Florida Fall 2010 by BizBash

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FALL 2010

CATERING TRENDS

What to Serve Now 56 Ideas to Steal Corporate Holiday Party Ideas

Plus: 22 New Venues, Kid-Friendly Events, Rental Bars, Teambuilding Ideas, Auction Tips, Lunch Menus, & More

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MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA Volume 8, Issue 3 Fall 2010 © 2010 BizBash Media Showtime hosted a party at the National Hotel in Miami Beach on August 14 to celebrate the DVD release of the fourth season of Dexter. The 150-person event was the network’s ﬁrst release party for the serial killer series, which inspired the crime-scene look by local planner Frank Fuentes of Hyphen Media. The bloody decor began with the arrivals carpet, where cast members posed for photographers amid blood spatter and crime-scene tape. Outside, a model with bullet wounds ﬂoated in the pool like a corpse and vignettes in the surrounding cabanas included plastic-covered murder scenes, dismembered fake bodies, and more blood spatter. More photos and details are on BizBash.com.

On the Cover Pan seared ahi tuna from Lyon & Lyon in Miami. Photographed by Moris Moreno for BizBash

FROM THE EDITORS 7 Things to be grateful for

READERS’ FORUM Who is your mentor?

THE SCOUT 13 A bold new backdrop 14 Seven new serving stations 15 How can staffers in satellite ofﬁces stay connected? 16 Light afternoon meal options 17 A new South Florida-based decor and audiovisual company 18 Fun ideas for kid-centric events 19 Rental news 20 Eight ideas and products to have on your radar

PHOTOS: PICTUREGROUP LLC

VENUES 22 Four after-hours spots in South Florida EVENT REPORTS 25 Red Bull’s 85,000-spectator air show 27 Amigos for Kids’ domino-themed fund-raiser 28 Zo’s Summer Groove’s downsized beneﬁt 29 Lexus’s touring eco debate series 30 Coast to Coast: Covert Affairs’ army of secret agents 31 From New York: The rapidly growing BlogHer conference 32 From Orlando: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter’s grand opening 33 Miami Spice’s kickoff event 34 Coast to Coast: Standing Ovation’s performance-packed premieres 35 From Toronto: CTV’s MuchMusic Video Awards party

36 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim and SwimShow 38 Tag Heuer’s 150th anniversary world tour 39 Thrillist’s branded hotel in Miami Beach 40 From Los Angeles: Amway China’s ﬁve-gala incentive program 45 Holiday Parties Ideas for end-of-the-year gatherings directly from the people who plan them Catering Trends 2010 49 A look at the trends and ideas that epitomize this moment in catering 56 Jennifer Rubell’s unconventional approach to food THE DIRECTORY 58 New Miami and Orlando venues TED KRUCKEL 60 Tips for auctions of all kinds

ON BIZBASH.COM Comprehensive local venue and supplier directories The latest industry news Local sites for Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami/South Florida, New York, Orlando, Toronto, and Washington

bizbash.com fall 2010 3

BIZBASH EDITOR IN CHIEF Chad Kaydo NEWS EDITOR Courtney Thompson STYLE EDITOR Lisa Cericola ASSOCIATE EDITOR Anna Sekula

CHICAGO EDITOR/BUREAU CHIEF Jenny Berg

LOS ANGELES EDITOR/BUREAU CHIEF Alesandra Dubin

MIAMI EDITOR/BUREAU CHIEF D. Channing Muller

TORONTO EDITOR/BUREAU CHIEF Susan O’Neill

WASHINGTON EDITOR/BUREAU CHIEF T.J. Walter

ART ART DIRECTOR Joey Bouchard ASSISTANT ART/PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Carolyn Curtis

PHOTO PHOTO EDITOR Alison Whittington ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR Amber Knowles

