Fabric Show Provides Inspiration
Planners and designers looking for the latest trends in fabrics could find inspiration at the International Fashion Fabric Exhibition, which ran during the first week in October at the Javits Center. Overall, prints prevailed, Women’s Wear Daily reports. One exhibitor, Radictexiles, showed off new fabrics made with aluminum-dipped yarns, which goes along with the trend of metallic-accented fabrics. The show was also awash in fresh color palettes, especially deep jewel tones seen on velvet. Tie-dyed offerings featured dark and neutral tones. Alan Litman exhibited delicate laces, Impala showed glittery nylon-Spandex blends, and Sequins International exhibited tweeds with lots of sequins and texture.
Posted 10.20.04
PGI Names New Creative Director
Event and communications agency PGI appointed Walt Behnke to the position of creative director.
Posted 10.20.04
Hospitality Vet Dead at 50
Hospitality industry veteran Aldo Marsili died suddenly on Monday in a New York City hospital. He was 50 years old. His 27-year career included stints with major hotel groups such as Holiday Inns New York, Marriott Hotels New York, and Millennium Hotels and Resorts, North America.
Posted 10.20.04
Susan Magrino's Big Wedding Party
Susan Magrino has plenty of experience working on top-notch events for clients like Dom PĂ©rignon and Hearst, so it came as no surprise that her wedding party was as tricked out as any of her corporate work. After Magrino married publishing executive James Dunning at the Ocean Club (a Magrino client) in the Bahamas,
the couple held a party to celebrate last week at the Four Seasons, complete with a bar stocked with Moët & Chandon and Ciroc (more clients), and desserts from Jacques Torres (ditto) and Le Cirque (not a client, but owner Sirio Maccioni is).
The party also offered a large supper buffet spread and dancing to music from DJ Tom Finn. Among the visual delights—aside from seeing approximately 600 media and PR actively bumping into, fawning over, or avoiding one another—were David Monn's installation of crystals and fall leaves hanging above the restaurant's fabled pool, two enormous urns filled with autumnal foliage, and a row of large hurricane lamps lining the walkway between the pool room and the grillroom. And thanks to the potential appearance of Magrino's longtime client Martha Stewart on the day before she headed to prison, the media assembled outside the party rivaled the press line for most movie premieres.
Posted 10.13.04
ABC Halts Star Jones's Freebie Hoarding
Yet another case of the idea that the more money you have, the more you expect things for free: According to The New York Post, The View cohost and Payless Shoe Source spokeswoman Star Jones has angered her bosses at ABC with all of the shameless plugging she's been doing on the morning talk show to promote the vendors who are ponying up freebies for her impending wedding. Jones has made deals for free invitations, dresses, flowers, makeup, and hairdressing in exchange for free publicity.
One of the companies that Jones promised to plug on The View in exchange for providing the goodie bags for the bridal party was informed by ABC daytime director Randall Barone that they will not receive any promotional mention on the show. Despite Jones' promise to make it up to them in the form of a plug on a different show, the company pulled out of its involvement in the wedding.
Posted 10.13.04
Cipriani Expands Empire
Cipriani U.S.A. plans to double its number of event spaces in the city, according to Cipriani restaurant consultant Arthur Backal in a Crain’s New York Business report. Its newest space opens in the International Toy Center building at 200 Fifth Avenue this month.
Posted 10.13.04
Movie Studio Opens Doors for Events
Kaufman Associates Studios in Queens will begin accepting bookings for private parties, Crain’s New York Business reports. Its commissary, the Studio Café, has 110 seats and can be rented at $200 per hour.
Posted 10.13.04
Country Music Awards Come to New York
"Mommas, don't let your babies grow up to be mayors," was Mayor Michael Bloomberg's opening quip at a Tuesday press conference, where he announced that the Country Music Awards (CMA) will be held in New York on November 15 of next year. The 2005 awards ceremony will be the first time that the awards will not be held at its traditional home in Nashville, and marks the first event lured to the city by NYC Big Events, the city group charged with bringing large productions like the CMAs to New York. The event's economic impact on the city is projected to be approximately $30 million.
Posted 10.06.04
Read our Impresario Q&A with NYC Big Events president Maureen Reidy...
Xanadu Coming to Meadowlands
By Spring 2007, the Meadowlands could have a new $1.3 billion sports and entertainment complex called Xanadu, The New York Post reports. Governor Jim McGreevey and New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority head George Zoffinger signed the lease for the 104-acre property yesterday.
Posted 10.06.04
New Tech Expo Slated for Javits
A new tech trade show, C3 Expo (Corporate and Channel Computing Expo), will take place in June 2005 at the Javits
Center. H. A. Bruno—responsible for originating PC Expo and other high-tech trade shows—will produce and manage the event.
Posted 10.06.04
Jersey Journal Honors Event Firm
New Jersey online business journal NJBIZ honored Impressive Events with a “New Jersey’s Finest Business” award for its growth and excellence. A ceremony was held in September.
Posted 10.06.04
Award Judges Eye Event Sites
The Webby awards—which recognize excellence in Web site design and function—added a category for event-related sites, which can now be nominated and compete for honors in the ninth annual award celebration in May.
Posted 10.06.04
Krisam Expands
Hotel sales organization Krisam Group appointmented Liz Bernstein as director of sales for its new Southern California office, which opened in October.
Posted 10.06.04
No Tie: The New Black Tie?
When Versailles Foundation fund-raiser Barbara de Portago threw a party at Le Cirque last week, the dress code called for no tie, The New York Post's Page Six reports. It was also the called-for costume at the Gucci-sponsored "New York After Dark" fete at the Museum of the City of New York on Wednesday.
Posted 09.29.04
Paramount to Peggy: Drop Dead
After allegedly asking Paramount’s director of worldwide marketing Gerry Rich to give up his seat at the premiere for Mean Girls earlier this year, hotshot publicist Peggy Siegal may never work with the studio again, The New York Post’s Page Six reports. Siegal apparently mistook Rich for a nobody and asked him to give up his seat to someone more important, and although neither side of the dispute would comment, rumor has it that the studio will blacklist her from producing any future events. Further, the blog Gawker.com posted this comment about Siegal from an anonymous reader:
“Seems this once high-flyer is falling fast. Besides the little snafu she had with Paramount…it seems that they are desperate to have people show up. The past three invites from her office have come by e-mail and then are followed an hour or two later by a very aggressive phone call. The pushy assistant on the phone doesn't politely ask if we've received the invitation, she demands a response, though the party is weeks away.”
It seems the imperiled publicist could use a good publicist of her own.
Posted 09.22.04
PM Expands
Westchester County-based event planning firm PM Amusements acquired Distinctive Party Design, formerly known as Westchester Party Design.
Posted 09.22.04
Hotels Stiffed by RNC Delegations and Protestors
If you stayed in the city during the Republican National Convention, this news won't surprise you: Business was slow that week. According to Crain's New York Business, anecdotal evidence suggests that the convention didn't bring the economic boom to the city's hospitality and retail industries that Mayor Michael Bloomberg promised. Businesses around Madison Square Garden suffered the most, reporting sales off at least 50 percent. And the 40 hotels that agreed to discount and hold rooms for convention delegates were informed mere weeks before the RNC that 4,000 of the 18,000 hotel rooms wouldn't be needed after all, leaving hotel managers scrambling to fill those rooms at discounted rates.
Hotel managers speculate that delegates shared hotel rooms or opted not to bring the family to save money (all delegates had to foot the hotel and transportation tabs for their visits to New York), or conversely, booked their own rooms at more luxe hotels, which explains the smaller number of hotel rooms needed. In fact,
the only hotel that was booked solid for the week was the Waldorf=Astoria, which housed the first family and the rest of President Bush's entourage.
Another reason behind many empty rooms: Protestors who booked rooms and then didn't show up. The New Yorker hotel had 21 no-shows, and when the hotel tried to bill a penalty to the credit cards that held the reservations, the hotel found that 14 of the accounts were fake.
Posted 09.15.04
Anna Wintour Look-alikes Blitz Fashion Week
While Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour was no doubt ensconced in the front row of some fashion show in the city Monday, a gaggle of Wintour look-alikes—dressed in Chanel-like suits, and brown, shoulder-length bob wigs—blitzed the tents and subway entrances near Bryant Park to hand out copies of Metro, the free weekly newspaper, according to advertising Web site www.adrants.com. The marketing stunt promoted the newspaper's coverage of Fashion Week, which concludes today.
Posted 09.15.04
New Yorkers See Negative RNC Impact
The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion conducted a poll of 777 New Yorkers on September 8 and 9 on their opinions of the city's role as host of the Republican National Convention, and not surprisingly, it wasn't good, reported The New York Times. The post-convention poll found that 53 percent of New Yorkers voted that New York should not have been the host city to the convention, compared to the 59 percent of those polled in April who found the event a positive thing for the city. Sixty-five percent thought that the cost of hosting the convention outweighed the economic benefits to the city, but at the same time, 67 percent did not feel personally inconvenienced by the event.
