As part of the event's French theme, catering included a bite-size take on steak frites.
At the Frieze Art Fair New York in 2012, the Standard High Line hotel recreated its Biergarten on a patio. Staff wore T-shirts printed with lederhosen or dirndls and served pretzels and beer.
For the opening of event venue the Geraghty in Chicago on August 6, artists from Kehoe Designs created a large floral structure supported by three wire framing panels that substituted for a traditional step-and-repeat. A hand-painted mural served as the backdrop.
In Chicago, catering firm Limelight has an innovative format for serving fruit skewers. The fruits are inserted into a custom wall with thematic wallpaper design (which varies for different events). Guests approach the wall and pull of a skewer and can dip the fruit in sauces that are arrayed on a nearby table.
The billowing wall of a poolside cabana also served as a projection surface. In addition to Dawn of Man images, guests also saw a preview of the Spring 2016 collection from Canadian fashion designer Marie Saint Pierre.
Tasting Table hosted its Open Market Chicago event at Revel Fulton Market last Saturday. The event had a festive photo booth that featured a wall of gold, silver, and copper holiday ornaments, counterbalanced by a variety of colorful ornaments. Guests posed with holiday-theme props and were able to print branded photos and receive digital versions through text and email.
In October Social Tables released a new app, SiteInspector. The app is intended to help planners catalog, compare, and share site inspection information such as capacities, audiovisual options, budgets, and food and beverage details. The system can store notes, photos, and videos. It also includes a tool to test Wi-Fi strength at a venue. The existing Social Tables platform was also updated to include floor plans from more than 10,000 properties.
On October 23, the Museum of Contemporary Art hosted its first Benefit Art Auction since 2010. After the event, guests headed back to the Chicago museum to check out the auction artwork, which was displayed in the galleries. Glowing red tables held desserts, including mini caramel apples, dark chocolate tartlets with peanut butter mousse, mini Pop-Tarts, and "boozy heart" truffles. Limelight handled catering.
BarclayCard's lounge at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, was open January 22 to 24 at 364 Main Street. Sponsor Campbell's provided guests the opportunity to make their own soups at a custom, buffet-style soup station.
To celebrate the Chinese New Year, the Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino's floral and horticulture department teamed up with artisans to produce a "Year of the Monkey" art installation, which will be on display through February 29. Located inside the Las Vegas resort's waterfall atrium and gardens, the installation features 78 handcrafted monkeys, a handcrafted 5-foot, 300-pound "Monkey King," eight giant hand-painted peaches covered in Swarovski crystals, 88 gold and red six-foot lanterns, and a 38-foot-tall "wishing" tree with golden foliage.
Hotel Commonwealth underwent a serious renovation, complete with a new wing that nearly doubled the size of the luxe Kenmore Square hotel. Highlights of the project take advantage of the hotel’s location near Fenway Park. The new Fenway Park Suite is decorated with Red Sox memorabilia, and a 1,500-square-foot terrace overlooks the ballpark. The outdoor space holds 250 guests for receptions or seats 100. The renovation finished in January.
During a talk by Chris Milk, C.E.O. of virtual reality company Vrse, a Google Cardboard viewer and headphones sat on every chair in the theater. Attendees were invited to download his latest virtual reality film and watch it together as he spoke.
The Fader celebrated its 15th year in Austin by expanding its program to six days with two events: the music magazine's annual performance showcase presented by Converse and the all-new Arcade presented by Toyota Prius, which focused on innovators, artists, and brands that converge music, technology, comedy, and artistic creation. The event, which took place March 14 to 15, featured music performances, standup sets, and interviews, as well as original art pieces including emoji portraits created by rapper and online personality Yung Jake.
Create a virtual celebrity photo opportunity with Air Graffiti Dallas’s new augmented reality technology. The new system, which launches this summer, is intended for brands that are looking for ways to leverage their celebrity endorsement contracts. Air Graffiti Dallas shoots a brief video of the celebrity in advance, for example, walking into the shot, waving, or bouncing a ball. At the live event, fans stand in a designated photo area, and the video of the celebrity is virtually added to the image. Guests receive copies of the images, which can include sponsor branding, to share via email, text, or social media.
For a recent event at the Perot Museum of Science and Nature in Dallas, Wolfgang Puck Catering employed a "chef shadowbox." Meant to provide a strong visual behind a more standard food station, a chef in a shadowbox prepared appetizers as guests looked on.
The California College of the Arts hosted its gala celebration, which honored designer Stanlee R. Gatti, on March 23 at the Nave of its San Francisco campus. The event, which was designed by Gatti's team, featured felt-dipped Sansevieria succulent centerpieces.
Bottles from sponsor Patrón stacked in Lucite cubes served as decor and furnishings.
Instead of the traditional theater format, the music network’s 2016 presentation, which was held at Skylight at Moynihan Station in New York on April 21, created a pop art trade show called “Buy MTV,” with interactive booths for upcoming series and initiatives and a faux storefront featuring limited-edition MTV collectibles.
This may be the one time it’s actually okay to get marker all over the furniture. Taking inspiration from the recent trend of adult coloring books, national furniture rental company AFR has introduced a new initiative called #ColorYourEvents, which allows guests to grab a marker and color in branded decals that are adhered to tabletops. (The company's Aspen Cocktail Table is pictured, but the decals can be used on other AFR tables as well.) Clients provide the artwork and markers, and AFR handles the decal printing and pasting. Pricing depends on the item and the size.
“Flying Down to Rio,” created by bartender Natalie Jacob at the Archer in New Jersey, is a blend of Avuá Amburana cachaça, coconut cream, banana liqueur, pineapple juice, and orange juice.
The fourth annual Hush Hush, an after-hours party that raises funds for the Toronto Public Library's Young Voices program, took place October 15 at the library's Bloor/Gladstone branch. The party, which had a comic book-inspired heroes and villains theme, featured a comics-theme cutout illustration of the Toronto skyline. Decor for the event was handled by SP Designs, Jackie O Flowers, and Boss Print and Creative.
