On October 17, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong celebrated its 50th anniversary with an 800-guest bash. A 3-D projection on the building's façade told the story of the hotel's history, starting with its 1963 opening and detailing its development as a global luxury brand.
At the 2004 opening in New York, body-painted performers perched on a sculpture in the lobby. Playing off the property's name, the whole evening had a dreamy, surreal vibe.
The 2011 bash had a Windy City theme and included dancers from one of Chicago's iconic institutions: the Joffrey Ballet. The company's dancers performed throughout the evening—but with a modern twist. Done up in rock-star-inspired makeup and dressed in dip-dyed tutus, the dancers improvised instead of using traditional choreography to the likes of Lady Gaga.
A bar offered "farm-to-bar" cocktails that incorporated fare from the hotel's rooftop garden.
The Life Is Beautiful Festival took over downtown Las Vegas this past weekend, bringing a slate of music, food, art, and educational programming to the city's redeveloping downtown area. At one spot, guests shot paint balls to decorate an interactive art piece.
As part of Ben & Jerry's "Thumbs Up for Fair Trade" campaign, attendees could stamp their thumbprint onto a mural promoting the three pillars of fair trade. Afterward, they could sample the brand's Bonnaroo-inspired Coffee Caramel Buzz ice cream flavor.
Ben & Jerry’s dished out about 16,000 cups of free Bonnaroo Buzz, Late Night Snack, and other flavors of its ice cream—and gained more than 2,000 new Twitter followers—during its Summer Scoop Truck Tour in Miami in 2011. The program, managed by Gigunda Group, invited the brand’s fans on Twitter and Facebook to help determine where the truck would stop each day, with the goal of raising the brand’s profile in the Miami market and attracting new customers.
Candy boutique Sugarfina opened a second location at the Americana at Brand in Los Angeles this summer. The confections make for colorful gifts in cocktail-inspired varieties such as champagne gummy bears, spiced rum and Coke gummies, and peach Bellini gummies—all top sellers. The boutique‘s gifts come in its signature turquoise bento boxes, which can be customized with 140 candy varieties from around the world.
Los Angeles-based open-air photo booth Flipbooth creates mini books of photos, similar to old-school animation flipbooks. Guests record a six-second video, and then Flipbooth staffers produce a tiny photo album to replay the action. Backdrops, book covers, and props can be customized to match the event’s theme and decor. Pricing starts at $995.
At the New York event on August 20, colorful paper lanterns and Mexican-style paper flowers strung from the ceilings lent the event a fresh, youthful feel.
