The first TIFF Soiree took place on September 9, before the festival officially kicked off on September 10. Held at TIFF Bell Lightbox, the gathering featured an onstage Q&A session with actress and new director Natalie Portman. Guests paid $300 to $650 for event tickets, and proceeds benefited the festival's programming.
After the discussion, guests headed to Luma (the restaurant at TIFF Bell Lightbox) for an after-party. The night offered casual snacks such as popcorn and tacos; there was also a string quartet wrangled by the Idea Hunter.
Entertainment stuck with the low-key vibe, and guests participated in nightly karaoke sessions. Eighties hits, including Prince's "Kiss," proved popular.
Another casual activity was ping-pong, which guests played both inside and outside the event space.
Gifting suites also had an informal vibe this year. At Diaz Contemporary, the Essentials Lounge offered products from such companies as Cake Beauty, Glaceau, Krispy Kreme, and Knix Wear. To tease all the swag that was available throughout the lounge, a display case held products from each sponsor. The event was presented by EGPR and took place on September 9.
In what would reflect a trend throughout this year's festival, a doughnut stand offered treats and coffee to guests at the Essentials Lounge.
Menu Food Truck also offered guests casual street food. The menu specializes in fried rice balls made with exotic ingredients such as Japanese beef curry, fish cakes, and pork with spicy lime, coconut, and green curry.
Presented by Sorel and Elle Canada, the Tastemakers Lounge took place at the Intercontinental Toronto Centre from September 10 to 15. New activations included the Elle Canada Portrait studio, where photographer Luis Mora snapped visiting celebrities.
Elle Canada also used virtual reality to engage guests. Using the Saumsung VR Gear, visitors could see 3-D behind-the-scenes footage of the magazine's recent shoot with actress Diane Kruger. Samsung displayed its virtual reality gear at several other TIFF events this year.
For its 10th iteration, the NKPR IT lounge took place at the TIFF Bell Lightbox September 10 to 20. Sponsors included Goody, which had a candy station and a selfie mirror. The brand also set up a station that used candy jars to display its latest products.
Entertainment One hosted its annual TIFF event at Andrew Richards Designs on September 14. Designed by Jeffry Roick, the event featured an installation from the Los Angeles street artist known as "Can't Stop Goodboy."
Tim Hortons hosted a station that looked like a mini doughnut shop. Guests could pick up coffee, doughnuts, and miniature doughnuts the chain calls "Timbits."
The regular-size doughnuts were branded with Entertainment One's logo and dusted in blue sprinkles that matched the company's signature hue.
The event also had a candy bar that allowed guests to make their own bags of treats. The event had a red carpet entrance in previous years; for the 2015 iteration, there was a more low-key entrance marked with a small photo wall.
Held on September 13 at the Candian Film Centre, the fund-raiser offered snacks from local eateries such as Pizzaville. The restaurant served guests slices of pizza right out of the box.
For the seventh year, Miami-based venue Nikki Beach hosted a pop-up event series to coincide with the film fest. This year, the pop-up was held at the Spoke Club from September 10 to 13. Events included an "#Instabrunch." Targeted at beauty, fashion, and lifestyle bloggers, the daytime event offered buffet-style meal service.
Shopping center Square One staged impromptu, flash-mob-style fashion shows on King Street West on September 11 and 12. Ten models sported looks from Square One stores, including Topshop and H&M.
Entertainment also had an impromptu air at the September 11 Producers Ball, which took place at the Royal Ontario Museum. The benefit featured strolling ballet dancers. As at several other TIFF parties this year, the bash also featured a candy bar where guests could make their own bags of treats.
Furniture rental company FWR Rental Haus’s colorful Mission chairs provide a festive option for summer events. The lightweight chairs come in 18 different colors, including black, blue, bronze, green, grey, orange, pink, white, and yellow. The Las Vegas-based rental company can also provide tables, lighting solutions, rugs, walls, sofas, decorative pieces, and more; many products can be customized. FWR ships nationwide, and prices are available upon request.
This year’s Teen Choice Awards took place August 13 at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. The V.I.P. tent, which was created by event designer Brian Worley, former co-owner of YourBash, featured a color scheme of blue, pink, and purple inspired by the colors of this year’s surfboard trophies.
As surfboards are given out to winners each year, Worley built on the tent’s nautical theme by adding blue, pink, and purple octopi and fish bowls at a branded bar.
Tables doubled as chalkboards, and included fishbowl centerpieces, notebooks, and mini surfboards.
Certain tables also included LED octopus night lights.
American Express brought its two-story tent back to the second annual Panorama music festival, which took place at Randall’s Island in New York in July. The activation, which was designed by Momentum Worldwide, featured a second-story festival viewing area that was exclusive to card members and select influencers and media.
The second level had a variety of seating areas, including couches with pillows that had illustrations of Frank Ocean, who performed at the festival on the first night.
The bar showcased a massive, branded succulent wall.
Lollapalooza, which took place August 2 to 5 at Grant Park in Chicago, offered two luxury V.I.P. tents for platinum ticket holders. Kehoe Designs designed both lounges, including Platinum South, which offered pink, bright orange, gold, and black accents. The ombré pink and orange color scheme was also incorporated into fringe ceiling decor. To enhance the ambiance, Kehoe included a black and white gallery with photography, illustrations, and sayings.
The bar area also showcased the Platinum South pink and orange color scheme, along with plantscapes provided by Floral Exhibits. The bar itself included black and white marbled agate custom graphic.
The Platinum North tent offered a coffee grounds-meets-forest aesthetic, with reclaimed wood bars and fenced walls with copper, gold, and silver leaf accents. The ceiling was decorated with lush greenery, some of which ran down to the floor.
Red Bull's V.I.P. area invited guests to play ping-pong and watch the energy drink brand's live footage from nearby stages.
The brand's V.I.P. area also included a shaded, leafy seating area with chairs resembling hands. The area was dubbed "Kosmosworld."
Tito's Vodka's V.I.P. lounge offered guests cocktails from an open bar and performances from a branded stage. The lounge also provided plush seating, private restrooms, and tacos.
At New York’s Governors Ball in June, sponsor Citi partnered with Founders Entertainment to allow card members to link their R.F.I.D. wristbands to their Citi cards in advance. The wristbands offered perks that included access tot he Citi viewing deck, which provided an elevated viewing area of the main stage and a cashless bar.
