On June 5, Chicago celebrated the opening of the 606, a public, elevated trail along a former railway, with a gala that paid homage to the host city. Limelight Catering serviced the event. Menu items included a first course of hanging flatbreads in two flavors: herb and olive oil and three cheese. The dish incorporated onions from an Illinois farm and cheeses from Wisconsin.
The 2015 Wall Ball gave its 700-some guests an opportunity to make their own salad by ordering from a salad mural. Held on May 21 at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia and produced by Bread & Butter Productions, the annual fund-raiser supports the City of Mural Arts Program, which advocates community-focused public art that includes mural-making projects and educational programs. Complementing the event's artistic roots and inspired by the idea of a mural depicting community gardens, Catering by Design created a mural wall of salad greens.
The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery held its annual Power Ball in Toronto on June 4. Presented by luxury brand Max Mara, the evening drew 1,500 guests and had the theme “Appetite for Excess.” Instead of a traditional plated dinner, V.I.P. guests got an entirely different experience: an interactive experience from food artist Jennifer Rubell. Hands appeared through holes in the table, serving guests one morsel at a time.
Similar to the hangover cup, Gifts for the Good Life's Good Night/Good Morning Kit includes bedtime treats and morning must-haves such as effervescent tablets, eye drops, and mints, plus popcorn for a midnight snack.
Walking, talking snowflake tables greeted visitors at the Greenwich Holiday Stroll Weekend headquarters, which was sponsored by Hollywood Pop Gallery.
San Francisco-based Blueprint Studios planned a corporate holiday party in Menlo Park, California, last December that took inspiration from popular stories, such as Snow White and The Polar Express.
Serve guest icy cocktails from behind the six-foot Diamond Mirror Bar, $595, from Designer8 Event Furniture Rental.
An embellished croquembouche served as an eye-catching display at the Hallmark Channel event.
Square holiday invites from Allie Munroe are silk-screen printed on mirrored acrylic in white ink for a frosty touch. Pricing is available upon request.
Ornaments added glitz to the decor at a Hollywood Pop Gallery-produced event.
The Kane Chair, $179, from Designer8 Event Furniture Rental offers an elegant seating option in wintry white leather.
In January, Vertigo Sky Lounge in Chicago held an opening-night party with a fire and ice theme that used playful chalkboard signage.
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.
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.
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.
Stress-relieving coloring books for adults from Scarborough & Tweed offer a creative alternative to traditional party favors and corporate gifts. Coloring pencils are included. Pricing is available upon request.
Inspired by Burning Man, Billion Jelly Bloom's bright performer-articulated jellyfish make for some interesting visuals. For large events and festivals, planners can book the creatures; the service includes staff, equipment transport and set up, and training sessions for performers. Pricing starts at $2,500 for 10 jellies. D.I.Y. rental packages are also available, starting at $425 for five jellyfish, and include the equipment, along with instructions for setting up and packing up the jellyfish.
The gourmet edible cookie dough from Dō Cookie Dough Confections comes in classic flavors like chocolate chip and cake batter, as well as seasonal favorites, such as Pumpkin Chai Chocolate Chunk. The sweet treat is also bakeable and is packaged in customizable containers. Prices start at $14 for 16 ounces, with multi-packs available.
High Style Rentals' new Pop collection features vibrant side and highboy tables and stools (prices are available upon request). The items are available for rent in the Northeast region in a range of hues—blue, purple, fuchsia, black, orange, yellow, white, and mint.
Guests can morph into zombies, celebrities, and even other guests with L.A. Photo Party's morphing activation option. Companies can add their own branding, custom graphics, and music, plus L.A. Photo Party provides on-site printing. The booths are available globally; pricing is available upon request.
Packnwood recently debuted its Kraft paper collection featuring functional takeout packages, including cups and sandwich boxes, with a trendy Kraft paper look. Pricing is available upon request.
New York-based Pizza a Casa Pizza School provides private classes for corporate teambuilding, client entertaining, and celebrations. The Hands-On Pizza Workshop ($2,200 for as many as 16 guests) includes a reception with drinks and pie, then a start-to-finish pizza-making class. Each participant (or teams of two) creates as many as four pizzas. The Gourmet Pizza-Making Demo and Pizza-Making Party ($2,400 for 17 to 24 guests) features a meet and greet and a pizza demo, where instructors show how to make dough, then guests get to top and cook their own pizzas.
Picture Mosaics, which creates photo walls with unique mosaic designs at events, recently introduced its stand-alone kiosk called Mosaic Me. The on-site device prints 8- by 10-inch and 5- by 7-inch images with different pattern options, plus it can be wrapped in custom signage. Pricing starts at $4,000.
For personalized party favors, Magnetic Memories shoots guest photos and prints them with customizable designs, then transforms the images into magnets on site. Pricing is available upon request.
