Northeast D.C.'s Union Market district broke ground on a new Latin marketplace concept from chef Jose Garces on June 13. Putting a unique spin on a traditional groundbreaking, Union Market's From the Ground Up initiative enlisted local artists, sculptors, restaurateurs, and international painters to decorate a number of ceremonial shovels for the event. The shovels were accompanied by paintings of Union Market by artist Brooke Bronner.
The seventh annual Amfar Inspiration Gala New York took place June 9 at Skylight at Moynihan Station. Sponsor Moët Hennessy brought an on-site champagne vending machine to the event.
Luxe Linen and Rayce PR hosted the Luxe Launch showcase at Vibiana in Los Angeles in May. The "Hibiscus Glitz" table—designed by A Good Affair, Little Hill Floral Designs, and Dish Wish—provided whimsical rentals that included plates with sayings like "Holy shiitake" and "It takes two to mango."
The Hospital for Sick Children's 15th annual Scrubs in the City benefit took place June 2 at Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto. Going along with the "London Calling" theme, the event had a selfie station that included an English garden rose wall and tea set built by sponsor Caspar Hayden Design.
The event also featured a larger-than-life pool table that mimicked a game of soccer, one of England's top sports.
The 10th annual Google I/O took place May 18-20 at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA. Organizers gave the event a fun, festival-inspired vibe in numerous ways, including dividing the grounds into four zones by stacking shipping containers to create towers that designated each area. Colored smoke wafted from the towers at night.
What organizers dubbed "art cars" were decorative elements during the day that became stages for musical performances at night.
The sixth annual Governors Ball music festival took place June 3-4 at Randall's Island in New York. MAC Presents created the Miller Lite Beer Hall, an interactive fan experience that paid homage to the brand's start in Milwaukee in 1855. The activation included wooden fixtures, beer barrels, and gun-metal enclosures, as well as original artwork including a mural made out of Miller Lite cans.
The House of Extraordinaire by Perrier featured a clear tent structure that included a photo station, which imagined guests in a high-flying hot-air balloon.
Bacardi brought its Untameable House Party to the festival in the form of a two-story public space that included specialty cocktails, outdoor seating from Lux Lounge, and a 50-person indoor stage where surprise performances took place. Community Agency produced the activation, and Taylor Creative handled decor.
Nibbles from Modern Art Catering included on-theme sweets and savories. For dessert, there were sugar cookies in the form of playing cards, chocolate mousse teacups, pink and purple popcorn, and mini chocolate cupcakes with red rose-shaped frosted tops.
The Sin City event, which was produced by Chad Hudson Events for the Weinstein Company and Dimension Films, also featured projections of the film's characters on the surface of the hotel's rooftop pool.
To promote its program, the network gave fans the opportunity to snap selfies using fun-house mirrors set up throughout the Gaslamp District.
Members of the public who participated in Ubisoft’s parkour course at the Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade had the opportunity to jump from a 25-foot tower designed to resemble Notre Dame. The brand turned to NVE: The Experience Agency to design and produce the French Revolution era-inspired course, which also included guillotines, wine barrels and hay stacks.
Hadley Media is the agency behind the Adult Swim Fun House, a 40- by 60-foot inflatable structure that offered 15 interactive hallways and rooms. Wild elements included a hallway that appeared to be moving, a mirror maze, replica rooms from various shows, a crying adult baby, and a karaoke cage. Fans were encouraged to take videos of their favorite parts of the fun house and upload the shots with the official hashtags using Vine.
As part of the opening for 1 Hotel South Beach, the eco-friendly hotel hosted a brunch on its cabana deck on March 28. Guests sampled organic salads and other dishes from a buffet made of reclaimed wood. DJs Redondo and SNBRN spun relaxed, electronic mood music.
At an afternoon event from MCM and Harper's Bazaar December 4 at Soho Beach House's Tiki Garden, cocktails were served with quirky paper glasses that guests could then wear. The offbeat visage was used in oversize form as a prop in photo booths and was printed on tote bags.
![The V.I.P. event, held at Los Angeles Center Studios in August, was designed to showcase Cort rental options to local event and trade show professionals. '[We wanted to] channel a cool Los Angeles feel for the attendees,' said Kevin Dana, executive director of marketing and product development at Cort.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2017/10/cort_la_street_art_event_12.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
The interior of the block featured a headphone jack wall. Attendees could plug headphones into the various jacks to listen to different songs from Google Play Music playlists, including one curated for the festival. If listeners hit a "winning" jack, they were taken up to the second-story roof to enjoy the festival view.
