The annual event returned to the W Washington, D.C.’s recently renovated POV rooftop lounge for an April 24 event preceeding the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. As the event came to an end, guests were given to-go boxes from District Doughnut adorned with stickers featuring the magazine’s noted character Eustice Tilley.
The New Media Party in Washington, returning for its second year, featured several inventive uses of technology at events. Produced by Event Farm, the party incorporated sponsors such as Vntana, which created holograms of guests that were then projected onto the walls of venue Carnegie Library. Other sponsors included Lyft, Microsoft, AOL, and Yelp, which created a listing for the event and allowed guests to post reviews and photos.
The world's first Virgin Hotel opened in Chicago this winter; on April 16, the property hosted a grand-opening stunt that showcased the fun-loving personality of Virgin Group founder Richard Branson—and tied into local culture. Riffing off the Chicago-based film Ferris Bueller's Day Off, organizers developed the idea of having Branson ride a float through city streets in a stunt that mimicked the movie's famous parade scene.
The Rodgers and Hammerstein classic Carousel is playing at the Lyric Opera of Chicago through Sunday. To celebrate the beloved music on April 17, the opera's women's board hosted a carnival-theme celebration for 90 guests. For dessert, guests ate raspberry, lime, and white-chocolate-blueberry macarons plated with polka-dotted ribbons.
The Women’s Committee for the Corcoran Gallery of Art hosted its 60th annual Corcoran Ball on April 17 in Washington. Design Foundry suspended different sizes and styles of orange lanterns from the ceiling of the reception tent.
On April 18, Citi hosted a V.I.P. lounge at the Global Poverty Project's Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day Festival in Washington. MAC Presents created a custom "grass graffiti wall," which had neon logos for Citi, its "ThankYou" rewards program, and Global Citizens 2015 Earth Day.
ModCloth hosted the the “ModCloth IRL” fit shop April 9 to 11 in a historic bank building in downtown Los Angeles. Although the space was attractive on its own, organizers were careful to avoid letting that intricacy and grandeur take over brand messaging. They used brightly colored fabric to dress up the space in a modern but relaxed way.
On April 21, the New York-based Mediterranean restaurant Pergola hosted its annual spring party, which had an "Enchanted Forest" theme. Florist Ed Libby decked the space with spring-like elements including cherry blossoms and vines; he also created a living floral installation featuring the letter "P."
On April 26, Safe Kids Worldwide hosted a day devoted to safety tips for kids at the Lot in West Hollywood. Presented by Nationwide, the event included a photo op with a Lassie lookalike and an arrivals wall that featured sponsors' names in front of trimmed hedges.
From our roundup of tea party ideas, specialty cocktails from a 2011 National Ballet of Canada fund-raiser in Toronto were served in William and Ashley teacups and adorned with white rabbit garnishes.
In what was considered a giant coup for the city of Chicago, the James Beard Foundation decided to uproot its award gala from New York City for the first time and held the prestigious event at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on May 4. HMS Host, which owns Wicker Park Seafood & Sushi Bar at O'Hare International Airport, set up an eye-catching sushi bar that featured fish and marine life frozen into blocks of ice.
Casual snacks accompanied the free-flowing Pepsi. At a nacho bar, guests could top corn tortilla chips with pico de gallo and cilantro.
After IMG announced in May that it wouldn't produce Miami Swim Week, local event producers and venues decided to save the event, which took place July 15 to 21. Liquid nitrogen created a futuristic effect at stations where Kryogenifex mixed boozy icy treats at the Escape Miami Style Lounge at the Shelborne Wyndham Grand hotel on Saturday.
Offering a pretzel bar with several varieties puts a spin on the classic snack. Paramount Events Chicago has a pretzel station with plain, sea salt, cheese, and pepperoni pretzels that hang from a stand. Accompanying sauces include whole-grain mustard and tomato-bacon jam.
For electric-utility company ComEd's ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception on February 19 for its Chicago training center, catering firm Entertaining Company put a thematic spin on beverages with pomegranate-flavored "Electric Lemonade." The drinks were served in food-safe, lightbulb-shaped vessels on light-up trays branded with the company's logo.
The Minibar app, which lets party hosts stock up by ordering beer, wine, spirits, mixers, and bar supplies for delivery, concocted some cocktails inspired by this year's Oscar nominees and ceremony host Chris Rock. The "Chris Rocktail" is made by pouring chilled Cristal champagne into a flute and garnishing it with rock candy for a elegant yet fun drink.
The 10th edition of BizBash Live: The Expo Los Angeles took place July 13 at the California Market Center. Glo Cone showcased its LED cone stick with illuminated cotton candy. The company's product is available nationally for a variety of events; candy is not included.
The second Chicago-theme menu is Nuts on Clark, a summer-inspired display that offers popcorn, nuts, and more as an homage to Clark Avenue, which is two blocks from Wrigley Field. The display offers a variety of popcorn toppings and mix-ins including caramel, chocolate, and garlic olive oil, candy and nuts, and flavored seasonings including ranch, cheddar, and sriracha. Beverages include bottles of Americana-brand flavored soda.
The Breakers Palm Beach offers a Localecopia menu for meeting breaks, as well as a variety of events. Created by executive chef of banquets Jeff Simms, the menu features dishes made with locally and sustainably sourced ingredients from local farmers and food purveyors. Items include craft mojitos; passed selections such as tempura squash blossoms and Pine Island crab cakes; salads, fruit, seafood, and other meat entrées served buffet-style; and desserts including chocolate chip cookies with milk shots and key lime pie cake pops. Seasonal items include Florida stone crabs with key lime mustard. Keeping with the Florida theme, multiple menu items mention where ingredients come from, such as beets from Polk County and sweet corn from Belle Glade.