Yet New Yorkers feel differently about athletes and spectators. The article adds that 68 percent of New Yorkers think hosting the 2012 Olympics would be good for the city.
Posted 09.15.04
Overland Founder Dead at 56
Overland Entertainment
founder Jonathan Scharer died of cancer on September 7 at his home in Greenwich, Connecticut, at the age of 56, The New York Times reports. Scharer founded Overland in 1986 and worked on a variety of events, including Glamour's Women of the Year awards, the James Beard Foundation awards, and the U.S. Open. He was also the founding producer of Off Broadway spoof musical Forbidden Broadway, and produced concerts for acts including Blondie, Michael Feinstein, and Bob Marley.
Posted 09.15.04
News Gives Events More Press
Beginning October 3, The New York Daily News will include a new 48-page glossy magazine in its Sunday edition that will showcase events in and around the city. The magazine, called 25 Hours, will feature mostly captioned photographs—instead of stories—by News photographers, The New York Times reports.
Posted 09.15.04
ISES Metro Celebrates Sweet 16
The New York metropolitan chapter of the International
Special Events Society will celebrate its 16th anniversary this year. Keeping with a "sweet 16" theme, the anniversary event will take place at Dylan's Candy Bar on Tuesday, September 21.
Posted 09.15.04
ISES Honors P&V Enterprises
Event production company P&V Enterprises won the International Special Events Society's Esprit award for best creative concept for its work on the gala dinner of the 2003 Working Mother Media 100 Best conference, which featured a guest speaker who incorporated company names into popular songs rather than reading a list.
Posted 09.15.04
Republicans: We Love the 80's
We're sure no one was expecting Usher or Franz Ferdinand
to perform at any of the convention-related parties, but some of the considerably less-than-hip entertainment choices still raised some eyebrows.
Z.Z. Top played a corporate-sponsored party on Monday at B.B. King, but the bearded bunch wasn't the headliner—that would be cover band Kiss Nation.
Senator John McCain did book current Saturday Night Live cast member Darrell Hammond to make an appearance at his Wednesday night party at Cipriani 42nd Street—but he'll perform with Joe Piscopo, who joined the cast in 1980.
Piscopo also made an appearance—singing Sinatra songs,
no less—at a reception for the Michael Tyler Fisher Center for Education on Monday on the Intrepid.
And speaking of the Intrepid, the Pointer Sisters will perform at a party there for the California delegation on Thursday. ("Neutron Dance" was on the charts in 1985, by the way.)
One 80's exception: Lynyrd Skynyrd—whose first album came out in 1973—played a party for Southern delegates at Crobar on Sunday night.
Another: Country duo Brooks & Dunn—who are playing an AIDS fund-raiser for 1,200 in Rockefeller Center on Wednesday—are not 80's throwbacks. But they're not exactly hip either.
Posted 09.01.04
Top Convention Planner Gets Southern Treats
He may not be the man getting most of the attention at the Republican National Convention this week (that would be George W. Bush). But Bill Harris is the guy running the show, and he was the guest of honor at a reception for 300 on Saturday night given by Time Warner in the Time Warner Park Café, the cafeteria in the new Time Warner Center (which hosted the media welcome party that night as well). To toast the convention C.E.O., Restaurant Associates served Alabama Slammers (Harris is from Alabama), with amaretto, Southern Comfort, sloe gin, lemon and orange juices, and a cherry garnish. The Southern-style buffet offered summer corn salad, barbecued filet of beef with Alabama barbecue sauce, and barbecued summer vegetables. And for dessert: hand-painted elephant cookies.
Posted 09.01.04
Matching the Convention Drink for Drink
The Republicans rented Nick & Stef's, the steak house next to Madison Square Garden to entertain invited guests, and the restaurant created a slate of specialty drinks matched to the different themes of each night of the convention. For Monday's "Courage of a Nation" opening night theme, the restaurant welcomed guests to New York with a "Big Apple Martini" made with vodka, triple sec, and sour apple liqueur. For Tuesday's "Compassion of the American People," the drink was a passion fruit margarita. Wednesday night brings "Land of Opportunity" and a Bloody Mary with a skewer garnish of celery and red, yellow, and green peppers. And Thursday—the night of Bush's big speech—guests can down two different Dr. Pepper-based drinks (evidently the president loves Dr. Pepper). One drink combines the soda with vanilla vodka; the other is an ice cream float, with Dr. Pepper and vanilla ice cream.
Posted 09.01.04
Republicans Strike at Bowling Bash
Convention-goers overwhelmed by their New York experience could enjoy a familiar pastime at this party. California Congressman and House Rules Committee chairman David Dreier was the guest of honor at the Big Apple Martini and Bowling Party Sunday evening. Sponsored by Target, Bank Of America, Diageo Wine, and CFSB, the event took over both Bowlmor Lanes and Pressure, where guests imbibed the signature martinis and noshed on mini lamb chops, veggie spring rolls, and jumbo shrimp cocktail. A sexy, redheaded aerialist clad in a red bikini performed for guests inside Pressure.
Posted 09.01.04
RNC Pampers Media
Drawing comparisons between the Democratic National Convention and this week's Republican fete at Madison Square Garden, Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz gives the lowdown on the perks of covering the Republicans versus the Democrats. Aside from the expensive and much-touted media welcoming party at the Time Warner Center on Sunday night, journalists are being treated to massages, manicures, and other
spa treatments by Completely Bare Spa, and men can get haircuts, shoe shines, and hot towel treatments from John Allan's salon. A concierge from Le Parker Meridien hotel is on hand to make dinner reservations, fax papers, and hail cabs. Inside the press center, reporters are noshing cuisine prepared by Ed Koch administration Gracie Mansion chef Mitchell London.
"These press perks are designed to avoid excessive crankiness by those covering President Bush's re-nomination," writes Kurtz. "And compared with the Democrats' Boston convention, where media types worked in a massive tent and had to endure urine-soaked port-a-potties, New York is a civilized step up."
Posted 09.01.04
RNC by the Numbers
The Republican National Convention email newsletter gave the
lowdown on the materials used to put together the foundation of the four-day extravaganza:
Madison Square Garden's convention stage and arena floor is lit with approximately 1,000 lights.
Connectivity comes in the form of 1.5 million feet, or 284 miles, of cable. And inside every cable is about 10 wires, making for approximately 150 million feet, or 28,409 miles, of wire.
"Fabricated certified U.S. steel," 350,000 pounds of it, makes up the foundation for the elevated floor inside the Garden.
Is it American wood? The delegate floor, press platforms, camera stands, skyboxes, and the press conference center were created with 200,000 square feet of lumber.
Red carpet isn't just for Hollywood types: 30,000 square feet of red carpet was used for the delegate floor, hospitality areas, the bridge that connects the media center in the Farley Post Office to the Garden, skyboxes, press conference center, press filing center, and press camera platforms.
Posted 09.01.04
Julia Child to Be Honored by James Beard Foundation
Cookbook author, culinary pioneer, and cooking show personality Julia Child, who passed away on August 13 at the age of 91, will be honored at the 2005 James Beard Foundation awards at the Marriott Marquis on May 2. Child helped establish the foundation in 1986 and was instrumental in preserving Beard's Greenwich Village town house, the foundation's headquarters.
Posted 09.01.04
New Execs at Great Performances
Great Performances recently expanded its executive roster. Gary Coyle, formerly of Tavern on the Green, joins as executive chef; George Buttacavoli as chief operating officer; Susan Borwick as director of client relations; and Karen Hillburn joins the sales management team.
Posted 08.18.04
The Plaza Apartments?
The Plaza Hotel will be sold to Elad Properties for $675 million—or $838,000 a room, the highest amount ever paid for a New York City hotel—The New York Daily News reports. Elad plans to turn some of the 805 rooms in the hotel into condos. Although the hotel recorded a $1.8 million loss last year, industry analysts estimate the conversion plans will help boost revenue and allow the new company to raise hotel rates. Donald Trump (who sold the Plaza in 1995 to Saudi prince Alwaleed Bin Talal) considered similar plans to convert the hotel, but never implemented them.
Posted 08.18.04
NYC Revises Bid for 2012 Olympics
The city's final bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games would include $2 billion in construction of new Queens venues. The Frank Gehry-designed Atlantic Yards Arena, the proposed future home of the Brooklyn Nets, is now securely tied to the bid (all gymnastics competitions would take place there, rather than Madison Square Garden and the 369th Regiment Armory), sparking much controversy with those who oppose the arena.
Posted 08.18.04
Heien Leaves Bragman
Matt Heien left Bragman Nyman Cafarelli and launched his own public relations and entertainment marketing agency, Eastside P.R. The new agency will have offices in Manhattan and Miami Beach, Florida.
Posted 08.18.04
Condé Nast Concert to Kick Off Fashion Week
Condé Nast Media Group's "Fashion Rocks" event will kick off fall Fashion Week on September 8 at Radio City Music Hall. The event will complement a collector's music magazine distributed with Condé Nast and Fairchild pubs, and will celebrate the relationship between fashion and popular music. Style.com's executive director, Candy Pratts Price, will style the concert, with Usher, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, and Andre 3000 slated to perform while modeling designer clothing from the collections of Dolce & Gabbana, Michael Kors, Gucci, and others.
