Boost Mobile's Four-Day Fete
Miami radio station 790 the Ticket and Boost Mobile took over Casa Casuarina, the former Versace mansion, for four days of swag suites and nighttime parties. Producer Tony Berger of New York-based event firm Relevent went for a St. Tropez look, complete with white Boost-logoed oversize daybeds and chaise lounges. Parties included a dinner with Shaquille O'Neal, Nick Lachey, and Fergie, a barbeque for Dallas Cowboys player Terrell Owens and 300 guests, and a late-night soiree for sports agent Drew Rosenhaus. Given Boost's association with the music industry, it was no surprise that both Common and Kanye West gave impromptu performances. W Hotels also hosted a rooftop lounge.
Bauer’s Big on Body Paint
Bauer’s Worldwide Transportation paired with sports marketing agency Pure Rush for its fourth annual Bauer’s Pure Rush Super Bowl event. The Thursday-night party was split between two venues: Havana Club, where guests got cigars and a buffet dinner, and Bricks
nightclub, where DJs Vice, Louis Dee, and JP Rigaud spun on the club’s three levels. The event’s “heaven” theme included lots of white furniture, fog machines, and winged, body-painted models from Dream Angels modeling agency. Inspired by the angels’ body paint—or maybe the free-flowing cocktails—some guests even stripped off layers of clothing to get airbrushed by Body Art by Troy.
Sony PlayStation’s Gaming and Gifts
Instead of throwing a large nighttime bash as it had in the past, this year Sony catered to a more exclusive crowd with its PlayStation Oasis event at the Raleigh Hotel. On Friday and Saturday, invite-only guests enjoyed cocktails and food in poolside cabanas, while “game butlers” and “gamer girls” passed out the latest PlayStation3 games. Upstairs, the Raleigh’s penthouse became a gift suite for V.I.P.s including John Legend, LL Cool J, and Roy Williams of the Dallas Cowboys, who took home custom-etched PlayStation3 consoles and the latest Nike products, like Air Force 1 shoes.
Cadillac’s Stars in Cars
On Saturday afternoon, a parking lot at the American Airlines Arena became a racetrack for the fifth annual Cadillac Super Bowl Grand Prix, a celebrity go-kart race. Fergie, Josh Duhamel, Nick Lachey, and Queen Latifah drove in the competition, spurred on by flag girl Vivica Fox. Racing specialists from Phoenix-based Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving gave racers on-track instruction. The event raised a total of $28,500 for Make-A-Wish Foundation, Haven House, and race winner Leann Tweeden’s chosen charity, Wounded Warriors.
NFL’s Tasting Menu
On Saturday, the NFL hosted its annual Taste of the NFL fund-raiser, where 4,000 guests sampled favorite menu items by celebrity chefs representing every NFL city. This year’s event at the Broward County Convention Center, chaired by former Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula and his son David (who runs the Shula’s Steakhouse chain), benefited the Daily Bread Food Bank of South Florida as well other hunger-relief organizations throughout the country. Chef Kurtis Jantz presented one of the most creative bites: a skewered appetizer of a chili-marinated mozzarella ball wrapped with prosciutto, with a cubed melon confit at the tip. A bulb at the end of the strawlike skewer was filled with vin cotto and Gatorade; squeezing the bulb sent the liquid through the skewer and into the melon, giving the appetizer an extra zest of flavor.
Penthouse’s Deep Thinking
While rival Playboy threw its bash at the American Airlines Arena on Saturday, Penthouse held its “Goin’ Deep” at Miami hotspot Mansion. To go along with the not-so-subtle theme, local production company Designs By Sean transformed the club into an underwater cavern, complete with sea kelp structures, faux fish, clear plastic bubbles, and yards of blue and sea-foam green fabric. Penthouse Pets, covered in ocean-inspired body paint (and little else), mingled with guests throughout the club’s two levels. The menu, catered by EggWhites Special Events Catering, changed throughout the night and included Cuban-inspired hors d’oeuvres, BBQ fare like sliders and hot dogs, and a breakfast buffet. DJs Kid Capri, Irie, and Technician the DJ spun, and Snoop Dogg, returning after an appearance at last year’s event, took to the stage for a live concert—helping to justify the party’s steep $1,000 ticket price.
Spanish in South Beach
Amid the packed schedule on Saturday night, ESPN Deportes, the Spanish-language all-sports network, hosted a party at Suite. Camacho Cigars rolled cigars, DJ Sky Nellor spun tunes, and domino games were open to guests. Jon Hopkins, senior manager of special events marketing for ESPN, oversaw the event, which brought in a crowd of 500 attendees—including Scarlett Johansson and Venus and Serena Williams.
ESPN’s Pregame Tailgate
Jon Hopkins also oversaw ESPN’s tailgate celebration on the afternoon of Super Bowl Sunday. The party for 400 clients, advertisers, sponsors, and cable affiliates took over the field of the Orange Bowl stadium and included a performance by the Coral Springs High School marching band. Among the guests were the Miami Dolphins’ Olindo Mare and the University of Florida’s championship-game MVP, Chris Leak. Houston-based ELI Marketing helped procure the tent and local vendors.
Miami’s Vice
Former Maxim event director Dan Parente produced his first solo Super Bowl fete, called “Vice the Party,” on Saturday night at brand-new nightclub Cameo (located in the former Crobar space). Running with a theme that blended Miami Vice with Grand Theft Auto, Parente’s New York-based production company, Bookem Danno, and Toast worked with sponsors including Coors Light, Zippo, and Bacardi to create experiential elements such as a tattoo lounge and a plexiglass go-go booth, where two models danced under blue lights and faux snowflakes. Also on-site were three peep-show booths, where, once guests placed a coin in the slot, burlesque dancers would part the curtains and perform. Hip-hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari opened for Pharrell Williams, who performed a one-hour set for a crowd of 1,500 that included the Black Eyed Peas’ Will.I.Am, Common, and Stacey Kiebler.
—Lisa Cericola, Mark Mavrigian, Courtney Thompson, with reporting by Albert Del Toral
Posted 02.05.07
Photos: Sara Jaye Weiss (Casa Casuarina), Chris Gordon/Getty Images (Sony), Frank Micelotta/Getty Images (Cadillac), Courtesy of Penthouse, Harvey Bilt Photography (ESPN Deportes, ESPN tailgate), RD/Leon for Retna (Vice the Party)
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