21 Ideas From Winter Benefits: an Indoor Snowfall, the Moulin Rouge Windmill, Lotus-Shaped Chandeliers, and More

The San Francisco Ballet's annual gala took over City Hall on January 24, bringing a striking look and bold color palette to the historic space. Set up for dinner, the rotunda was washed in colorful lighting projections, and lotus-shaped silk chandeliers hung overhead.

Designed by Shiraz Events, the event took place on December 13 at New York's Angel Orensanz and had a sinister, superhero-inspired look. Deriving inspiration from comic books, the dessert table had candies with phrases such as "pow!" and "blow!" written on bright signs.

In December, the Trevor Project honored Katy Perry and Audi at its Trevor Live event at the Hollywood Palladium. To further the organization's mission to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning young people, MSN Wonderwall and Getty Images provided an official photo booth for the event in the greenroom, complete with props in the form of chat bubbles bearing inspiring messages like "be proud of who you are" and "you are not alone."

At the AIDS Foundation of Chicago's "World of Chocolate" event at the Hilton Chicago on November 29, a silent auction let guests bid at different levels starting at $50. Once a bid level was selected, guests would choose a number on a punchboard that corresponded to that bidding level. Event staffers dressed as professional boxers would then punch a hole through that number and reveal a corresponding prize. Lots included a gift certificate for a wine tasting, UGG Australia velvet men's slippers, and an overnight stay at Park Hyatt Chicago. The punchboard raised more than $14,000.

The Toronto event, produced by Kim Graham & Associates, put a fresh spin on a flower-design competition. Held just before Valentine's Day at a swanky gallery, the event was billed as an "evening of romance and philanthropy" and was hosted by sisters Maryam and Nargues Mansouri (of Mansouri Living) and Toronto socialite Ainsley Kerr. The intimate evening pitted bachelors against married men in a bouquet-design competition, and guests could bid on their favorite arrangements. The $4,000 of proceeds went toward Rethink Breast Cancer.

The December 6 event at the Beverly Hills Hotel honored five Los Angeles high school students who overcame personal obstacles and achieved academic excellence. To incorporate the teenagers into the night's visuals, the organizers used a gallery of black-and-white portraits as the backdrop for the stage. Art Arellanes produced the event, Revelry handled the scenic production, and Richard Taylor provided the lighting design.

Held at Muzik in Toronto on February 8, the Motionball gala raised funds for Special Olympics Canada and had a wintry theme befitting the frosty weather. The vibe came to life with a dance floor made to look like an ice rink and an ice-luge vodka bar. As a final touch, an indoor snowfall took place at midnight.

A far springier event—with a cute bunny theme—took place at New York's F.A.O. Schwarz on March 5. Small topiaries shaped like the animal of honor spruced up the family-friendly event, which also had a balloon artist, face painting, and a station for decorating cookies.

The Joffrey Ballet feted its then-current production of The Nutcracker with a dinner at Chicago's Palmer House Hilton on December 15. Inspired by the ballet's Land-of-Sweets setting, Kehoe Designs adorned the event with pieces of giant candy including swirly lollipops and Airheads packages. Overhead, a chandelier was decked with ribbons and more pieces of prop candy.

The February 9 event in Chicago had a "Midnight in Paris" theme. In the lobby of the downtown opera house, Event Creative Designer Jeffrey Foster erected giant replicas of Parisian street signs. An illuminated windmill nodded to the iconic signage of the Moulin Rouge.

Looking to boost event-day proceeds, the foundation went beyond the basic silent auction by enlisting a group of hunky male volunteers to showcase auction items at its Wine, Women & Shoes benefit February 7. The event, which drew 450 women to the Coral Gables Country Club in Miami, ended up selling $50,000 in goods that day from the auction and a fashion marketplace, resulting in a fund-raising total of $450,000.

The Jordan Farmar Foundation raises money to send children in need to summer camp, so a recent fund-raiser for the charity took on a campgrounds vibe. Nathaniel Neubauer of Contemporary Catering designed a seven-course tasting menu of foods that put sophisticated twists on childhood classics. The sashimi course, for example, was inspired by fish sticks. Neubauer represented pizza with Manchego-and-chorizo flatbread. Because the foods didn't require much silverware to eat, guests only had forks; other cutlery was playfully suggested with colorful blue drawings on the place mats. Sterling Engagements produced the event, which took place February 7 at Gindling Hilltop Camp in Malibu.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay held its annual "Big Night" event at House of Blues Boston February 9. At the soiree, servers circulated with appetizers including shrimp and guacamole tostadas and wild mushroom profiteroles. The event included high-octane performances from two bands—Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings—so servers from the Catered Affair wore signage that labeled each item in case verbal descriptions couldn't be heard over the music. Branded lanyards strapped around staffers' necks read "Hi, these are," with a quick menu description and warnings about any ingredients that potentially could cause allergic reactions.

Held on February 7 at Toronto's Fairmont Royal York, the fund-raiser for the Toronto Public Library Foundation had entertainment inspired by novels. One of the pieces, based on a book called The Painted Girls, featured a ballerina speckled in gold body paint and an artist working alongside her.

The Museum of Contemporary Art's ArtEdge gala, held February 2 for the first time in the institution's warehouse, was indeed a little edgy, and it had an all-pervasive factory vibe. At a panini station, attendants used irons and an ironing board to toast ham-and-cheese and tomato-and-cheese sandwiches.

At the Museum of Science & Industry's Black Creativity gala January 27, no guest left hungry. The event's bevvy of buffet stations, provided by Sodexo, held Brazilian meats, spicy Moroccan foods, cotton candy, and more—but the salt-and-pepper station turned into a main attraction. Stationed near the salad buffet, the table held hanging terrariums filled with colored salts such as red chili, pink Hawaiian, smoke, rosemary, and wild garlic. The flavors were spelled out on smooth river rocks placed in front of each hanging vessel. On the other side of table, a row of grinders held pink, green, white, and black pepper.

This year's gala was pushed back to December because of Hurricane Sandy, and ultimately took place inside the museum's Upper East Side home. In one room, where the walls were painted black, designer David Stark used white tape and created a 3-D effect by crumpling some segments. Without much space for the caterers, the planning team opted for a family-style meal with side dishes shared at the tables and entrées on passed plates.

At the December 10 event at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York, staffers roaming the venue sold helium-filled balloons to guests for on-the-spot donations. Guests could release their balloons into a giant Jerry can-shaped netting structure. The concept was designed to allow people to visualize their donations in a whimsical way.

After designing a romantic red look for the tribute to Pedro Almodóvar last year, the Museum of Modern Art opted for a more masculine design at its film benefit honoring Quentin Tarantino in December. A mix of round and rectangular clear Lucite tables formed the dinner setup in the atrium. The sleek look was matched by clear chargers and Ghost chairs; clusters of pillar candles replaced flowers as centerpieces.

After it scored one of NASA's coveted crafts late last year amid buzzy citywide pomp, the museum sold out tables for its Discovery Ball—even before the invitation dropped. The gala took place under the wings of the Endeavour on March 9 and secured a record-breaking night for fund-raising, taking in $1.5 million.

Chicago's premiere ballet company hosted a Valentine's Day benefit (on the actual date) that offered appetizers from chef Charlie Trotter. There was a lavish oyster and caviar bar festooned with gold linens and flowers, and passed snacks—including quail eggs—were presented on trays holding red roses. In keeping with the spirit of the evening, napkins were embossed with the word "Love." Jewell Events Catering assisted the chef that evening.