Acute Inflections, a New York-based duo featuring vocalist Elasea Douglas and upright bassist Sadiki Pierre, offers a jazzy, sultry sound for weddings and events, performing interpretations of well-known songs and original music.
LIQS Cocktail Shot is a cocktail-shot hybrid sealed in a mini plastic glass. The shots are available in single-flavor three-packs ($7.99) of four drink options: vodka with lychee and grapefruit, tequila with cinnamon and orange, lemon drop, and kamikaze. Plus, the lids can be customized.
American Payroll Association's Annual Congress 2015
Submitted by American Payroll Association
For the American Payroll Association’s 33rd Annual Congress, the association developed a Hunger Games-style “Payroll Games” that played off the popular franchise and appealed to the attendees from the payroll and accounts payable industry. In addition to educational workshops, speaker sessions, and an expo, the convention provided an element of hands-on learning for attendees through the “Payroll Games,” which incorporated on-theme activities such as costume contests, photo booths, and “Tribute”-like competitions. The event, which took place at the MGM Grand Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, saw a 26 percent increase in attendance over 2014, and social media activity surrounding the games reached an all-time high for the Congress.
Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2014
Submitted by Microsoft and FreemanXP
For the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft and FreemanXP created a campus-like environment through a number of experiences for the partners, exhibitors, and speakers who attended the 2014 event in Washington, D.C. To convey brand and partner objectives in an offline environment, the conference debuted areas such as Microsoft Central and the Social Hub to better connect attendees and provide hands-on opportunities. Also for the first time, the conference closed off K Street for a festive blowout featuring performances by Neon Trees and Paramore, plus local food trucks.
WeWork Summer Camp 2014
Submitted by Eventique
In August 2014, more than 1,500 WeWork employees and members converged on a children’s camp in the Adirondacks for education, networking, and old-fashioned fun. Producer Eventique devised three days of activities that would invigorate attendees, offerings that included outdoor film screenings, concerts, Bollywood-inspired dance workouts, ziplining through the forest, ropes courses, workshops on how Ayurveda can help in business and life, and various other teambuilding options. For accommodations there were glamping tents and dormitory-style cabins.
2014 Cinemax Latin America Upfront
Submitted by Experience Willow L.L.C.
To make a bold splash to celebrate its first upfront held in the United States, Cinemax Latin America launched an immersive weeklong experience in Miami to entice media buyers. The 2014 event, dubbed “One Throne One Choice,” was inspired by Game of Thrones, the network’s headlining show in the Latin American market, and comprised five “chapters” that took attendees through elaborately produced, interactive experiences. The success of the upfront led to a revenue gain of 250 percent over the previous year, as well as a 110 percent increase in new clients.
LG Art of the Pixel Gala
Submitted by Barkley Kalpak Agency
To launch its new 4K OLED televisions, LG hosted a competition among nine art schools to create digital work using the new technology. Dubbed the “Art of the Pixel,” the competition culminated with a black-tie gala at Gotham Hall in New York that served as a product reveal, award show, and press and influencer event. The student winners’ work was shown at the event via LG TVs and projection mapping that fully immersed guests inside the walls of the elliptical venue.
Luminato Festival's Big Bang Bash 2014
Submitted by Luminato Festival
The Luminato Festival’s Big Bang Bash 2014, held in June at the Hearn Generating Station, was inspired by the vibrant underground culture of Berlin throughout the decades. Dance routines took place throughout the cocktail hour, then dinner saw guests seated at a long communal table. Throughout the meal, guests were invited to interact with the tabletop decor, which included miniature foam-core versions of the Berlin Wall covered in graffiti. Large hammers were placed beside place settings, and guests were encouraged to break down the prop walls.
Smithsonian Gem Collectors Dinner
Submitted by National Museum of Natural History
Last year’s Smithsonian Gem Collectors semiannual meeting, held at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., had an “All Things James Smithson” theme in honor of Smithsonian namesake James Smithson. The centerpiece dinner of the two-day event included authentic period-appropriate details such as a 19th-century-style tavern, which was created on the museum’s balcony, as well as a menu inspired by Smithson’s favorite recipes.
Freightliner Inspiration Truck Unveiling
Submitted by OSK Marketing & Communications
In Las Vegas in May, Freightliner pulled off a dramatic product launch for its Inspiration Truck—the first self-driving semitruck licensed to drive on public roads—that earned it a Guinness World Record for the highest light output projection. Using the historic Hoover Dam as a massive projection screen, the truck producer displayed a presentation of video and imagery that told the story of the brand and its milestones. Guests—media, investors, and customers—later got to experience workshops and test rides.
Pre-Wedding Roast
Submitted by Eventsful Inc.
