On December 4, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago hosted its 13th annual "World of Chocolate" gala at Union Station. One photo activation, called "Take an Elfie," encouraged guests to pose with a costumed character inspired by the Elf on the Shelf books and dolls.
Held on December 11 at the Vineyard of Beverly Hills in Los Angeles, the benefit for Rihanna's Clara Lionel Foundation had a "diamond" theme that was reflected in glittering decor. The glass dinner tent was decked with elaborate crystal chandeliers, and tables incorporated hanging crystals. The team from SO Events spent a week leveling the hillside ground on which the tent was installed.
The January 10 event took place at the Miami headquarters of the National YoungArts Foundation. Stephen Starr Events catered the benefit, and menu items included tri-colored cauliflower, French beans, and French breakfast radish with house-made lemon hummus and roasted artichokes.
Based in Toronto, the Walrus Foundation hosted its annual gala on January 21 at the Fermenting Cellar. The event had a gold theme, and guests got miniature treasure boxes filled with chocolate gold coins as favors.
Chicago production firm Revel Global Events hosted its annual Super Bowl bash at Chicago's Union Station on February 1. To reflect the event's colorful, Katy-Perry-inspired "Candyland" theme, the firm built a custom tray meant to look like a giant popsicle. The tray carried snacks from Limelight Catering. The evening raised funds for Oakley Square.
The Toronto Reference Library was lit up in pink lights for the February 5 black-tie affair. The visual theme for this year was literature, and novels came to life in many forms. Attendees observed the library's Digital Innovation Hub in action, where on-site technicians were using 3-D printers to create busts of famous writers.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay hosted its annual “Big Night” fund-raiser at the House of Blues on February 7. This year's event had a brand-new—yet throwback—theme: the 1990s. Guests, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay's C.E.O, Wendy Foster (pictured), posed in front of a graffiti-decked step-and-repeat.
The Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas, held its annual gala February 7 at the Bullock Texas State History Museum with an "Off the Wall" theme. Both the gala and after-party featured statement floral pieces designed by Mandarin Design Lab, which drew inspiration from the theme and colors of the event invitations. The entry piece at the after-party, held at the Blanton Museum, was a collection of moss, vines, and flowers mounted onto four hanging frames.
The Miami institution hosted its annual gala on February 7. While raising funds, the affair also served as a celebration of the 70th birthday of co-founding artistic director Michael Tilson Thomas. The evening's decor from Shiraz Events incorporated the guest of honor's favorite color—blue—and Tilson Thomas's image was shown in illuminated boxes that appeared on tabletops.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra hosted its "Remix: Red Hot" fund-raiser at the School of the Art Institute Ballroom on February 27. The event had a New Orleans-inspired theme, so servers greeted guests with a "Southern Punch" made with Tito's handmade vodka, Grand Marnier, pomegranate juice, orange juice, soda, cinnamon, and frozen berries. Food for Thought handled catering.
The ballroom at the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex was packed with a crowd of 2,500 guests for the “Motionball” gala in support of the Special Olympics Canada Foundation on February 6. A new feature for this year’s Motionball was a 130-square-foot art gallery. Artists including JessGo, Jimmy Chiale, and Jay Soule among others attended the event and painted live. “We wanted to transform [the ballroom] to feel like the streets of Toronto," planner Marsha Doucette said.
On March 1, Lady Gaga and Vince Vaughn were among the 4,500 shivering individuals who dipped into Lake Michigan for the Special Olympics Chicago's Chicago Polar Plunge. Event organizers developed a social media campaign that used the hashtag #VinnyDippin to playfully solicit Vaughn to serve as the “V.I.P.,” or Very Important Plunger, for the event, and the campaign worked.
Held at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church in Washington on March 7, the annual auction had a "Spirit of America" theme. Designed by Events by André Wells, the venue was decked out in red, white, and blue decor. To complement the theme, stars hung from the ceiling of the dining room.
