Continued from previous page
After the Bubble Q and Best of the Best ended, invited guests and V.I.P.s moved over to the Sagamore Hotel for the Navan after-party. Schrager enlisted the planning skills of Latonya Davis, South East regional marketing manager of Schieffelin & Company, who then hired 2R Productions to make this party as cool as the earlier events. The event promoted Navan's vanilla-infused cognac and used every opportunity to show off the brand. Oversize bottles of the cognac lined the path from the beach to the hotel's pool area. Inside the gate, black beanbag chairs filled the area surrounding one side of the pool. Gobo lights with the Navan logo were projected into the pool; a long bar backed by huge letters spelling out N-A-V-A-N lit up one letter at a time. Cocktails flowed and guests danced on all the available surfaces until Fushu Daiko, a taiko drum troupe, began its performance. Everyone settled down to watch as the drummers were joined by break-dancers. After the 15-minute show, the party continued into the night.
One of Saturday and Sunday's most notable events was the Verizon SuperPages Grand Tasting Village. Planned and produced by Logistics Management Group, it took place on the beach from approximately 10th to 13th Streets. The sold-out event offered attendees a chance to go back and forth between two large tents to taste a variety of wines and spirits and sample cuisine from well over 100 local eateries and caterers. Smaller satellite tents provided space for chef demos, more food sampling, book signings, seminars, and a live auction on Sunday.
Logistics Management hired EventSource International to design and create many of the larger booths, including Evian's, which had a sleek bar lit from within, and Touch Catering, who teamed up with Moët & Chandon to serve a variety of treats from inside a little sanctuary made of white, sheer fabric hung from a metal framed structure and adorned with large posters of food. X-Rated Fusion Liqueur, a new vodka and fruit juice drink, stood out with a hot pink booth, and Verizon had a pavilion in a tent, offering patrons the chance to try oxygen bars, use computers, and more. A colorful and raucous Junkanoo band made its way through the crowded aisles, playing music and heating things up. But it never got too hot—when it threatened to, misters from People Misters went off to cool everyone down.
Outside the tasting tent, lounge areas and table-and-chair setups dotted the path toward the demonstration and retail tents. Logistics Management asked Bill Stahl, the director of the office of publications at FIU, to create banners that would help make where to go to find what clear to every guest. His design was uncluttered, and effective. As for cleanup, no overflowing garbage cans, nor litter on the village grounds, could be found. Food spills were also promptly attended to. SNL Maintenance undertook a big and thankless job, and they did it stealthily and effectively.
—Shari Lynn Rothstein
After the Bubble Q and Best of the Best ended, invited guests and V.I.P.s moved over to the Sagamore Hotel for the Navan after-party. Schrager enlisted the planning skills of Latonya Davis, South East regional marketing manager of Schieffelin & Company, who then hired 2R Productions to make this party as cool as the earlier events. The event promoted Navan's vanilla-infused cognac and used every opportunity to show off the brand. Oversize bottles of the cognac lined the path from the beach to the hotel's pool area. Inside the gate, black beanbag chairs filled the area surrounding one side of the pool. Gobo lights with the Navan logo were projected into the pool; a long bar backed by huge letters spelling out N-A-V-A-N lit up one letter at a time. Cocktails flowed and guests danced on all the available surfaces until Fushu Daiko, a taiko drum troupe, began its performance. Everyone settled down to watch as the drummers were joined by break-dancers. After the 15-minute show, the party continued into the night.
One of Saturday and Sunday's most notable events was the Verizon SuperPages Grand Tasting Village. Planned and produced by Logistics Management Group, it took place on the beach from approximately 10th to 13th Streets. The sold-out event offered attendees a chance to go back and forth between two large tents to taste a variety of wines and spirits and sample cuisine from well over 100 local eateries and caterers. Smaller satellite tents provided space for chef demos, more food sampling, book signings, seminars, and a live auction on Sunday.
Logistics Management hired EventSource International to design and create many of the larger booths, including Evian's, which had a sleek bar lit from within, and Touch Catering, who teamed up with Moët & Chandon to serve a variety of treats from inside a little sanctuary made of white, sheer fabric hung from a metal framed structure and adorned with large posters of food. X-Rated Fusion Liqueur, a new vodka and fruit juice drink, stood out with a hot pink booth, and Verizon had a pavilion in a tent, offering patrons the chance to try oxygen bars, use computers, and more. A colorful and raucous Junkanoo band made its way through the crowded aisles, playing music and heating things up. But it never got too hot—when it threatened to, misters from People Misters went off to cool everyone down.
Outside the tasting tent, lounge areas and table-and-chair setups dotted the path toward the demonstration and retail tents. Logistics Management asked Bill Stahl, the director of the office of publications at FIU, to create banners that would help make where to go to find what clear to every guest. His design was uncluttered, and effective. As for cleanup, no overflowing garbage cans, nor litter on the village grounds, could be found. Food spills were also promptly attended to. SNL Maintenance undertook a big and thankless job, and they did it stealthily and effectively.
—Shari Lynn Rothstein
X-Rated Fusion Liqueur stood out from the crowd with a hot pink booth in one of the tasting tents at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival.
Touch Catering and Moët & Chandon served guests from within an ethereal white pavilion.
Guru Restaurant offered guests colorful and delicious cuisine.
EventSource International helped Bailey's create an booth design to showcase its brand at the Verizon SuperPages Grand Tasting Village.