Grasmere Farm’s barn in Rhinebeck, New York, provided the scenic backdrop for the outdoor fall barbecue where friends and family paid tribute to the bride and groom. The food stations highlighted the “roast” theme, including barbecue racks of lamb, fresh-baked bread in fire ovens, spit-roasted ducklings, and harvest vegetables. Following dinner, the guests were escorted into the barn’s interior for a late-night comedy “roast” of the couple.
IBM InterConnect Expo 2015
Submitted by George P. Johnson Experience Marketing
To encourage engagement among the 20,000 attendees at the IBM InterConnect Expo 2015, the trade show floor was built with an “inside out” layout in mind. The floor plan of the expo in Las Vegas consisted of different “neighborhoods” that radiated out from a central IBM Cloud Experience, where attendees were able to get hands-on with products and technology in a unique way. The resulting feedback showed that many attendees considered the experiential environment of the trade show a highlight of the conference.
Target’s “The Daring Truth of Design” Dinner at TED2015
Submitted by Deutsch
As part of its TED2015 sponsorship, Target invited V.I.P. conference guests to an intimate dinner, bringing together creative leaders and innovators in the fields of technology, entertainment, and design. Late celebrity chef Homaro Cantu of Moto Restaurant in Chicago designed the menu of molecular gastronomy, along with the Four Seasons Vancouver. Each course included a “daring twist,” such as edible packing peanuts, “cigar” sandwiches, and carbonated fruit, all designed to match the conference’s truth-and-dare theme.
2015 Philadelphia Flower Show's Entrance Garden
Submitted by GMR Design
To replicate the glitz and glam of a movie premiere, a red carpet lead flower show guests through an Art Deco-inspired theater façade. The entrance garden featured towering juniper columns, 25-foot palm trees, and chandeliers decorated with blossoms, moss, jewels, and fabric; a 29-foot-high marquee of 10,000 dried flowers and more than 200 lights was the main attraction. Along with a giant movie screen, a moving sculpture of a deconstructed film projector whirled in the garden.
San Francisco Symphony's Opening Night Gala
Submitted by Blueprint Studios
The opening night gala featured several distinct settings—a welcome reception, two sit-down dinner areas, and an outdoor after-party space. Inside, shades of violet, fuchsia, plum, and rose complemented the inherent beauty of Symphony Hall, while hothouse orchids, ruddy roses, and mums brightened up the tabletops. Outside, strings of crimson bulbs matched the bright pink stools and other seating; boxy topiaries helped define the space.
2014 Cinemax Latin America Upfront
Submitted by Experience Willow L.L.C.
In 2014-2015, Cinemax officially launched throughout Latin America. To celebrate and create buzz for the new network—headlined by Game of Thrones—Cinemax created a live weeklong immersive experience at the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in Miami. For the entertainment, executive producer Experience Willow used a cast of more than 60 actors to help set the scene. The on-theme medieval characters included soldiers as greeters, a pipe and drum troupe, royal servants, jugglers, sword swallowers, and a court jester.
New York Festival of Light 2014
Submitted by New York Festival of Light
The first-ever New York Festival of Light, which took place in Dumbo, Brooklyn, in November 2014, brought together artists from around the globe who use light as a medium, allowing them to showcase their works and the power of light. Organized by Ira Levy of Levy Lighting and Liam O’Braoin, the nighttime spectacle featured small- and large-scale installations and projections, along with various DJs spinning tunes under the Manhattan Bridge.
Amusement Park-Theme Bar Mitzvah
Submitted by Penncora Productions Inc.
Inspired by a teen’s love of amusement parks, the ceiling in the main dining room of the bar mitzvah featured trussing designed to resemble roller coaster tracks. Petah Bashano Floral Design adorned the tracks with elaborate all-white floral cascades. Orbs with glowing tea light candles accented the dangling arrangements, offering an elegant interpretation of an amusement park theme.
'Alice in Wonderland'-Theme Summer Party
Submitted by RedBliss Design
For an annual summer party at a private residence in New Hampshire, guests received an oversize key, which was made of a material called Chroma and featured laser-cut characters from Alice in Wonderland. The invitation was mailed in a grass-lined box to mimic the woodland scenes in the movie and offered attendees a hint as to the theme of the party.
Target's 2015 Grammys Live Commercial
Submitted by Deutsch
At this year’s Grammy awards, Target staged a four-minute live commercial that featured a performance by Imagine Dragons and ran uninterrupted during the broadcast. The band performed surrounded by 250 real fans in its hometown of Las Vegas on a circular stage that mimicked the retailer’s bull’s-eye logo. Surrounding the 360-degree platform was a 2,500-square-foot LED wall that projected 3-D graphics of the band choreographed to the music.
