especiales

Fairplex officially opened its high-tech Sheraton Fairplex Conference Center on March 14. The new center is I.A.C.C.-certified and Silver LEED-engineered. The project was funded by $28 million raised in conjunction with the Economic Development Administration, Small Business Administration, county of Los Angeles, and city of Pomona, resulting in more than $155.6 million in economic impact during construction. The new 85,000-square-foot center is intended to be a highly versatile space, with spacious seminar rooms and breakout rooms with interactive digital whiteboards, video conferencing, and high-speed Wi-Fi. Catering options at the space, which includes a ballroom with a capacity of 1,000 seated for a meal, include fresh farm-to-table produce grown at the on-campus FairView Farms.

Beginning in January, the 1.6 million-square-foot, LEED-certified Anaheim Convention Center began offering free Wi-Fi to all visitors. The tech upgrade was meant to give the facility a competitive edge in the marketplace, as it’s the only convention center in the western region of the U.S. to offer the service throughout the facility. Recently, the center partnered with Aramark to introduce a compost program. And slated for a January 2013 opening is a 100,000-square-foot open-air Grand Plaza, right for all sorts of alfresco meetings and events.

Downtown’s L.A. Live is the city’s newest massive multi-use development, packed with high-tech meeting and event venue offerings over 5.6 million square feet—like the 7,100-seat Nokia Theatre, the sprawling adjacent Nokia Plaza, and Club Nokia, with colorful LED bars illuminating 59,000 square feet of flexible space. The “Gallery Collection” at the JW Marriott Hotel Los Angeles includes more than 77,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, including three floors of stacked ballrooms. The property shares space with the Ritz-Carlton, which was designed by Gensler and is one of the tallest mixed-use buildings downtown.

In October, the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites completed comprehensive upgrades. It’s L.A.’s largest convention hotel with 1,354 guest rooms, and more than 110,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space including the city’s largest ballroom.

A mile west of downtown and now available for events and unstuffy meetings is Carondelet, a 7,600-square-foot home with two courtyards and capacity for 500 overall. Furnishings are available, as is JBL sound equipment, wireless mics, and Wi-Fi throughout.

Grauman’s Chinese Theatre has recently undergone a major renovation. The main theater seats more than 1,000 guests and, also located in the Hollywood & Highland Center is the new high-tech Chinese 6 Theatres, which offer new sound systems and a luxe environment with room for more than 1,000 guests in all.

For an airy (ahem) meeting, Santa Monica's Museum of Flying opened in late February, and is available for buyout. The main floor has a maximum seating capacity of 350, or holds 700 for a reception. The Douglas Aircraft executive suite includes the Douglas boardroom (a replica of the aircraft company's boardroom), a reception parlor, and a screening room with a capacity of 50. The aviation museum's preferred caterers are Schaffer’s Genuine Foods, Bon Mélange Catering, and Gourmet Celebrations.

A bit farther afield, take a meeting group to Lorimar Vineyards and Winery, a newly opened Tuscan-style winery created by Mark Manfield and Lawrie Lipton. The 6,000-square-foot winery with spacious verandas and terrazas offers a variety of meeting and event options, which can include tastings.

For a nontraditional meeting against a blank-slate backdrop for branding, take a group to the new Kesspro Studios, a new photo studio space with 5,600 square feet of available stage area, and curtain systems for backdrop or studio partitioning. There's also on-site office equipment and high-speed Internet, plus on-site gated parking and a kitchenette.

The newest bar from John Terzian, Brian Toll, and Adam Koral adjacent to the Will Rogers State Beach, ShoreBar specializes in complex and creative cocktails, created by mixologist Vincenzo Marianella. Take a stylish, unstuffy meeting amid relaxed decor, including a nautical theme and a beachy feel. Artwork, knick-knacks, and photos are all vintage from the area. Each booth has its own personality based on the decor—Santa Barbara, Newport Beach, and Catalina Island—and is identified by a map paired with a photo of the place.

For right-on-trend festival looks, a flower-crown station at Lacoste's Desert Pool Party allowed guests to pick up garlands to wear on the spot—in exchange for a posting on social media. The music festival takes place at Empire Polo Field in Palm Springs over the course of two weekends; it started last week and wraps up this Sunday.

Rachel Laxer Interiors' table settings included moss-covered chargers and—similar to the Kinky Boots table—corseted napkin holders.

The Eric Warner for Aesthete table, hosted by Tracy Reese, also jumped on the spring bandwagon, featuring faux butterflies and lightbulbs hanging from an overhead trellis, as well as a wall displaying patterned fabric panels and a silhouette made entirely out of moss.

Aerin Lauder designed a table for Kravet that showcased her yet-to-be-released fabric collection for Lee Jofa, covering the table and surrounding walls in a purple damask-patterned linen. The table settings included rattan chargers and bamboo flatware.