Posted 08.18.04
White Cherry to Produce NFL Kickoff
White Cherry Entertainment—the company that produced the 2004 Tony awards—will produce the "NFL Opening Kickoff Show" on September 9, The New York Post reports. In the aftermath of last year's Super Bowl half-time show malfunction produced by CBS's MTV unit, the National Football League has introduced a new policy on entertainment during games, and plans to retain more control over the content.
Posted 08.18.04
More Visitors, Revenue for New York
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NYC & Company president and C.E.O. Cristyne Nicholas announced that tourist visits to the city reached a record 38 million in 2003. Both leisure and family travel increased during 2002 and New York City remained the top U.S. destination for overseas visitors.
Posted 08.18.04
Newsflash: NYC Tough to Navigate
A new Cendant survey places New York City as the fifth most challenging city in the country for visitors to navigate, with Boston holding the number one honor. Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Baltimore place second, third, and fourth respectively.
Posted 08.18.04
Mercedes Launches Massive Experiential Marketing Effort
In a 12-city tour, Mercedes' "LoveMercedes" event will be the brand's largest experiential marketing program ever. The program brings nine Mercedes models to each city for a weekend test-drive on three custom tracks, pairs Mercedes with lifestyle products, and offers visitors enticing services like massage to get them in the buying mood.
Posted 08.18.04
Big Apple Fest Comes to Big Apple
On August 10, a party at Gotham Hall, produced by Derringer & Weitz Communications and coordinated by Paint the Town Red, launched Big Apple Fest. Following the success of Chicago's CowParade 2000, Big Apple Fest is this year's two-month-long public art exhibit, encouraging tourism and raising money for NYC & Company, City Harvest, and the Police Athletic League. Capitalizing on New York's beloved moniker, the fest
will decorate the city with more than 300 four-foot-high and four-foot-wide colorfully designed apples. A special apple dedicated to the media of New York City was unveiled by Tony Danza and Aida's Deborah Cox at the launch party. The two-month festival will conclude with a live auction at Sotheby's in December.
Posted 08.18.04
FreshDirect to Add Corporate Catering
Online grocer FreshDirect will expand its service to include corporate catering. Previously only available for residential delivery, the two-year-old company will deliver meals for corporate breakfasts, lunches, and meetings in Manhattan.
Posted 08.18.04
New York Tops Hotel Tax Chart
With the Javits expansion and Jets stadium plans in the works, it's no surprise that the taxes that will foot the bill for these big projects are big, too. According to MSNBC, New York ranks as the city with the highest hotel tax in the nation, with the average tax at $25.85. Maui came second at $20.93. In 2003, nationwide taxes averaged around $9.51 per night based on an average room rate of $83.26. The lowest hotel tax is in Nebraska, where rooms were taxed as little as $4.18 per night.
Posted 08.04.04
Industry Leaders Honored
At the Meeting Professionals International awards at the World Education Conference in Denver last week, Meeting Horizons president Elizabeth Zielinski was named international planner of the year, and Hattie Hill Enterprises CEO Hattie Hill was named International supplier of the year.
Also at the conference, the Convention Industry Council held its annual Hall of Leaders gala, and inducted into its hall of fame Walt Disney Parks and Resorts senior vice president George Aguel, Marriott International's senior vice president Roger Dow, Eisenstodt Associates chief strategist Joan Eisenstodt, Conferon Global Services president Bruce Harris, James E. Jones & Associates president James Jones and PWN Exhibicon International president Peter Nathan.
Posted 08.04.04
New Director at PGI
PGI named Gordon Roberts to the position of creative director for the automotive market. Roberts has more than 20 years' experience creating events in Europe, South Africa, South America and the U.S.
Posted 08.04.04
Calvin Klein's Hamptons Fete a Trashy Affair
Calvin Klein's Hamptons housewarming was a frat party-style disaster, according to a report from an anonymous reporter on Gawker.com. Party crashing was rampant at the event planned by Robert Isabell, and many of the estimated 800 guests behaved so lasciviously that Klein asked Patrick McMullan to stop taking pictures.
Posted 07.14.04
NYC Opera Signs Lisa Lori
The New York City Opera recently selected Lisa Lori Communications to handle its media relations, as well as event management and production for the opera's annual fund-raisers.
Posted 07.14.04
New Exec at DKC
Ani Zerounian has left Lou Hammond & Associates to join the hospitality and lifestyle division at Dan Klores Communications as a senior account exec.
Posted 07.14.04
Grand Old Party Firms Up Party Plans
Parties surrounding the Republican National Convention will include a luncheon celebrating Johnny Cash at Sotheby's, a party for 2,000 at the Copacabana hosted by Governor Pataki, a reception at Gracie Mansion to honor the Latino Congressional Caucus, a reception for gay Republicans in Bryant Park hosted by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and another Bloomberg event at Gracie Mansion for pro-choice Republicans, The New York Times reports. Some groups insisted in their contracts that the venues keep the events confidential; many planners anticipate demonstrations and other security concerns.
Posted 07.14.04
Feud Over Pier 59
Pier 59 Studios owner Federico Pignatelli is suing his landlord, Chelsea Piers, for $20 million alleging fraud, breach of contract and slander, The New York Post reports. Pignatelli claims Chelsea Piers forced him to close his trendy outdoor eatery the Deck by fraudulently reporting violations to the city. Chelsea Piers has yet to respond to the accusations.
Posted 07.14.04
Outside Caterers Chosen for R.N.C. at MSG
Madison Square Garden recently made the decision to open the premises to outside caterers for the Republican National Convention in August. Restaurant Associates, Creative Edge Parties, Abigail Kirsch and The Glazier Group have been confirmed.
Posted 07.07.04
Jack Morton Dead at 94
Jack Morton Worldwide founder Jack Morton died on June 28 at his home in Florida. He was 94. The company he founded in Washington, D.C., in 1939 is now a massive global marketing agency, and is producing the opening and closing ceremonies of this summer’s 2004 Olympic Games.
Posted 06.28.04
Krisam Expands
The Krisam Group, a worldwide sales organization for hotels and resorts, recently opened its seventh U.S. office in Portland, Oregon. The new office will serve the West Coast markets, and Christie Post will serve as director of sales.
Posted 06.28.04
Ballet's Bond Bomb
Women's Wear Daily had less-than-glowing things to say about the New York City Ballet's Dance with the Dancers benefit. After the success of 2003's disco-themed event, WWD claimed this year's James Bond theme "was far from a license to thrill," and called it, "more Remington Steele than 007." Not all the guests were disappointed, the report adds: Saks Fifth Avenue's Jaqui Lividini, event co-host and one of our Event Planners of the Year, enjoyed the opportunity to show off pictures of her newborn daughter.
Posted 06.23.04
New Look for Nell's
The old Nell's nightclub on West 14th Street will get a $1 million face-lift thanks to new owner Noel Ashman, The New York Post reports. Ashman brought aboard Imitation of Christ designer Tara Subkoff, socialite Ann Jones and a group of architects from Frank Gehry's office to take on the task.
Posted 06.23.04
MPI Announces Winners, Installs Officers
The greater New York chapter of Meeting Planners International held its annual awards and installation gala at the Copacabana on June 21. The chapter recognized New York University's Mondell Sealy as the chapter manager of the year, Plus 2 Promotions' David Fells as the supplier of the year and others for their work in the industry. The chapter also swore in elected officers, including president-elect Frank Stapleton of the Monarch Group.
Posted 06.23.04
Management Move at Aramark
Aramark recently announced the promotion of former regional vice president of sports and entertainment Jack O’Brien to executive vice president of convention and cultural attractions. He will manage the division that provides food, facility and other support services to more than 50 convention centers and tourist and cultural attractions in the U.S.
Posted 06.23.04
Changes for Metropolitan Hotel
The Metropolitan Hotel has new management, and will change its affiliation from Loews to Doubletree. The art deco facade will remain unchanged, but the lobby, restaurant, bar and all 755 guests rooms will be revamped as part of a $35 million renovation project undertaken by new owners Highgate Holding, Oxford Capital Group and Goldman Sachs. The investment group recently bought the property for $122 million.
Posted 06.23.04
Balazs Buys Meatpacking Property
Boutique hotelier Andre Balazs—owner of the Mercer and the Standard and Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles—recently purchased property in the meatpacking district for a new hotel. The New York Post reports that Balazs paid $24 million for the three-quarter-block property bordered by Washington, Little West 12th, West 13th and the West Side Highway. Balazs recently sold his shares in the Gramercy Park Hotel for $32 million, and has also started construction on a Midtown hotel set to open early next year.
