1. WHY TORONTO NEEDS A MEN'S FASHION WEEK: The biannual Toronto Men's Fashion Week returns to the city for its third year this week to showcase spring and summer 2017 menswear. But after Toronto Fashion Week was canceled last month, the question has been posed of whether a men's fashion week is more beneficial than a unified event. Huffington Post Canada: "Jeff Rustia, founder of TOM*FW, describes it to HuffPost Canada Style as a 'Menaissance' or, 'a huge cultural movement that was sweeping across the globe among the millennial men that promoted dressing sharp, looking good, and loving fashion because it was intrinsically linked to success.' The flagship of the city’s fashion events, Toronto Fashion Week (or, the artist formerly known as World MasterCard Fashion Week) is permanently out of style. Now, a market already starved of international media and buyer attention has one less major draw. (Fortunately, there’s still Drake.) One could argue that this makes TOM*FW more important than ever. That it, along with the city’s other major fashion presentations—including StartUp Fashion Week, Fashion Art Toronto, Made InLand and The Collections—have the opportunity to rise to the occasion. However, given their disparate timings and varied offerings, they never seem able to bring in the international media, buyer and consumer interest necessary to launch Toronto into fashion 'it' city status. Instead, they often rely on the same local outlets and bloggers for coverage. … As it stands, Rustia says TOM*FW relies entirely on corporate and private sponsorship, and does not receive funding from any level of government. Patel notes this even extends to basic marketing. Tourism Toronto’s website, SeeTorontoNow.com, features most of the city’s major festivals and cultural events, and is funded by the Government of Ontario. Noticeably absent: Toronto Men’s Fashion Week. (Toronto Fashion Week did receive recognition in its last season.) So, could a unified "Canadian Fashion Week" of sorts be in the works? If it is, Rustia won’t be leading the charge. He says, 'Our jam-packed runway schedule of menswear designers proves that there is a need and demand for a mens-focused fashion week.' He continues, 'These brands need an outlet and a fashion week of their own. Ultimately, it would not make sense to blend the shows. Menswear has its own set of audience, consumers, buyers and media.' http://huff.to/2birzmW
2. FLOSPORTS TO LIVE STREAM ALTERNATIVE SPORTING EVENTS: Fans of sports like gymnastics and track and field usually can only get their fix when national or international events like the Olympics air on television. But now, FloSports is giving fans of less mainstream sports a 24-hour live stream platform similar to apps and channels offered by the N.F.L. and N.B.A. The Wall Street Journal: “FloSports, which has raised $21.2 million in Series B financing, provides online sites for niche sports that have rabid followers. These alternative sports—including martial arts and even cheerleading—typically don't get much coverage on network television, except during the Olympics or other national championship events. But they have passionate fans who follow the sports year-round, says FloSports co-founder and Chief Executive Martin Floreani. FloSports targets them, producing content both in articles and live streaming video of games. FloSports provides free content such as features, articles on games, interviews and rankings. It has a subscription service of $20 a month or $150 a year for live streaming of games and races and archived footage, documentary videos and training videos. The company recently live streamed events such as the PGF fast-pitch softball national championships, the 2016 World jujitsu IBJJF Championship and the 2016 Pan-American Olympic Games Qualifying Tournament in wrestling, and the Cheerleading Worlds. Most of these events rights holders rarely get their events on major networks and when they do, there is no media support, Mr. Floreani said. ‘Those events appear in a vacuum with no media equity being built, no marketing and no storytelling,’ he said. ‘Traditional media companies go a mile wide and an inch deep, but there’s a whole slew of sports outside football and basketball.’” http://on.wsj.com/2aWwl7v
3. MUGGINGS DURING OLYMPICS HIGHLIGHT RIO’S TOURISM DANGERS: Recent instances of muggings of Olympic athletes and representatives in Rio have highlighted the city’s dangers that are commonplace for tourists. USA Today: “American Olympic champion swimmer Ryan Lochte became the latest victim of Rio's street crime early Sunday morning when he was robbed at gunpoint after attending a party. That follows robberies of representatives from Portugal, China, Australia, Russia, and even an attempted mugging on the chief of security for the Games outside the opening ceremony, which ended with a bodyguard shooting and killing the assailant. Olympic officials have found two bullets that tore through a media tent at the equestrian center and reporters claim their bus was shot at while driving along a highway from a basketball arena. Those incidents help explain why Brazil is the fifth-largest country in the world, the fifth most populous and has the ninth largest economy, yet ranks 32nd in tourism. But for those who made the trip for the Olympics, most cite security as their main cause of concern. Sergio Gonzalez, an economic consultant from Madrid attending his fifth Olympics, said he usually braces for petty thefts when he's traveling abroad. To counter that narrative, many Brazilians have gone all out to try and show their best face. Tourists have marveled at the overwhelming police presence around the Olympic venues and in tourist-heavy destinations like Ipanema Beach and the Christ the Redeemer statue that looks down over the seaside city. … Robert Muggah, a security specialist at Instituto Igarapé, a Brazilian research organization, said tourists aren't even seeing the real violence gripping Rio these days, as drug cartels, street gangs and police continue shooting it out in Rio's ungoverned neighborhoods known as favelas. Muggah said most of the 100,000 security forces in Rio to protect the Games are focused on Olympic venues and tourist destinations, leaving a gap that criminals have exploited, leading to the spike in violence. Combine that with constant international coverage of the muggings affecting visitors of the Games, he said, and it's no surprise that foreigners are finding Rio to be every bit as dangerous as they expected.” http://usat.ly/2aSSpNC
* INDUSTRY NEWS *
Sga Production Services in Lansing, Michigan, has acquired event seating and flooring company T&B Equipment, based in Ashland, Virginia. This is Sga's first acquisition since partnering with Dubin Clark & Company.