COPY & RESEARCH ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR

Claire Hoffman

CONTRIBUTORS EDITOR AT LARGE Ted Kruckel WRITER AT LARGE, LOS ANGELES Irene Lacher CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Michael O’Connell, Mimi O’Connor, Brendan Spiegel, Mitra Sorrells, Erin Souza CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Meryl Rothstein, Andi Teran LOS ANGELES: Rosalba Curiel, Shilpa Gopinath TORONTO: Amy Lazar, Erin Letson WASHINGTON: Adele Chapin, Walter Nicholls COPY EDITORS Libby Estell, Josh Wimmer CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Vincent Dillio, Roger Dong, Nick Ferrari, Emily Gilbert, Dan Hallman, John Minchillo, Alice and Chris Ross, Keith Sirchio BOSTON: Aviran Levy, Patrick Piasecki CHICAGO: Mireya Acierto, Tyllie Barbosa, Barry Brecheisen, Eric Craig, Jeremy Lawson, Eddie Quinones LOS ANGELES: Matt Armendariz, BEImages, Jessica Boone, Nadine Froger, Line 8 Photography, Zen Sekizawa, Dale Wilcox MIAMI: Joseph Cancellare & Associates, Matthew Horton, Moris Moreno, Elizabeth Renfrow, Mitchell Zachs TORONTO: Gary Beechey, Jill Kitchener, Henry Lin, Emma McIntyre, Nicki Leigh McKean, George Pimentel WASHINGTON: Tony Brown/Imijination Photo, Stephen Elliot, FotoBriceno, Powers and Crewe EDITORIAL OFFICES 21 West 38th St., 13th Floor, New York, NY 10018 phone: 646.638.3600, fax: 646.638.3601 CHICAGO BUREAU 312.436.2525 LOS ANGELES BUREAU 310.659.9510 MIAMI BUREAU 1450 NE 123 St., North Miami, FL 33161 305.808.3535 TORONTO BUREAU 2453 Yonge St., Suite 101, Toronto, ON M4P 2E8 416.425.6380 CONTACT US Editorial Feedback and Ideas: edit@bizbash.com Event Invitations, Press Releases: nyevents@bizbash.com Directory Listings: listings@bizbash.com Subscription Inquiries: 646.839.6835, subscriptions@bizbash.com New Subscriptions: bizbash.com/subscribe Subscription Renewals: bizbash.com/renew Reprints: Dani Rose, The YGS Group 800.494.9051 ext. 125, bizbash@theygsgroup.com BIZBASH MEDIA C.E.O. AND FOUNDER David Adler PRESIDENT Richard Aaron BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jonathan Adler (CHAIRMAN),

Richard Aaron, David Adler, Beverly Chell, Martin Maleska, Todd Pietri

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SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES & MARKETING Robert Fitzgerald CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER David Micciulla

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EVENTS SENIOR EVENTS MANAGER Sheryl Olaskowitz

OPERATIONS VICE PRESIDENT, CONTROLLER David Levine STAFF ACCOUNTANT Shahla Nas SENIOR DEVELOPER Wei Zheng

BIZBASH NEW YORK 21 West 38th St., 13th Floor, New York, NY 10018 646.638.3600, fax: 646.638.3601 PUBLISHER Jacqueline Gould ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Lauren Stonecipher ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, NATIONAL VENUE GUIDE/ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, BIZBASH BOSTON Andrew Carlin ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Erica Fand, Kristie Hudson

BIZBASH BOSTON 617.340.3914 BIZBASH CHICAGO 312.436.2525 PUBLISHER Susan Babin ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Julia Kearney BIZBASH FLORIDA 1450 NE 123rd St., North Miami, FL 33161 305.893.8771 PUBLISHER Ann Keusch BIZBASH LAS VEGAS 702.425.8513 BIZBASH LOS ANGELES 310.659.9510 PRESIDENT Elisabeth Familian PUBLISHER Hoﬁte Huddleston SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Mandana Valiyee

