with Mexican hot chocolate, mango-passion-fruit and grapefruit-carrot juices, fruit empanadas, tropical fruit in a bag, pastel pan dulce, egg scrambles with squash blossoms and queso fresco, and tortillas, by Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado Santa Fe in New Mexico.
At HP's live music recording session in Los Angeles, on-site graphic artists translated YouTube users' comments into a highly visual backdrop for the track's video.
New York City caterer Carla Ruben of Creative Edge Parties is offering a new dessert buffet in time for the holiday season. On November 12, Ruben hosted an intimate pre-holiday luncheon to introduce her latest creations, including the company's “Bar Bar,” a selection of bite-size brownies, blondies, and dessert bars in flavors such as peanut pretzel, Oreo cheesecake, and apple crumb displayed in repurposed desktop file sorters.
