10 Best Ideas of the Week: The ESPY Awards, 'Project Runway' 10th Anniversary Party, Calgary Stampede

Unlike last year’s outing, which took over the multilevel indoor-outdoor setting of the Palladium, the after-party for ESPN’s ESPY Awards on July 11 was held inside the JW Marriott L.A. Live. To make it feel less like a ballroom, Precision Event Group incorporated videos and still imagery into the design, created a trilevel structure for the bar, installed patterned fabrics on the walls, and placed modern furnishings throughout.

To incorporate ESPN the Magazine’s body issue into the decor for ESPN’s ESPY Awards pre-party on July 10, DNA Events mapped video projections onto the four-story exterior of the Belasco Theater.

Cable network Lifetime—in partnership with Friends of the High Line—held a V.I.P. party on the High Line in New York Tuesday to celebrate reality TV series Project Runway’s 10th anniversary. A 20-foot-long, interactive digital runway featured some of the stars from the show, including host Heidi Klum, mentor Tim Gunn, and judges Michael Kors and Nina Garcia. The installation employed human tracking technology to create real-time virtual reactions to guests' attire as they walked by.

Alliance Française de Washington and Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens hosted a Bastille Day French Festival Saturday. The events were geared toward families and inspired by 18th-century entertainment, such as a mime duo from Happenstance Theater.

To mark 21 years in business, LVMH-owned beauty purveyor Fresh threw a playful soirée that allowed guests to pour their own drinks from a wall with embedded dispensers. After filling flasks with one of five juices, guests could take their drinks to the bar where bartenders mixed cocktails.

When the tequila brand took over Chicago’s Oak Street Beach for its Pro Beach Volleyball series July 13-15, the traditional bull-ride game took on a brand-appropriate twist. Called "Ride the Lime," the cheeky activity let guests straddle a giant citrus slice and try to stay aboard as the fake fruit twisted, turned, and tilted.

Guests took photos with motorcycle props such as leather jackets and skull jewelry and applied custom tattoos as part of the July 13 launch for the third annual Kiehl’s LifeRide for amfAR, a nine-day charity motorcycle ride. The event kicked off with an urban picnic on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach hosted by actor John Corbett. Kiehl’s Since 1851 hosts the event in recognition of National HIV Awareness month in July. The Dana Agency produced the event.

The sneak peek party for Bravo’s Around the World in 80 Plates finale was inspired by global travel, with rotating stages for entertainment and food. The event, produced by Empire Entertainment and presented by Chase Sapphire Preferred, also included a game where guests were invited to guess the destination based on a photo.

As part of the centennial celebrations for the Calgary Stampede, the event added new elements, including a zip line that had four lines stretched across 900 feet of Stampede Park, a 193-acre area southeast of downtown Calgary. The event, July 6-15, saw a record number of attendees, beating last year's attendance by 200,000 guests.

The Chicago zoo’s July 13 benefit had a theme inspired by The Great Gatsby. Designers from Frost and Event Creative aimed to bring an East Coast-mansion feel to HDO Productions’ dinner tent, stringing bunches of chandeliers over the dance floor.