BIZBASH TORONTO 2453 Yonge St., Suite 101, Toronto, ON M4P 2E8 416.425.6380 PUBLISHER Michael Braun ONLINE SALES SPECIALIST Eileen Gualtieri BIZBASH WASHINGTON 202.684.8743 PUBLISHER Shelley Golinsky MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA ADVISORY BOARD Larry Carrino, PARTNER, BRUSTMAN CARRINO PUBLIC RELATIONS; Jennifer Diliz, DIRECTOR OF FOUNDATION DEVELOPMENT, FLORIDA MARLINS; Lori Elsbree, SENIOR EVENT STRATEGIST, BAPTIST HEALTH FOUNDATION; Lauren Halpern, MEETING & EVENT PLANNER, DECO PRODUCTIONS INC./GRANDE AFFAIRES INC.; Susan Holtzman, PRESIDENT, EVENTURES; Wendy Kallergis, PRESIDENT/C.E.O. GREATER MIAMI & THE BEACHES HOTEL ASSOCIATION; Gerry Kelly, PRESIDENT, MI-VI AT GULFSTREAM PARK & CASINO; Anita Mattner, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF EVENTS MANAGEMENT, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI; Billy Melnyk, EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING MANAGER, BACARDI; Mona Meretsky, PRESIDENT, COMCOR EVENT AND MEETING PRODUCTION INC. AND COMCOR CONSULTING SERVICES INC.; Kelly Murphy, GENERAL MANAGER, PANACHE, A CLASSIC PARTY RENTAL COMPANY; Bruce Orosz, PRESIDENT, ACT PRODUCTIONS; Steven Pollock, MANAGER, GLOBAL ACCOUNTS, HELMSBRISCOE; Lee Schrager, VICE PRESIDENT OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS AND NATIONAL EVENTS, SOUTHERN WINE & SPIRITS; Craig Skilling, PROGRAM COORDINATOR/INSTRUCTOR, DEPARTMENT OF SPORTS/ENTERTAINMENT/ EVENT MANAGEMENT, JOHNSON & WALES UNIVERSITY; Debbie Spiegelman, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MIAMI CHILDREN’S MUSEUM; Tracy Wallach, SENIOR MEETINGS & SPECIAL EVENT PLANNER, SOUTHEAST TOYOTA DISTRIBUTORS L.L.C.

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Save The Date! Florida / Fort Lauderdale Convention Center / April 12, 2011

Your Event Canvas Is Always Changing Join us

for a singularly inspirational and creatively productive day celebrating the “art of the events”

at the BizBash Florida Expo. Longtime curators of the innovative and outrageous, BizBash feeds all your needs with a unique perspective on trends and all things fresh and new for meetings and events.

Find Out More at bizbash.com/miami/tradeshow

BIZBASH FLORIDA EVENT STYLE AWARDS

BIZBASH READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS

Florida’s event creativity will be honored in 18 categories ranging from Best Fresh Idea to Best New Venue. For more information and updates, visit bizbash.com/miami/eventstyleawards

You nominate the ﬁnalists and you vote on the winners in ﬁve categories in these interactive, local market awards. For more information, visit bizbash.com/miami/youvote

EXHIBITOR INQUIRIES Call 305.808.3531 or email akeusch@bizbash.com

New For 2011!

From the Editors

Thanks Giving 8 things I’m grateful for. One of my favorite pages in this issue has a group of event pros describing what their mentors taught them. It’s refreshing to see people being grateful for what someone has given them. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of choosing to be thankful for what we have instead of resentful of what we don’t. That’s easier said than done, sometimes, sure. (Somebody always has a bigger event, budget, or apartment, right?) But it’s better for your mood, and for everyone around you. Aren’t grateful people great? Don’t you want to do more for them? After several seasons of asking staffers, vendors, and other partners to do more with less, it’s probably a good idea to remind ourselves to express our gratitude to the folks who manage to deliver on those expectations with a smile—or at least without whining. So, forthwith, some things I’m thankful for:

The NEW Club Play Premiering now with full production services including: • Full staging and production • New state of the art sound and lighting system • Full kitchen and in-house I had a great dinner at the Girl and the Goat in Chicago recently.

1. Caterers like the folks in our cover story, who keep up with the latest culinary trends, serve increasingly demanding clients and guests, and turn out restaurant-quality food (or better) to huge groups of people, often without a real kitchen.

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE GIRL AND THE GOAT

2. Planners and vendors who make eco-minded choices, even when they’re more expensive and there’s no self-congratulatory “Going green!” theme.

know about what you’re doing next.) The people who do the most impressive work (usually!) complain the least. 5. The cauliﬂower at the Girl and the Goat in Chicago. A week after dinner there, I’m still craving it. 6. The crazy-creative folks who manage to make me, after 10 years as a professional event goer, walk into a party and feel surprised and delighted by some new idea and lucky to be among the few people who get to share the ephemeral experience they’ve created.

