Patriotic Events

Chicago company Katherine Anne Confections creates seasonal truffles. This month, flavors include "American Cheesecake," made with white chocolate, blueberries, strawberries, and cream cheese.

New York catering firm Bite is serving fried-chicken-and-watermelon canapes at some of its summer gatherings. The watermelon tile is soaked in spicy raw ginger juice and honey then topped with a spicy Napa cabbage slaw with green chiles.

In Boston, the Catered Affair provides miniature one-bite B.L.T. sandwiches.

Here's a novel spin on corn on the cob: The Catered Affair serves tempura-fried baby corn.

At Philadelphia-based firm Brûlée Catering, executive pastry chef James Rodebaugh creates a summery spread called "Pastry Patio Picnic." The desserts array offers sweets shaped like classic American snacks, and items include "French fries" made of toasted pound cake and "burgers" made with chocolate-ganache pound cake topped with sliced kiwi (meant to look like lettuce) and mango gelee that resembles cheese.

Operating in Southern California, New York, Dallas, and Austin, Texas, Coolhaus caters events and has a roster of unusual ice cream flavors. This season's lineup includes coconut Campari with blood orange and passion fruit as well as "Salty S'Mores" and "Fast Food" ice cream, which contains salted Tahitian vanilla-bean ice cream mixed with malt balls and french fry strings.

At Encore Catering in Toronto, chef Roshan Wanasingha is offering updated takes on chicken wings. One new dish is a Southern-style chicken drumette on a buttermilk corn muffin with bean-corn salsa.

In Austin, Texas, Tiny Pies makes "Flag" pies for the 4th of July. The desserts are filled with cherries and blueberries and topped with stars-and-stripes-patterned crust.

Rhumbar in Las Vegas has Americana-theme cocktails this month. Drinks include the Patriot, made with vodka, lemon juice, simple syrup, blue Curaçao, and egg whites. The garnish is stars made of Angostura bitters.

Boston's BG Events and Catering offers strawberry shortcake "shooters." The desserts are topped with fresh basil.

Chicago's Entertaining Company puts a sophisticated spin on Chicago-style hot dogs by putting toppings—including chopped tomatoes, pickled peppers, and onions—in sleek silver vessels.

Wolfgang Puck Catering in Los Angeles has new "grilling menus" this season. Servers bring a Wolfgang Puck-branded grill to event spaces, and menu items include rib eye beef steak.

Be Inspired PR hosts and produces the Tassels and Tastemakers event twice each year for event and wedding industry professionals, plus media, bloggers, and other influencers. The most recent iteration on March 25 brought a Western theme to Carondelet House in Los Angeles. Beth Helmstetter Events designed the dance floor, where string lights hung above denim sofa seating and rentals from Found Vintage Rentals.

Also at the Tassels and Tastemakers event, place settings on a rustic tabletop included napkin rings made from vintage leather belts atop slices of tree branch. Mindy Weiss designed the table with milk glass from Borrowed Blu.

A swath of ribbon-tied greenery from the Hidden Garden hung over Tassels and Tastemakers' cheeky, flower-accented photo booth backdrop, designed by the Venue Report. Flipbooth provided the photo booth.

Taxidermy and greenery decked a bar designed by Karson Butler, where bartenders wore vintage gear reminiscent of the Old West and served honey whiskey lemonade and sangria from 24 Carrots.

A floral sign on the Tassels and Tastemakers wall, created by Beth Helmstetter, spelled out “Yee Haw” with flowers from Art With Nature.

Weiss designed a luxe teepee setup, which included cushions from Found.

Social media handles and hashtags dotted decor in surprising and whimsical ways, such as the rope sign from Pitbulls and Posies on a dream catcher from Found Vintage Rentals.

In March, Old Navy invited an all-ages crowd to celebrate spring at Fig & Olive in Los Angeles with the brand's style ambassadors Emily Current and Meritt Elliott. The so-called “On the Road” event had an Americana road trip theme with a colorful map motif. Collaged maps comprised a decor wall that also served as a photo backdrop.

Among the kid-friendly activities available at the Old Navy event was a wall-hanging station: Guests chose between framed maps of either Los Angeles, California, or the United States, and then used rubber stamps and markers to customize their artworks.

To help Los Angeles’s Pacific Park expand its retail operations, Timeless Travel Trailers created a pop-up installation by converting a 16-foot trailer into a Route 66-inspired retail space. Inside, Timeless used upcycled gas pump shelving units, suitcase drawers, ceiling lights made from old tail lights, and other details. Outside, the company designed and built all of the fixtures using old car parts: a three-tiered shelf made of hoods, an Airstream-theme cash wrap, and a hanging display using a motorcycle fork.