Posted 06.16.04
Le Cirque 2000 leaving Palace
Le Cirque 2000 owner Sirio Maccioni signed an agreement with the Palace Hotel that will allow him get out of his lease as early as January 1, The New York Times reports. Maccioni plans to relocate the restaurant from the hotel to an Upper East Side venue that more closely resembles the original Le Cirque.
Posted 06.16.04
Lang Turns 80
Restaurateur George Lang celebrates his 80th birthday on June
15 at Cafe des Aristes, the eatery he brought to international fame. Evelyn and Leonard Lauder, Barbara Walters, Rick and Kathy Hilton, Ed Koch and commissioner Ray Kelly are expected to be among the attendees. The Saxton Group is managing PR.
Posted 06.16.04
Reagan's Funeral a Planning Feat
The death of former president Ronald Reagan spawned a frantic clamor to pull together the first presidential state funeral in more than 30 years. The New York Times compares the preparations to an inauguration in reverse—with five days instead of six weeks to prepare—and reports that a 300-page funeral plan is in place to choreograph the pageantry. Some of the staff who planned the president's trips while he was in office have volunteered to work on his funeral, including Rick Ahearn, who was present during the assassination attempt and is planning the logistics for receiving the president's coffin in Washington. The State Department also established a task force to coordinate the representatives from foreign governments attending the funeral, who are likely to be accommodated at the luxe residences of their ambassadors in the capitol.
Posted 06.09.04
Extreme Makeover for Canteen
Used-to-be-chic Mercer Street restaurant Canteen will get a facelift from designer Serge Becker, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten is said to be working on the menu, The New York Post reports.
Posted 06.09.04
Travel Planners to Coordinate RNC Lodging
The 2004 Republican National Convention announced that third-party lodging handler Travel Planners will serve as the convention's official housing coordinator.
Posted 05.24.04
Bryant Park Debate Resolved
The showdown between fashion designers and Republicans has been peacefully resolved. The Republican National Convention had proposed a Congressional luncheon in Bryant Park on a day when the fall Fashion Week tents were to have already been installed, but city officials recently persuaded the politicos
to find another location, reports Women's Wear Daily.
Posted 05.24.04
New York Closer to Hosting 2012 Olympics
New York is one of five cities unanimously selected to advance to the final bidding round for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, joining Paris, London, Madrid and Moscow. Members of the International Olympic Committee will make their final selection on July 6, 2005, in Singapore.
Posted 05.19.04
Met Pav Picks Scharff Weisberg
Metropolitan Pavilion selected Scharff Weisberg as the venue's sole supplier of audio, video and lighting services.
Posted 05.19.04
La Caravelle to Close
La Caravelle, the 40-year old restaurant in Midtown renowned for its haute French cuisine, will close its doors on May 22, reports The New York Times. The restaurant's owners, Rita and Andre Jammet, cite fluctuating business as the reason for their decision not to renegotiate their lease. The celebrated restaurant was mst recently honored with a James Beard Foundation nomination for outstanding restaurant of the year.
Posted 05.12.04
Harrison & Shriftman to Run Super Saturday
Harrison & Shriftman will take over Super Saturday, the Hamptons' big summer shopping event to benefit the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, replacing Rogers & Cowan. The event will take place on July 31 in Bridgehampton, and ticket prices will start at $375, according to Fashion Week Daily. The Strategic Group and Bragman Nyman Cafarelli will replace last year's publicist Lauren London, and Mercedes-Benz will be the title sponsor.
Posted 05.12.04
Changes at Hamptons Polo Challenge
The Strategic Group and Bragman Nyman Cafarelli will run this year's Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge in Bridgehampton, replacing London Misher, according to The New York Post.
Posted 05.12.04
Per Se Picks Lotus NYC Flowers
Lotus NYC Flowers signed an exclusive contract to provide floral decor for Per Se, the Thomas Keller restaurant in the Time Warner Center that reopened on April 28.
Posted 05.12.04
XA and N5R Join Forces
The Experiential Agency (XA) will partner with N5R, a digital marketing company based in Toronto, Ontario. The partnership will allow XA to market events via text messaging.
Posted 05.12.04
Lead Dog is Best in Show
Lead Dog Marketing Group was awarded "Best in Show" for its Maximum PC Dream Machine trade show booth at the South by Southwest convention in Austin, Texas.
Posted 05.12.04
James Beard 2004 Award Winners
No one expects samba dancers in G-strings at the James Beard Foundation awards, but there they were, shakin' booty onstage at the onset of the ceremony. The dancers were just part of Monday evening's presentation at the Marriott Marquis, where more than 1,000 guests packed the Broadway Ballroom for the most important food and restaurant industry event in the country. The awards ceremony was followed by a Latin-themed tasting gala; a schmooze-fest for the restaurant community.
Here's a list of New York-based winners:
Posted 05.12.04
Event Pros Show Up on The Apprentice
Event industry players have been popping up on The Apprentice of late. A recent episode had the high-roller wannabes selling a venue to event planners, with appearances by folks like Paint the Town Red's Howard Givner and Empire Force Events' Jaclyn Bernstein. And the co-founders of gift bag company Buzz Bags, Debra Scott and Jane Ubell-Meyer, have been, well, buzzing that their bags will be a "major element of the drama unfolding" in this week's final episode.
Posted 04.14.04
Victoria's Secret Show Cancelled: Malfunction Prevention?
Victoria's Secret cancelled its $10 million televised lingerie fashion show, along with its annual catwalk show for fashion press. The show's ratings were in decline, but a spokesman for the brand stated that 25 percent of the decision to pull the plug had to do with all the attention swirling around the Janet Jackson breast-baring incident, and the FCC's reaction, according to Women's Wear Daily.
Posted 04.14.04
Trade show Reps Talk
The New York Fashion Council met on April 8 to discuss better ways of coordinating trade show activities. Representatives from 10 big show organizations attended the industry caucus at the Victoria Royal showroom, reports Women's Wear Daily.
Posted 04.14.04
GLM Gives Exhibitors Online Guide
George Little Management recently launched an online "Guide for New Exhibitors," a handbook addressing pre-show preparation, on-site expectations and post-show follow-up. The guide is designed to assist companies exhibiting for the first time in the United States, and is currently online on the National Stationery Show Web site (www.nationalstationeryshow.com) as well as the Sources Web site (www.sourcesny.com).
Posted 04.14.04
MoMA Returns to Manhattan
After undergoing an extensive renovation that temporarily moved the museum to Queens, the new 630,000-square-foot Museum of Modern Art will reopen in Manhattan on November 20. Admission will be free to the public on opening day.
Posted 04.14.04
New Owner for Bloom
Former Emanuel Emanuel Ungaro C.E.O. Kimberly Perrone recently bought Bloom Flowers from Lesly Zamor.
Posted 03.31.04
Christo's Park Art Approved
New York City has finally approved a Central Park art installation proposal by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, nearly 25 years after they conceived the idea. For two weeks in February 2005, 7,500 fabric-draped gates—16 feet high and varying in width from 6 to 18 feet—will line the park's many pedestrian pathways. The artists, who are funding the work themselves, came up with the idea for the piece in 1979, but the proposal was repeatedly rejected due to environmental concerns.
Posted 03.31.04
MPI Has 17th Annual Auction
More than 300 meeting and hospitality industry professionals convened at Pier 60 on March 23 for the Meeting Professionals International Greater New York chapter's 17th annual Terry Spinelli Auction. Pier 60's exclusive caterer Abigail Kirsch provided passed hors d'oeuvres and dinner and Maui Wowi served smoothies during the silent auction. Funds raised through the sale of nearly 200 items this year will support the Terry Spinelli Scholarship Fund and Miracle House, a community-based organization that provides support services to the visiting families and friends of people living with H.I.V. and cancer. Additional auction items will be sold from April 5 through 15 during the event's second online auction.
Posted 03.31.04
Brooklyn Gets Restaurant Week
Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz recently announced "Dine in Brooklyn," the borough's first-ever restaurant week. More than 90 restaurants from around the borough plan to participate in the week-long event, from April 15 through 22. “Dine in Brooklyn” is presented by the Brooklyn Tourism and Visitors Center as a campaign to promote Brooklyn restaurants and attract tourists and visitors from throughout the city.
Posted 03.31.04
West Side Stadium Plans Get Go-Ahead
New York City and State officials say they will make plans for the West Side stadium official on March 25, according to The New York Times. The proposed 75,000-seat stadium will have a retractable roof and will host New York Jets football games. The new stadium would nearly double the size of the Javits Center.
Posted 03.24.04
Life Imitates Art in Capitale Robbery
While planners were setting up former bank space Capitale for the Ladykillers movie premiere, two armed robbers duct-taped some of the employees and made off with $5,000, according to the New York Post. The plot thickens: Organizers were in the midst of setting up the space to look like a robbery scene to mimic the theme of the movie. The event proceeded as planned.
Posted 03.24.04
Cielo Named Best Club
Meatpacking district nightclub Cielo has been awarded the DanceStar award for the country's best club. The venue received the award during a televised ceremony broadcast from Miami's Winter Music Conference.