3. Hosts who invite a number of guests appropriate to the venue, hire efficient and sufficient door staff to get guests in quickly, and don’t measure an event’s success by the size of the crowd waiting 7. The talented, dedicated editors, designers, writers, and photographers who help put together this outside to get in. magazine and all of the stories we post daily on 4. Story subjects who say “thanks” for BizBash cov- BizBash.com. They have been stretched as much as erage. It’s not why we do what we do—the prime anyone of late, and they still manage to head out to that extra party (not as easy as it might sound), directive is to find helpful, interesting stories for write that extra last-minute news item, hunt readers—but it sure offsets the “Why didn’t you down a better photo for that page, and find one cover my event?” whining that’s more common. more product for that idea roundup. They’re also (My usual response, in short: Perhaps the event wasn’t the most innovative of our choices, perhaps truly nice people. we didn’t have time or space, perhaps it was too 8. Readers who let us know how we’re doing, and similar to something we recently covered. But it’s what we could do better. Won’t you? —Chad Kaydo never personal, and we truly hope you’ll let us

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Readers’ Forum

Who is your mentor? “I was taught several invaluable lessons by women in our industry. Terri Terrazino taught me to take myself out of the equation and keep my eye on what the client needs. Kathy Miller taught me how to listen to a client. Bonnie Siegel taught me to remember to have fun.” Tina Carlson, president, Ivan Carlson, Chicago

“For the past 15 years, Michael Roman of Catersource has facilitated in advancing my career, enhancing my education, and assisting in building my professional network. I have always beneﬁted from his sound advice—most importantly that every event is not necessarily a good event. Learn when to say ‘no.’” Meryl Snow, vice president, Feastivities Events, Philadelphia

“My current boss, Barbara Jarr, taught me the importance of building trust in the relationships I hold with vendors and our board members. When you have good relationships, even the most difﬁcult requests can come to fruition when you can easily turn to others for help.”

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ALONG CAME MARY EVENTS, MATTHEW DAMES (BOSSERT)

Gina Tepavchevich, meeting and event coordinator, Radiological Society of North America, Chicago

“My mother taught me about style and graciousness, which are two of the most important traits needed in this line of business. And my dad has always told me: Remain calm and we’ll make it out of here alive. I live by that motto.” Alison Bossert, senior vice president, special events, Columbia TriStar Marketing Group, Los Angeles

“My beloved sister, Chickie. She taught me the signiﬁcance of tradition, family, amazing food, and the importance of gatherings with your loved ones.” Mary Micucci, founder and owner, Along Came Mary Events, Los Angeles

“My mom was always planning a party. I remember standing at the top of the staircase looking down on a fantastic costume party, dinner party, or even just my mom’s weekly card game. The best part was what she would wear to events, which was usually color coordinated. She passed away 20 years ago, but I’m sure she would laugh knowing I’m usually getting dressed for an event in a bathroom stall!” Mindy Weiss, owner, Mindy Weiss Party Consultants, Los Angeles

“My father. Before blogs, books, podcasts, or Webinars discussed it, my father understood the power of relationships.” Brian Burkhart, president, 7th Wave Communications, Chicago

“Martha Nelson, then editor of In Style, took a chance on me when the magazine had no special projects editor. After working at the William Morris Agency, NBC, and as vice president at three movie studios, I wanted a crack at events in the magazine world. She taught me everything I could possibly want to know about magazine publishing. She is what I call a visionary. All the things she taught me helped me start my own company.” Cynthia Parsons McDaniel, marketing, public relations, and events professional, New York

“My third grade teacher, Mrs. Little. She encouraged me to write poetry, paint, and sketch. She realized I was not a P.E. girl so allowed me to direct plays with my classmates during recess. She stimulated me creatively and treated me as an individual.” Hilary Harris, director of special events, Warner Bros. Studios, Los Angeles

Compiled by Claire Hoffman

bizbash.com fall 2010 9

MY NEW FAVORITE THING “StaffMate (staffmate.com) allows us to quickly place staff for upcoming events and send out memos. Before it, we’d have to call each of our staff members to ﬁnd out if they could work and wait for them to call us back with their availability.” David Turk, president, Indiana Market & Catering, New York

My Cool New Job Lisa Pagano has been named senior campaign manager of marketing at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, where she oversees all marketing and communications for the society’s fund-raisers, including the Leukemia Ball, one of Washington’s largest beneﬁts. She spent six years as the communications manager for the Washington Nationals.

