November 12, 2014: What a Legitimate Marijuana Conference Looks Like, Microsoft Uses Augmented Reality to Promote New Game, Have You Heard of Singles’ Day?


1. WHAT A LEGITIMATE MARIJUANA CONFERENCE LOOKS LIKE: The first Cannabis Grand Cru—a marijuana industry event—debuts this weekend in Aspen, Colorado, from Los Angeles-based Blue Sugar Productions. The event is part of a niche that’s growing after the passage of marijuana legalization laws. Aspen Daily News: “The event originally offered a designated outdoor location at the hotel in which attendees could enjoy marijuana. But city officials disallowed that notion, citing an ordinance that states, ‘The operation of any public or private club or business allowing the consumption of marijuana on the premises’ is illegal.” http://bit.ly/1xx4Qpp

2. MICROSOFT USES AUGMENTED REALITY TO PROMOTE NEW GAME: Microsoft is promoting its new game Sunset Overdrive with bus shelters that use augmented reality to make passersby feel like they're inside the first-person-shooter game. The shelter promotion has popped up in San Francisco, London, and Melbourne. Adweek: “The ads look like normal digital screens from afar, but when you get closer, they use augmented reality to make passersby feel like they're in the game. Mutant characters look as if they're about to jump out at you while other images from the game appear on the screen.” http://bit.ly/1who12E

3. HAVE YOU HEARD OF SINGLES’ DAY?: Parties thrown by students in China to celebrate their bachelorhood have spread across the country. The event, called Singles' Day, is now China's biggest retailing holiday. It’s celebrated on November 11, or 11/11; the date's digits symbolize being single. New Yorker: “On Tuesday, people visiting Web sites run by Alibaba, the Chinese Internet company, spent nearly three times the amount of money spent by all online shoppers in the United States last year on Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. Alibaba, it turns out, has discovered a holiday of its own to exploit for commercial purposes.” http://nyr.kr/1v33rHM


* INDUSTRY NEWS *

International Market Centers, which owns two properties in Las Vegas and High Point, North Carolina, that each hold semiannual trade shows, is planning a $200 million initial public offering. Nasdaq: http://bit.ly/1uaXAPj

* LOCAL NEWS *

BOSTON:  Bust magazine is expanding its Holiday Craftacular event to the city, hosting more than 120 vendors in the South End on November 22. The event travels to Greenpoint, Brooklyn, December 6-7.

LAS VEGAS:  The Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals will host the Jennifer Harman Celebrity Poker Tournament on November 14.

A new $3 million fire, water, and projection installment will debut to the public as part of the La Reve show at the Wynn on November 15.

LOS ANGELES:  On Sunday, Castle Gourmet, Mack Sennett Studios, and Food Is the New Rock presented the inaugural iHeartSilverLake EastSide Food Festival, which took place at Mack Sennett Studios in Silver Lake. A neighborhood power outage left the area with no electricity for nearly four hours, but the show still went on with about 350 attendees and 25 vendors thanks to a generator.

The Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians has unveiled plans to add a new four-diamond hotel wing, a luxury spa, a new ballroom and meeting space, a resort-style pool complex, two restaurants, and related improvements to the Pechanga Resort & Casino.

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

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  Actress Joan Collins will talk about her life at the 17th annual Old Bags Luncheon, a benefit for the Center for Family Services of Palm Beach County, on March 5 at the Breakers Palm Beach.

NEW YORK:  The Governors Ball music festival will return to Randall's Island next year from June 5-7. An announcement from the city and Founders Entertainment said a recent study estimated the economic impact of the event at $40 million.

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

TORONTO:  Pizzeria Libretto has opened a new location downtown. The 4,000-square-foot restaurant has 110 seats. Toronto Life: http://bit.ly/1zM0kpu

WASHINGTON, D.C.:  The United Nations Foundation will host an event to mark the unveiling of Ted Turner's portrait at the National Portrait Gallery December 2. Turner will speak at the event.

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With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, and Anna Sekula in New York.

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

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