February 4, 2016: Donald Trump Impersonators in Huge Demand for Events, What Music Festivals Mean to Cities, Mystery Meat from 1951 Explorers Club Dinner Gets DNA Test

1. DONALD TRUMP IMPERSONATORS IN HUGE DEMAND FOR EVENTS: Event planners not afraid of topical humor have turned to Donald Trump for entertainment—or at least the impersonators who portray him. Washington Post: “Ever since The Apprentice, they had been popular with event planners — who hired them to emcee team-building game shows at annual conferences or to ‘fire’ the executives at a corporate dinner — but after his presidential campaign took off, [impersonator John] Di Domenico’s agents have been getting six calls a day asking for Fake Trump. … For $1,500 to $10,000, depending on the performer and the event, the Trump impersonators will make a entrance, shout at the crowd, then take selfies with star-struck guests.” http://wapo.st/1nIRxkM

2. WHAT MUSIC FESTIVALS MEAN TO CITIES: More than 250 music festivals take place in the United States alone each year, and from the best-known events to those just launching, they shape not only the culture but the economies of their cities, according to a new book, Music/City: American Festivals and Placemaking in Austin, Nashville, and Newport by Jonathan R. Wynn. The book focuses on South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, the Country Music Association festival in Nashville, and the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. City Lab: “There does seem to be a newfound need for cities over the last three decades to offer consumable experiences: short term events often drawing heavily from the images and cultures of local communities,” Wynn says. “Festivalization is the idea that urban placemakers develop event-based cultural policies in response to increasing post-industrial consumption, urban tourism, intense inter-city competition, and place branding. I argue that the success of festivalization is in the impermanence of events: Ephemerality is a feature, not a flaw.” http://bit.ly/1NQgvUx

3. MYSTERY MEAT FROM 1951 EXPLORERS CLUB DINNER GETS DNA TEST: The annual dinner of the Explorers Club is known for its exotic dishes, but in 1951 it offered something no caterer before or since has been able to replicate: mammoth. The wild menu went down in club lore, but new testing of a sample of the meat preserved from the evening has led to disappointment. Yale researchers have found that the club instead served sea turtle. The New York Times: “The reason it was even possible to check what the diners ate is that some leftovers ended up on a shelf in the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. Paul Griswold Howes, a club member, was unable to make the 1951 dinner, which must have been a great disappointment because, as the researchers note, the annual dinners have made the club ‘as well known for its notorious hors d’oeuvres like fried tarantulas and goat eyeballs as it is for its notable members such as Teddy Roosevelt and Neil Armstrong.’“ http://nyti.ms/1QHPrLQ


* INDUSTRY NEWS *

AlliedPRA has announced a partnership with venuesworld.com, a local venue-finding and destination management services company that serves 25 countries across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

* LOCAL NEWS *

ATLANTA:  The National Center for Civil and Human Rights will host its second annual Power to Inspire Tribute Dinner May 5 on Pemberton Place.

BOSTON:  "Eat Your Heart Out" will take place at the Sinclair on February 28. The event features chef tastings and live entertainment from local bands.

CHICAGO:  Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS will host “Burlesque for a DIFFArence” on March 3 at the Hideout.

LAS VEGAS:  Drybar will open a 2,797-square-foot flagship shop on Las Vegas Boulevard in the Miracle Mile Shops this summer.

LOS ANGELES:  The cast of the Broadway hit Hamilton will perform live via satellite at the Grammys. Los Angeles Times: http://lat.ms/1VLSqnA

John Wayne Cancer Institute Auxiliary will have its 31st annual Odyssey Ball April 9 at the Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

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

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  The third annual Jack McKeon Celebrity Golf Classic will take place February 17 at Crandon Golf at Key Biscayne. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Marlins Foundation.

NEW YORK:  Some of David Bowie’s iconic looks will be displayed at the Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show & Sale, which takes place Friday and Saturday at Metropolitan Pavilion. The Cut: http://thecut.io/1Kq2GkG

The inaugural Ice Wine Festival will take place Friday and Saturday at the Rooftop Reds urban rooftop vineyard at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The event will feature presentations about ice wine production, tastings and food pairings, and mulled wine from Brooklyn Oenology.

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

ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA:  Orlando Business Journal: "Comcast Corp., the parent company of Universal Orlando Resort, confirmed Feb. 3 it paid $130 million for 475 acres of land 'adjacent to an existing theme park' — essentially announcing it now owns the mass of land along Universal Boulevard, even though officials didn't offer additional details yet." http://bit.ly/1PASeav

PHILADELPHIA:  Philly Wine Week will take place April 3-10. The event features tastings, happy hours, and parties at various bars and restaurants in the city.

SAN FRANCISCO:  The 25th annual Easter Parade & Celebration on Union Street will take place on March 27. Highlights will include the Easter Bonnet Contest, open to children, adults, and pets.

Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport has appointed Irby Morvant as general manager of the Burlingame Hotel.

TORONTO:  Elliott Chun has been named director of marketing and communications at the exhibits firm Astound Group.

WASHINGTON, D.C.:  Meridian International Center’s Chinese Lunar New Year Celebration will take place tonight at the center. Entertainment will come from Henan Song and Dance Theatre, Luohe Acrobatic Troupe, Henan Beijing Opera Art Center, and Henan Opera Troupe. The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China is co-hosting the event.

YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected]. 

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With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, Anna Sekula, and Ian Zelaya in New York.

BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.

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