"I've been obsessed with Alexa Meade's unconventional art since I first donned a painted hat at Refinery 29's 29Rooms, so I was thrilled to check out her first solo exhibit on the west coast. Part of Beverly Hills' BOLD Holidays events, 'Immersed in Wonderland' featured painted, three-dimensional holiday-theme vignettes. Visitors were invited to interact with the art by wearing painted clothing and accessories, sitting on couches and in chairs, and even playing at a grand piano. When photographed, it gave the appearance that they were part of the painting. Meade herself was even on-hand to live-paint models. The resulting photo keepsakes were so fun, and truly unlike anything I'd seen before." —Claire Hoffman, West Coast bureau chief
"The Primal lab at C2 Montréal was unlike anything I’ve ever seen at an event. Augmented reality has been experimented with at events for the past couple years, but this particular exhibit did a great job at combining visually attractive design with interactive technology. Guests were immediately drawn to the space, which was a colorful house interior. Then, staffers invited them to wear festive helmets straight out of a Dr. Seuss book, which used AR to make the space come to life as a surreal jungle. C2 introduces new interactive experiences for attendees each year, but this one definitely was the highlight for me." —Ian Zelaya, news editor
"One of the year's major events was the royal wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. There were watch parties across the globe, and we attended one hosted by event designer David Tutera and the craft retailer Michaels at New York's Crosby Street Hotel. Guests did more than watch the vows: There were stations for creating a fascinator, arranging a bouquet of faux flowers, personalizing tumblers using Cricut machines, and a centerpiece pink Union Jack created from fabric flowers. It was the perfect backdrop for photos of guests—or the queen's favorite, a corgi." —Beth Kormanik, editor in chief
"The LED Halo screen at Charity: Water's fund-raiser in San Francisco was unlike anything I've ever seen. It was custom-fabricated for the event to immerse 522 dinner guests into the daily life of residents of Ethiopia who need clean water. The 'halo' consisted of 40,000 pounds of LED wall, truss, lighting, audio equipment, and cables. The LED wall was provided by Global Trend Productions; working with Trademark Event Production, they designed a way to hang this circular wall using the frames of the LED tiles. The second, third, fourth, and fifth layers of LED tile were hung from custom-machined L-brackets to lighten the load. Elle Chan from Trademark said that they couldn't have built such a big wall without the custom fabrication. Throughout the event, the Halo displayed a 360-degree view of the daily walk that one resident of Ethiopia takes to procure water, plus live totalizers of the amount raised at the gala. (The totalizer was powered through an app custom-made for the event by All of It Now.)" —Robyn Hagan Cain, San Francisco contributing editorÂ
"I mean, who doesn't love balloons? These giant colorful trees (built by Founders Entertainment with balloon arrangements supplied by Katie Balloons) were sprouting up around the festival grounds at Governors Ball this year. Talk about instant photo bait! And such a clever way to reinvent what some may consider a tired design trope." —Michele Laufik, style editor
"The featured exhibit at the museum at the time of this April benefit was 'David Bowie Is,' and the event design from David Stark featured plenty of glam. After cocktails on the first floor—a space punctuated with columns of thin gold fringe streamers—guests went upstairs for dinner. The atrium was a riot of streamers in various materials and colors, draped at different heights and angles, announcing a sense of fun on a monumental scale. Spaced throughout the room, entertainers jumped on mini trampolines, generating energy but also drawing guests eyes upward to take in the decor. Shiny silver dome centerpieces reflected the drama overhead." —Beth Kormanik, editor in chief
"I love anything that gets guests involved, and a standout from this year was the first Destination San Diego music festival, sponsored by Adidas and Journeys. The free event engaged fans through large-scale art installations, specifically a 40-foot-tall living mural that visitors could contribute to throughout the day by pushing one of a series of buttons. Depending on the color selected, a new stripe of paint was added. Adidas calls itself the 'creator brand,' so putting fans in the drivers' seat was a natural—and memorable—fit." —Claire Hoffman, West Coast bureau chief
"One of the most creative event ideas I saw this year was at Jet’s townhouse in New York, for the brand's relaunch in the city. The event featured a replica of the New York skyline created entirely with products that can be ordered on Jet’s website. I thought the installation was an effective and fun way to show off what the brand sells while nodding to its new focus on consumers in the city." —Ian Zelaya, news editor
"To introduce media to its holiday offerings, Amazon hosted a festive preview event in Manhattan. The design from Shiraz Creative took guests into various parts of a home, including a posh library. A nearly ceiling-height set of bookshelves contained books painted in red and green to create a Christmas tree. It was a deceptively simple design that might be missed by some guests. But careful viewers are rewarded with the visual, like their own Christmas present." —Beth Kormanik, editor in chief
"Film and TV premieres are always fun and creative, but one that really stuck out to me this year was Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina premiere, designed and produced by MKG. There were so many Instagrammable details—like a seance room with 'Not today, Satan' written on the wall; customizable makeovers, nail art, and flower crowns; and spooky cocktails that used charcoal powder. But my favorite had to be the photo op, where attendees could walk down a high-school hallway in front of a fog machine. The resulting shareable video showed them moving in slow motion as lockers flew open around them. (Click here for an example.) Who wouldn't want a fabulously dramatic, witchy video keepsake?" —Claire Hoffman, West Coast bureau chief
"This year, for the first time ever, the event's dinner was actually held in the garden, as opposed to the Agnes Gund Garden Lobby. The greenhouse vibe with the clear tenting, faux grass carpeting, and the cheery springtime colors was an immediate mood-lifter, and fit the 'garden' theme of the annual event perfectly." —Michele Laufik, style editor