Posted 03.24.04
Aruba and U.S. Sign Tax Agreement
Aruba announced the signing of its first-ever Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with the United States. The agreement will ensure the exchange of tax information between the two countries and offers tax deductions to the group and meeting/incentives market doing business on the island. Aruba is the ninth significant offshore financial center to sign such an agreement with the U.S. in the last two years, joining the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and others.
Posted 03.24.04
Are MTV's VMAs Going to L.A.?
We hear MTV is considering moving its annual Video Music Awards to Los Angeles this year. The big event—which usually spawns various pre- and after-parties and plenty of event industry business—is typically held the Thursday before Labor Day. This year that would put the event on September 2, which coincides with t
Planners and designers looking for the latest trends in fabrics could find inspiration at the International Fashion Fabric Exhibition, which ran during the first week in October at the Javits Center. Overall, prints prevailed, Women’s Wear Daily reports. One exhibitor, Radictexiles, showed off new fabrics made with aluminum-dipped yarns, which goes along with the trend of metallic-accented fabrics. The show was also awash in fresh color palettes, especially deep jewel tones seen on velvet. Tie-dyed offerings featured dark and neutral tones. Alan Litman exhibited delicate laces, Impala showed glittery nylon-Spandex blends, and Sequins International exhibited tweeds with lots of sequins and texture.
Posted 10.20.04
PGI Names New Creative Director
Event and communications agency PGI appointed Walt Behnke to the position of creative director.
Posted 10.20.04
Hospitality Vet Dead at 50
Hospitality industry veteran Aldo Marsili died suddenly on Monday in a New York City hospital. He was 50 years old. His 27-year career included stints with major hotel groups such as Holiday Inns New York, Marriott Hotels New York, and Millennium Hotels and Resorts, North America.
Posted 10.20.04
Susan Magrino's Big Wedding Party
Susan Magrino has plenty of experience working on top-notch events for clients like Dom PĂ©rignon and Hearst, so it came as no surprise that her wedding party was as tricked out as any of her corporate work. After Magrino married publishing executive James Dunning at the Ocean Club (a Magrino client) in the Bahamas,
the couple held a party to celebrate last week at the Four Seasons, complete with a bar stocked with Moët & Chandon and Ciroc (more clients), and desserts from Jacques Torres (ditto) and Le Cirque (not a client, but owner Sirio Maccioni is).
The party also offered a large supper buffet spread and dancing to music from DJ Tom Finn. Among the visual delights—aside from seeing approximately 600 media and PR actively bumping into, fawning over, or avoiding one another—were David Monn's installation of crystals and fall leaves hanging above the restaurant's fabled pool, two enormous urns filled with autumnal foliage, and a row of large hurricane lamps lining the walkway between the pool room and the grillroom. And thanks to the potential appearance of Magrino's longtime client Martha Stewart on the day before she headed to prison, the media assembled outside the party rivaled the press line for most movie premieres.
Posted 10.13.04
ABC Halts Star Jones's Freebie Hoarding
Yet another case of the idea that the more money you have, the more you expect things for free: According to The New York Post, The View cohost and Payless Shoe Source spokeswoman Star Jones has angered her bosses at ABC with all of the shameless plugging she's been doing on the morning talk show to promote the vendors who are ponying up freebies for her impending wedding. Jones has made deals for free invitations, dresses, flowers, makeup, and hairdressing in exchange for free publicity.
One of the companies that Jones promised to plug on The View in exchange for providing the goodie bags for the bridal party was informed by ABC daytime director Randall Barone that they will not receive any promotional mention on the show. Despite Jones' promise to make it up to them in the form of a plug on a different show, the company pulled out of its involvement in the wedding.
Posted 10.13.04
Cipriani Expands Empire
Cipriani U.S.A. plans to double its number of event spaces in the city, according to Cipriani restaurant consultant Arthur Backal in a Crain’s New York Business report. Its newest space opens in the International Toy Center building at 200 Fifth Avenue this month.
Posted 10.13.04
Movie Studio Opens Doors for Events
Kaufman Associates Studios in Queens will begin accepting bookings for private parties, Crain’s New York Business reports. Its commissary, the Studio Café, has 110 seats and can be rented at $200 per hour.
Posted 10.13.04
Country Music Awards Come to New York
"Mommas, don't let your babies grow up to be mayors," was Mayor Michael Bloomberg's opening quip at a Tuesday press conference, where he announced that the Country Music Awards (CMA) will be held in New York on November 15 of next year. The 2005 awards ceremony will be the first time that the awards will not be held at its traditional home in Nashville, and marks the first event lured to the city by NYC Big Events, the city group charged with bringing large productions like the CMAs to New York. The event's economic impact on the city is projected to be approximately $30 million.
Posted 10.06.04
Read our Impresario Q&A with NYC Big Events president Maureen Reidy...
Xanadu Coming to Meadowlands
By Spring 2007, the Meadowlands could have a new $1.3 billion sports and entertainment complex called Xanadu, The New York Post reports. Governor Jim McGreevey and New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority head George Zoffinger signed the lease for the 104-acre property yesterday.
Posted 10.06.04
New Tech Expo Slated for Javits
A new tech trade show, C3 Expo (Corporate and Channel Computing Expo), will take place in June 2005 at the Javits
Center. H. A. Bruno—responsible for originating PC Expo and other high-tech trade shows—will produce and manage the event.
Posted 10.06.04
Jersey Journal Honors Event Firm
New Jersey online business journal NJBIZ honored Impressive Events with a “New Jersey’s Finest Business” award for its growth and excellence. A ceremony was held in September.
Posted 10.06.04
Award Judges Eye Event Sites
The Webby awards—which recognize excellence in Web site design and function—added a category for event-related sites, which can now be nominated and compete for honors in the ninth annual award celebration in May.
Posted 10.06.04
Krisam Expands
Hotel sales organization Krisam Group appointmented Liz Bernstein as director of sales for its new Southern California office, which opened in October.
Posted 10.06.04
No Tie: The New Black Tie?
When Versailles Foundation fund-raiser Barbara de Portago threw a party at Le Cirque last week, the dress code called for no tie, The New York Post's Page Six reports. It was also the called-for costume at the Gucci-sponsored "New York After Dark" fete at the Museum of the City of New York on Wednesday.
Posted 09.29.04
Paramount to Peggy: Drop Dead
After allegedly asking Paramount’s director of worldwide marketing Gerry Rich to give up his seat at the premiere for Mean Girls earlier this year, hotshot publicist Peggy Siegal may never work with the studio again, The New York Post’s Page Six reports. Siegal apparently mistook Rich for a nobody and asked him to give up his seat to someone more important, and although neither side of the dispute would comment, rumor has it that the studio will blacklist her from producing any future events. Further, the blog Gawker.com posted this comment about Siegal from an anonymous reader:
“Seems this once high-flyer is falling fast. Besides the little snafu she had with Paramount…it seems that they are desperate to have people show up. The past three invites from her office have come by e-mail and then are followed an hour or two later by a very aggressive phone call. The pushy assistant on the phone doesn't politely ask if we've received the invitation, she demands a response, though the party is weeks away.”
It seems the imperiled publicist could use a good publicist of her own.
Posted 09.22.04
PM Expands
Westchester County-based event planning firm PM Amusements acquired Distinctive Party Design, formerly known as Westchester Party Design.
Posted 09.22.04
Hotels Stiffed by RNC Delegations and Protestors
If you stayed in the city during the Republican National Convention, this news won't surprise you: Business was slow that week. According to Crain's New York Business, anecdotal evidence suggests that the convention didn't bring the economic boom to the city's hospitality and retail industries that Mayor Michael Bloomberg promised. Businesses around Madison Square Garden suffered the most, reporting sales off at least 50 percent. And the 40 hotels that agreed to discount and hold rooms for convention delegates were informed mere weeks before the RNC that 4,000 of the 18,000 hotel rooms wouldn't be needed after all, leaving hotel managers scrambling to fill those rooms at discounted rates.
Hotel managers speculate that delegates shared hotel rooms or opted not to bring the family to save money (all delegates had to foot the hotel and transportation tabs for their visits to New York), or conversely, booked their own rooms at more luxe hotels, which explains the smaller number of hotel rooms needed. In fact,
the only hotel that was booked solid for the week was the Waldorf=Astoria, which housed the first family and the rest of President Bush's entourage.
Another reason behind many empty rooms: Protestors who booked rooms and then didn't show up. The New Yorker hotel had 21 no-shows, and when the hotel tried to bill a penalty to the credit cards that held the reservations, the hotel found that 14 of the accounts were fake.
Posted 09.15.04
Anna Wintour Look-alikes Blitz Fashion Week
While Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour was no doubt ensconced in the front row of some fashion show in the city Monday, a gaggle of Wintour look-alikes—dressed in Chanel-like suits, and brown, shoulder-length bob wigs—blitzed the tents and subway entrances near Bryant Park to hand out copies of Metro, the free weekly newspaper, according to advertising Web site www.adrants.com. The marketing stunt promoted the newspaper's coverage of Fashion Week, which concludes today.