WHAT INSPIRES ME “Fashion runways. This fall, the big trends are ’50s retro, menswear tweeds and houndstooth, gold metallics and brocades, fur, and the color olive green. I translate these into decor using linens, china, furniture, ﬂorals, and little touches like napkins rings and place cards.” Leila Marie Eid, assistant director of events, Northeastern University, Boston

PHOTOS: ROBERT CUSAK (TURK), MARCUS BENNET (PAGANO), COURTESY OF LEILA MARIE EID

“Part of what drew me to L.L.S. was the challenge to expand my role to encompass marketing, and to help expose our events to a market we’re not yet reaching. This department is only a few years old, and it’s great to come in at an early stage. While there’s a great base in place, there’s plenty of room for growth.”

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The Scout

PHOTO: COURTESY OF ATOMIC DESIGN

A BOLD BACKDROP Atomic Design (717.626.4408, atomicrental.tv) recently added a new soft backdrop to its rental collection. The Cell Cloth has a honeycomb design that retains its shape, even when shipped. The product can be tied straight to a pipe or truss or used as a room divider. Designed to work with a variety of lighting techniques, it comes in sheer white fabric, which can be backlit for dramatic effect, or in opaque silver fabric, which absorbs light, creating a more saturated look. Rental prices start at $850 per week and various sizes are available throughout the U.S. and Canada. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Lisa Cericola

13 bizbash.com summer 2010

bizbash.com fall 2010 13

Tate bar, $250, available in New York from Taylor Creative Inc. (646.336.6808, taylorcreativeinc.com)

Curved display bar (can be ďŹ lled with items or lit with LEDs), $400, available across the U.S. from AFR Furniture Rental (888.237.7368, rentfurniture.com)

For Rent

THE BAR SCENE

Montecito bar, $125, available across the U.S. from Town & Country Event Rentals (818.908.4211, townandcountry eventrentals.com)

Dress up cocktail parties and other events with these seven serving stations. By LISA CERICOLA

Lorenzo bar, pricing varies, available in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, and New York from Designer8 Event Furniture Rental (323.962.2062, designer8furniturerental.com)

Echo mirror bar, $500, available across the U.S. and Canada from PBD Events (781.848.1665, pbd-events.com)

Textured mirror plexi bar, pricing varies, available in Toronto from Contemporary Furniture Rentals Inc. (416.703.9236, cfrentals.com)

14 bizbash.com fall 2010

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF NUAGE DESIGNS, COURTESY OF TAYLOR CREATIVE INC., COURTESY OF TOWN AND COUNTRY EVENT RENTALS, COURTESY OF AFR FURNITURE RENTAL, COURTESY OF DESIGNER8 FURNITURE RENTAL, COURTESY OF CONTEMPORARY FURNITURE RENTALS INC.. COURTESY OF PBD EVENTS

Metropolitan modular bar, pricing varies, available in Florida from Nuage Designs (305.573.7840, nuagedesigns.com)

Teambuilding

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF CISCO, COURTESY OF TEAMBUILDING INC., COURTESY OF ODYSSEY TEAMS

How can staffers in satellite offices stay connected? When employees are scattered across the country, creating the sense that you’re all part of one team can be a challenge. But there are various tactics—and technologies—that can help create bonds among far-flung staffers. At Cisco’s offices in San Jose, California, Angie Smith, the company’s senior manager of global sales experience and global sales operations, designed a virtual meeting attended by more than 19,000 employees in 100 countries in 2009. Rather than attend a company-wide meeting in Las Vegas, employees worked in teams to solve clues in a virtual game held in conjunction with the meeting’s online sessions. “The games were tied to Cisco messaging and content,” Smith says. “There were 13,000 [people] involved in the gaming…they collaborated across the world and tried to solve clues in the alternate reality game. It was just insane.” For this year’s meeting, Cisco created another virtual game, but the meeting itself wasn’t held entirely online. Rather, employees gathered at offices around the world in August and connected to a virtual meeting platform to participate in general sessions. Kimball Fisher, whose Portland, Oregon-based consulting firm, the Fisher Group, trains companies like Hewlett-Packard and IBM on teambuilding techniques, suggests working teambuilding into weekly meetings. “You’ve got to create the virtual water cooler experience for people,” he says. “It’s really important you have a regular time that you get together—either over a Web conference or a teleconference—and that you take some time at every one of those meetings to get to know each other a little bit.” “I’m working with a client at IBM who has 65 direct reports. Before their regular conference call he will interview three to five people and

