This week's roundup of event ideas includes drink stirrers with a message at AOL's Advertising Week kickoff, edible Instagram posts from a Texas-based caterer, models floating above the runway during Anya Hindmarch's London Fashion Week show, and guests lifting weights made out of truffles at a Godiva activation in New York.
Caterers are getting more and more creative with late-night snacks. Case in point: these French toast sticks with bourbon-infused maple syrup and blueberry thyme jam from L-Eat Catering in Toronto.
Handbag designer Anya Hindmarch sent models flying down the runway at London Fashion Week on September 16. Called “Out of This World,” the spring/summer show had a segment that took place against a dark backdrop littered with glowing stars. Rotating planets were strung overhead, and the otherworldly vibe was sealed with models in harnesses floating above the runway.
About 75,000 people turned out for the Maker Faire at the New York Hall of Science in Queens last weekend. The two-day festival of tech exhibits, hands-on installations, and more included a performance of choreographed fountains made from Mentos dropped into Coke Zero bottles.
The Variety and British Airways bash took over a West Hollywood mansion currently listed on the market at $28.8 million on September 25. The event's official hashtag decorated the windshields of two posh cars parked near the arrivals area.
On September 17 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the New York City Opera staged the United States premiere of the opera Anna Nicole. At the after-party, Great Performances decorated the dessert table to look like a boudoir. The menu was written on mirrors in red lipstick, jewelry boxes and glass jars overflowed with candy, and Lucite displays held cones of pink cotton candy.
Kicking off Advertising Week in New York on September 23, AOL debuted an event that it called a “programmatic upfront." A giant white billboard on Skylight West plastered one of the event's themes—“It's Time"—in massive type. The campaign tagline was also incorporated through various aspects of the event design, including drink stirrers and catering trays.
The New York City Ballet gala took over Lincoln Center on September 19. Designed by Bronson van Wyck, the decor included overhead replicas of hot-air balloons in cheery hues of red and white. Inspired by the notion of an early 20th-century party at the Grand Palais in Paris, the balloons were filled with 6,000 cubic feet of helium and were tied to the balcony rings with gold cording. The abundance of helium helped the balloons appear to hover magically above the crowd.
The Mount Sinai Hospital Auxiliary members hosted the 60th Birthday Bash fund-raiser September 22 at the Ritz-Carlton Toronto. In the ballroom, a showcase was dedicated to 1950s gala fashions worn by prior auxiliary members.
Sweets tables are also seeing more innovative offerings. For example, send a few favorite photos to Texas-based Manjar (Spanish for “delicacy”), and the bakery can turn them into edible Instagram posts for you, as well as create sugar cookies frosted to look like the popular social media company’s camera icon.
The Godiva Truffle Takeoff Tour is introducing truffle flights, which package six truffles along a similar theme. At the New York kickoff September 17 at Gansevoort Plaza, passersby could sample truffles and pose for photos in front of six tableaux. Playing off of the campaign tagline of “every truffle tells a story,” the tongue-in-cheek scenes included a sports-theme “It's Crunch Time” backdrop in which people could lift dumbbells that had giant nut truffles in place of weights.
