October 24, 2016: Costume Institute Announces 2017 Met Gala Theme, Presidential Debates Set Ratings Record But Some Call for Format Change, Instagram May Introduce Live Video

1. COSTUME INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES 2017 MET GALA THEME: The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced Friday that its 2017 Met Gala theme will be designer Rei Kawakubo and her Japanese fashion label Comme des Garçons. The May 1 event, which will be co-chaired by Anna Wintour, Katy Perry, and Pharrell Williams, will be the first gala themed after a living designer since 1983's Yves Saint Laurent exhibit. Vogue: "The exhibit will feature about 120 Comme des Garçons womenswear designs by Kawakubo, dating back to the label’s first runway collection in 1981, all the way to her most recent shows. The pieces will be arranged by contrasting themes (East/West, male/female, past/present), which touch upon Kawakubo’s fascination with 'in-betweenness.' The mannequins featuring Kawakubo’s designs will also be more accessible than ever, as they will be placed at eye-level without any glass or other physical barriers between them and the viewer. The Costume Institute Benefit will take place, as is tradition, on May 1, the first Monday of the month. The party will be cochaired by Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams, and Anna Wintour, with Kawakubo serving as honorary chair, and the exhibit will be sponsored by Apple, Condé Nast, Farfetch, H&M, and Maison Valentino." http://bit.ly/2e80Yrx

2. PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES SET RATINGS RECORD BUT SOME CALL FOR FORMAT CHANGE: The three presidential debates between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump this year proved to be the most-watched debate cycle in U.S. history. But some experts including Al Tompkins, senior faculty for broadcast and online at Poynter, say that the debate format should be changed for 2020. Adweek: “The three Clinton-Trump debates and the Tim Kaine-Mike Pence vice presidential debate delivered a total of 259 million viewers, per data from Nielsen Media Research. The 1992 debate cycle held the previous record, with 250 million viewers watching the three George H. W. Bush-Bill Clinton-Ross Perot debates, and the Dan Quayle-Al Gore-James Stockdale vice presidential debate. More people watched the final Clinton-Trump debate on Fox News Channel than on any other network. Interest in cable news is as high as it's ever been, and that trend showed up in debate viewership. A total of 91.7 million viewers watched the four debates across CNN, Fox News and MSNBC in 2016. That's a 10.5 percent rise from the networks' 2012 total of 83 million and a 3 percent increase over 2008 (89 million). … While ratings have been great, some think The Commission on Presidential Debates should make some changes to the format for 2020. ‘They need to do away with the town-hall format,’ said Tompkins. ‘Journalists like Chris Wallace can sit there and ask hard-hitting questions that matter, as opposed to asking, 'What do you admire in the other person?' That's an interesting sound bite, but not very illuminating.’ Like many, Tompkins also supports doing away with a live audiences in debate halls.” http://bit.ly/2edIhml

3. INSTAGRAM MAY INTRODUCE LIVE VIDEO: Instagram is reportedly testing a live video feature, after screenshots showing the new feature were posted on a Russian website Friday. Mashable: “In the images, discovered by a Russian Instagram user and published by T Journal, the first icon in the Stories section of the app has a badge that says ‘live’ on it. Additional screenshots show the Stories interface with a new ‘Go Insta’ button that appears to be used for starting a live broadcast. A spokesperson for Instagram declined to comment on the images but they look to be the real deal as T Journal also posted a video of the feature. It's not clear exactly how this would work but a translated version of T Journal's site says tapping the ‘live’ icon brought the user to a separate section called ‘popular live broadcasts,’ which they were unable to access. While it's difficult to say for sure if this is a random experiment or a quiet test of an upcoming feature (Facebook and Instagram both are known to test significant new features in countries outside of the U.S.), the company's reluctance to comment on screenshots would seem to suggest a bigger plan is in the works.” http://on.mash.to/2eZV0ML

* LOCAL NEWS *

AUSTIN:  The Blue Genie Art Bazaar will take place November 25-December 24 at the Marchesa Hall & Theatre. The event will showcase gifts and artwork from more than 200 local and regional artists, and a portion of proceeds will go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. 

CHICAGO:  The Randolph Street Holiday Market will take place November 19-20. The event will have more than 125 vendors.

LOS ANGELES:  This year's UCLA Neurosurgery Visonary Ball will take place Thursday at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. 

For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  Residence Inn by Marriott Miami Airport West/Doral is now open at 3450 NW 91st Avenue in Doral. The 129-suite hotel has 467 square feet of meeting space that can seat as many as 31 people.

NEW YORK:  Joël Robuchon is slated to reopen his tasting counter L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon in the former Colicchio & Sons space in Chelsea this spring. Eater: http://bit.ly/2dVIg4u

For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA:  Spooky Empire Convention has been rescheduled for December 2 to 4 at the Orange County Convention Center. The event was to take place October 7 to 9 but was cancelled due to Hurricane Matthew.

After a $3 million redesign, Hemisphere restaurant will open in mid-November on the ninth floor of the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport. The 3,000-square-foot restaurant seats 164 and has views of the airport runway.

PHILADELPHIA:  This year's Gore-Tex Philadelphia Marathon will take place November 18-20. The event also will include a half marathon, 8K, kids' fun run, and a healthy and fitness expo. 

TORONTO:  The 21st annual Eat to the Beat, which supports the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, will take place November 1 at Roy Thomson Hall. The event will showcase 60 female chefs. 

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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.

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