You might say Halloween is an event producer and designer’s dream, lending itself to decor, entertainment, and food and drink ideas that inspire a kind of out-there creativity unique to the holiday. Here's a look at some events from around the country that entertained guests with outlandish, playful, and downright cool ideas.
Stoelt Productions produced a costume party for M.A.C. Cosmetics at the North Hollywood studio of seven-time Academy Award-winning makeup artist Rick Baker to fete his new collection for the brand.
More than 1,500 people came out to celebrate the 20th annual Dream Halloween event in Los Angeles, which benefits Keep a Child Alive. During the program, the nonprofit organization honored H.I.V./AIDS activist Cristina Jade Peña with its inaugural Joe Cristina Humanitarian Award. Child performers from Le Petit Cirque entertained the crowd.
The event took place at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, where theme areas included Mad Hatter’s Picnic and Trick-or-Treat Lane with toys from Mattel.
The 3-D Bat Cave setup included the Michael Keaton Batmobile as an eye-catching prop.
Spooky, Halloween-appropriate decor filled the space, and M.A.C. makeup artists were on hand to paint kids' faces.
A display of oversize orange balloons topped with green ones mimicked the look of a giant pumpkin.
Kids participated in interactive projects and games throughout the event.
Swirling mist from fog machines added drama in the space outfitted with the likes of a full moon decor piece illuminating a graveyard scene.
Universal's entertainment team collaborated with the creators of AMC's The Walking Dead, horror video game series Resident Evil, and horror films like Evil Dead to bring the event's elaborate haunted houses to life. Universal dedicated its entire experience to The Walking Dead—making this the first time that all of the zones throughout the park had a single pop cultural theme.
Guests walked through iconic scenes from all three seasons of the show, such as the overrun city of Atlanta and Hershel's barn.
At the 23rd incarnation of Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights, eight new haunted houses, street experiences, and live shows spooked guests.
Event producer Susanne Bartsch hosted her annual Halloween party at Buddakan in New York. The theme was inspired by Auntie Mame, with each room in the restaurant designed differently to mirror the film. The two-tiered grand staircase coiled down to the venue's signature room-length table, where a mass of fortune cookies served as a centerpiece.
Costumed geishas and dragon ladies filled the foyer. The drawing room served as kabuki karaoke, the main dining room's theme became Mad Monster Mix, and the library offered "Mame's Cabinet of Curiosities.” Scissor Sisters DJs Sammy Jo and Jake Shears spun for the crowd.
At the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, Veuve Clicquot passed flutes of Yellow Label at its Yelloween party.
Entertainment came from Nadia Ali, and an elevated DJ booth fronted by illuminated cubes in the brand's color added to the design in the alfresco party space.
Champagne bottles decorated a chandelier for a bit of integrated branding.
The Little Lighthouse Foundation hosted its annual Nightmare on the Beach “Fantasmi Della Villa Vecchia” fund-raiser. The sold-out party drew more than 1,500 people at Villa Vecchia on Miami Beach, where 7,500 square feet of platform decking transformed the space and 15 fog machines filled it with mist. The event included nearly nude dancers, a costumed skeleton queen, Cirque de Mansion performers, and music by Lee Kalt.
Lighting lent an eerie feel to the event. Patrón provided cocktails, and participating restaurants and caterers included Villa Azur, Brother Jimmy’s, MPP Brickell, Imperia Garden, Todo Dulces, and Mente Management.
