The Backyard BBQ also showcased a giant illustration of New York that guests were encouraged to color in throughout the event's duration. The illustration was created by Robert Gerdts, artistic director of Warren Moore Events.
The 11th annual New York Comic Con took place October 6 to 9 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Jack Morton Worldwide in New York produced the Audible Recall activation, which featured seven game stations that invited convention attendees to guess Audible audio book titles from listening to 15-second clips. Players who guessed the most correct titles in the least amount of time won prizes. The booth was built by Jack Morton's office in Princeton and the game was developed by Genuine.
San Francisco's Asian Art Museum Gala took place March 2. The event, which celebrated the connection between art and technology, featured a 96-foot-long LED tube chandelier designed by Got Light. The multicolor installation was created with more than 200 tubes.
The St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School's annual spring auction took place March 4. The event had a "Be a Hero" theme, with decor that included a city skyline on the walls with silhouettes of superheroes flying above. Events by André Wells designed the event.
Veuve Clicquot's third annual Carnaval-theme event took place March 4 at Museum Park in Miami. Designed by Overland Entertainment Company, the event featured a backdrop of greenery that displayed the event's title and Veuve Clicquot champagne bottles.
Carnaval-theme entertainment included a batucada performance on a stage in the Veuve Clicquot color.
The event's hashtag was showcased in signage created with orange feathers.
Patrón celebrated National Margarita Day on February 22 with a tequila-theme consumer event at Sir Stage37 in New York. The event, which kicked off the brand's annual Margarita of the Year competition, featured a branded pyramid that showcased projection-mapping technology. The top of the pyramid broadcast GIF videos created by attendees at a nearby kiosk.
Pinch Food Design created unique catering options including churros served from an umbrella.
Upfront Ventures hosted its fifth annual summit on February 1 and 2 at the Event Deck at L.A. Live in Los Angeles. Produced by RG Live Events, the event featured two interactive LED light tunnels that led to a custom-built theater.
Guests registered under a dome structure in the main tent, which provided an airy space with lounge seating.
To showcase how Google Home and Google Play Music work together, Google hosted a block-party-theme consumer event at Abbot Kinney in Los Angeles from February 11 to 12 and at Chelsea Market in New York from February 24 to 26. The activation, which was designed by Grow Marketing, featured three tiny homes with decor inspired by YouTube personalities.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation created an underwater theme for its DC on the Half Shell cocktail party, with wooden tables, fishing nets, and blue-water projections inside Dock5 at Union Market in Washington in February. The foundation also brought in live oyster colonies in tanks.
The Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida, hosted its annual gala in February to celebrate a year of construction on its future West Wing. The design featured a hot pink color scheme with construction-inspired touches such as sawhorse tables and decor including yellow fencing and copper pipes.
In February, the Lyric Opera held a one-night-only event celebrating Chicago’s diverse music heritage. Following a cocktail reception, guests dined in the Graham Room and in the boxes of the Ardis Krainik Theatre before the performance. Vinyl records served as decor elements in the tablescape and centerpieces, as well as in the reception area.
On March 3, Canada’s National Ballet School hosted its annual fund-raising gala at Toronto’s the Carlu. The patriotic theme was Canadiana in honor of Canada’s 150th anniversary of confederation.
On March 18, the Little Lighthouse Foundation hosted its eighth annual Hearts & Stars gala at a private waterfront mansion on Star Island in Miami Beach. The “Mystic Dreams”-theme party raised $100,000 toward the organization’s programming.
Brooks Brothers transformed its Beverly Hills flagship store into “Le Casino,” a Monte Carlo-inspired experience to raise funds and awareness for the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation, in January. The 200 guests enjoyed a Moët & Chandon champagne tower display, passed cocktails and casino-theme hors d’oeuvres, and a whiskey tasting.
On March 4, the Women of Tomorrow gala, which is organized by the Women of Tomorrow Mentor & Scholarship Program, was held at the Mandarin Oriental in Miami. During the gala, young women who have been impacted by the group’s work joined supporters for a moment of gratitude.
Boston Ballet’s Ball of Enchantment took place in February at the Castle at Park Plaza. The event’s theme celebrated Marius Petipa’s "The Sleeping Beauty," complete with a magical castle backdrop. The ball raised $1.8 million for Boston Ballet and its community programs.
At the Asian Art Museum’s annual gala, Got Light created a 96-foot-long LED tube chandelier with more than 200 tubes. The event, which celebrated art and technology, took place March 2 in San Francisco. Plus, interactive iPad centerpieces from Keep Interacting displayed table numbers, live auction items, and other program material for dinner guests.
On March 15, nonprofit organization Urban Arts Partnership celebrated its 25th anniversary at Cipriani Wall Street in New York. The event, which supports the group’s mission to advance the development of underserved public school students, featured neon sign centerpieces with words of inspiration.
The St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School’s annual spring auction in Washington combines a sit-down dinner with silent and live auctions to raise money for its financial aid programs. After the cocktail reception and auction, held on March 4, guests enjoyed a three-course dinner in the school's gym with bright superhero decor fitting the evening ’s “Be a Hero” theme.
Housing Works hosted its fund-raising event, Design on a Dime, in Miami in February at the Moore Building in the city’s design district. For the second year in a row, participating interior designers and influential tastemakers created more than 25 one-of-a-kind room vignettes with designer furniture, art, and home decor merchandise. The two-day benefit raised $320,000 in support of the organization’s mission to end AIDS.
The National Capital Area Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society held its annual ball on March 11 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington. Event producer Julie Hanson designed the event around the nonprofit's red logo with purple accents in flowers and lighting.
In January, the Miami City Ballet celebrated its 31st annual gala, raising more than $1 million to support the organization’s work both onstage and in the community. The theme of this year’s ball—an ice-kissed fairytale with frozen ballet shoes as centerpieces—was inspired by the world premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s "The Fairy’s Kiss." It was the first charity gala to be hosted at Miami Beach’s Faena Forum.
On March 11, the Lookingglass Theatre’s Glassquerade “A Night in the Forest” gala celebrated 29 years of theater at VenueOne Chicago. The event raised $865,000 for artistic and educational programs.
In January, the National YoungArts Foundation hosted its annual fund-raiser, the Backyard Ball, on its campus in Miami, capping off the organization’s weeklong workshop program. The all-white origami theme included geometric details and decor elements, including suspended paper butterflies, angular candleholders and vases on the dining tables, and structural signage.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s opening-night gala was held at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington in February. Volanni created four floral designs incorporating red flowers, monstera leaves, succulents, lily grass, and mini cymbidiums blossoms for the centerpieces.
