1. MEDIA COMPANIES TO HOST ELECTION NIGHT EVENTS: As live events are one way to bring in revenue, many media companies including The New York Times, Slate, and the Washington Post are hosting events on election night November 8. Advertising Age: "The New York Times, which hosted a large election event in 2008, is doing so again this year. For $250, ticket-holders are invited to hear Times reporters, editors, and executives—including executive editor Dean Baquet and CEO Mark Thompson—as well as 'special guests' discuss the election. Guests will also be able to attend a cocktail reception after the forum ends. The Times Center, where the event will be held, holds approximately 350 people. 'We expect to have a full house that night,"'a spokeswoman said. If the company were to sell all 350 tickets, the event could bring in $87,500 in revenue. Digital magazine Slate is holding a ticketed event for the first time, at The Bell House in Brooklyn. Tickets for the 'live election night extravaganza' go for $30. Mike Pesca, who hosts 'The Gist' podcast, and Jacob Weisberg, who runs the company and hosts the 'Trumpcast' podcast, will be on hand. … The Tennessean, a Nashville newspaper published by Gannett, is also holding an election night event. For $15, 50 guests will get 'a tour of the presses, traditional Election Night newsroom pizza and discussion with our journalists plus a Tennessean goodie bag.' While these are the only paid events that Ad Age could be find, other media companies are also hosting get-togethers. The Washington Post is holding a watch party at the newspaper's new headquarters, sponsored by the MGM National Harbor casino. The event is free to attend for those invited." http://bit.ly/2eSnVNR
2. THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN BECOMES AN UNWELCOME DINNER PARTY TOPIC: Last week's uncomfortable moments at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation dinner provided an example of how the 2016 presidential campaign has become an uninvited topic for both hosts and guests at dinner parties. The New York Times: "The subject of the campaign became so loaded for the novelist Jay McInerney that his wife, the publishing heiress Anne Hearst, has told him to steer clear of campaign conversation at the dinner parties they have hosted. Ms. Hearst made the request not long after Mr. McInerney lost his cool at a Southampton gathering where the guests were split between Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton. 'The host went around the room and asked everybody who they were voting for and why,' Mr. McInerney said. 'And emotions ran really high, to the point that I felt it kind of cast a little bit of a pall at the dinner party. Almost everybody gave an opinion, and mine was stridently anti-Trump.' Even among like-minded party guests, the talk no longer flows as it used to during previous election cycles, instead devolving into one-note rants that can function as conversation killers. 'It always comes up at some point,' said Wendy Goodman, a design editor at New York magazine who supports Hillary Clinton. 'But even if people agree, I think this has been the most toxic, deranged campaign year I have ever known in my life. I think everybody is so beaten down by how depressing it is.' Rachel Hruska MacPherson, a founder and the chief executive of the society and fashion website Guest of a Guest, bemoaned the effect of the campaign on the quality of social conversation. 'My favorite thing is to go to a dinner party and talk about politics,' Ms. Hruska MacPherson said. 'I love when there’s a healthy difference of opinion and it gets heated. In the past, everyone’s done this so respectfully, because we’ve had candidates who at least have had some substance. But this race has been unlike anything any of us have seen.' She blames Mr. Trump for this side effect.'" http://nyti.ms/2dXNHTa
3. TINDER LAUNCHES ELECTION INITIATIVE TO ATTRACT YOUNG VOTERS: In an effort to get more millennials to vote on November 8, dating app Tinder has partnered with Rock the Vote to introduce a new "Swipe to Vote" feature. The feature will ask users to swipe to learn more about the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees. Wired: "Once a user has been matched with a candidate, they can learn more about them and their policies by tapping on their names. Tinder fans in the US will also be able to locate the nearest polling station to them so they know exactly where to go to cast their ballots. 'The voices and opinions of our users are more important than ever —with this election marking the first time that nearly all millennials can vote,"' Sean Rad, Founder and CEO of Tinder, told WIRED. … With more than 26 million matches a day made on Tinder, it’ll be interesting to see whether the app’s attempt to engage millennials in politics will translate into votes cast on November 8. Tinder’s ‘Swipe the Vote’ poll will be available to app users in the US and the UK as well as countries in Europe and South America. The experience was built in collaboration with Wedgies, a real-time polling application." http://bit.ly/2ebW7Uw
* LOCAL NEWS *
COAST TO COAST: Hard Rock Cafe International has announced that president and C.E.O. Hamish Dodds will step down in early 2017 to pursue new opportunities. The company, which is wholly owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, has been led by Dodds since 2004.
