Step & Repeat (arrival) ideas

MSNBC had one of the largest events, an after-party at the Italian Embassy produced by Dufour & Company. Guests arrived at a digital step-and-repeat that rotated through sponsor logos.

Landscape architect Maria Smithburg and Manifredini Landscaping & Design lined the entrance with red buckets of varying heights. The buckets held lush, cheerful arrangements of purple tulips.

Rather than creating exhibitions of printed graphics and photographs, Charity:Water and the production team at Empire Entertainment incorporated artwork into the decor. This included having an oversize image printed onto the draping that covered the entrance to the 69th Regiment Armory's drill hall.

A circular stage was a strategic component to the gala's revised format, putting the night's hosts and live auction in the center of the space. The round platform, which was 20 feet in diameter and raised six feet off the ground, also gave Charity:Ball's signature activity—the "waterwalk"—a central spot at the event. For every guest that walked the catwalk carrying two Jerry cans, sponsors W Hotels and Toms each donated $250 to water projects in India.

With the stage in the center of the space, the production crew had its technicians in the balcony and placed lighting and cameras to the ceiling's truss system. Three enormous screens—a 25- by 60-foot display and two 20- by 40-foot ones—enclosed the hall, allowing guests to watch videos from any point in the hall.

The planning team put more focus on the live auction this year, where guests could make pledges. Saturday Night Live's Seth Meyer served as the host, alongside Charity:Water's founder Scott Harrison.

Wristbands embedded with R.F.I.D. chips stored the guests's contact information and were used by organizers at check-in as well as during the auction.

The auction invited guests to move into a space near the stage to pledge funds. Each area was marked by a different color, which indicated a different amount. Pledges started at $200 and went up to $50,000.

For on-the-spot donations, staffers roaming the venue sold helium-filled balloons to guests.

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.

Charity:Water introduced its new drilling rig earlier this year, and rather than bring the giant truck into the space, the producers replicated it, with a cab in the front and an installation in the rear.

The nonprofit's birthday initiative invited people to ask for donations rather than gifts. The producers printed the amounts raised by different individuals and attached the pieces to a frame, forming a chandelier-like canopy.

LeapStarr Productions built one exhibit, which was designed to show a network of water pipes in Rwanda.

Less than a week before the gala, Charity:Water announced it won a Global Impact award from Google, receiving $5 million to install remote sensors into its water projects to track whether water is flowing. The gala featured a working pump that showcased how the new technology will work.

In a smart move that avoided the complications that come with laying carpet over stairs—especially on a snowy night in New York—the event's producers projected a strip of red light over the library's front steps, effectively creating a virtual red carpet that led to the entrance. Hundreds of LED candles sat on either side of the illuminated pathway.

The custom slide led guests down Venue One's parking ramp and into the building's lower level. Event Creative's crew built the slide the night before the iBall, and then took it apart and rebuilt it on the day of the event.

The evening paid tribute to Mohammed Ali and his iconic "Thrilla in Manilla" fight of 1975. A backdrop wall incorporated three screens that showed footage of iconic Ali fights as well as a trailer for the new boxing movie Creed.

The Phantom of the Opera held its 25th-anniversary show and gala in 2013. To avoid the complications that come with laying carpet over stairs—especially on a snowy night in New York—the event's producers projected a strip of red light over the library's front steps, effectively creating a virtual red carpet that led to the entrance. Hundreds of LED candles sat on either side of the illuminated pathway.