June 12, 2013: First Look at Super Bowl Boulevard in New York, Microsoft Apologizes for Rape Joke at E3, the Rise of Philly's Stephen Starr Events

1. FIRST LOOK AT SUPER BOWL BOULEVARD IN NEW YORK: Embracing its status as the first cold-weather city to host a Super Bowl in the modern era, New York is planning to install a massive, 58-foot-tall toboggan as the centerpiece of its Super Bowl Boulevard public fan experience that will close Broadway from 34th to 44th Streets. New York Daily News: "Another feature will be a video mapping show, which will use the façade of Macy’s in Herald Square between 34th and 35th Streets as a giant screen to view footage from NFL Films. The Vince Lombardi Trophy will be displayed in a custom tent with glass walls." http://nydn.us/11GCp91

2. MICROSOFT APOLOGIZES AFTER RAPE JOKE AT E3 DEMO: Showing off the new Xbox One video game Killer Instinct, a male video game producer told a woman against whom he was playing: "Here we go, just let it happen. It'll be over soon." Microsoft has apologized. Daily Telegraph: "The creepy implications of the rape joke was made more vivid by the fact that the person it was made about was the only female to grace the stage of Xbox presentation at that point." http://bit.ly/11eZIUf

3. THE RISE OF PHILLY'S STEPHEN STARR: Philadelphia restauranteur Stephen Starr is making his mark on New York event venues with his Stephen Starr Events recently taking over the food and catering operations at the New York Botanical Garden and, this fall, at Carnegie Hall, in addition to the Rubin Museum of Art and Caffè Storico at the New-York Historical Society. New York Times: "Winning contracts like these is not easy, and New York is often brutal for out-of-town restaurateurs and chefs. The list of those who have failed is long. But Mr. Starr didn’t swagger into town like some Wyatt Earp with a menu and an attitude that he’s ready to show New York how it’s done." http://nyti.ms/13BEdhZ

4. NEW RESTAURANT FOR HEDGE-FUND CROWD: Investment entrepreneur Anthony Scaramucci, who also runs the annual SkyBridge Alternatives Conference in Las Vegas, is planning to open the Hunt and Fish Club, a restaurant for hedge-fund types, in New York this December. Bloomberg: "It will have the feel of an elite 'clubhouse' and be an alternative to bars and eateries surrounding the Grand Central Terminal in Midtown, which are 'not fun' and have unattractive staff, the team said in marketing documents to prospective investors." http://bit.ly/12FtY13

* LOCAL NEWS *

BOSTON:  For the first time, Boston will host the 2016 World Figure Skating Championships. The tentative dates are March 28-April 3.

CHICAGO:  Zanies Comedy Club in Rosemont will celebrate its one-year anniversary on July 6 with a roast of Rosemont Mayor Bradley Stephens. Proceeds will benefit Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

Jill Zugaj is the new special events account executive at AFR Furniture Rental and Event Furnishings.

DALLAS:  Event producer Freeman announced the launch of experiential marketing agency FreemanXP. Press Release: http://on.wsj.com/1bvlFmD

LAS VEGAS:  Las Vegas Review-Journal: "After 45 years, the U.S. Travel Association’s International Pow Wow has been rebranded to IPW for this year’s event in Las Vegas. The annual trade show takes place in a different host city each year, bringing thousands of the world’s largest travel buyers and media to a destination. Las Vegas last hosted the trade show in 2008. Roger Dow, president and C.E.O. of the U.S. Travel Association, said the name International Pow Wow has been around for years, but recently the association has gotten push back from people asking 'In today’s world, is that politically correct?'" http://bit.ly/109KtRt

The show also announced it will be held in Anaheim, California, in 2019 for the second time in the event's history.

Just before the start of the Geothermal Resources Council annual meeting and expo will be a charity golf tournament, slated for September 29 on the Mountain Course at Angel Park Golf Club. Press release: http://bit.ly/17FmwE6

LOS ANGELES:  In celebration of the newly constructed Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport, Westfield is hosting a gala preview on June 20 for more than 1,000 guests to experience the new space before it opens later this summer.

ESPN: "RallyCross and Big Air competitions at X Games Los Angeles are relocating from the city center to a motorsports facility 20 miles east of downtown, where it will join a new X Games event: Ford Gymkhana GRID." http://xgam.es/11dLK56

Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  Ticket sales begin June 20 for the debut Friends of Nature Music Festival, November 9-10 at Historic Virginia Key Beach Park.

NEW YORK:  On June 18, MoMA PS1's gala benefit honoring David Hammons and Alanna Heiss will be held in MoMA's West Lot with cocktails in the Rain Room.

Offsite x Clawhammer, a "food hack weekend" retreat, is July 12-15 at Clawhammer Farm in Lisle, New York. The ticketed event will include workshops on food photography, making moonshine, and butchery.

On June 21, La Roche-Posay will launch its newest sunscreens under a parasol art installation in Madison Square Park.

Pre-sale tickets for the New York City Wine & Food Festival are on sale this month, and regular tickets go on sale to the public June 24.

Mich-Mash Productions will host the first Fun Art—A Fundraising Carnival at Speyer Hall, University Settlement on July 13. The event will feature works of dance that mix performance and technology, and performances will be live-streamed.

Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

ORLANDO:  Beginning next March, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the first park in San Diego. The celebration, dubbed "Sea of Surprises," will take place over 18 months at the parks in San Diego, San Antonio, and Orlando and will include new interactive experiences, shows, pathway performances, animal encounters, and the SeaWorld “Surprise Squad” treating guests with prizes.

TAMPA:  Busch Gardens is adding a new attraction that will be the tallest freestanding drop tower in North America. Falcon's Fury will open next spring and will take riders soaring 60 miles per hour straight down the 335-foot tower, some of it face-first.

VANCOUVER:  Picatic, a crowdfunding platform for event ticketing and management, is dropping the per-ticket service fee and instead is asking event organizers to determine their own service fee after the event.

WASHINGTON:  Oprah Winfrey is donating $12 million to the Smithsonian's new National Museum of African American History and Culture, which is slated to open in late 2015. The museum will name its 350-seat theater after her. Press release: http://bit.ly/12D9VQJ

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With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Haley Holton, Beth Kormanik, Lauren Matthews, and Anna Sekula in New York.

BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.

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