Quaker Oats teamed up with filmmaker Jordan Vogt-Roberts to produce a short film about the so-called "human energy crisis" (or, people's low energy in a fast-paced world). The brand showed the video in a pop-up setting that had a chalkboard. Visitors could write on the chalkboard to fill in the blank after the phrase: "If I had more energy, I would..."
The step-and-repeat at the activation was lined with stacked packages of Quaker Oats products.
Udi's Gluten Free, a brand of health-conscious health products, hosted a pop-up restaurant called Udi's Gluten Free table. In what was a common design motif at the festival, sliced cross-sections of tree trunks lined the wall, with select circles of wood embossed with sponsor logos.
New this year, the Park City Live Day Lounge had gifting and hospitality suites that showcased brands such as Motorola. In its Moto X lounge, which was papered in scenes of snow-covered tree trunks, the company invited celebrities to test out its new Natural Collection phones.
Within the lounge, guests sat on pillowed couches to take in presentations. Prop taxidermy hung over pillars to add to the woodsy, ski-lodge feel of the space.
With a large Motorola emblem as its backdrop, the lounge's bar had slices of tree trunks covering its base.
More subtle Motorla logos appeared on the wood that decorated the bar.
Fingerprint Communications produced a dinner to celebrate its Oakley Learn to Ride activation, which let celebrities hit the slopes on snowboards on January 17. The dinner, presented by Luminara and SOS, took place later that night at a private home. Decor included white candles and snowy white floral arrangements.
The Hotel Chantelle provided catering. Menu items included ramekins of hot soup, house-cured charcuterie, and truffle-honey rack of lamb.
The vodka company took over a space on Main Street to host nightly dinners and cocktail bashes. Servers dressed in the brand's signature blue shade—and wore toasty beanies as a nod to the wintry climate.
The dinner series ChefDance returned to the festival for its 11th run, this time with El Tesoro de Don Felipe Tequila and Suja Juice as partners. Held at Park City Live, the dinner had colorful elements from Finnish design company Marimekko. Different chefs, including former Top Chef stars, prepared the nightly meals.
To help guests warm up—and even break a sweat—popular fitness studio SoulCycle hosted a pop-up at Sky Lodge. Open January 17 to 19, the activation had 30 bikes and classes led by top instructors.
To showcase its juicers, Bella Housewares hosted a smoothie bar at the SoulCycle pop-up.
On January 20, Black Label Media hosted a dinner for 50 guests at producer Molly Smith's Park City home. With production from Hatch and SBE Catering and Special Events, the event had seasonally appropriate eats such as mushroom risotto and almond profiteroles in a spiced hot chocolate sauce. UGG was a sponsor.
Cheryl Cecchetto of Sequoia Productions executed the “romantic rhapsody in red” theme at the 2012 Emmys Governors Ball in Los Angeles with a giant rose concept and copious amounts of the color.
Stoelt Productions upped the excitement for the 2012 Clio awards after-party at New York’s American Museum of Natural History by flooding the event with red lighting.
The 2012 Pencer Brain Trust Gala in Toronto used flamboyant orange hues to support its edgy, rock theme.
Even cocktails at the 2012 Pencer Brain Trust Gala were infused with the color.
Billy Butchkavitz’s design inspiration at HBO’s 2009 Golden Globes party in Los Angeles came from the colorful “emotional architecture” style of Luis Barragán and vintage ’60s textiles. Butchkavitz washed restaurant Circa 55 and the adjoining pool area at the Beverly Hilton in a banana yellow animal print.
Torches floated on lily-pad-like structures in the Beverly Hilton's pool, which reflected yellow decor elements from HBO’s 2009 Golden Globes party.
Lush canopies of natural greenery popped against neon green Lucite tabletops at the Museum of Modern Art’s 2013 Party in the Garden benefit in New York.
At the Greater Washington, D.C., chapter of the National Association for Catering and Events’ annual fund-raising gala in 2012, the Emerald City Lounge was aptly colored and had an eerie feel.
Blue lighting and sequined tablecloths made for a striking look at Ronald McDonald House Toronto’s holiday season gala in December 2012.
Event planner André Wells designed the 2010 Washington Ballet ball around the gala chair’s favorite color. Nearly every shade of purple was used in event, dubbed the “Purple Rain Ball.”