The St. Patrick's School Dinner and Auction got a "Spirit of America” theme in Washington in March. Oversize patriotic props stood out amid red tabletops at the event, which was designed by Events by Andre Wells.

Also at the St. Patrick's School Dinner and Auction, gold stars hung atop a red gallery wall that was decorated with framed photos of American icons.

Meant to highlight American icons and traditions, the St. Patrick's School Dinner and Auction included cut-outs of historic figures—and an astronaut.

At the Los Angeles premiere for last summer's A Million Ways to Die in the West, projection mapping depicting time-lapse scenes from a desert illuminated the façade of an adjacent building. On the opposing wall was a projection of a moon and night sky.

Held in a transformed parking lot venue, the premiere party's theme evoked a county fair. Props included a 1920s-era stagecoach.

At the Ball on the Mall in 2012, the Trust for the National Mall achieved a patriotic look with stars projected onto the tent ceiling. Hanging lanterns and draping rounded out the red, white, and blue look.

In 2013, Target feted its collaboration with charity organization Feed Projects with a rustic Americana-style event at the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. Wheatgrass flats, wheat stocks, and Mason jars topped wooden farm tables

At the Feed for Target launch, a jazz band performed on a custom stage made of raw wood and decked with carnival string lights, which supplied a down-home look and feel.

Star-shaped inflatables mimicked fireworks.

The Old Guard Fife & Drum Corps, wearing colonial costume, performed at the event.

The inflatables also decorated a reception tent for a breakfast before the ceremony.

The Boy and Girl Choristers of Washington National Cathedral Choir were among the performers at the event.

The staging for the Washington Monument reopening ceremony was kept simple to keep the focus on the iconic structure.

At Politico's inaugural 50 to Watch cocktail party in 2011, the red, white, and blue theme extended to the signage. The event took place at Barcode in Washington.

Last year's U.S.O. gala—which drew nearly 1,100 guests, including Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and General Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—featured red, white, and blue table decor. The event, which honors members of the military, was held at the Washington Hilton.

At the National Association of Catering Executives' 2011 Capital Style gala in Washington, a patriotic cocktail hour fit the theme "NACE Salutes the 1940s: Heroes to Hollywood."

Fittingly, red, white, and blue provided the color palette for a private breakfast before the Foundation for the National Archives' 35th annual reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2011. Jack H. Lucky Floral Designs' oversize floral arrangements of red roses, blue hydrangeas, and white daisies topped the buffets.

The invitation for Food & Wine's 2009 Best New Chefs event in New York used propaganda-style red, white, and blue graphic design with a culinary tweak—a nod to Shepard Fairey's poster for Obama's 2008 campaign.

At the 2012 Ball on the Mall, the Trust for the National Mall used red draping, blue lanterns, and stars projected onto the tent ceiling to create a sophisticated patriotic atmosphere.

Also at the 2012 Ball on the Mall, A Vista Events designed two spaces with an Americana theme, using silver and gold furniture to accent the of red, white, and blue draping and decor.

Design Cuisine Caterers served beverages in red, white, and blue-colored glasses at the 2012 Ball on the Mall, the only gala allowed on Washington's historic lawn.

The 2012 Adam Smith Awards gala June 6 at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington had a red-white-and-blue theme.

To kick off the one-year countdown to the 2012 election, Yahoo News D.C. hosted a party in Washington that projected red and blue hues as well as stars onto the ceiling of a tent.

Invitations on hats and buttons can double as accessories for guests to wear at the event. The washingtonpost.com and Slate used straw hats as save-the-dates for their bash in 2008.

Incoming election results lend themselves well to the use of projection mapping. In 2008, NBC superimposed an interactive map on the ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center and projected the number of electoral college votes on one of the surrounding buildings.

Rather than supporting a particular candidate, viewing events can go nonpartisan with cups, plates, and napkins decorated with the emblems of both the Republicans and the Democrats.

Flags don't have to be red, white, and blue. At a Tommy Hilfiger event at the Metropolitan Opera House, designer Raúl Àvila created a 10- by 24-foot topiary in the shape of the stars and stripes.

A past President can serve as inspiration. An election party in 2008 hosted by the Washingtonpost.com and Slate featured a candy bar with Ronald Reagan's favorite snack—jelly beans. In another nod to the late president, the organizers placed a cardboard cutout of Reagan near the bar.

Nods to the election don't have to be obvious. At this year's Republican National Convention Governors Association party, each governor in attendance walked away with a bottle of Maker's Mark custom decorated with the image of an elephant.

Election night is exciting, but watching the numbers roll in can also be stressful, so stress-relievers designed to look like patriotic hats are a fun touch for viewing parties. Facebook thought so too, as these tiny, squeezable hats were given out at the social media site's workspace at the Tampa Convention Center during the Republican National Convention.