Time Warner Cable's EncuentroSTEM
Submitted by Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable teamed up with Ovation TV for a multimedia campaign focused on bringing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education to low-income, heavily Latino areas of Los Angeles. The result was a live workshop where students could learn what goes on behind the scenes of the theater, through lighting, set, and sound design demonstrations. The program was also available as a webcast and as an after-school theater program.
Square Enix at E3 2014
Submitted by Kenwood Experiences
For E3 2014 in Los Angeles, video game developer Square Enix tapped Kenwood Experiences to help present its multiple franchises in one 11,000-square-foot exhibit. The result was several theaters, one with a 32-foot LED screen; 40 game-play kiosks; an ongoing role-playing game tournament; 12 meeting rooms; and, of course, company branding throughout. More than 48,000 attendees visited the booth over the course of the convention.
Merrell's “TrailScape” at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival
Submitted by MKG
Guests at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival took a virtual hike through the Italian Dolomites mountain range as part of Merrell’s “TrailScape” activation to promote a new hiking boot. The company created an Oculus Rift experience that gave guests the impression of being transported to a mountain base camp, walking across a rope bridge, escaping a landslide, and then climbing to the summit. Unlike most Oculus Rift experiences that require participants to be in a fixed position, this one allowed them to walk around.
Evian Bottle Service Campaign
Submitted by Team Epiphany
In New York in late August, Evian and Team Epiphany created a “bottle service” personal water delivery system—powered by Twitter. People in the delivery zones could tweet @EvianWater using the hashtag #EvianBottleService to request a free cold bottle of water, which was delivered by brand ambassadors on branded bicycles within minutes. To tie the program to the brand’s U.S. Open sponsorship, Evian ambassador and tennis star Maria Sharapova delivered bottle service and tickets to the tennis championship to one lucky fan. The social campaign helped drive a 5.2 percent increase in the brand’s New York sales and generated substantial social buzz.
Freightliner Inspiration Truck Unveiling
Submitted by OSK Marketing & Communications
At Freightliner’s Inspiration Truck launch in Las Vegas, the company turned the Hoover Dam into a massive projection screen, using 60 projectors and 1.17 lumens—the highest light output projection ever recorded. The dam became a screen the size of nine football fields, displaying a presentation of video and imagery that told the story of the brand and its milestones.
AltaSea Preview
Submitted by Megavision Arts
AltaSea—a project that will transform the Port of Los Angeles’s public waterfront into a marine research campus—created an immersive multimedia display to introduce the concept to the local community. A multiscreen 360-degree video showed viewers the history of the port, while additional imagery was played in synchronization on 31 screens made of tension fabric. Images of sea life were also projected onto the floor and ceiling.
Target's 2015 Grammys Live Commercial
Submitted by Deutsch
At this year’s Grammy awards, Target staged a four-minute live commercial that featured a performance by Imagine Dragons and ran uninterrupted during the broadcast. The band performed in its hometown of Las Vegas surrounded by 250 real fans and 21 cameras were used to capture the live performance, which resulted in more than 1.37 billion impressions.
Catchbox Pro
Submitted by Catchbox
Catchbox is a wireless microphone to pass—or even throw—among speakers or audience members. The device consists of a microphone capsule secured with a magnet inside a soft cube. Catchbox communicates with an included receiver that can be connected to any sound system. To avoid unwanted noises, internal sensors turn the audio off when the cube is in motion. The outer cover of the microphone can be customized with specific colors or prints.
Thompson Miami Beach
The luxury beachfront hotel Thompson Miami Beach opened in November 2014. The 380-room hotel has 47,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space. A unique space is the 1930s House, a 2,700-square-foot cottage in the property's backyard that serves light bites and cocktails inside and in a garden. Another highlight is chef Michelle Bernstein's Seagrape restaurant.
Social at the W San Francisco
In September 2014, W San Francisco unveiled a new 2,467-square-foot event space called Social. The 200-seat venue, designed by Skylab Architecture, has skylights, contemporary radial lighting fixtures, and a color scheme inspired by the Bay Area’s distinctive fog. A terrace overlooks SoMa fixtures like the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
Flight Deck at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York is home to the space shuttle Enterprise, the world’s fastest jet, a Cold War-era submarine, and the Intrepid aircraft carrier. The flight deck houses the majority of the aircraft collection and offers sweeping views of the Hudson River and the New York City and New Jersey skylines. Events on the flight deck can gain access to the museum’s collections.
Vibiana
Originally built in 1876 as a Catholic cathedral, Vibiana reopened in 2005 as a wedding, event, and performing arts venue in downtown Los Angeles. The space consists of a main hall and a garden courtyard and holds as many as 800 guests. In-house catering is provided by chef Neal Fraser, and custom rental equipment as well as a lighting and sound system are available.