Spoons of Eastern Shore crab were passed on lavender serving trays at the 2010 Washington Ballet ball.
More than 1,200 guests donned white garb for the fresh concept of Dîner en Blanc’s flash-mob-style dinner in New York in 2011.
At UrbanDaddy and Stoli’s launch event in New York in 2012, a pure white room was later transformed into a playful and colorful space as guests painted on the walls and lighting projections filled the room.
At Marc Jacobs’s final show for Louis Vuitton at Paris Fashion Week in October 2013, a set filled with escalators, a fairground carousel, a fountain, and more was rendered in all black.
Inspired by the “power of the press” shown in season 2 of The Newsroom, designer Billy Butchkavitz used a black-and-white newsprint palette for the show’s 2013 premiere party in Los Angeles.
Inspired by one of the city's iconic eats, the Chicago property erected a gingerbread version of a hot-dog factory. The whimsical display, created by executive pastry chef Cheryl Brookhouze, has a 10-foot-long Chicago hotdog and a faucet pouring mustard into a bucket. Some 1,400 pounds of gingerbread went into its construction.
A contender for the Guinness World Record for "largest gingerbread exhibit," the Gingerbread Lane display is at the New York Hall of Science. At 1.5 tons, the 300-square-foot village is made entirely out of gingerbread, icing, and candy, and was created by chef Jon Lovitch. More than 1,500 hours of labor went into the candy-decked creation.
On December 5, the Friends of the Fulfillment Fund hosted the Holiday Party for Children With Disabilities at CBS Television City in Los Angeles. To entertain 230 elementary school students, the event employed everything from a costumed Curious George to stilt-walking elves. The event was spearheaded by Fulfillment Fund board member and co-chairwoman of the Friends of the Fulfillment Fund Jan Goldman.
The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte is displaying a holiday tree made of 8,000 red and green macarons. The eight-foot-tall creation was assembled by the hotel's pastry team, led by executive assistant manager of food and beverage and culinary Jon Farace. At the base of the tree, a team of chocolate reindeer pulls a miniature red sleigh.
Laurent Branlard, executive pastry chef of the Florida property, took nearly 80 hours to design a seven-foot tall, 400-pound chocolate nutcracker. The sweet sculpture is part of a larger holiday display that comprises 2,000 pounds of chocolate. Fun fact: the entire display contains around four million calories.
Craig Donahue of TDG/The Donahue Group was the executive producer of the Beverly Hills Holiday Lighting Ceremony on Rodeo Drive. TDG tapped Ice Bulb to carve ice sculptures of holiday decor—including snowflakes and a menorah—from 6,000 pounds of ice, using chainsaws. Show Pro’s lighting effects enhanced the dramatic carving display.
The elevator that travels up to the restaurant Sixteen has become the "Gingerbread Express" this season. Created by Sixteen executive pastry chef Patrick Fahy and his team, the elevator is paved with 1,000 gingerbread bricks. Inside, a window box provides a view of a snowy Alpine Valley, and an active train set circles overhead. The activation was built in five days with a seven-member crew.
The splashy Las Vegas property has a gingerbread house inspired by its likeness. Flora Aghababyan, chief cake designer for Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, created the three-foot-tall display from 4,500 gingerbread tiles. At the base of the edible hotel, little gingerbread shops represent Chanel, Dior, and other boutiques found on the properties. The gingerbread house weighs close to 300 pounds and was built over the course of 21 days.
On December 7, the "Great Santa Run" saw 11,221 costumed Santa Clauses gather in downtown Las Vegas. The 5K run and one-mile walk was led by grand marshal Shania Twain and raised funds for Opportunity Village.
On December 9, Circle Line Cruises and World Yacht hosted the first "Lighting of the Ships" at Piers 81/83 in New York. Providing specialty cruises for two local nonprofits, the event included a boat procession led by a tugboat that was decorated as Rudolph. The boats sailed to the Statue of Liberty and back.
The W Fort Lauderdale is hosting a contest that puts a holiday spin on the “selfie” craze. Mirrors in nine spots throughout the property are embedded in elf-theme vignettes. Guests can snap photos of themselves at the festive stations, then upload the snaps to Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter using the hashtags #wfortlauderdale and #bringthebright.