All politicians are familiar with political cartoons, and guests can also get in on the action by scoring a take-home caricature of themselves.

Food can be patriotic too, like the parfait with sorbets, strawberries, and an American flag that Ciao Bella created for the 2001 Citymeals-on-Wheels Power Lunch for Women.

At the R.N.C., Facebook set up a photo booth with American-flag inspired gear where attendees could take and upload photos directly to their Facebook timelines. Facebook-related or not, photo booths with red, white, and blue props make for a good election night addition.

Actors dressed as donkeys, elephants, or even Uncle Sam can provide tongue-in-cheek entertainment, as they did for the crowd gathered at Rockefeller Center when NBC hosted its "Election Plaza" in 2008.

Mini flags give guests at viewing parties something to wave as well as take home.

Over the summer, Tide created a park-sized American flag that contained personal anecdotes from consumers about what red, white and blue means to them. A smaller-scale idea for election night can include guests writing similar responses on hand-held American flags.

In 2003, Restaurant Associates created rather patriotic cocktails, with red cosmopolitans and blue martinis for an event hosted by the greater New York chapter of M.P.I.

Kid-friendly affairs can offer patriotic face painting, like Tide did earlier this year to drum up support for the U.S. Olympic team.

To kick off the one-year countdown to the 2012 election last year, Yahoo hosted a party that projected red and blue hues as well as stars onto the ceiling of a tent.

The real winners during this election season appear to be Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump impersonators, with almost seven times as many requests for the Donald as compared to Hillary, according to GigSalad, an online marketplace for booking talent that’s based in Springfield, Missouri. Candidate lookalikes, such as the duo pictured from Boca Raton, Florida, mingle with guests and even give speeches. In addition to the Hillary-Donald team, GigSalad also lists solo entertainers in various locations, with pricing from $200 to $5,000. All bookings are handled through the site.

Eleni’s New York offers an assortment of election-theme cookies that will surely win over guests’ appetites this election season. The political cookies make a great gift for campaign fund-raisers, political gatherings, and personal get-togethers, with eight different sets including Trump and Clinton collections, as well as Republican- and Democratic-inspired goodies. Prices range from $8.95 to $65.95. The collections are available on elenis.com and at the bakery’s flagship location in Chelsea Market.

Minted lets customers upload any side-profile photo, such as Clinton's and Trump's, to create a custom silhouette art print. It’s available foil-pressed, letterpressed, or in standard printing in a variety of colors. Pricing starts at $82 for a 5-inch-by-7-inch unframed print.

In Austin, Texas, Tiny Pies makes flag-inspired pies. The desserts are filled with cherries and blueberries and topped with a stars-and-stripes-patterned crust.

Taylor Creative’s tri-stripe pillow ($30 each) is an easy way to add American flair to a seating area; it's available for rent in New York.

Rhumbar in Las Vegas serves Americana cocktails including the Patriot, which is made with vodka, lemon juice, simple syrup, blue Curaçao, and egg whites. The garnish is stars made of Angostura bitters.

Patina Rentals offers several styles of vintage American flags ($65 per day) for event use.

At the Washington Monument reopening ceremony in May 2014, 48 inflatable stars in red, white, and blue from Air Dimensional Design decorated the reception tent and surrounding area.

Instead of traditional patriotic bunting, the Color Condition Swag packs from Patina Rentals offer a modern spin. Each swag is a one-of-a-kind piece that measures 25 feet in length. The packs consist of two swags for $350 per day.

The red Barcelona chair ($225) from Taylor Creative is the perfect pop of color for an event space; it's available for rent in New York.

Now through September 30, Minted is offering free online invitations that customers can create using designs from the online retailer’s community of independent artists. The invites can be personalized with photos, colors, text, and shapes.

The St. Patrick's School Dinner and Auction got a "Spirit of America” theme in Washington in March 2015. Oversize patriotic props stood out amid red tabletops at the event, which was designed by Events by André Wells.

Attach Minted's starry flag stickers (24 for $13) to straws and drink stirrers for a festive detail.

Taylor Creative’s Avalon collection features white all-weather rattan modular pieces with navy cushions and white piping. Prices range from $175 to $225 per piece; it's available for rent in New York.

The patriotic Berry Explosive Raspado cocktail from Milagro Tequila includes the brand’s silver label tequila, fresh lime juice, agave nectar, raspberries, blueberries, fresh mint leaves, and peach bitters.

At the Lyric Opera of Chicago's "Carousel Celebration" in April 2015, passed appetizers from Calihan Catering included miniature beef hot dogs with roasted tomatoes and oregano salsa verde—a twist on the American favorite.