New Event Ideas

To promote the third season of Swamp People in February, the History Channel recreated a Louisiana swamp at New York's Chelsea Market. The 5,600-square-foot space, executed by marketing and promotions agency Civic Entertainment Group, brought together six American alligators and red-eared Slider turtles, authentic fauna, Cajun cuisine, and artisans from the bayou. Civic Entertainment Group built a dock for visitors to walk over the swamp for a closer look at the animals.

A new advertising campaign for Marriott's Residence Inn focused on the brand’s effort to provide “room to stretch” and “room to chill” in its hotels. The commercials featured a cast of wild animals, so for the March event in Washington a 12-foot-tall giraffe named Dude greeted and took pictures with nearly 100 guests. Residence Inn also educated guests with some wild facts about the animals and how they relate to the campaign.

On March 8, Discovery Communications flew in live penguins to New York for the premiere screening of the Discovery Channel's new documentary, Frozen Planet. Planners worked with SeaWorld to transport, house, and care for the animals before, during, and after the event. The friendly birds even made an appearance on the red carpet.

Fashion for Paws, the Washington Humane Society's annual fund-raiser, provides a unique incentive for its models: runway walkers must raise $5,000 to participate in the show, and in return they get to show off their dogs on the trip.

A camel named Maggie held court at the California Science Center's annual Discovery Ball fund-raiser in May. Complementing the Cleopatra theme, the camel was stationed near the Tesla Model S car-raffle area, intended as a display of two rather different modes of transportation.

Animals including a flamingo, bald eagle, Fennec fox, penguin, red-tailed hawk, great-horned owl, and lynx entertained guests at the Brookfield Zoo's Zoo Whirl in April. A cheetah had the most dramatic entrance: animal handlers walked it onto the dance floor for a quick, leashed walk, as guests oohed (quietly) and snapped photos. The Chicago event also put a llama in front of the step-and-repeat. In a tented area with a central bar, hors d'oeuvres, and tables swathed in—what else?—tiger-print linens, animal handlers let guests pet and ask questions about the furry or feathered creatures, who didn't startle easily.

For the Shedd Aquarium’s Luminescence Gala this month, a Shedd trainer holding a penguin modeled an auction prize, a pendant that was inspired by the Chicago institution’s beaux arts clock.

Also at the aquarium's fund-raiser was California sea lion Ty, who helped out during the event's paddle raise and later gave a kiss to one gala patron.

Surrounded by camellia trees, the promenade area was redone as a garden space, reminiscent of Jean Cocteau's classic La Belle et la Bête. The room highlighted Chanel's fine jewelry collection alongside flowers that shone with diamonds.

For the Museum of Modern Art’s film benefit on November 15 in New York, the celebrity arrivals backdrop wasn’t a step-and-repeat of logos but rather a wall of 20,000 fresh crimson-colored roses.

At the Children’s Aid Foundation’s Teddy Bear Affair, November 5 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, manager of events Meg Sethi staged vignettes representing the seasons. For spring, clear umbrellas and glittering beads hung as the sound of rain played.

At Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry’s Columbian Ball, four- to eight-foot-tall steel centerpieces with Piet Mondrian-inspired colored panels sat on tables, while additional square fabric structures in bright hues hung from the tent’s ceiling.

To add some branding to the Z100 & Coca-Cola All-Access Lounge at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York in December, sponsor Coca-Cola fashioned a chandelier from aluminum bottles.

At a dinner following the spring collection presentation of Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz at the Carondelet House in Los Angeles in November, ExtraExtra suspended decorative feathered hats among chandeliers above the table. This caption has been updated to credit ExtraExtra.

At Tribune Media Group’s iBall in September, the Event Creative team drilled dozens of rigging points into the concrete ceiling of Venue One in Chicago to hang furniture upside down. Inverted chandeliers on the floor served as highboys.

Los Angeles-based artist Jorge Pardo created special-edition lanterns to hang above the tables at the Hammer Museum’s gala in September. The lanterns were later sold through the Gagosian Gallery.

Kicking out party-time cover songs by the likes of Madonna, Duran Duran, and Journey, eye-candy-heavy Rubix Kube features the New York-based group’s six members wearing loud ’80s threads and hairspray-lacquered ’dos. The five-year-old band counts Katie Couric and Debbie Gibson among its fans and has appeared on the Today show, Celebrity Apprentice, and Cake Boss.
You’ll hear: “Jessie’s Girl,” by Rick Springfield, and “Africa,” by Toto.