From a marshmallow wall in Toronto to live penguins in Chicago to floral projections in New York, here are the best ideas, themes, and trends from benefits held across North America this spring.
The American Cancer Society’s 11th annual Discovery Ball, which was held in April at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, featured the theme "Discover Your Power." HMR handled the decor, which included a bold red, black, and white palette.
Earlier in June, Toronto’s Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery hosted Power Ball XIX: Stereo Vision, which was designed by Candice&Alison. At the benefit, guests nibbled from a wall of edible marshmallows by Archimallows. More than 8,000 treats were individually attached to the wall using skewers; the gradient-colored marshmallows tasted like peach.
As guests checked in at the dinner event, they were asked to answer a simple question about their childhood, such as what they were most scared of or what they wanted to be when they grew up. They then placed their rolled-up answers in the wall, replacing a piece of paper that gave the same answer of a child in another country. The backdrop idea symbolized the 16,000 children who die every day of preventable causes. The event took place at the Castle at Park Plaza in Boston in June.
Peter Callahan Catering created creative small bites inspired by the Wildlife Conservation Society Gala’s theme—big cats. The event was held June 8 at the Central Park Zoo in New York.
Earlier this month, guests gathered to celebrate the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago's conservation efforts, raising more than $1.9 million during the black-tie gala, which featured a “Voyages” theme. Attendees had the opportunity to purchase custom travel expeditions, including a penguin-focused eco-adventure in South Africa, to support the Chicago organization’s mission.
In May, the Sierra Club celebrated its 125th anniversary at its Trail Blazers Ball, held at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. The event honored actress Shailene Woodley and Michael R. Bloomberg for their activism and their support of the group’s environmental efforts.
The annual gala held at the Pérez Art Museum Miami in April featured a fresh dining setup of white florals and greenery atop mirrored tables.
The Los Angeles Ballet’s annual gala, which was held in April at the Beverly Wilshire hotel, raised nearly $1 million and featured towering centerpieces with florals in purple and pink hues.
New Yorkers for Children hosted its annual spring event, which was titled “A Fool’s Fete: Enchanted Garden,” to benefit youth in foster care. Artist Donald Robertson was on site creating custom color portraits of guests. The event was held in April in the ballroom at the Mandarin Oriental in New York.
Guests indulged in drinks and passed hors d'oeuvres in the opulent Red Lacquer room of the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago at the Joffrey Ballet's gala in April. Bunches of tulips were used to create an interesting floral arrangement backdrop for the bar.
In April, the Friends of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute hosted its annual gala at the recently-renovated Hotel Commonwealth and the Hawthorne lounge in Boston. Tyger Productions created an Italian countryside theme with rustic salvaged wood farm tables, rosemary plants, begonias, and towers of fresh lemons. Succulents served as party favors for guests.
At the 40th anniversary spring gala, which was held at Cipriani Wall Street in New York in April, an ice sculpture in the shape of the museum featured a burst of suspended flowers.
The Museum of Modern Art’s annual benefit was held earlier this month at the New York institution and featured colorful floral projections by Bentley Meeker Lighting throughout the dining space.
In May, Bronson Van Wyck of Van Wyck & Van Wyck created a cool, cavernous look with a billowing ceiling installation at the Waterfront in New York for the annual spring benefit. Cocktails were held beforehand at the nearby Skylight Modern.
In May, the California Science Center in Los Angeles hosted its annual Discovery Ball, with a theme inspired by the museum’s newest exhibit, “Body Worlds: Pulse.” Body-painted models performed poses similar to those found in the exhibit. It took 10 hours for painters to create the looks on site.
In May, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation held its annual Hot Pink Party at New York’s Park Avenue Armory. This year’s theme, “Super Nova,” was designed by Bryan Rafanelli and featured vibrant, sparkling linens and minimal but impactful florals from Winston Flowers.
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Toronto Public Library Foundation debuted a new fund-raising gala to support the library. At the inaugural Biblio Bash, which took over the Toronto Reference Library in April, guests participated in giant word searches using glow-in-the-dark markers.
At the inaugural Medair New York gala, HL Group Events highlighted the nonprofit's global medical efforts by using materials and supplies found in the field such as steel, wooden pallets, and buckets throughout the gala's design, including the centerpieces. The event was held in March at Stephen Weiss Studio.
This year’s Met Gala celebrated the avant garde with the theme, “Art of the In-Between,” and was inspired by Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons. The Great Hall stairs were covered in hundreds of hand-strung balls made of pink and burgundy roses, which played off the giant floral installation in the Great Hall entrance that was inspired by Comme des Garçons’ appliqué violet collection. The event took place in May at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
For its annual fund-raising gala, the Hospital for Sick Children transported its guests to the Moroccan city of Marrakech with a photo booth decorated in authentic Moroccan textiles, rugs, and lanterns, along with other on-theme decor like colorful tents and comfy cushions. The event took place at the Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto earlier this month.
Held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York in May, the annual benefit was designed by David Stark Design and Production and featured a cocktail area with a forest-like setting. Fabricated trees hid the venue’s structural columns, while the “leaves” were created using fabric canopies suspended by cable.
The Jays Care Foundation—the Toronto Blue Jays’ organization that uses baseball to teach life skills to underserved youth—incorporated the theme of Canada 150 into its annual benefit gala in May at the Rogers Centre. Centerpieces for the seated dinner included wooden loons, which were decorated by kids from the program as part of an art project.
Nonprofit Brooklyn-based venue National Sawdust hosted its third annual spring gala in May at Gotham Hall. Dubbed "Lazy Susannaphones," musical centerpieces were placed at each table. Notecards invited guests to share their experience on social media using National Sawdust's gala hashtag.
The nonprofit that matches children who suffer from life-threatening and chronic illnesses with college athletic teams hosted its fifth annual gala at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston in April. The annual sports-themed soirée featured live music from the Harvard marching band, along with silent and live auctions.
