This week's roundup includes crowned cupcakes at a garden party in Florida, a "velvet station" at Ray-Ban's party in New York, sailors in Dior at a fashion show in Brooklyn, and star-shaped inflatables standing in for fireworks in Washington.
The Sound of Music is the current production at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. To celebrate the classic musical, the opera's women's board hosted a thematic gala surrounding the performance on May 2. Calihan Catering provided Bavarian-style snacks. On the menu: pretzel twists with violet mustard, bacon-wrapped veal bratwurst, and sweet potato cakes with braised quail and fresh rosemary.
The premiere party for the new western comedy A Million Ways to Die in the West took place in Los Angeles on May 15. Projection mapping of time-lapse desert scenes illuminated the façade of an adjacent building and was designed to immerse guests in the feeling of the Wild West. The opposite wall included a projection of a waning moon set against a night sky.
Ray-Ban hosted an event to celebrate its newest collection of Wayfarers on May 15 at Stage37 in New York. Situated in the middle of the party space, the velvet station invited guests to interact with the material via various flocked items. They could also flock their own Ray-Ban "Smooth as Velvet" poster.
Raf Simons staged his cruise 2015 show for Christian Dior in the Brooklyn Navy Yard on May 7. Upon arrival at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, guests disembarked from the branded Dior ferry and were met by a phalanx of male models dressed in Dior sailor uniforms.
The Museum of Modern Art’s annual Party in the Garden, held on May 13, transported guests to the English countryside this year—perhaps as a nod to the British honorees, actor Daniel Craig and Academy Award-winning director Steve McQueen. Boxwood hedging and large topiaries served as borders along the museum's lobby and atrium, evoking the feel of a true English garden.
Returning for a third consecutive year, the 2014 Frieze New York art fair took over Randall's Island May 9 to 12. In one notable addition, Production Glue recreated a 1971 art installation as a fully functioning hotel installed within the fair. For $350 a night, a guest could reserve a bedroom for one night's stay at the fair.
The Washington Monument reopening ceremony took place on May 12. To add a patriotic touch, star-shaped inflatables mimicked fireworks.
The association hosted an afternoon panel discussion on May 5. Seizing on the date, planner Audrey Lakin of Executive Productions Ltd. infused the day with Cinco de Mayo-inspired flair. When guests arrived, they mingled over appetizers and drinks served from a bar decked with bright linens and hanging sombrero hats.
The Great British Garden Party took place May 16 at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida. Intended to promote tourism and jobs in Great Britain, the event offered British-theme cupcakes topped with edible crowns from Cakes by Irma.
The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago hosted its annual Butterfly Ball on May 2. This year's function had a theme of “Abundant Nature,” and Event Creative's decor brought a taste of the outdoors to the tented dinner space. Centerpieces held suspended jelly jars that were filled with tiny LED lights, resembling jars of fireflies.