Jim Alderman has been named executive vice president and chief asset merchant of Extended Stay America and its subsidiary ESH Hospitality. He begins his new duties on November 7.
BOSTON: Disney On Ice Presents Dare to Dream will take place December 23-January 1 at Boston University's Agganis Arena.
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: The second annual beverage industry event BevCon will take place August 20-22, 2017. The event will be produced by Home Team Events.
Kiawah Island Golf Resort on Kiawah Island has named Claire Whitlock director of midwest sales.
CHICAGO: The 109th annual House of Good Shepherd: The Renaissance Brunch will take place November 6 at the Grand Ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel. The brunch benefits Good Shepherd's domestic violence shelter.
The annual Cupid's Cup Entrepreneurship Competition will travel outside of Maryland for the first time next year, taking place at Northwestern University. Washington Business Journal: http://bit.ly/2eHnyWO
LONDON: Online music broadcasting platform Boiler Room has partnered with virtual-reality company Inception to launch the first-ever music venue built and designed to film events in VR. The venue is slated to open in early 2017 and will broadcast content to Inception, Facebook, and YouTube.
LOS ANGELES: Boys & Girls Clubs of America's Great Futures Gala will take place November 3 at Beverly Wilshire Hotels. The event will be emceed by actor and comedian Jay Mohr.
For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles
MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA: South Florida Honda has signed on as a title sponsor for the 2017 South Florida Garlic Fest, which will take place February 10-12 in Lake Worth. The 18th annual event was formerly named the Delray Beach Garlic Fest, but changed its name and host city after the city of Delray Beach denied the festival an event permit due to a new law limiting public events in the city's downtown area.
SLS Brickell Hotel & Residences are now open. The property's culinary options include seafood restaurant Bazaar Mar from chef José Andrés and Italian restaurant Fi'lia from chef Michael Schwartz.
NEW YORK: Hillary Clinton's election-night celebration will take place at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Politico: http://politi.co/2eS1rOc
Gabrielle's Angel Foundation for Cancer Research will host its annual Angel Ball on November 21 at Cipriani Wall Street. The black-tie benefit, hosted by Denise Richards, will honor Carl H. June, director of the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies and Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at the University of Pennsylvania; Heloise Pratt, chair of the Pratt Foundation; and the late Robert Kardashian.
Lexington New York City, a 725-room Autograph Collection hotel in midtown, has unveiled the final phase of its three-year, $50 million renovation, which culminated in a 5,000-square-foot conversion of the S. Dynasty restaurant into a state-of-the-art meetings and events center. Meeting rooms include the Speakeasy and the Interlude, which are connected by a foyer area called the Swing Room. The hotel’s owner, DiamondRock Hospitality Company, tapped Dash Design to oversee the renovations.
For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork
ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA: American Hotel Income Properties REIT, through its subsidiaries, will acquire a portfolio of six hotels in Florida for $61 million, excluding post-acquisition adjustments and the cost of property renovations. The hotels include the 80-room Fairfield Inn & Suites in Orlando, as well as three Tampa hotels: the 100-room Staybridge Suites, the 86-room Wingate by Wyndham, and the 81-room Courtyard by Marriott. The deal is slated to close before the end of November.
PHILADELPHIA: Legoland Discovery Center has started construction on its 33,000-square-foot location inside Plymouth Meeting Mall. The Discovery Center is expected to open in the spring of 2017.
PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE: The second annual AZcentral Food and Wine Experience will take place November 4-6 at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. The event will offer food from local chefs including Charleen Badman of FnB, Matt Carter of the Mission, and Jacques Qualin of J&G Steakhouse.
SAN DIEGO: The 23rd annual Gaslamp Quarter Mardi Gras celebration will take place February 28, 2017.
SAN FRANCISCO: The 2017 Michelin Guide for the San Francisco Bay Area and Wine Country has announced its star recipients. The restaurants awarded three stars are Benu, the French Laundry, Manresa, Quince, the Restaurant at Meadwood, and Saison. Restaurants receiving two stars include Acquerello, Baumé, and Lazy Bear. A total of 41 restaurants each received one star, including Adega, Hashiri, and Ju-ni.
TORONTO: The All Ladies Craft Beer Festival, presented by the Society of Beer Drinking Ladies, will take place November 5 at Artscape Wychwood Barns.
WASHINGTON, D.C.: REI's newly opened 51,000-square-foot store in the NOMA neighborhood has several gathering spaces for meeting and events: the 1,052-square-foot La Colombe cafe; an outdoor courtyard with a fireplace; and a community space with a schedule of in-store classes for cycling, paddling, hiking, and other physical activities.
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With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin and Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Carla Hay, Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, and Ian Zelaya in New York.
BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.
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