With Andy Warhol art on the walls of the atrium, Eric Michael and Jack Lucky used a 1970s-inspired color palette of bright orange, yellow, pink, and neon green. Perfect Settings provided linens in each of these colors to create alternating color blocks from table to table.

Monochrome weddings are getting an updated twist lately, as seen in the table and setup by Edge Floral Event Designers. Think understated—even rustic—furnishings that allow details like flowers and wallpaper to pop without looking overdone.

The rustic look has moved into the realm of total refinement, as seen in the setup from Simply Chic Events, which came complete with reclaimed wood and an Edison-style bulb chandelier.

The ever-chic black-and-white motif gets new energy with the help of dramatic metallic accents. At the setup by Events in the City, a gold sparkle wall and gold glitter flatware add festivity to an otherwise preppy look.

If the ombré trend extends to wedding confections, why not to corporate events too? The good-luck cake from TipsyCake at Poladora launch party blended from white to green.

Mexican themes lend themselves to such whimsy and colorfulness. The table from A Perfect Event shows off a well-executed, conversation-starting example.

Flowers are no longer strictly contained by vessels. Sofitel Los Angeles let blooms trail from an oversize arrangement—a similar look to the Recording Academy's Bollywood-inspired after-party for the Grammys.

Planners may already have seen this theme evolve: chandeliers, chandeliers, chandeliers. At the Wedding Salon showcase Premiere Party Rents hung one from a wedding canopy. For corporate events, the ceiling treatments can be hung from tent ceilings, above food stations, or over an arrivals carpet.

Illuminated chandeliers are eye-catching additions to weddings and corporate events alike. The floral and crystal chandelier installed by Karla Conceptual Event Experiences and lit by Frost Florida, packed a punch in purple.

Live musical acts are borrowing inspiration from the evocative 1920s period. Costumed entertainers took the stage at a collaboration between the New York Botanical Garden and Stephen Starr Events.

New England Country Rentals showed off a variety of brand-new additions to its rental inventory including new glassware and charcoal-colored napkins.

Dynamic Drape & Decor utilized its new Form Set collection of modular pieces to create the Event Innovation Forum stage backdrop. The line, which debuted on IdeaFest show day and is available now, is ideal for projected lighting and video mapping displays.

Dynamic Drape & Decor also set up its oversize translucent butterflies at the show, pieces that can be mounted to the top of a truss to appear as if they are flying. The butterflies are available now in the company’s prop rental inventory.

PBG Event Productions showed off its rentable Ring Lounge Chair, which show attendees could sit in for a photo op, surrounded by a backdrop of colorful umbrellas.

NYC Photobooth presented one of its newest offerings, the Viafora Photomatic Studio, a giant vintage-looking camera that comes with old-fashioned lighting and props for events.

One popular stop on the show floor was the London Candy Company’s Union Jack Candy Chest, which can be hired for events and filled with British chocolates, sweets, and “crisps.”

Luxe Event Rentals showcased its new velvet D’Rose sofa in plum among other glam pieces.

When it comes to linens, sequins are hot—BBJ Table Fashions showcased its new matte mercury sequin overlay, also available as a table runner. Also on display were fabric samples of the company’s new reversible Miramar linens and napkins, which come in six different colors.

Cloth Connection displayed several new additions to its line of rentable linens, including a chartreuse-colored version of its disco paillettes fabric.

Surface Grooves showed off several custom fabricated laser-cut decor items. That included pieces the company recently created for Common Ground’s 11th annual Celebrating Home & Community Gala, such as glowing wooden centerpieces designed to look like buildings created by honoree and architect Robert A.M. Stern.

Prop N Spoon displayed its new Empire State Building prop in front of its antique mirrored wall. The company also showed off pieces from its new Deco line of furniture.

Dazian presented an eye-catching look, debuting its brand-new Shimmer Wall and Scallop drapes at the show.

Event Labor Works is now offering Flex Tents across North America. The company displayed small-scale examples of the brandable tents, which are available in several colors and come with expandable tent poles that can be easily adjusted to uneven surfaces.

Leveraging the popularity of Gatsby-theme events, Grosh displayed its new backdrop modeled after the movie posters for Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby.

Zak Events showed off a fully sleek and modern look, featuring a custom-made mirrored dining table set with pieces from Classic Party Rental and napkins from BBJ Table Fashions. Zak Events also flaunted new items from its Zak Collection rental line, available through Classic Party Rentals, in lounge areas dotted throughout the show.

At the Eventbrite pop-up lounge and its own booth, Cort Event Furnishings displayed the company’s new Napoleon seating collection, which includes a white vinyl chaise lounge and modern French chairs in six different colors.

A quirky addition to a British-theme event: CallAhead’s Tele-Toilette, a portable restroom rental that looks like a London-style telephone booth.

Smith Party Rentals showcased a variety of exclusive pieces, including new buffet display options such as its stainless seven-tier steps and Regal oval tray stands.

AFR Event Furnishings showed off its new royal blue Regale collection, which is now available to rent nationwide.