find out some interesting things about them that other people would not know, then he will ask the others to guess who he’s describing,” Fisher says. Cisco employees ny has flown in employees “It takes maybe 10 around the world from other cities for an anminutes, but he reports bonded by playing nual field day in the fall. But that investing that bit “The Threshold,” a the interaction starts when of time helps people do virtual reality game. they’re still spread out: Emthings they would norployees volunteer to be team captains mally do if they were face to face.” and a draft day is held one month Of course, getting people in the prior to the event. “Once the teams same room always helps, if you can are drafted, each team develops an afford it. To create a feeling of conidentity,” Castellano says. “The day of nectedness among employees at Switch, a St. Louis-based experiential the event is a competition. There are marketing firm with offices in Atlanta, a series of eight events—physical, Phoenix, and Dallas, chief creative of- intellectual, and social challenges. It’s ficer Ann Castellano says the compa- a really good time.”

New Activities

On the evening before the event, Switch conducts a company-wide meeting and each team is given a 30-second spot to introduce themselves. At the end of the competition, prizes are awarded to the top three teams and a spirit award is given to the group that demonstrates outstanding creativity, sportsmanship, and enthusiasm. “It’s so well worth the investment,” Castellano says. “The stories made that day live on throughout the year.” —Susan O’Neill

An Odyssey playhouse

These nationwide teambuilding programs provide ways for staffers to learn something new, have fun, and be philanthropic.

Team Samurai teaches staffers the basics of martial arts. Teambuilding Inc. (888.672.1120, teambuildinginc. com) connects martial arts to the workplace in its new program “Team Samurai: The Art of Teamwork.” Instructors use martial arts as a metaphor for work-related topics such as ﬂexibility, focus, communication, and leadership. Participants also learn the basics of meditation, chi, and the mind states of martial arts, and how they relate to personal habits and work. The program can last a full or half day, and prices range from $3,500 to $7,500.

For an activity with a charitable tie-in, Chico, California-based Odyssey Teams (800.342.1650, odysseyteams.com) offers the Playhouse Challenge. Teams of 10 build children’s play spaces from kits, adding custom paint jobs and decorative window and door designs. Odyssey Teams donates them to local children’s shelters, hospitals, and schools. The exercise runs about six hours and includes pre- and post-activity discussions led by a facilitator. The project requires a minimum of 50 people; prices start at $175 per person. —Lisa Cericola

bizbash.com fall 2010 15

Let’s Do Lunch Three light afternoon meals that won’t weigh guests down. By LISA CERICOLA

Pan seared ahi tuna with fondant potatoes, vegetables escabeche, and citrus vinaigrette from Lyon & Lyon (305.534.0600, lyonandlyon.com) in Miami

Sliced jamón serrano, goat’s milk cheese with candied pistachios, black mission ﬁgs, frisée, spiced saffron crema, and a drizzle of sherry vinegar reduction from Diane Gordon Catering (212.289.1230, dianegordoncatering.com) in New York

Asian po’ boy sandwich with panko-crusted shrimp, daikon, carrots, cilantro and sambal aioli on a baguette with green apple slaw from Epicurean Umbrella (epicureanumbrella.com) in Los Angeles

PHOTOS: MORIS MORENO FOR BIZBASH (MIAMI), JESSICA BOONE FOR BIZBASH (LOS ANGELES), GREG POWERS FOR BIZBASH (NEW YORK)

New on the Menu

A New Source for Bike Rentals

PHOTOS: GARY JAMES FOR BIZBASH (FRESH FACES), COURTESY OF THE ELECTRIC BICYCLE STORE, COURTESY OF HALF MOON EMPANADAS

The Electric Bicycle Store (954.565.0562, theelectricbicyclestore. com) in Miami Beach offers motorized bikes for traveling around Miami with ease. The shop has ﬁve models, which plug into any outlet to charge. Rentals begin at $45 for six hours or $65 per day E NTE RTA I NMENT and include helmet, lock, and mounted light. Two weeks’ notice is needed for groups of 20 or more. The company can also bring bicycles to events and give attendees test rides. —D.C.M.

