meeting

Each year organizers create a variety of lounges where attendees can watch a simulcast of speakers. New this year was a ball pit filled with beanbag chairs and beach balls.

Sponsor Bluescape demonstrated its visual collaborative software by erecting several multi-touch video walls around the conference. On the walls, attendees could read about conference activities and speaker content and bios, watch live streams of presentations, and contribute comments. Attendees could also access Bluescape using a Web browser.

Steelcase, a TED partner for more than 20 years, provided a variety of seating options throughout the convention center. The company’s personal cubicles provided a semiprivate area where attendees could watch the simulcast and do work.

To encourage attendees to mingle, organizers provided blankets and picnic baskets filled with food for six and invited them to find others to share it.

Sponsor Target provided illustrators who created unique pieces of art based on guests’ descriptions of their hopes and dreams.

El Conquistador, a Waldorf Astoria Resort and Spa in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, launched a Taste of Caribbean Rums Tour for groups. During the experience—which features rums native to Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands—groups will learn about the island's culture, history, and distilling process. The experience is $11 per person and requires a minimum of 50 people.

Be it a friend's surprise birthday party or a corporate meeting, event pros looking for a new tool to manage and promote their next event might want to check out Konvene. Hosts can create their events in the iOS and Android app, add information such as location, description, whether it's public or private, and tags designating the type of event. If the event requires a ticket, the app can manage payments and check-in. Guests can also use the app to find events, view the guest list, chat with attendees, post photos, or provide a post-event rating.

A tent activation for sponsor HomeAway was meant to evoke the comfy, residential feel of the rental booking site's properties at the Lucky Lounge, produced by BMF Media.

Hearst's NewFront for its digital brands took place May 3 at Skylight Modern in New York. Designed by BMF Media, the presentation had a food area with bright and playful wall and floor coverings, along with screens promoting related content. The entrance walls were designed to resemble classic ice cream sandwiches and candy button strips.