From healthy snack boxes for Chicago meetings and cooking classes in Boston to 3-D illuminated signs and hand-fabricated metal decor pieces, here's a look at the latest new products, ideas, and trends from across North America.
Farm & Fable is a new Boston shop that sells antique cookbooks and vintage kitchen goods. In a basement demo kitchen, owner Abigail Ruettgers hosts cooking classes for private groups of 10. Sample class topics include oyster shucking and beverage pairing, plus pies and tarts. The venue is also available for receptions of 40 guests.
Just in time for 2014, Britney Spears debuted her show Britney: Piece of Me at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Marking the beginning of her two-year residency at the fully reconstructed Axis Theater, the pop star’s production is a compilation of more than 20 hits. It features a four-piece band, 14 dancers, elaborate sets, over-the-top costumes, and high-end technology.
As an alternative to serving unhealthy snacks such as muffins and doughnuts, Chicago company SnackItToMe customizes healthy snack boxes for meetings and events. “Our mission is to rework the corporate snack culture,” says founder Todd Barancik. Packs include whole-food goods such as pumpkin seeds and organic snack bars from small manufacturers. Items are all-natural, calorie-conscious, and preservative-free.
Eleni’s Cookies in New York offers a new collection of emoji cookies that shows a variety of the expressive faces often used to illustrate texts and social media posts. Eleni’s can customize the treats with corporate logos and messaging.
En Ville Catering in Toronto now offers a spaetzle station. A traditional German dish, spaetzle is a comfort food easily set up at meeting or event spaces with just a tabletop burner and a frying pan. Plus, it’s not frequently seen on event menus. The stations are staffed by chefs and let guests top their dishes with condiments such as savory whipped cream, spinach, and smoked bacon lardons.
The Elements collection from Cort Event Furnishings includes eclectic rental decor pieces such as cages, candelabras, vintage trunks, and greenery. The line, available in Cort’s home base in the Washington area as well as nationwide, mixes materials such as rustic wood and metal furnishings appropriate for trade shows, meetings, or private events.
Enticing Tables designs one-of-a-kind metal event decor pieces in the company’s Southern California workshop. The collection includes uniquely shaped centerpiece and ceremony stands, cupcake and cake stands, and arches and chandeliers, and each item is fabricated by hand.
Jubilee, the longest-running show on the Las Vegas Strip, closed at the end of January and reopened in March after undergoing a major transformation under the direction of creative director and choreographer Frank Gatson Jr. Group tickets for the show at Bally's Las Vegas are available for 10 or more—but keep in mind, the showgirl revue is not right for every audience, so know your crowd.
Serve milk and cupcakes at your next meeting with an order from B Cupcakes, which opened a second location in Orlando suburb Winter Park in December. Among the bakery’s 20 daily flavors are sweet potato, salted caramel, and key lime, all based on owner Sheila Norton’s grandmother’s recipe. Milk comes in 10 flavors like toasted marshmallow and chocolate mint. Delivery is available.
PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, offers a mobile gourmet food truck, which it’s calling iTruck. Designed to cater golf events, weddings, and other private gatherings, it serves fare such as lobster sliders, truffle fries, crab fritters, and burgers. The vehicle also caters off-site events.
For a new take on event signage, Ultra Vista Systems offers 3-D lighted signs. The Los Angeles company can customize signs with illuminated brand names, logos, or art in a lightweight and low-voltage design.
