This week's roundup includes a D.I.Y. cocktail bar in New York, an icy sushi bar at the James Beard Foundation Award gala in Chicago, dream catchers with hash tags in Los Angeles, and unusual music festival grounds in Las Vegas.
In what was considered a giant coup for the city of Chicago, the James Beard Foundation decided to uproot its award gala from New York City for the first time and held the prestigious event at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on May 4. HMS Host, which owns Wicker Park Seafood & Sushi Bar at O'Hare International Airport, set up an eye-catching sushi bar that featured fish and marine life frozen into blocks of ice.
The Robin Hood Foundation Benefit—New York’s largest single fund-raiser—raised a record $101.7 million Tuesday night at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Guests entered the event through a giant camera lens, alluding to the portraits used throughout the decor and program.
The long-running festival made its United States debut in Las Vegas on May 15 and 16. Three so-called Rock Streets, lanes with storefront façades and three-dimensional decor, have themes inspired by Brazil, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The Rock Streets offer street food, cultural offerings, and performances from the likes of Spock Frevo Orquestra, the Street Dance Crew, and Pepeu Gomes.
At the recent Knot Gala at the New York Public Library, ribbons and bistro lights offered the illusion of a lower ceiling. At one food station, globes filled with tuna ceviche hung from trees, and guests were encouraged to “forage” for the items with help from staffers.
The Revel Group in Chicago hosted "Revel Provocateur," a dinner for the area's top event planners, on March 30 at Revel Downtown. Decked in black hues and Gothic-style decor, the event eschewed seating cards and instead printed guests' names on the back of chairs.
Be Inspired PR hosts and produces the Tassels and Tastemakers event twice each year for event and wedding industry professionals, plus media, bloggers, and other influencers. The most recent iteration on March 25 brought a Western theme to Carondelet House in Los Angeles. Underscoring the theme, dream catchers hung throughout the space. The ethereal decorations had woven-in hashtags that encouraged guests to post pictures to social media.
The April 9 event at the Target Gallery in New York celebrated Todd Oldham's collaboration with the Minneapolis-based retailer and was attended by D.I.Y. bloggers and editors. The D.I.Y. theme of the night carried over to the bars, where guests could build their own mocktail or cocktail.
On April 15, Target took over Bryant Park in New York to fete the launch of its collaboration with resort wear brand Lilly Pulitzer. A Lilly Pulitzer watercolor artist painted the scene at the space, capturing the party in the park—all done in Lilly’s classic color palette.
Escort cards on custom drink stirrers were placed in glasses of white peach sangria at a summer wedding produced by Camp Hill, Pennsylvania-based catering and events company the JDK Group.
At a sweet sixteen party produced by Magnolia Bluebird Design & Events, a hot chocolate to-go wall featuring custom mugs, gourmet marshmallows, and milk chocolate hot cocoa allowed partygoers to leave the sweet sixteen with a sweet treat.