* LOCAL NEWS *
ATLANTA: Red Robin Gourmet Burgers is slated to open August 29 in Buford, at the front main entrance of the Mall of Georgia.
CHICAGO: The sixth annual Vegetarian Harvest Dinner, which benefits educational nonprofit Slow Food Chicago, will take place August 24 at Uncommon Ground. The four-course dinner will feature ingredients from the restaurant's organic rooftop farm.
The 61st annual Gold Coast Fashion Awards, hosted by the Children's Service Board, will take place September 21 at Revel Fulton Market. The event benefits the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago's molecular oncology and bioinformatics program.
LAS VEGAS: Kevin Hart and his HartBeat Productions are presenting the third annual HartBeat Weekend from September 2-4 at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The event will include separate performances by Hart and hip-hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.
SuperZoo, North America’s largest pet retail trade exposition and conference, recently wrapped its largest show to date at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The event, which is produced by World Pet Association, saw a more than 4 percent increase in attendees and an 8 percent increase in companies attending over 2015 with nearly 1,200 exhibitors participating.
LONDON: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, will represent the U.S. at the inaugural London Design Biennale, which takes place September 7-27 at the Somerset House.
LOS ANGELES: SiriusXM’s Hair Nation Festival Battle of the Bands is slated for August 17 at Whisky A Go-Go.
For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles
MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA: Courtyard Miami at Dolphin Mall has named Shannon Ballard general manager.
American restaurant Dirt, currently located in South Beach, is opening a second outpost in Brickell sometime in 2017.
NEW ORLEANS: Emeril Lagasse will open Meril, his 13th restaurant, on September 24. The new eatery, which is named after Lagasse's daughter, will be located in the Central Business District.
NEW YORK: The 16th edition of the Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, will take place April 19-30, 2017. For the first time, the festival will expand its submissions to the programming areas of virtual reality, online, and digital.
The second annual Voices for the Voiceless: Stars for Foster Kids, will take place September 12 at Al Hirschfield Theatre. The event, which benefits You Gotta Believe—a nonprofit focused on finding permanent families for youth in foster care 13 and over—will feature appearances by singers and actors including Rosie Perez, Gloria Gaynor, Megan Hilty, and Chita Rivera.
French music festival Vieilles Charrues will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a special event on October 1 in Rumsey Playfield at Central Park. The celebration will feature a lineup of electronic, hip-hop, pop, and Celtic musical acts.
Quadrum Global, an international developer and investment firm, will open two Manhattan hotels under the company's new Arlo Hotels brand. The 325-key Arlo Hudson Square will open in September, while the 250-key Arlo NoMad will open about one month later. Alrlo NoMad will have an Italian restaurant named Massoni and a rooftop bar called the Heights.
For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork
ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA: Bulla Gastrobar will open this fall at Lakeside Crossing in Winter Park. The 5,500-square-foot restaurant will serve Spanish cuisine and have two private dining rooms as well as outdoor seating.
SAN FRANCISCO: The Next Billion, Quartz's conference on the future of the connected world, will take place at a to-be-announced venue on October 13. Executives from Adreessen Horowitz, Airbnb, LinkedIn, and MIT Media Lab are slated to speak at the conference.
TORONTO: Dave & Buster's will open its second Canada location in Oakville in November. The 40,000-square-foot venue will be located at Oakville Entertainment Centrum plaza.
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington will be the keynote speaker at the eighth annual Employer Healthcare & Benefits Congress, which will take place September 26-28 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor.
Italian restaurant Aggio has opened in Ashbury in the space formerly occupied by the Family Meal.
HenQuarter, a Thompson Hospitality restaurant in Alexandria that serves Southern cuisine, has opened in the space formerly occupied by Austin Grill.
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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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