Posted 09.15.04
New Yorkers See Negative RNC Impact
The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion conducted a poll of 777 New Yorkers on September 8 and 9 on their opinions of the city's role as host of the Republican National Convention, and not surprisingly, it wasn't good, reported The New York Times. The post-convention poll found that 53 percent of New Yorkers voted that New York should not have been the host city to the convention, compared to the 59 percent of those polled in April who found the event a positive thing for the city. Sixty-five percent thought that the cost of hosting the convention outweighed the economic benefits to the city, but at the same time, 67 percent did not feel personally inconvenienced by the event.
Yet New Yorkers feel differently about athletes and spectators. The article adds that 68 percent of New Yorkers think hosting the 2012 Olympics would be good for the city.
Posted 09.15.04
Overland Founder Dead at 56
Overland Entertainment
founder Jonathan Scharer died of cancer on September 7 at his home in Greenwich, Connecticut, at the age of 56, The New York Times reports. Scharer founded Overland in 1986 and worked on a variety of events, including Glamour's Women of the Year awards, the James Beard Foundation awards, and the U.S. Open. He was also the founding producer of Off Broadway spoof musical Forbidden Broadway, and produced concerts for acts including Blondie, Michael Feinstein, and Bob Marley.
Posted 09.15.04
News Gives Events More Press
Beginning October 3, The New York Daily News will include a new 48-page glossy magazine in its Sunday edition that will showcase events in and around the city. The magazine, called 25 Hours, will feature mostly captioned photographs—instead of stories—by News photographers, The New York Times reports.
Posted 09.15.04
ISES Metro Celebrates Sweet 16
The New York metropolitan chapter of the International
Special Events Society will celebrate its 16th anniversary this year. Keeping with a "sweet 16" theme, the anniversary event will take place at Dylan's Candy Bar on Tuesday, September 21.
Posted 09.15.04
ISES Honors P&V Enterprises
Event production company P&V Enterprises won the International Special Events Society's Esprit award for best creative concept for its work on the gala dinner of the 2003 Working Mother Media 100 Best conference, which featured a guest speaker who incorporated company names into popular songs rather than reading a list.
Posted 09.15.04
Republicans: We Love the 80's
We're sure no one was expecting Usher or Franz Ferdinand
to perform at any of the convention-related parties, but some of the considerably less-than-hip entertainment choices still raised some eyebrows.
no less—at a reception for the Michael Tyler Fisher Center for Education on Monday on the Intrepid.
Posted 09.01.04
Top Convention Planner Gets Southern Treats
He may not be the man getting most of the attention at the Republican National Convention this week (that would be George W. Bush). But Bill Harris is the guy running the show, and he was the guest of honor at a reception for 300 on Saturday night given by Time Warner in the Time Warner Park Café, the cafeteria in the new Time Warner Center (which hosted the media welcome party that night as well). To toast the convention C.E.O., Restaurant Associates served Alabama Slammers (Harris is from Alabama), with amaretto, Southern Comfort, sloe gin, lemon and orange juices, and a cherry garnish. The Southern-style buffet offered summer corn salad, barbecued filet of beef with Alabama barbecue sauce, and barbecued summer vegetables. And for dessert: hand-painted elephant cookies.
Posted 09.01.04
Matching the Convention Drink for Drink
The Republicans rented Nick & Stef's, the steak house next to Madison Square Garden to entertain invited guests, and the restaurant created a slate of specialty drinks matched to the different themes of each night of the convention. For Monday's "Courage of a Nation" opening night theme, the restaurant welcomed guests to New York with a "Big Apple Martini" made with vodka, triple sec, and sour apple liqueur. For Tuesday's "Compassion of the American People," the drink was a passion fruit margarita. Wednesday night brings "Land of Opportunity" and a Bloody Mary with a skewer garnish of celery and red, yellow, and green peppers. And Thursday—the night of Bush's big speech—guests can down two different Dr. Pepper-based drinks (evidently the president loves Dr. Pepper). One drink combines the soda with vanilla vodka; the other is an ice cream float, with Dr. Pepper and vanilla ice cream.
Posted 09.01.04
Republicans Strike at Bowling Bash
Convention-goers overwhelmed by their New York experience could enjoy a familiar pastime at this party. California Congressman and House Rules Committee chairman David Dreier was the guest of honor at the Big Apple Martini and Bowling Party Sunday evening. Sponsored by Target, Bank Of America, Diageo Wine, and CFSB, the event took over both Bowlmor Lanes and Pressure, where guests imbibed the signature martinis and noshed on mini lamb chops, veggie spring rolls, and jumbo shrimp cocktail. A sexy, redheaded aerialist clad in a red bikini performed for guests inside Pressure.
Posted 09.01.04
RNC Pampers Media
Drawing comparisons between the Democratic National Convention and this week's Republican fete at Madison Square Garden, Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz gives the lowdown on the perks of covering the Republicans versus the Democrats. Aside from the expensive and much-touted media welcoming party at the Time Warner Center on Sunday night, journalists are being treated to massages, manicures, and other
spa treatments by Completely Bare Spa, and men can get haircuts, shoe shines, and hot towel treatments from John Allan's salon. A concierge from Le Parker Meridien hotel is on hand to make dinner reservations, fax papers, and hail cabs. Inside the press center, reporters are noshing cuisine prepared by Ed Koch administration Gracie Mansion chef Mitchell London.
"These press perks are designed to avoid excessive crankiness by those covering President Bush's re-nomination," writes Kurtz. "And compared with the Democrats' Boston convention, where media types worked in a massive tent and had to endure urine-soaked port-a-potties, New York is a civilized step up."
Posted 09.01.04
RNC by the Numbers
The Republican National Convention email newsletter gave the
lowdown on the materials used to put together the foundation of the four-day extravaganza:
Posted 09.01.04
Julia Child to Be Honored by James Beard Foundation
Cookbook author, culinary pioneer, and cooking show personality Julia Child, who passed away on August 13 at the age of 91, will be honored at the 2005 James Beard Foundation awards at the Marriott Marquis on May 2. Child helped establish the foundation in 1986 and was instrumental in preserving Beard's Greenwich Village town house, the foundation's headquarters.
Posted 09.01.04
New Execs at Great Performances
Great Performances recently expanded its executive roster. Gary Coyle, formerly of Tavern on the Green, joins as executive chef; George Buttacavoli as chief operating officer; Susan Borwick as director of client relations; and Karen Hillburn joins the sales management team.
Posted 08.18.04
The Plaza Apartments?
The Plaza Hotel will be sold to Elad Properties for $675 million—or $838,000 a room, the highest amount ever paid for a New York City hotel—The New York Daily News reports. Elad plans to turn some of the 805 rooms in the hotel into condos. Although the hotel recorded a $1.8 million loss last year, industry analysts estimate the conversion plans will help boost revenue and allow the new company to raise hotel rates. Donald Trump (who sold the Plaza in 1995 to Saudi prince Alwaleed Bin Talal) considered similar plans to convert the hotel, but never implemented them.
Posted 08.18.04
NYC Revises Bid for 2012 Olympics
The city's final bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games would include $2 billion in construction of new Queens venues. The Frank Gehry-designed Atlantic Yards Arena, the proposed future home of the Brooklyn Nets, is now securely tied to the bid (all gymnastics competitions would take place there, rather than Madison Square Garden and the 369th Regiment Armory), sparking much controversy with those who oppose the arena.
Posted 08.18.04
Heien Leaves Bragman
Matt Heien left Bragman Nyman Cafarelli and launched his own public relations and entertainment marketing agency, Eastside P.R. The new agency will have offices in Manhattan and Miami Beach, Florida.
Posted 08.18.04
Condé Nast Concert to Kick Off Fashion Week
Condé Nast Media Group's "Fashion Rocks" event will kick off fall Fashion Week on September 8 at Radio City Music Hall. The event will complement a collector's music magazine distributed with Condé Nast and Fairchild pubs, and will celebrate the relationship between fashion and popular music. Style.com's executive director, Candy Pratts Price, will style the concert, with Usher, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, and Andre 3000 slated to perform while modeling designer clothing from the collections of Dolce & Gabbana, Michael Kors, Gucci, and others.
Posted 08.18.04
White Cherry to Produce NFL Kickoff
White Cherry Entertainment—the company that produced the 2004 Tony awards—will produce the "NFL Opening Kickoff Show" on September 9, The New York Post reports. In the aftermath of last year's Super Bowl half-time show malfunction produced by CBS's MTV unit, the National Football League has introduced a new policy on entertainment during games, and plans to retain more control over the content.
Posted 08.18.04
More Visitors, Revenue for New York
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NYC & Company president and C.E.O. Cristyne Nicholas announced that tourist visits to the city reached a record 38 million in 2003. Both leisure and family travel increased during 2002 and New York City remained the top U.S. destination for overseas visitors.
Posted 08.18.04
Newsflash: NYC Tough to Navigate
A new Cendant survey places New York City as the fifth most challenging city in the country for visitors to navigate, with Boston holding the number one honor. Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Baltimore place second, third, and fourth respectively.
