This week's roundup includes a massive confetti shower from a New Year's Eve bash in Miami, desserts laced with edible insects in New Orleans, pillow-theme decor at an overnight party in New York, and an interactive, digital garden that can be employed at events nationwide.
On New Year's Eve, Thompson Miami Beach rang in 2015 with a 700-guest bash headlined by Pitbull. In keeping with the holiday's tradition, confetti poured down over the crowd at the stroke of midnight.
Valentino chose the Whitney Museum of American Art's former Madison Avenue space in to unveil a six-piece collection of objects exclusive to its Fifth Avenue flagship on December 10. The event was themed on the five senses, and the "touch room" featured a sectioned-off gallery space with dozens of hanging arms that guests could weave their way through.
Creative Time split its November Fall Ball into two parts, hosting events on two consecutive nights at NeueHouse in New York. The first night was a sleepover, enabling patrons to stay overnight. Pillows became part of the decor inside the venue, and the producers mounted a bed to a wall near the entrance and video mapped the itinerary on its surface. The event took place in late November.
Appeal to your guests’ senses of sight and sound with Moey’s Interactive Garden. The colorful installation is a 24-foot-long structure that has 60 3-D-printed flowers in it. The flowers have embedded motion sensors that pick up on peoples’ movement, proximity, and the amount of time they spend nearby. Based on those inputs, the flowers generate music, and LED lights inside change color.
Nearly 2,200 people attended the beer brand's event, which took over Generations Hall in New Orleans in November. Dos Equis worked with its creative agency Mirrorball to deliver an evening that included plenty of exotic foods. At the Chance Bakery, for example, a costumed baker offered guests an array of dessert delicacies that contained edible insects.
The Adobe Max conference took place in Los Angeles in October. At an after-party at L.A. Live on October 7, guests used recycled materials to create artwork hanging from a truss, which was built as guests added to it. A pulley system raised it throughout the night.
Groupon, the daily deal website, hosted its holiday party at Chicago's Aragon Theater on December 12. The event had a World's Fair theme, and Sound Investment handled the lighting and also collected World's Fair-related videos and graphics to broadcast on large screens. Event Creative handled decor and created custom carnival-game booths.
In its second year, the music festival Suwannee Hulaween has created a unique space called Spirit Lake, an art-filled, interactive refuge for the 8,000 people who came to Live Oak, Florida, over Halloween weekend for the event. The Jelly Dome by Kickin' It Crew was a popular attraction both during the day and night. Made up of swings and acrobatic fabrics, the structure encouraged guest interaction. Spirit Lake was created by Synergy Event Production.
Looking to put a spin on traditional meeting seating? In the new networking area at Sapphire Now in June in Orlando, guests could choose from seating options such as wooden pallets, leather cubes, and cadrboard cubes, which were strong enough to sit on but light and easy to move.
Here's an idea for stylishly dividing up a large event space: The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation celebrated with its annual Breath of Life gala at the National Building Museum in Washington in 2011. Streamers divided the National Building Museum atrium into three spaces.
