Best of 2011: 10 Los Angeles Event Industry Highlights

Displaying the intense loyalty for which they are widely known, fans of Twilight showed up in downtown L.A. on a Thursday morning in November ahead of the following Monday night's official premiere of the latest installment in the series, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 1, and made themselves comfortable for five days. The group, estimated at about 1,200 people (twice as many as at the previous film's premiere), filled four camps downtown in the Nokia Plaza at L.A. Live and Chick Hearn Court. Summit Entertainment, led by executive vice president of publicity Eric Kops, worked with Chad Hudson Events to produce a multiday program of activities and surprises, including last-minute entry to the premiere for the whole lot—not to mention a goldmine of media attention. Summit and Hudson drew campers by posting information about the premiere—and related details like parking—to fan sites and social media.

Maybe you heard? The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and the former Kate Middleton, were in California this summer. The royal itinerary was well publicized and included the Foundation Polo Challenge, a YourBash!-produced charity polo match in Santa Barbara, as well as black-tie event for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts at the Belasco Theater here in L.A.

"Pacific Standard Time: Art in LA 1945-1980"—the Southern California region-wide initiative showcasing the rise of the Los Angeles art scene at more than 60 exhibitions and institutions—launched this fall. And kicking off the massive cultural collaboration in October was the Getty Center, which initiated the whole project, with a massive party for 1,500. Trustee Maria Hummer-Tuttle brought in J. Ben Bourgeois Productions Inc., which worked with a vast team on a dramatic projection show highlighting the post-war artworks and other imagery. It blanketed the Getty's walls and grounds, while dramatic narration described the project along with music.

With a no-host format, a performance by Lady Gaga in drag, a baby-bump reveal by Beyoncé, and an arrivals area that snaked through downtown, MTV's VMAs had the highest ratings ever. Work on the event's unusual black carpet took place the weekend prior to the awards at the JW Marriott at L.A. Live, necessitating the closure of the hotel's food and beverage outlets.

Cirque du Soleil's buzzy, anticipated show, Iris—which is about filmmaking and was created specifically for the Kodak Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center—opened this year. It had its official premiere in September, with an after-party on a closed-down Hollywood Boulevard. It was overseen by Cirque's Montreal-based operations manager for special events, Marie Josée Adam, with production by Entertainment Lighting Services led by Robert Chambers Pullman. The sprawling party space was blanketed in red carpet and transformed for the evening into a look inspired by a huge editing table.

After the recession—or at least after its deepest dip—the award season returned to opulence in 2011. Most notably, the parties that took over town to celebrate the 83rd annual Academy Awards marked a return to some of the showy grandness not seen as readily in recent years, and some new entries onto the event landscape had the roster of attendees abuzz—even if reviewers (and amateur critics) couldn't get quite as excited about the ceremony itself. Pictured here: the academy's Governors Ball produced by Sequoia Productions.

The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles's annual gala in November drew 750 patrons who covered their clever and expensive outfits with white lab coats, and then ate their dinner as apparently disembodied heads, positioned as table centerpieces, stared at them unrelentingly. Performance artist Marina Abramović served as the artistic director for the event, produced by Bounce. The human tabletop centerpieces wore black turtlenecks and rotated on cushioned lazy Susans beneath the rectangular tables. They were allowed to communicate with the guests—but only nonverbally—and were required to keep eye contact. Other centerpieces were nudes, draped in skeletons.

The four-day food extravaganza known as "The Taste" took over town during Labor Day weekend, blanketing the city with high-profile chefs at nine big events. The inaugural festival came about from two previous events: In 2010, Los Angeles Times and Food & Wine each held separate events over Labor Day weekend. This year, they combined to form one mega event, spanning Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and downtown. Times vice president of advertiser marketing and events Anna Magzanyan and Johnathan Crocker of Best Events co-founded and co-produced the event.

Love it or hate it—or find it totally inexplicable—the Kardashians claimed the top spot as coveted event guests of the year. The Hollywood launch of the Kardashian Kollection for Sears drew a swarm of paparazzi in August, as did just about any event with a Kardashian on the guest list. And Kim and Kris Humphries's Santa Barbara wedding sealed the deal, drawing attention to vendors like planner Sharon Sacks, caterer Wolfgang Puck, designer Rrivre Works, and baker Hansen's Cakes. It remains to be seen whether the short-lived marriage will affect the future PR value of drawing the Kardashians to events.

And here's one of the year's lowlights: The debut of the film Electric Daisy Carnival Experience—about Insomniac's music festival riddled with its own problems—created havoc on Hollywood Boulevard in July. Police in riot gear tried to contain a throng of people who came to see DJ Kaskade—who had promoted his presence on social media—outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre, where the invite-only screening was to be taking place. The screening did go on, albeit with only the pared-down number of attendees who made it past the madness in the streets.