Posted 08.18.04
Mercedes Launches Massive Experiential Marketing Effort
In a 12-city tour, Mercedes' "LoveMercedes" event will be the brand's largest experiential marketing program ever. The program brings nine Mercedes models to each city for a weekend test-drive on three custom tracks, pairs Mercedes with lifestyle products, and offers visitors enticing services like massage to get them in the buying mood.
Posted 08.18.04
Big Apple Fest Comes to Big Apple
On August 10, a party at Gotham Hall, produced by Derringer & Weitz Communications and coordinated by Paint the Town Red, launched Big Apple Fest. Following the success of Chicago's CowParade 2000, Big Apple Fest is this year's two-month-long public art exhibit, encouraging tourism and raising money for NYC & Company, City Harvest, and the Police Athletic League. Capitalizing on New York's beloved moniker, the fest
will decorate the city with more than 300 four-foot-high and four-foot-wide colorfully designed apples. A special apple dedicated to the media of New York City was unveiled by Tony Danza and Aida's Deborah Cox at the launch party. The two-month festival will conclude with a live auction at Sotheby's in December.
Posted 08.18.04
FreshDirect to Add Corporate Catering
Online grocer FreshDirect will expand its service to include corporate catering. Previously only available for residential delivery, the two-year-old company will deliver meals for corporate breakfasts, lunches, and meetings in Manhattan.
Posted 08.18.04
New York Tops Hotel Tax Chart
With the Javits expansion and Jets stadium plans in the works, it's no surprise that the taxes that will foot the bill for these big projects are big, too. According to MSNBC, New York ranks as the city with the highest hotel tax in the nation, with the average tax at $25.85. Maui came second at $20.93. In 2003, nationwide taxes averaged around $9.51 per night based on an average room rate of $83.26. The lowest hotel tax is in Nebraska, where rooms were taxed as little as $4.18 per night.
Posted 08.04.04
Industry Leaders Honored
At the Meeting Professionals International awards at the World Education Conference in Denver last week, Meeting Horizons president Elizabeth Zielinski was named international planner of the year, and Hattie Hill Enterprises CEO Hattie Hill was named International supplier of the year.
Also at the conference, the Convention Industry Council held its annual Hall of Leaders gala, and inducted into its hall of fame Walt Disney Parks and Resorts senior vice president George Aguel, Marriott International's senior vice president Roger Dow, Eisenstodt Associates chief strategist Joan Eisenstodt, Conferon Global Services president Bruce Harris, James E. Jones & Associates president James Jones and PWN Exhibicon International president Peter Nathan.
Posted 08.04.04
New Director at PGI
PGI named Gordon Roberts to the position of creative director for the automotive market. Roberts has more than 20 years' experience creating events in Europe, South Africa, South America and the U.S.
Posted 08.04.04
Calvin Klein's Hamptons Fete a Trashy Affair
Calvin Klein's Hamptons housewarming was a frat party-style disaster, according to a report from an anonymous reporter on Gawker.com. Party crashing was rampant at the event planned by Robert Isabell, and many of the estimated 800 guests behaved so lasciviously that Klein asked Patrick McMullan to stop taking pictures.
Posted 07.14.04
NYC Opera Signs Lisa Lori
The New York City Opera recently selected Lisa Lori Communications to handle its media relations, as well as event management and production for the opera's annual fund-raisers.
Posted 07.14.04
New Exec at DKC
Ani Zerounian has left Lou Hammond & Associates to join the hospitality and lifestyle division at Dan Klores Communications as a senior account exec.
Posted 07.14.04
Grand Old Party Firms Up Party Plans
Parties surrounding the Republican National Convention will include a luncheon celebrating Johnny Cash at Sotheby's, a party for 2,000 at the Copacabana hosted by Governor Pataki, a reception at Gracie Mansion to honor the Latino Congressional Caucus, a reception for gay Republicans in Bryant Park hosted by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and another Bloomberg event at Gracie Mansion for pro-choice Republicans, The New York Times reports. Some groups insisted in their contracts that the venues keep the events confidential; many planners anticipate demonstrations and other security concerns.
Posted 07.14.04
Feud Over Pier 59
Pier 59 Studios owner Federico Pignatelli is suing his landlord, Chelsea Piers, for $20 million alleging fraud, breach of contract and slander, The New York Post reports. Pignatelli claims Chelsea Piers forced him to close his trendy outdoor eatery the Deck by fraudulently reporting violations to the city. Chelsea Piers has yet to respond to the accusations.
Posted 07.14.04
Outside Caterers Chosen for R.N.C. at MSG
Madison Square Garden recently made the decision to open the premises to outside caterers for the Republican National Convention in August. Restaurant Associates, Creative Edge Parties, Abigail Kirsch and The Glazier Group have been confirmed.
Posted 07.07.04
Jack Morton Dead at 94
Jack Morton Worldwide founder Jack Morton died on June 28 at his home in Florida. He was 94. The company he founded in Washington, D.C., in 1939 is now a massive global marketing agency, and is producing the opening and closing ceremonies of this summer’s 2004 Olympic Games.
Posted 06.28.04
Krisam Expands
The Krisam Group, a worldwide sales organization for hotels and resorts, recently opened its seventh U.S. office in Portland, Oregon. The new office will serve the West Coast markets, and Christie Post will serve as director of sales.
Posted 06.28.04
Ballet's Bond Bomb
Women's Wear Daily had less-than-glowing things to say about the New York City Ballet's Dance with the Dancers benefit. After the success of 2003's disco-themed event, WWD claimed this year's James Bond theme "was far from a license to thrill," and called it, "more Remington Steele than 007." Not all the guests were disappointed, the report adds: Saks Fifth Avenue's Jaqui Lividini, event co-host and one of our Event Planners of the Year, enjoyed the opportunity to show off pictures of her newborn daughter.
Posted 06.23.04
New Look for Nell's
The old Nell's nightclub on West 14th Street will get a $1 million face-lift thanks to new owner Noel Ashman, The New York Post reports. Ashman brought aboard Imitation of Christ designer Tara Subkoff, socialite Ann Jones and a group of architects from Frank Gehry's office to take on the task.
Posted 06.23.04
MPI Announces Winners, Installs Officers
The greater New York chapter of Meeting Planners International held its annual awards and installation gala at the Copacabana on June 21. The chapter recognized New York University's Mondell Sealy as the chapter manager of the year, Plus 2 Promotions' David Fells as the supplier of the year and others for their work in the industry. The chapter also swore in elected officers, including president-elect Frank Stapleton of the Monarch Group.
Posted 06.23.04
Management Move at Aramark
Aramark recently announced the promotion of former regional vice president of sports and entertainment Jack O’Brien to executive vice president of convention and cultural attractions. He will manage the division that provides food, facility and other support services to more than 50 convention centers and tourist and cultural attractions in the U.S.
Posted 06.23.04
Changes for Metropolitan Hotel
The Metropolitan Hotel has new management, and will change its affiliation from Loews to Doubletree. The art deco facade will remain unchanged, but the lobby, restaurant, bar and all 755 guests rooms will be revamped as part of a $35 million renovation project undertaken by new owners Highgate Holding, Oxford Capital Group and Goldman Sachs. The investment group recently bought the property for $122 million.
Posted 06.23.04
Balazs Buys Meatpacking Property
Boutique hotelier Andre Balazs—owner of the Mercer and the Standard and Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles—recently purchased property in the meatpacking district for a new hotel. The New York Post reports that Balazs paid $24 million for the three-quarter-block property bordered by Washington, Little West 12th, West 13th and the West Side Highway. Balazs recently sold his shares in the Gramercy Park Hotel for $32 million, and has also started construction on a Midtown hotel set to open early next year.
Posted 06.16.04
Le Cirque 2000 leaving Palace
Le Cirque 2000 owner Sirio Maccioni signed an agreement with the Palace Hotel that will allow him get out of his lease as early as January 1, The New York Times reports. Maccioni plans to relocate the restaurant from the hotel to an Upper East Side venue that more closely resembles the original Le Cirque.
Posted 06.16.04
Lang Turns 80
Restaurateur George Lang celebrates his 80th birthday on June
15 at Cafe des Aristes, the eatery he brought to international fame. Evelyn and Leonard Lauder, Barbara Walters, Rick and Kathy Hilton, Ed Koch and commissioner Ray Kelly are expected to be among the attendees. The Saxton Group is managing PR.
Posted 06.16.04
Reagan's Funeral a Planning Feat
The death of former president Ronald Reagan spawned a frantic clamor to pull together the first presidential state funeral in more than 30 years. The New York Times compares the preparations to an inauguration in reverse—with five days instead of six weeks to prepare—and reports that a 300-page funeral plan is in place to choreograph the pageantry. Some of the staff who planned the president's trips while he was in office have volunteered to work on his funeral, including Rick Ahearn, who was present during the assassination attempt and is planning the logistics for receiving the president's coffin in Washington. The State Department also established a task force to coordinate the representatives from foreign governments attending the funeral, who are likely to be accommodated at the luxe residences of their ambassadors in the capitol.
