Experiential agency Invisible North partnered with sports drink brand Propel to launch fitness program pop-up Propel Co:Labs, which came to 800 Main Street in Venice Beach in California from April 27 to 30. The experience featured a program of partnerships with trending fitness personalities and included a 3-D photo booth that allowed guests to become part of the Propel campaign imagery. The event will come to New York in June.
The fourth annual Kaleidoscope Ball took place May 21 at 3 Labs in Culver City, California. The event, which was produced by Clare Davis of Harper Sloane Productions and designed by Mindy Weiss Party Consultants, featured a circus-inspired bar for the ball's "Circus for Research" theme.
Kehoe Designs hosted the Designs for Dignity spring gala on May 5 at the Geraghty in Chicago. A photo booth inspired by bedding company and event sponsor Hästens featured a checkered sheet backdrop and pillows, to make it seem as if attendees were lying in bed.
The California Science Center's annual Discovery Ball on May 20 celebrated the acquisition of ET-94, the last space flight-qualified external tank in existence. The gala, which took place at Marina Del Rey, had a multicultural theme inspired by the tank's journey from New Orleans to Los Angeles. The outdoor cocktail space evoked the look and feel of a New Orleans street scene, with live jazz and hanging greenery.
Guests dined in a clear tent structure, with the illuminated tank providing a dramatic backdrop outside.
Entertainers performed in birdcage-style decor pieces above the stage.
The event also featured a shop stocked with on-theme merchandise by primarily female-owned companies, including Gullah Girl PMS tea, Baggu pouches, and Coucou Suzette socks.
To promote its flip-flops and celebrate the upcoming summer season, Brazilian brand Havaianas set up a free palm tree lot in Manhattan on May 17. Shirtless models were on site for photo ops and to help passersby pick out trees. Additional decor included the brand's social handle and official hashtag drawn with sidewalk chalk.
One of the buzziest cocktail trends this season is branded ice cubes. Southern California-based Ice Bulb is one of the first companies to create these ice logos, which can be done in snow pops within a clear ice structure.
As part of U by Kotex's Period Projects, a multiyear program and project series aimed at changing the way people think about periods, the brand hosted the first-ever "period pop-up shop" from May 13 to 15 in New York's Flatiron neighborhood. The event featured a ceiling installation created with dangling tampons.
Urban Decay launched its revamped lipstick collection with a party at the Greenpoint Loft in Brooklyn on May 4. Lipstick names were incorporated throughout the event in unexpected ways like license plate wall decor.
This year's Robin Hood Foundation Benefit took place May 9 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. As the benefit's decor always celebrates New York City, fabricated elements included 3-D silhouettes of iconic buildings such as the One World Trade Center and the Empire State Building.
The bars were designed to look like New York City skyscrapers and each served a specialty cocktail and was named for a restaurant by Major Food Group.
For National Hummus Day on May 13, Sabra Dipping Company partnered with experiential artist Emilie Baltz for an interactive eating experience at the Design Junction's Dwell on Design at ArtBeam gallery in New York. The event featured a kitchen setup for the food art that featured hanging aprons and Sabra's logo.
For dinner, guests entered the Temple of Dendur through an arched doorway in a 70- by 20- by 10-foot wall made of 300,000 roses. Because no props could be hung from the ceiling in the room, decor was largely grounded to the floor. To maintain longevity, the roses were conditioned at Avila's Brooklyn studio for three days, then cut on Sunday morning and set in an environment where moisture was closely regulated. The wall was installed later that day.
Vegas Uncork'd by Bon Appetit celebrated its 10th anniversary from April 28 to May 1 with two dozen events, which included the Grand Tasting at Caesars Palace on April 29. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority showed off its new virtual reality experience at the event.
