Old Navy feted its 20th birthday with a “selfiebration” in New York's Times Square on October 16. The brand asked fans to tweet their birthday wishes and upload selfies to Twitter with a #selfiebration hashtag. Participants received recognition on a “balloon billboard.” Covered with 1,000 custom balloons, the 15-foot billboard was created by Deeplocal, which referred to the creation as a “selfie machine.” Deeplocal's software grabbed images with the hashtag from Twitter, and rendered them via inflated balloons on the billboard.
Swoop’s annual client dinner has already gained a reputation—expect the unexpected. This year, the 60-person event was held on October 7 at Restaurant Marc Forgione and had courses inspired by the elements. For the "air" course, Forgione presented each table with a pan filled with aromatics, the scent of which permeated the restaurant.
The Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic took over Will Rogers State Park on October 11. BrownHot Events was once again behind the production and design, which included an abundance of creative elements in Veuve’s signature color. The press wall was made up of 36 feet of faux hedging with recessed bottle shelves, a pair of logos, and a 56-foot-long border of silk flowers.
The Joffrey Ballet Women's Board hosted a luncheon to celebrate the company's production of "Swan Lake" at RPM Steak in Chicago on October 1. A Perfect Event designed the flowers, incorporating roses in ballet-pink hues and white feathers that evoked the ballet's theme.
Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry hosted its Columbian Ball on October 11. Event Creative's decor included bars inspired by blown-up projections of microscopic slides.
360 Live Media, a Washington marketing and event firm, celebrated a move into new offices at a party for about 135 people September 17. The theme was “the 360 experience,” and as guests made their way through the office there were interactive stations that touched on the five senses. As guests told stories about their favorite "360 moment," graphic recorder Greg Gersch illustrated them on a colorful mural. Guests received an electronic copy of the finished image after the event.
About 14,000 guests came to the III Points Festival in Miami October 10 to 12. An interactive art installation, a retrofitted school bus, doubled as a lounge for attendees in the courtyard.
The San Francisco Symphony celebrated the opening of its 103rd season with a gala event on September 3. After the evening's concert, a party took place along Grove Street. The alfresco bash was filled with cabanas holding snacks, drinks, and candy jars, and it was open to all 2,700 guests who attended the concert.
Ferrari celebrated its 60th anniversary in the United States with a weekend takeover of Beverly Hills, which included a glittering private black-tie gala on October 11. Fireworks capped off the affair.
The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation celebrated its 25th annual “A Time For Heroes” fund-raiser on Sunday at Book Bindery in Los Angeles. The family-friendly event offered an eclectic mix of activities to reflect the broad age range among guests. In addition to offering Flash Tattoos and hair chalking, the “Be Unique” station gave guests the opportunity to place a message in a small bottle that would then be converted into a necklace.
Arrangements of branches and succulents topped Fox's long tables.
Guests bid on the event's handcrafted tables, which will be donated to hospitals as surfaces for children to create art.
At Stella McCartney's store opening at St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort in South Florida, Scrabble sets served as name plates. The event took place in 2012.
At Thinkery's Imaginarium gala, held in Austin in September, staff wore necklaces with Scrabble pieces that spelled out their names. These were used in lieu of traditional name tags.
The Pacific-12 Football Championship Game took place at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on December 5. The day-of tailgate party, organized by staffers of the Pacific-12 Conference, took place at the new Great America Pavilion adjacent to the venue. Mascots from each of the college football teams represented by the Pacific-12 Conference attended the event and played "Giant Jenga" with guests.
At a Svedka vodka promotion in Los Angeles in 2013, guests played "life-size Jenga" using huge game pieces stamped with the name of the vodka brand.
One of the largest installations at the 2013 Maker Faire at the New York Hall of Science was a life-size version of the board game Mouse Trap. Maker Faire is put on by Make magazine, and it's a place to sample what the magazine calls “the Maker Movement": a tech-focused D.I.Y. community of hobbyists and students who profess to be more concerned with creating than consuming.
In 2012, the designer gathered a crowd at the New York restaurant One if by Land, Two if by Sea for a fashion presentation that included game-playing models staged in intimate vignettes.The mezzanine of the restaurant was converted into a games room for the soirée, and included a table where models clad in the pre-fall collection played Scrabble.
A modified Twister board replaced the game's classic colored circles with Havaianas flip-flops at a promotion for the brand at Miami's Shore Club in 2009.
A different type of Twister board—this one inflatable—beckoned guests at a 2009 celebration for The Simpsons 20th anniversary. The event took place at Barker Hangar in Los Angeles.
In Chicago, the Joffrey Ballet's annual Nutcracker Family Dinner in Chicago offers activities for children and adults alike. At the 2011 event, young guests played Twister on the ballroom floor at the Palmer House Hilton.
Born in Miami, Sunglass Hut returned to its roots in 2011 for the opening of its largest outpost to date, located on Lincoln Road. At the game-filled gathering, adults and celebrities played chess with life-size pieces set up in the 11 11 Lincoln Road parking structure.
At the July 2014 music festival in Chicago, V.I.P. guests could play checkers at staggered tables or rest on colorful hammocks.
Starbucks hosted its first Lollapalooza activation in 2013 at the It's so Miami Lounge at the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago. The suite offered oversize chess and Connect Four games, plus small café tables stocked with buckets of bottled iced coffee.
In October, New Yorkers gathered in Times Square to play a life-size version of Monopoly to celebrate the launch of Monopoly Millionaires' Club, a multi-state lottery game and TV show. The gathering featured appearances from actor Billy Gardell, New York Lottery personality Yolanda Vega, and a costumed "Rich Uncle Moneybags" character.
The top-hat-wearing character also made an appearance at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show, where Toyota Hybrid teamed up with Hasbro to create a 30,160-square-foot "Monopoly Ride Experience." The closed course let guests test out the Prius, Pruis V, Camry Hybrid, and Highlander Hybrid. Attended by costumed staffers, the course was inspired by the popular board game and had S-curves, tight roundabouts, a bridge, and train tracks based on Reading Railroad.
