The event design of the Wolf Trap Ball, hosted by the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, featured screens with scrolling images of the national parks that rotated throughout the reception and dinner. Plants and greenery walls around the dining areas, as well as floral centerpieces, also reinforced the night’s theme celebrating the National Park Service's 100th anniversary. The event was held in September in Vienna, Virginia, and raised $1.5 million.
For the 2016 Headdress Ball, which was held in September at the Orlando World Center Marriott, the Hope and Help Center selected “Love” as the theme. It included a pre-party dubbed the “Love Lounge,” which was filled with red lighting and decor and logo gobos on the walls, while chocolate-heart centerpieces decorated the tables in the ballroom. The event is the largest annual fund-raiser for the nonprofit, which provides support and services for people infected with and affected by H.I.V./AIDS around Central Florida.
MoMA PS1, which is housed in a former public school building in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York, hosted its first fall benefit in September. The event, which was conceived by performance artist Ryan McNamara, featured an artistic, subversive twist on the high-school theme, with guests dressed as they were back in the day and throwback activities such as paper airplane-throwing.
At the Canadian Opera Company’s fund-raising gala, Centre Stage, held in November at Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, lights and projections transformed the venue’s ceiling into a cloudy blue sky with 14 suspended orbs draped in white silk orchids that hung above the dining guests. The tabletop floral arrangements consisted of white hydrangeas and white orchids in gold vases.
For the City of Hope’s Spirit of Life gala, which was held in November, Natalie McAdams of Namevents designed a night under the stars—inside a tent in the parking lot below the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles. To recreate the outdoor evening look, the production team built a stage that resembled the moon's surface and used fiber-optic panels to resemble stars.
Baptist Health Foundation’s The Grand Gala fund-raiser, which took place in November at the soon-to-open campus of the Miami Cancer Institute, featured a reception, dinner, and dancing, plus a silent auction. The cuisine and decor was created by Le Basque. The event raised $4.5 million for the Miami Cancer Institute, which is slated to open later this month.
Howard Brown Health held its second annual Halloween soiree, the Big Orange Ball, at restaurant and event space Carnivale in Chicago in October. More than 400 costume-clad guests attended and raised money to provide health and social services to Chicago’s L.G.B.T.Q. and allied community. RuPaul’s Drag Race season eight winner Bob the Drag Queen performed and emceed the event, along with a special meet-and-greet for “R.I.P.” ticket holders. Kehoe Designs provided the themed decor.
The Boston Symphony Orchestra held its opening night gala in September, raising $1.5 million. The gala dinner, created by Café ArtScience's Patrick Campbell, was served in four rooms at Symphony Hall, each decorated in different artistic themes (watercolor, charcoal, dance, and architecture) that were inspired by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition," which had been performed by the orchestra prior to the dinner.
At the Choral Arts Society of Washington’s annual fund-raising gala at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington in December, event designers created a snowy Swiss Alps theme complete with icicle-like chandeliers and wintry decor.
Nonprofit educational organization Outward Bound hosted its National Benefit Dinner in October at Cipriani 25 Broadway in New York. Artist Michael Arthur, who specializes in live drawings of key moments, sketched on a projection screen as current and former students spoke about their experiences in the organization. The artistic showcase was designed to capture the impact and inspiration created by an Outward Bound experience. The event raised nearly $700,000 for the group’s work and chartered schools.
Design Exchange's annual fund-raiser, held in November at the Canadian design museum in Toronto, featured the theme "Dispatch" and explored the country’s intersections of design, art, and culture. Each floor showcased interactive installations and multi-sensory experiences, while Drake’s producer DJ Boi-1da performed a live set. Proceeds from the event support DX's public and education programs.
For nonprofit organization Knock Out Abuse Against Women’s Knock Out Abuse seated gala dinner at the Ritz-Carlton, Washington D.C. in November, florist Millicent Bluford created a mix of centerpieces, including some with thistle, cabbage, and miniature carnations.