Posted 06.09.04
Extreme Makeover for Canteen
Used-to-be-chic Mercer Street restaurant Canteen will get a facelift from designer Serge Becker, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten is said to be working on the menu, The New York Post reports.
Posted 06.09.04
Travel Planners to Coordinate RNC Lodging
The 2004 Republican National Convention announced that third-party lodging handler Travel Planners will serve as the convention's official housing coordinator.
Posted 05.24.04
Bryant Park Debate Resolved
The showdown between fashion designers and Republicans has been peacefully resolved. The Republican National Convention had proposed a Congressional luncheon in Bryant Park on a day when the fall Fashion Week tents were to have already been installed, but city officials recently persuaded the politicos
to find another location, reports Women's Wear Daily.
Posted 05.24.04
New York Closer to Hosting 2012 Olympics
New York is one of five cities unanimously selected to advance to the final bidding round for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, joining Paris, London, Madrid and Moscow. Members of the International Olympic Committee will make their final selection on July 6, 2005, in Singapore.
Posted 05.19.04
Met Pav Picks Scharff Weisberg
Metropolitan Pavilion selected Scharff Weisberg as the venue's sole supplier of audio, video and lighting services.
Posted 05.19.04
La Caravelle to Close
La Caravelle, the 40-year old restaurant in Midtown renowned for its haute French cuisine, will close its doors on May 22, reports The New York Times. The restaurant's owners, Rita and Andre Jammet, cite fluctuating business as the reason for their decision not to renegotiate their lease. The celebrated restaurant was mst recently honored with a James Beard Foundation nomination for outstanding restaurant of the year.
Posted 05.12.04
Harrison & Shriftman to Run Super Saturday
Harrison & Shriftman will take over Super Saturday, the Hamptons' big summer shopping event to benefit the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, replacing Rogers & Cowan. The event will take place on July 31 in Bridgehampton, and ticket prices will start at $375, according to Fashion Week Daily. The Strategic Group and Bragman Nyman Cafarelli will replace last year's publicist Lauren London, and Mercedes-Benz will be the title sponsor.
Posted 05.12.04
Changes at Hamptons Polo Challenge
The Strategic Group and Bragman Nyman Cafarelli will run this year's Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge in Bridgehampton, replacing London Misher, according to The New York Post.
Posted 05.12.04
Per Se Picks Lotus NYC Flowers
Lotus NYC Flowers signed an exclusive contract to provide floral decor for Per Se, the Thomas Keller restaurant in the Time Warner Center that reopened on April 28.
Posted 05.12.04
XA and N5R Join Forces
The Experiential Agency (XA) will partner with N5R, a digital marketing company based in Toronto, Ontario. The partnership will allow XA to market events via text messaging.
Posted 05.12.04
Lead Dog is Best in Show
Lead Dog Marketing Group was awarded "Best in Show" for its Maximum PC Dream Machine trade show booth at the South by Southwest convention in Austin, Texas.
Posted 05.12.04
James Beard 2004 Award Winners
No one expects samba dancers in G-strings at the James Beard Foundation awards, but there they were, shakin' booty onstage at the onset of the ceremony. The dancers were just part of Monday evening's presentation at the Marriott Marquis, where more than 1,000 guests packed the Broadway Ballroom for the most important food and restaurant industry event in the country. The awards ceremony was followed by a Latin-themed tasting gala; a schmooze-fest for the restaurant community.
Here's a list of New York-based winners:
- San Pellegrino Outstanding Restaurant Award: Chanterelle
- Gallo of Sonoma Rising Star Chef of the Year: Allison Vines-Rushing of Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar
- Smithfield Foods Outstanding Service Award: Eleven Madison Park
- Gallo of Sonoma Outstanding Wine Service Award: Babbo
- American Express Best Chef New York: David Pasternack of Esca
- Outstanding Restaurant Design: Avro Ko for Public
- Outstanding Restaurant Graphics: Avro Ko for Public
Posted 05.12.04
Event Pros Show Up on The Apprentice
Event industry players have been popping up on The Apprentice of late. A recent episode had the high-roller wannabes selling a venue to event planners, with appearances by folks like Paint the Town Red's Howard Givner and Empire Force Events' Jaclyn Bernstein. And the co-founders of gift bag company Buzz Bags, Debra Scott and Jane Ubell-Meyer, have been, well, buzzing that their bags will be a "major element of the drama unfolding" in this week's final episode.
Posted 04.14.04
Victoria's Secret Show Cancelled: Malfunction Prevention?
Victoria's Secret cancelled its $10 million televised lingerie fashion show, along with its annual catwalk show for fashion press. The show's ratings were in decline, but a spokesman for the brand stated that 25 percent of the decision to pull the plug had to do with all the attention swirling around the Janet Jackson breast-baring incident, and the FCC's reaction, according to Women's Wear Daily.
Posted 04.14.04
Trade show Reps Talk
The New York Fashion Council met on April 8 to discuss better ways of coordinating trade show activities. Representatives from 10 big show organizations attended the industry caucus at the Victoria Royal showroom, reports Women's Wear Daily.
Posted 04.14.04
GLM Gives Exhibitors Online Guide
George Little Management recently launched an online "Guide for New Exhibitors," a handbook addressing pre-show preparation, on-site expectations and post-show follow-up. The guide is designed to assist companies exhibiting for the first time in the United States, and is currently online on the National Stationery Show Web site (www.nationalstationeryshow.com) as well as the Sources Web site (www.sourcesny.com).
Posted 04.14.04
MoMA Returns to Manhattan
After undergoing an extensive renovation that temporarily moved the museum to Queens, the new 630,000-square-foot Museum of Modern Art will reopen in Manhattan on November 20. Admission will be free to the public on opening day.
Posted 04.14.04
New Owner for Bloom
Former Emanuel Emanuel Ungaro C.E.O. Kimberly Perrone recently bought Bloom Flowers from Lesly Zamor.
Posted 03.31.04
Christo's Park Art Approved
New York City has finally approved a Central Park art installation proposal by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, nearly 25 years after they conceived the idea. For two weeks in February 2005, 7,500 fabric-draped gates—16 feet high and varying in width from 6 to 18 feet—will line the park's many pedestrian pathways. The artists, who are funding the work themselves, came up with the idea for the piece in 1979, but the proposal was repeatedly rejected due to environmental concerns.
Posted 03.31.04
MPI Has 17th Annual Auction
More than 300 meeting and hospitality industry professionals convened at Pier 60 on March 23 for the Meeting Professionals International Greater New York chapter's 17th annual Terry Spinelli Auction. Pier 60's exclusive caterer Abigail Kirsch provided passed hors d'oeuvres and dinner and Maui Wowi served smoothies during the silent auction. Funds raised through the sale of nearly 200 items this year will support the Terry Spinelli Scholarship Fund and Miracle House, a community-based organization that provides support services to the visiting families and friends of people living with H.I.V. and cancer. Additional auction items will be sold from April 5 through 15 during the event's second online auction.
Posted 03.31.04
Brooklyn Gets Restaurant Week
Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz recently announced "Dine in Brooklyn," the borough's first-ever restaurant week. More than 90 restaurants from around the borough plan to participate in the week-long event, from April 15 through 22. “Dine in Brooklyn” is presented by the Brooklyn Tourism and Visitors Center as a campaign to promote Brooklyn restaurants and attract tourists and visitors from throughout the city.
Posted 03.31.04
West Side Stadium Plans Get Go-Ahead
New York City and State officials say they will make plans for the West Side stadium official on March 25, according to The New York Times. The proposed 75,000-seat stadium will have a retractable roof and will host New York Jets football games. The new stadium would nearly double the size of the Javits Center.
Posted 03.24.04
Life Imitates Art in Capitale Robbery
While planners were setting up former bank space Capitale for the Ladykillers movie premiere, two armed robbers duct-taped some of the employees and made off with $5,000, according to the New York Post. The plot thickens: Organizers were in the midst of setting up the space to look like a robbery scene to mimic the theme of the movie. The event proceeded as planned.
Posted 03.24.04
Cielo Named Best Club
Meatpacking district nightclub Cielo has been awarded the DanceStar award for the country's best club. The venue received the award during a televised ceremony broadcast from Miami's Winter Music Conference.
Posted 03.24.04
Aruba and U.S. Sign Tax Agreement
Aruba announced the signing of its first-ever Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with the United States. The agreement will ensure the exchange of tax information between the two countries and offers tax deductions to the group and meeting/incentives market doing business on the island. Aruba is the ninth significant offshore financial center to sign such an agreement with the U.S. in the last two years, joining the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and others.
Posted 03.24.04
Are MTV's VMAs Going to L.A.?
We hear MTV is considering moving its annual Video Music Awards to Los Angeles this year. The big event—which usually spawns various pre- and after-parties and plenty of event industry business—is typically held the Thursday before Labor Day. This year that would put the event on September 2, which coincides with t
