Wow Factor

In the meatpacking district—the New York City Wine & Food Festival's hub—Illy set up a public welcome center. The coffee brand's spot had red and white seating, coffee stations, book signings by Food Network stars, and a "Give Happilly Coffee Amnesty," in which festival-goers could donate coffee in exchange for a complimentary can of Illy MonoArabica.

Hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, the fried chicken event set up shop at Yotel on Thursday night and had several eateries like the Brooklyn Star offer fried chicken and waffles served in waffle cones. Inside the hotel's fourth-floor space, guests were treated to tunes by DJ Questlove, while the terrace offered a view of the skyline and colorful decorations to the tenting structure.

The photo op from Shake & Bake sponsor Cape Cod Potato Chips came complete with seagulls—to match the brand's imagery—and invited guests to post pics to Instagram. A screen at the event displayed images marked with the hashtag #Capeonthego, and guests who posted their photos scored a free T-shirt and chips.

A cocktail-focused event at the Public Theater on Thursday was hosted by in-house culinary expert Andrew Caramellini. As guests strolled through three different spaces—the Lobby, Joe’s Pub, and new lounge the Library—they could sample various cocktails, mini crab sandwiches, and margarita marshmallow pops (pictured).

In the basement space of 82 Mercer, the festival's casino sponsor the Borgata created a lounge space that let attendees play casino games, snap pics in a photo booth, and paint the interactive graffiti wall, which included chocolate "paint" and "spray paint." The activation was open for three days, running from Thursday to Saturday.

This year, the festival's signature Burger Bash moved from the Tobacco Warehouse in Brooklyn to Basketball City at Pier 36. Rachael Ray returned to host the affair, which was sponsored by Blue Moon and Pat LaFrieda Meats, and saw servers on roller skates pass around mini treats.

Hosted by Rocco DiSpirito, who was celebrating the release of his book Now Eat This! Italian, Thrillist's event on Friday served all types of barbecue complemented by take-home bags of brownies from Fat Witch. To add branding to the Hudson Terrace, the lifestyle Web site placed its logo within the chandelier and on the side of the building.

Friday's late-night dessert showcase doubled as the festival's fifth anniversary celebration, and, as a nod to this and title sponsor Godiva, a gilded Lady Godiva rolled around 82 Mercer handing out birthday hats.

True to tradition of the event, Godiva decorated the entire three-room space with chocolate touches including a chocolate photo booth background, chocolate-studded vases, and columns lined with the sweet stuff.

Echoing the Absolut Citron-clad bar, lush floral arrangements with citrus details dotted bars and tabletops throughout the venue.

Some 1,200 feet of confetti garland hung from the ceiling, matching the chair decorations.

A gold background by Confetti System served as a festive backdrop for photos.

Hosted by Guy Fieri, Target's kid-friendly, educational event on Saturday filled Basketball City with activities like a Carnival-sponsored obstacle course, Zumba lessons, and a giant foosball table. Children in attendance took home bags filled with healthy snacks.

Healthy snack stations dotted the perimeter of the room for a break from the activities. The Indian Harvest table served soothing soup from a festive pumpkin display.

A main sponsor of the entire festival, LG approached the event with kid-friendly activities like a sock toss to showcase its new laundry machines. Additionally, to promote the new LG dishwasher, the electronics brand had several mom bloggers partake in a dish-loading challenge.

The seafood-focused Saturday afternoon event, hosted by Hook, Line & Dinner star Ben Sargent was presented by the Corcoran Group at the Standard's Biergarten. The Lobster Place donated approximately 14,000 oysters for the outing in addition to several restaurants and oyster farmers setting up shop for the tasting. Some stations even offered to teach attendees how to shuck.

Nautical displays were featured throughout the venue as guests strolled from table to table sampling bites from eateries like the Mermaid Oyster Bar and Ed’s Chowder House, including oysters with gazpacho, mini oyster potpies, and French fries.

The Hudson River Park's Pier 57 was overflowing with stations of food and drink for the tasting on Saturdy and Sunday, as well as KitchenAid culinary demonstrations with a rotating roster of Food Network personalities taking the stage kitchen. As a sponsor, Delta hosted a lounge where attendees could take a breather by relaxing in the airline’s new business elite seats and sample sommelier-selected wine served in-flight. Also available for testing was Delta’s Touch the Future interactive app, which allowed guests to select their travel priorities such as "shopping" or "foodie travel" and see which locations the airline offers fit their travel must-have list.

Buick teamed up with online chocolatier Chocomize to promote their affordable luxuries mindset. Grand Tasting attendees were invited to sample chocolate bar ingredients—including chocolate and sea salt or chocolate and red pepper—then hop on an iPad and place an order for the customized treat to be delivered directly to their home.

Sponsored by Creekstone Farms and hosted by Bobby Flay, Saturday night's Tacos & Tequila filled the three-room space at 82 Mercer with tacos of all kinds. Many stations had simple displays of ingredients used and various signs on the walls that read, "Tacos, yo!"

Held at the Highline Stages, presented by the Corcoran Group, and hosted by Food Network’s Sandwich King Jeff Mauro, Sunday's Sandwich Showdown saw attendees sample 15 different sandwiches, including pastrami and lobster rolls. Each attendee was given a wooden coin as they entered, which was used to vote for the event's best sandwich.

The event offered a fall foliage decor theme with sunflower bouquets, red and orange leaf displays, and a scenic step-and-repeat. Funny signage around the venue paid homage to the sandwich through tweaked song lyrics, like "I am sandwich, hear me roar," "spread some mayo on me," and "for the love of the sandwich."