Event Ideas

At the long-term pop-up Samsung Studio L.A., hosts Bill and Giuliana Rancic partnered with Top Chef's Marcel Vigneron to lead guests through a cooking experience. The chef used Samsung appliances in the pop-up kitchen for the cooking demo, and attendees followed along using appliances at their own long tables arranged classroom-style.

As guests arrived at Samsung's event, they borrowed Galaxy S6 devices for the evening, which they could use to capture photos of themselves in action. Then staff prepared and sent guests home with customized cookbooks using snaps from their experience on the same night and featuring the recipes they helped make.

Spirits brand Patrón has held dozens of interactive cocktail events around the country, including mojito and margarita making. “A lot of my events are not my own, so I have to come alive [as a sponsor] in someone else’s event. So how do I get people talking about my brand?” said Patrón planner Pam Dzierzanowski. She said these experiential programs are the answer: “I’ve done these all over the country for years. People will stand in line for 45 minutes—I’ve never seen anything like it."

Among the components of Patrón's cocktail-making experiences is a personalized takeaway of a muddler, juice squeezer, or other bar tool guests used to make their drinks at the event.

To kick off the summer season right before Memorial Day weekend this year, Captain Morgan hosted an event in Los Angeles where guests formed three teams for a mixology competition using an array of available ingredients as well as the brand's spirits.

At the Captain Morgan event, the three teams each got a name that corresponded with a flavor of the brand's spirits: grapefruit, coconut, or pineapple. Corresponding fruits held flowers at each team's table.

For a back-to-school event in New York last year, Pottery Barn brought in a professional chef to lead attendees in making healthy brown-bag-style lunches.

At the Pottery Barn event, guests assembled their own sandwiches on the spot using various popular ingredients to suit their personal tastes.

The format at the Barilla Interactive Dinner at this year’s South Beach Wine & Food Festival included a chef demonstration on how to make various dishes, while guests followed along at their tables.

Using electric appliances, guests in logo chef hats participated in the Barilla cooking experience.

Last February in Toronto, Giada de Laurentiis and five Canadian chefs lead teams through a three-course cook-off for the fourth annual Chef’s Challenge: the Ultimate Battle for a Cure, which raises money for cancer research at Mount Sinai Hospital. In order to cook alongside the pros, participants registered online and collected donations in the months leading up to the event.

Attendees in the audience were not left out of the cooking challenge: They could also participate in a competition such as a doughnut-decorating battle.

The winning team left with a whimsical trophy decorated appropriately with cooking utensils.

Washington-based event designer André Wells planned a baby shower that had an untraditional guest book. Guests could snap Polaroid selfies and leave the images, along with a note, in the book.

Lollipops can be sweet or savory like the seared tuna version with togarashi, avocado mousse, arare, and micro shiso from Paramount Catering and Events.

Portobello frites with crispy basil, Parmesan cheese, and balsamic aioli, by Stephen Starr Events in Miami

Online retailer ModCloth launched its first in-person fit shop event in Los Angeles, known as ModCloth IRL, with an April luncheon for fashion bloggers and other social influencers in that sphere. Wildflowers in shot glasses with name plaques served as seating cards, prompting many guests to share their own arrangement on social media.