August 27, 2013: Small Meetings Business Picks Up, Apple Patents "Silent Disco" Technology, Drone Plane Crashes Into Festival Grandstand

1. SMALL MEETINGS BUSINESS PICKS UP: While major convention cities such as Las Vegas and Orlando continue to compete for the big shows, business from smaller meetings is growing and venues are responding by renovating their spaces and aggressively marketing them to meeting planners. New York Times: "As the competition intensifies and expands globally, other cities have been spending on improving convention and meetings sites, and so have hotels of all sizes. At the same time, many planners are booking smaller meetings locations closer to home—even if there are more meetings over all." http://nyti.ms/17aT3lr

2. APPLE PATENTS "SILENT DISCO" TECHNOLOGY: The silent disco concept—in which people dance to music piped to their headphones, not through speakers—has been an event trope for awhile, but now Apple is patenting a technology to enable the service. TechCrunch: "The so-called “coordinated music experience” described in Apple’s patent would use ad hoc, Bluetooth, cellular, or Wi-Fi networking to connect multiple people, with one acting as the DJ. Others in the listening party could hear the same song as the DJ, or could hear tracks matched up based on tempo, genre, or other factors of similarity, drawn from their own library in cases where not everyone has access to the same tracks." http://tcrn.ch/14YFuzN

3. DRONE PLANE CRASHES INTO FESTIVAL GRANDSTAND: A drone airplane capturing video of the Great Bull Run—a Pamplona-style running of the bulls in Virginia—crashed into the grandstand at Virginia Motorsports Park, injuring five people. The four-foot-long aircraft did not have a pilot, but the accident drew attention to the controversial event that it was videotaping. Washington Post: "The bull run was billed as a daylong festival featuring bands, drinking, games, and a tomato fight. The highlight was to be four scheduled bull runs in which participants were to try to elude or outrace 24 hefty specimens of male livestock. Animal rights organizations have contended that the event endangered both people and bovines." http://wapo.st/15sKkbO

* LOCAL NEWS *

ATLANTA:  The 2013 ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition August 5 included a "Green Safari" tour of the operations and meeting services of the sustainably certified Westin Peachtree Plaza. The ASAE Convene Green Alliance hosted the event and plans to recreate the experience at the 2014 Great Ideas Conference March 9-11 in Orlando.

AUSTIN:  SXSW Eco, a branch of the popular South by Southwest franchise, has announced several speakers, panels, and events for the October 7-9 event. Ron Finley, an urban gardner, will deliver opening remarks. At the Edible Walls Party, diners will create their own appetizers by picking fresh ingredients off a living wall garden in an interactive "wall to table" experience.

BOSTON:  On September 21, Anna's Taqueria will host the seventh annual Anna's Walqueria. The 13.1-mile loop stops at each of Anna's six locations and benefits the Home for Little Wanderers. At each stop, walkers can sample free snacks like burritos, cheese quesadillas, and chips with guacamole.

CINCINNATI:  Loyalty 360—The Loyalty Marketer’s Association announced 10 new members. Brands that joined include Kohl’s, Stryker, and Trane; new suppliers include Aginity, the Brookside Group, Exchange Solutions, Loylogic, Loyal3 Holdings, PunchTab, and TRCo.

LAS VEGAS:  Las Vegas Sun: "Dense smoke from major California wildfires continued to pour into the Reno-Lake Tahoe area Saturday, causing event cancellations to mount and local health officials to expand pollution warnings into Tuesday. The latest weekend events scrubbed included a fundraising outdoor concert for cancer patients in Carson City, an outdoor family concert, and a star-gazing party in the Minden area, and a Nevada-USF women's soccer game in Reno." http://bit.ly/1ccu3cX

Wazuzu, the modern pan-Asian bistro within Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, announced Chen Wei Chan as new executive chef.

LOS ANGELES:  State Social House, the three-tiered restaurant, entertainment space, and cigar lounge concept located in the former Red Rock Cafe location on the Sunset Strip, opens Wednesday.

The second annual BeautyCon had a huge social media response: #BeautyCon trended in the top position nationally on Twitter on August 24. It also picked up 6,000 Instagram shots in 72 hours. Made With Elastic produced, and Pivotal handled PR.

The burrito chain Chipotle has launched catering service in Southern California.

Generosity Water will hold its fifth annual Night of Generosity benefit on September 6. Jason Kennedy and Catt Sadler will host with special presenters Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green.

Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  Strum Together Miami, a concert benefiting Chapman Partnership and its fight to end homelessness in Miami-Dade County, is September 26 at the Stage in the Miami design district.

NEW YORK:  The New York City chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals is seeking nominations for honorees for its 16th annual National Philanthropy Day luncheon, set for November 25 at the Plaza hotel.

Fifth Dining, a subsidiary of Centerplate and the official food service partner of Saks Fifth Avenue, is developing a new destination dining concept to launch in select Saks stores next year.

Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

TORONTO:  ShopCrawl will take over Bloor Street on September 26. Hosted by online community ChickAdvisor and Fashion magazine, the event will include discounts, trend presentations, and an after-party. The presenting sponsor is Ford Fiesta.

WASHINGTON:  Taylor Lamie is the new vice president of sales for Krisam Group and Global Events Partners.

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With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Lauren Matthews, and Anna Sekula in New York.

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