Manhattan Auto Company's rooftop party to promote Maria Sharapova's endorsement deal with Land Rover got off to a rocky start last Thursday, after all-day rain showers caused major delays for the early evening event. (Manhattan Auto Company is Manhattan's only authorized Land Rover dealership.) Planners had to move the red carpet arrivals area, originally planned for the rooftop, to the indoor ground-level showroom. As guests surrounded a makeshift bar near the red carpet and milled around cars on display, event organizers hustled to set up the original party space on the drenched rooftop. When they announced that it was finally time to head up to the party, guests rushed to the second-floor elevator banks—only to wait upwards of 20 minutes in the steamy garage for the lone freight elevator to take them to the rooftop. (One guest told us last year's event, which Serena Williams hosted, had a tennis court and a road course to test-drive Land Rovers. So we anticipated something similarly impressive.)
While the worst of the weather was over by the time guests reached the roof, the damage was done. Extra tents had been erected in the late afternoon, but they were ineffectual against the puddles. Synergy Sports' malfunctioning fast-serve cage was still being repaired as guests entered. Guests huddled under the tents or visited the Fuze energy drink stand while listening to DJ Gino's mix of mid-90's hip-hop.
"It was very difficult to pull off the event with the weather," said Jed Weinstein of Jed Weinstein Presents, whom Manhattan Auto hired to produce the event. "The combination of bad weather in the morning and rain leading up to the event made it practically impossible to pull off a smooth event, but we obviously tried our hardest when the rain cleared up at 6:40 PM." He added: "It was a slow start to get the fast-serve cage going. It finally worked by the end, and we had a lot of contestants competing for the main prize."
Posted 08.30.06
While the worst of the weather was over by the time guests reached the roof, the damage was done. Extra tents had been erected in the late afternoon, but they were ineffectual against the puddles. Synergy Sports' malfunctioning fast-serve cage was still being repaired as guests entered. Guests huddled under the tents or visited the Fuze energy drink stand while listening to DJ Gino's mix of mid-90's hip-hop.
"It was very difficult to pull off the event with the weather," said Jed Weinstein of Jed Weinstein Presents, whom Manhattan Auto hired to produce the event. "The combination of bad weather in the morning and rain leading up to the event made it practically impossible to pull off a smooth event, but we obviously tried our hardest when the rain cleared up at 6:40 PM." He added: "It was a slow start to get the fast-serve cage going. It finally worked by the end, and we had a lot of contestants competing for the main prize."
Posted 08.30.06
