The third annual Taste Talks Brooklyn food festival took place at various venues September 12 and 13 in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. Event sponsor Kellogg's had an on-site cereal bar, which offered attendees inventive bowls of cereal and was home to a cereal-making competition among three New York-based chefs, who were given five minutes to create unique cereal combinations.
Zebra Coalition's "Wild Nights" fund-raiser, the five-year-old L.G.B.T. service organization's first gala, transformed a ballroom at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando into a vibrant Barcelona street on September 12. Antique keys hung on a wall at the hotel-theme station. As guests made a contribution to purchase housing for Zebra Coalition clients, staff would remove a key from the wall and place it in a jar.
To evoke the feeling of a currency exchange when traveling abroad, organizers invited guests to purchase colorful "Z dollars," pretend money that they could use to make donations throughout the night.
At the Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco, which took place August 7 to 9, an area known as "GastroMagic" showcased culinary and musical innovation. One event that took place on stage at this year's event was dubbed "Breakdown Breakdance." While hip-hop band Beatz and Pieces performed, a Bay Area butcher did a demonstration with meat.
The Ink48, a Kimpton Hotel, in New York offers a host of astrology amenities for groups and meetings in its recently renovated Heaven Over Hell penthouse suite and event space. Activities include tarot card and palm readings, telescope rental, and a star-naming game (complete with a certificate personalized with the star name, date, coordinates, and a sky chart to pinpoint the exact location). Plus, the hotel will organize excursions such as a guided star observation hosted by the Columbia University Observatory and an astronomy lesson at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum complex. Pricing starts at $2,699.
Marriott Hotels' latest virtual reality promotion is the "VRoom Service" kit, which debuted at New York Marriott Marquis on September 10 and London Marriott Park Lane on Monday. Guests can order the kit through a Marriott app or on a dedicated phone line that’s printed on their room keycards. Staff deliver sleek-looking white metal cases that contain Samsung Gear virtual reality headset and headphones, along with instructions on how to use them. The content features three two-minute videos set in Chile, China, and Rwanda. They star real people—business travelers who narrate their stories while viewers take in 360-degree views of their surroundings.
Stella Artois hosted a "Sensorium" dinner series from September 10 to 17 in a custom dome on King Street West in Toronto. Inspired by the beer brand's signature glass chalice—crafted to engage all five senses for a superior beer experience—the event was open to the public and each dinner held about 80 guests.
The first course of raw petite vegetables was planted in a plot of mushroom soil that ran down the tables. Servers dug out the vegetables with trowels. Chef Richie Farina created the menu.
In August, Blue Plate Catering broke ground on a new facility that's set to open in Chicago's Fulton Market neighborhood in 2016. Guests left with miniature bottles of prosecco and bottle openers decked with the company's logo.
London-based culinary duo Sam Bompas and Harry Parr debuted their latest project, Alcoholic Architecture, in July. The concept features a breathable cocktail cloud composed of fine spirits and mixers at a ratio of one to three, made using powerful humidifiers to super-saturate the air. Alcohol enters the bloodstream through the body’s mucus membranes: primarily the lungs but also the eyeballs. By "breathing" the cocktail, alcohol bypasses the liver, allowing guests to consume 40 percent less to feel the same effect, plus the high humidity level enhances the flavor.
On May 18, beer brand Stella Artois launched its new "Host Beautifully" campaign with an event at the Golden Oak Ranch in Los Angeles. The open-air event featured a performance from singer John Legend. Mother New York handled production.
Guests could float above the crowd in tethered hot-air balloons branded with the Stella Artois logo.