In September, Friends of the High Line hosted its 2016 High Line Art Dinner featuring a seated dinner for 200 guests under the Chelsea Market passageway in New York. Proceeds from the event helped support the High Line’s public art projects as well as the ongoing maintenance and operation of the park. The colorful rainbow-inspired decor was designed by Van Wyck & Van Wyck, with catering by Bite Food and lighting by L&M Lighting and Sound.
In October, Events By Fabulous produced the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles "Once Upon a Time" gala, complete with whimsical storybook tablescapes and decor. More than 1,200 philanthropists, local dignitaries, and supporters gathered at the Event Deck at L.A. Live to raise $4 million in support of the hospital. The main stage featured a beanstalk-wrapped proscenium and larger-than-life props from fairy tales such as Peter Pan and Cinderella, while the cocktail area included theme performers and a Mad Hatter acrobat troupe.
Keep a Child Alive’s Black Ball, which was held in October at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, evoked the spirit of '80s activism, when the fight against AIDS began, and paid respect to those who acted during that time. The decor reflected the theme with elements such as a glow-in-the-dark graffiti wall and street art-inspired linens, programs, and graphics. In addition, for the first time the event was live-streamed on Tidal. The evening raised $2 million for children and families with H.I.V. in Africa and India.
In October, Meridian International Center hosted the 48th annual Meridian Ball. Following dinners at venues around Washington, guests, including high-level officials, ambassadors, business leaders, and media, gathered in the Meridian House’s gardens, as well as inside a tent on the venue’s lawn for dessert and dancing. The event’s inspiration was the Orient Express, featuring elements such as hanging faux gas lamps, luggage accessories, leather furniture, and a travel-theme dinner menu. In addition, the dance tent was transformed into the Moulin Rouge (since Paris was a popular spot on the Express) with marquee letters and fiery red accents.
In September, New Yorkers for Children hosted its annual fall gala, which celebrated its 20th anniversary benefiting youth in foster care in New York City. The event, which took place at Cipriani 42nd Street, included an evening of dinner and dancing, with a standout decor element in an oversize number “20” decorated with a collage of children who have benefited from the organization. David Stark Design and Production designed the event.
The dance floor is an obvious place to make an impact. For a private event, designer Preston Bailey created a unique dance floor that served as the evening's focal point. Hundreds of flowers were covered in Plexiglas, creating a massive floral carpet. "The result was a statement piece that allowed guests to dance on air," said Bailey.
The floor can also be an unexpected place for logos, sponsor information, or branding. The TEDActive conference in 2013 took over some of the host venue's Spanish tiles for its own messaging. The special tiles at La Quinta resort in the Palm Springs area also guided attendees along the walkways to the various event venues on the sprawling property.
Floor decor can serve a bigger purpose. During Chicago’s Pitchfork Music Festival in 2015, carpet company Flor handed out some 5,000 squares of carpet so that guests could make their own carpeted seating areas on the grass—creating a functional and eye-catching decor idea. When the weather turned stormy during the festival, attendees used the carpets to cover muddy spots on the grounds.
Energy Floors offers human-powered, interactive dance floors for event rentals worldwide. The eight-inch-deep tiles each house small generators; the tiles compress when stepped on, activating the generators to convert the kinetic energy produced by the dancers into electricity. The power can be used to activate the colorful LED light tubes inside the tiles that respond to the movement of dancers or nearby electrical systems.
Expanding wall and ceiling decor down to the floor can also have a big impact. At the Museum of Contemporary Art's 2015 Benefit Art Auction in Chicago, colorful stripe-on-stripe decor expanded all the way to the floor, creating an optical illusion. Ghost chairs and striped tables allowed the design to feel fully immersive.
Sometimes all you need is some masking tape. During Austin's 2014 South by Southwest, event production agency MKG brightened up a dark room using neon masking tape and ultraviolet lighting, creating an edgy, Pop Art-inspired look for the party for online magazine xoJane.com.