EMPANADAS TO GO Half Moon Empanadas’ (305.379.2525, halfmoonempanadas.com) downtown location—the ﬂagship is in Miami Beach—has 19 varieties of the Spanish pastry, including spicy beef, smoked pancetta, and dulce de leche. The empanadas, $21.99 per dozen, are baked instead of fried. CATER I NG For larger groups, the company offers bite-sized pastries starting at $15.99 per dozen. Dessert empanadas are $14.50 per dozen. Half Moon requires 24 hours’ notice for orders of 100 or more and offers free delivery throughout downtown and Brickell. —D.C.M.

Joel Carlough and Lauren Fine at the Mandarin Oriental Miami

Fresh Faces

DESIGN PARTNERS Former Boca by Design staffers Joel Carlough and Lauren Fine founded their own company specializing in decor and audiovisual services. Joel Carlough and Lauren Fine of decor and audiovisual company Sound, Fabric, and Light Productions (954.933.7699, sflproductions.net) are both business and life partners. The couple met in 2002 while working at Boca by Design, where Carlough focused on event logistics and setup, and Fine booked and designed events at the Boca Raton Resort and Club, which uses the firm as its in-house production company. During Carlough’s five-month tenure, the two fell in love and eventually had two sons. After 11 years handling logistics, lighting design and installation, and on-site coordination for previous employers such as Ocean Reef Resort and Club in Key Largo, Carlough wanted to branch out on his own. “Over time throughout the industry, you always have conversations with coworkers about what it would take to launch a company, and having that conversation planted a seed,” he says. “The more I thought about it, it became clear that we could actually make this happen.” With the support of Fine, who was a stay-at-home mother at the time, they founded SFL in October 2009, specializing in exactly what the name implies: sound, fabric draping, and advanced lighting technologies. Carlough’s specialty is logistics and lighting. Fine, who began her career as an interior designer, serves as managing partner and marketing

manager, and assists Carlough and the company sales associate with event design. “Some days [working and living together] is tough, but it’s very helpful that Joel has a very easygoing personality and never makes things more difﬁcult than they need to be,” says Fine. Since its inception, SFL has garnered big-name corporate clients including AT&T and the N.F.L. “Anytime you give a chance to a start-up company, you are taking a risk, no matter how well you know the person [behind it], and they absolutely came through,” says Patrick Gallagher, sales associate at So Cool Events, which hired SFL to provide theatrical, ambient, spot, and uplighting for multiple events for the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl coaches, players, and their families. In March, SFL created a multicolored changing lighting scheme accompanied by industrial-style trusses and fabric sails for an AT&T product showcase for 800 people at the Fontainebleau hotel. “They have a great willingness to work with you from the beginning standpoint of working with budgets and coming up with a creative concept to making it all work,” says Santosh Nair, managing partner of SNR Meetings and Events, which hired SFL for the event. “With decor it’s hard to translate what your vision is for the space [to a subcontractor], and that experience became a lot easier by working with them.” —D. Channing Muller

bizbash.com fall 2010 17

Idea File

Children can be just as hard to impress as older guests. Here are some fun ideas for kid-centric events. By LISA CERICOLA

At the MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto in June, Katy Perry delighted teenage fans by arriving on the red carpet in an ice cream truck.

In May, Nickelodeon held its ﬁrst annual Mega Music Fest in New York. Producers from Fresh Wata (702.889.0935, freshwata.com) set up a station where kids could decorate noisemakers and provided giant pods for trying musical instruments.

In April, Miami’s One Bal Harbour Resort & Spa (305.455.5400, oneluxuryhotels.com) celebrated its new children’s program with T-shirt decorating and sushi-making stations.

For the July premiere of the new King Kong attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood, Wildlife Waystation Animal Refuge (818.899.5201, wildlifewaystation.org) supplied animals and Fortune Entertainment (818.760.0560, efortune. com) provided jungle-themed entertainment.