Nashville's Ballet Ball drew 400 guests to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center on March 7. The directive for the creative team from Syzygy Events was to create a clean, sleek, unfussy atmosphere. At the entrance to the event, ballerinas posed on platforms and transitioned slowly between poses. The ballerinas were meant to evoke elegant garden statues.
Held on March 6 at the Carlu in Toronto, the ballet school's gala had a theme inspired by the classic film set in New York An Affair to Remember. This year, planners added casino gaming as a new form of after-dinner entertainment. The activity also helped raise funds: guests were given complimentary "play money" to begin with, but had the option to purchase more, and proceeds benefited the school.
Each year, the California Science Center's Discovery Ball gala dinner corresponds with the launch of a new exhibit. This year, the institution's March 7 bash was also the debut of the Dead Sea Scrolls. During the cocktail reception, goats and a costumed shepherd invited guest interaction and also served as a photo op.
United Way of New York City’s Women’s Leadership Council hosted its "Power of Women to Make a Difference" luncheon on March 11 at Cipriani 42nd Street. The event raised funds for one of the United Ways' projects, ReadNYC, which helps children learn to read. To emphasize that theme, the planning team from JFM Group used children's books as centerpieces.
The Human Rights Campaign hosted its annual gala in Los Angeles on March 14. Held at the JW Marriott at L.A. Live, the benefit went big on entertainment: Mariah Carey (pictured) was the headline performer. Other famous guests included Girls creator Lena Dunham, who presented an award.
On December 4, the Chicago Botanic Garden hosted its "All Aboard" fund-raiser. After viewing the garden's elaborate, indoor miniature train set, guests had dinner in one of three dining rooms decorated by Event Creative. One room, with a "Frozen Radiance" theme, used glossy all-white furniture and frosty blue lighting to create an icy look.
Held on January 24, the museum's gala offered several food stations from Sodexo. At one station, a portable, mess-free version of a salad offered greens in a crispy shell; dressing was drizzled on with a pipette.
The Boston Ballet hosted its annual gala at the Castle at Park Plaza on February 7. The theme was inspired by the current production of Lady of the Camelias, and the flower theme extended to the presentation of the silent-auction paddles, which were housed in planters surrounded by greenery.
Though it was held in early February, the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden's annual fund-raiser in Miami had a springtime feel. The dinner tent was bathed in bright pink light, and from the ceiling hung crystal chandeliers embellished with prop butterflies. Le Basque Productions handled catering and production.
For the Toronto launch party for Cadillac's 2014 ELC electric car, guests could sip a futuristic drink: a cocktail with the car's logo stenciled atop in silver edible dust.
At Victoria’s Secret Pink spring break event in Destin, Florida, in March 2014, the retailer placed its event logo on custom surfboards that guests could sign.
Having a pool party? Make sure inflatable pool toys reinforce the brand message. At the iHeartRadio Pool Party in June, sponsor Visit Florida had its logo on an inner tube and other inflatables used at Miami Beach's Fontainebleau hotel.
To kick off the 2013 N.F.L. season, the league hosted a free outdoor concert by Keith Urban and a V.I.P. party in Baltimore. In keeping with the music theme, producers PEDG and Production Glue placed guitars with the Baltimore Ravens logos behind the bars at the Maryland Science Center.
Comedy Central hosted a Kegs and Eggs brunch at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, in March. Kegs bearing the event logo and hashtag severed both decor and functional purposes, even serving as the base of a DJ booth.
Adding humor to the step-and-repeat at the A.S.P.C.A. Humane Awards luncheon in November was a freestanding, hand-drawn fire hydrant with the animal welfare organization's logo on it. The event, held at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York, honors animals as well as people who advocate for them.
Hard-surfaced fruit makes for a healthy snack—and an unexpected place for a brand logo. Fun to Eat Fruit creates the logos using safe-to-eat, custom images without bruising or puncturing the skin.