The Brussels Flower Carpet is a 19,375-square-foot mosaic of 700,000 intricately arranged begonias that comes to life every two years for five days during August in the central square of the European capital city. Meant to incite conversation about nature, cities, and art, the designs have typically incorporated themes from Belgium’s history since the first carpet was created in 1971. It takes 100 gardeners four hours to arrange the petals by hand.
Jewel Nightclub at Aria Resort & Casino, one of the latest Las Vegas nightclubs from the Hakkasan Group, is a dual-level venue that features a main club and a mezzanine level that offers five different themed V.I.P. suites. Rooms include the speakeasy-theme Blind Tiger; a European salon-inspired room called the Gallery; a sports-theme room called the G.O.A.T.; a plush jewel-box-inspired room called the Prestige; and the Studio (pictured), a casual music-theme suite with a wall of vintage album covers and a custom music-inspired mural. V.I.P. guests enter the 24,000-square-foot club through a tunnel with arched bronze portals and a beveled mirror at the end. The entire space holds 1,925 for receptions.
Space Ibiza New York, an offshoot of the long-running Spanish nightclub, is a 20,000-square-foot venue that has several rooms including the multilevel main room with floor-to-ceiling windows and a DJ booth. The container lounge has a separate DJ booth built from shipyard containers. A rooftop terrace also offers views of the city. The venue, which holds 1,300 for receptions, offers reserved tables in a V.I.P. section that overlooks the dance floor. Event specialists are on site to help customize experiences.
Rebel nightclub, a 45,000-square-foot event space designed by Studio Munge, took over the former Sound Academy space in Toronto in 2016. With a multitude of high-tech sound and lighting fixtures, the main room boasts a 65-foot stage with a 72-foot LED video wall that has floating LED panels. The venue boasts four distinct event spaces, including the 5,750-square-foot Solarium, which is located on the second floor and seats as many as 300 or holds 1,000 for cocktails. Guests can reserve V.I.P. packages at a side stage, a birdcage, one of the balcony suites, and at a city view space. Amenities include bottle service and food platters.
Midtown Manhattan's 48 Lounge hosts special events ranging from birthdays and anniversaries to bachelorette parties and wedding receptions. The 4,000-square-foot venue has a main floor and a semiprivate V.I.P. room furnished with plush furniture and high-top tables. V.I.P. amenities include a special menu for innovative cocktails, wine and champagne, and shared plates of American fare. Staff are available to accommodate additional special requests.
Hyde at the Bellagio Las Vegas offers a lounge space during the day and a club atmosphere at night. Designed by Philippe Starck, the indoor-outdoor venue features a terrace that overlooks the Fountains of Bellagio. The 10,000-square-foot space, which holds around 730 guests for receptions, has 40 V.I.P. tables with bottle service. The venue also offers small plates from Lago.
E11even, a 24-hour nightclub and adult cabaret venue in Miami, has 13,500 square feet of space for everything from runway shows and concerts to acrobatic performances. The club has a V.I.P. entrance and private rooms that hold as many as 20 people each. The venue, which holds as many as 600 reception-style, offers a rooftop lounge with sofas, fire pit tables, and 600 square feet of LED video walls.
The Nice Guy is a mafia-theme restaurant in Los Angeles managed by the H.wood Group. Decorated to evoke the era of opulent mafia bars and restaurants, the space features intimate booths along the perimeter and larger booths flanking the room. Design features include a custom cedar wall and ceiling design, wide-board black American walnut flooring, and custom inlaid carpets. The celebrity hangout has a V.I.P. booth near a small live performance area and a private chef’s table in the kitchen alongside a take on a crime wall meant to catch crooks. Chef John-Carlos Kuramoto helms the kitchen and mixologist Brian Stewart the bar program. The space seats 85 or holds 120 for receptions when lounge seating is removed.
