1. VEGAS TACO BELL WILL HOST WEDDINGS THIS SUMMER: For Taco Bell fans in search of an unconventional wedding venue, the brand’s Las Vegas Cantina location will start offering wedding packages in August. Advertising Age: “The chain is allowing taco fans to tie the knot at its Las Vegas Cantina starting August 7. In fact, it first made the announcement back in February and held a ‘Love and Tacos’ wedding contest for couples who wanted to be the first to get married there. Dan Ryckert and Bianca Monda won the contest and received an all-expense paid trip to Vegas, where they held the ‘wedding of their dreams’ on June 2. You can see images of the occasion here, including a sauce packet bouquet, champagne flutes filled with Twisted Freezes and a Taco Bell feast. The wedding package costs $600 and also includes a ceremony performed by an ordained officiant, a private reception area for up to 15 guests, custom merchandise for the bride and groom, Taco Bell branded champagne flutes, a Taco 12-Pack and a Cinnabon Delights cake.” http://bit.ly/2t4JF1j
2. FAN-TO-FAN TICKET EXCHANGE COMPANY TO LAUNCH IN U.S.: Twickets—a fan-to-fan ticket exchange company that lets fans trade tickets for events such as concerts and sporting competitions at face value—is debuting in the U.S. The company originally launched in the U.K. Billboard: “Company founder Richard Davies announced today that he's launching Twickets USA, a face-value ticket resale platform that enables fans to trade their unwanted tickets at the original price. Twickets collects a 10 percent transaction fee to the buyer for each sale and hopes to cut down on scalping and the high markups ticket brokers charge on sites like StubHub. The launch in the U.S. comes 18 months after New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued a scathing report on ticket scalping, and months after former President Barack Obama signed legislation outlawing the use of bots to buy up concert and sports tickets. ‘[Twickets] was set up to counter the growth in the secondary ticketing market in the U.K.,’ Davies tells Billboard. ‘We wanted to provide an alternative for genuine fans who couldn't make a show.’ Twickets helps connect these fans to buyers so that they can recoup their original investment, and make sure a genuine fan gets into the show. In the U.K., Twickets has partnered with Adele, Ed Sheeran and Queen + Adam Lambert, and handled 6,000 tickets for One Direction. The company has also partnered with a number of festivals including Kendal Calling, End of the Road and The Secret Garden Party, as well a number of ticket agents including The Ticket Factory (TTF), Gigantic, and Myticket.co.uk.” http://bit.ly/2trcbMB
3. FILM ACADEMY INCREASES NUMBER OF WOMEN ON BOARD OF GOVERNORS: Just a day after announcing 774 new voting members, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has added 10 first-time members to its board of governors in a vote to fill 17 vacant seats. The additions, which include Oscar-winner Whoopi Goldberg, have increased the number of women on the 54-seat board to 21. The Hollywood Reporter: "Hollywood's premier awards-dispensing organization revealed the results of its annual board of governors election, and no fewer than 10 of the board's 17 seats that were up for grabs this year were won by individuals who had not previously served on the board, including Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg (of the actors branch), who currently hosts ABC's The View; indie filmmaker Kimberly Peirce (directors), who is best known for 1999's Boys Don't Cry; and former Academy chief marketing officer Christina Kounelias (public relations), who now serves as Participant Media's executive vp worldwide marketing and communications. Kounelias claims the seat held for much of the last quarter-century by Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who is retiring from the board and whose successor as president will be chosen in July by a vote of the new board at its first meeting. The Academy is divided into 17 branches, each of which is represented with three seats on the board; there also are three seats on the board for governors who are appointed by the president, for an unspecified period of time, to represent the interests of diversity. All but the diversity governors are elected to three-year terms, which are staggered so that only one seat from each branch is subject to election in any given year. Each governor is chosen through a vote by the rank-and-file members of the applicable branch after they have winnowed down a field of interested candidates to a number no greater than four. This year, the final round of voting began on Monday, June 19, and ended on Friday, June 23." http://bit.ly/2trG5Rf
* INDUSTRY NEWS *
The Event Industry Council has announced that AlliedPRA founder Patti Roscoe, along with fellow industry leaders David Peckinpaugh of Maritz Global Events and Janet Sperstad of Madison College, will be inducted into the class of 2017 Hall of Leaders at the annual Awards Gala during IMEX America on October 10. “Honoring where the events industry comes from, as well as the exciting future we have ahead of us, is what makes this award celebration so special,” said Karen Kotowski, C.E.O. of the council.
* LOCAL NEWS *
COAST TO COAST: Bud Light has partnered with Lady Gaga to host the second edition of the Bud Light Dive Bar Tour. The tour, which features intimate performances for fans in dive bars, will come to Las Vegas on July 13 with Lady Gaga, Los Angeles on July 26 with a surprise headliner, and August 30 in New Orleans with a surprise headliner. Details, locations, and times of the performances will be announced on Bud Light’s social channels.
CHICAGO: The Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association’s 11th annual Pony Up for the Kids Fundraiser will take place July 13 at Arlington Racetrack. The event benefits the I.H.L.A. Educational Foundation.
LOS ANGELES: This year’s Outfest Los Angeles L.G.B.T. Film Festival will run July 6-16. The event, which is celebrating 35 years, is sponsored by HBO and DirecTV Now.
The 2020 U.S. Olympic track and field trials will be held at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut. Los Angeles Times: http://lat.ms/2tuCjHw
For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles
MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA: Two Miami restaurants are taking a break from their usual cuisine to celebrate America on July 4. Mediterranean eatery Villa Azur will transform into a 1960s-theme diner serving burger sliders, hot dogs, and Independence Day-inspired specialty cocktails. The global seafood-focused Seaspice will feature a nautical theme with lounge beats, Moet & Chandon champagne, and a fireworks show from the restaurant's river views.
NEW YORK: American Folk Art Museum’s fall benefit gala will take place November 16 at J.W. Marriott Essex House.
For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork
ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA: The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort has named Beth Campion group account director to manage corporate accounts in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.
The owners of Frank & Steins will close the bar July 2 for renovations that will turn it into their new concept, Market on Magnolia. The new food hall will include a full bar and three food vendors: Da Kine Poke, the Gnarly Barley sandwich shop, and Sauce'd Wood Fired Pizzas.
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA: J.W. Marriott at Plant Riverside District is slated to open in the first quarter of 2019. Earlier this week, Visit Savannah, the Kessler Collection, and the Georgia Municipal Association signed the first group contract for the property.
TORONTO: The second annual OssFest will take place June 22 on the Ossington strip. The street festival will offer shopping, live music, cocktails, food from local restaurants, and activations from local businesses including Reigning Champ, Parlour Salon, and Tiger of Sweden.
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With contributions from Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, Rayna Katz, and Ian Zelaya in New York.
BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.
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