Facebook and BuzzFeed hosted the Bow Ties & Burgers event during the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington in May. Photo booth props included oversize bow ties in Faceook's signature blue hue with the logo as the knot. Pen & Public produced the event.
At an Oktoberfest-theme event during the New York City Wine & Food Festival in October, beer brand Samuel Adams affixed its logo to traditional Bavarian hats.
The logos for the TV show Modern Family as well as the Union Square partnership were printed on pumpkins at an October event in New York's Union Square dubbed Modern Family Fall for All. Fox 5 hosted the activation to promote its syndication of the hit ABC sitcom.
At an event called Hotel Thrillist, Thrillist took over an entire San Diego hotel for a weekend in September. The rebranding included elevator wrapping with the event's logo.
For a summer event called "Best Day of Your Life" in New York, Thrillist used logos on a number of items to encourage the 800 guests to promote the event on social media. Pool balls featured the event logo as well as branding for the Showtime drama Ray Donovan.
Sponsor Acura provided vehicles to transport people between event venues at the New Yorker Festival in October. Festivalgoers and guests alike knew which vehicles to look for: the ones with the festival's logo emblazoned on the side of the car.
At the event Fun and Fit as a Family at the 2014 South Beach Wine & Food Festival, kids could stack oversize blocks that had images such as sponsor Goya's logo, a fork, and a cartoon mascot for the brand.
The nighttime party Best of the Munchies: People's Choice Food Awards at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival had a carnival theme with a ring toss, tic-tac-toe, and other games. Planners put the event logo on ping-pong balls.
Taking over the Gatsby in Austin, Pandora created a meeting-friendly connected home during SXSW Interactive. Produced by Stoelt Productions, the activation included five rooms featuring different devices, including iPad Air, Google Chromecast, and TiVo.
BuzzFeed's BFF Cluhouse at SXSW in Austin featured an emoji fortune-teller for the day. By looking at guests’ most recently used emoji on their smartphones, the fortune-teller picked the person’s fortune, including an emoticon to use more.
The annual financial conference hosted by Orange County-based investment banking company Roth Capital Partners was held at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel in March. Two parties took place during the conference, and a beer bar and vintage arcade games provided a casual look and feel to the second event.
The annual AIPAC Policy Conference set an attendance record this year, with about 16,000 people coming to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center March 1 to 3. To mimic the look of live olive trees in one lounge, Hargrove created café tables with stainless steel trees sprouting from them. The trees were topped with translucent lampshades printed with an olive tree pattern. Contemporary furnishings and bright accents rounded out the look.
Be Inspired PR hosts and produces the Tassels and Tastemakers event twice each year for event and wedding industry professionals, plus media, bloggers, and other influencers. The most recent iteration on March 25 brought a Western theme to Carondelet House in Los Angeles. Place settings on a rustic tabletop included napkin rings made from vintage leather belts atop slices of tree branch. Mindy Weiss designed the table with milk glass from Borrowed Blu.
A floral sign on the Tassels and Tastemakers wall, created by Beth Helmstetter, spelled out “Yee Haw” with flowers from Art With Nature.
Gin brand Tanqueray took over Chicago event space Ovation for the Tanqueray Trunk Show on March 28. The activation offered a custom "Tanqueray and Tonic" bar, where bartenders served specialty drinks using the gin.
At the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel in Orlando, executive chef Laurent Branlard creates Easter-theme chocolate sculptures that weigh between 44 and 100 pounds. One such sculpture resembles the classic toy Mr. Potato Head, made out of dark chocolate, cocoa butter, cocoa food coloring, and fondant.
A whimsical dessert from Truffleberry Market in Chicago is a flight of miniature pancakes, served with sweet toppings such as chocolate hazelnut, Meyer lemon curd with berries, and maple bacon.
The 28th Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Ball took place on April 28 at Walter E. Stephens Convention Center. Hargrove set up the ballroom in a theater-in-the-round configuration with the main stage in the center of the space surrounded by dinner tables.