PHOTOS: GEORGE PIMENTEL (TORONTO), BIZBASH (MIAMI), ALBERTO VASARI/COURTESY OF FRESH WATA, DAVID SPRAGUE FOR UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD

The Young and the Restless

Rental News AN ONLINE DATABASE RentalComp (rentalcomp.com) is a searchable online database of more than 30,000 rentals, from chairs to heat lamps to dance ﬂoors. Planners can search for items by keyword, which produces a gallery of thumbnail images that can be enlarged and printed. To get prices, the site allows users to email the vendors directly for a quote. The service is free for planners; vendors pay to list their products. —Lisa Cericola

COLORFUL, OUTDOORFRIENDLY SEATING

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF RENTALCOMP, COURTESY OF CORT EVENT FURNISHINGS, COURTESY OF AMMBIENTE DESIGNS

Candy Ottomans are a new offering from Cort Event Furnishings (888.710.2525, cortevents.com). The seats have a white plastic base and removable fabric tops that come in black, orange, red, and a black-and-white ﬁligree pattern, with storage under the seat cushion. The ottomans can be paired with Cort’s white Pop tables for café seating. The collection is available throughout the U.S. —Alesandra Dubin

A NEW SOURCE ON THE EAST COAST National Event Connection (800.358.4335, nationaleventconnection.com), a New York-based entertainment and production company, recently launched a rentals division called Ambiente Designs. Available for events on the East Coast, the collection includes tables, chairs, leather sofas, and a line of sleek light-up lounge furniture made of recycled plastic. In addition to rentals, the company also offers event planning services, lighting, photo booths and games, and live entertainment. —L.C.

Forecast Inspiring ideas, products, and just plain cool stuff to have on your radar. By LISA CERICOLA

2. Philadelphia-based Beautiful Blooms (215.925.9300, beautifulblooms.com) used more than 500 vases and a metal grid to create a hanging topographic map at the 2010 Philadelphia Flower Show.

1. 3.

Luxirare (luxirare.com) is a weekly webzine about “killer clothes and ﬁne cuisine” where blogger Ji shows off her latest edible and sartorial creations, from edible crayons to an Yves Saint Laurent-inspired chain jacket.

German company Novero (novero.com) aims to make technology fashionable. Its latest offering, the Victoria Collection, combines Bluetooth headsets with highend jewelry. The pieces, which cost $250 to $350 each, come in ﬁve styles ranging from a string of pearls to a masculine black and silver design that clips to a shirt. Each one has an earpiece and a pendant that hides a high-quality microphone.

Bompas and Parr (jellymongers.co.uk) design outlandish “food experiences,” like a recent event that charted periods in food history. Sponsored by Courvoisier, “Bompas and Parr’s Complete History of Food” filled a five-story townhouse with installations including flooded dining rooms, massive sugar sculptures, and scratch n’ sniff TV dinners. The duo’s latest book, Jelly With Bompas and Parr will be available in the U.S. in 2011 from Sterling Publishing Co.

7. Three people worth following on Twitter:

6. For Architect Expo 2010 in Bangkok, local design ﬁrm Apostrophy’s (apostrophys. com), created a striking tented structure for publisher Art4d. The designers draped lime green fabric over several poles that lit the space from within. Huge black zippers served as windows and doors. Inside, the exhibit had ﬁve sections for reading, resting, drinking coffee, making purchases, and a play area for kids.

20 bizbash.com fall 2010

Grant Achatz (@gachatz), chef-owner of Chicago’s famed Alinea restaurant, writes about his avant-garde culinary experiments and the restaurant business. Industrial design Web site Core77 (@core77) delivers constant updates about all facets of the design world, from furniture to packaging to technology. Steve Rubel (@steverubel), senior vice president and director of insights for Edelman Digital, focuses on how emerging technologies and trends can be applied to marketing.

The new book Trespass: A History of Uncommissioned Urban Art examines the history of global street art. Published by Taschen, Trespass includes work by 150 artists like Shepard Fairey, Keith Haring, Jenny Holzer, and Banksy, as well as essays by Anne Pasternak of Creative Time and civil rights lawyer Tony Serra.

PHOTOS: ALBERT VECERKA (HARRY ALLEN DESIGN), TOM FEEHLY PHOTOGRAPHY (BEAUTIFUL BLOOMS, LUXIRARE), COURTESY OF NOVERO, COURTESY OF BOMPAS AND PARR, SIRICHAI LVENGRISUTSIRI (APOSTROPHY’S), TASCHEN (TRESPASS)

Pipeline, Harry Allen Design’s (212.529.7239, harryallendesign.com) new seating collection for furniture company Dune (212.925.6171, dune-ny. com) is an industrial take on modular seating.

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A rendering of Greenhouse Florida

Bombay Sapphire Lounge

La Fee Verte

Venues

A Night on the Town Whether you’re looking to entertain out-of-towners or plan a nighttime event for a group, here are four after-hours spots for ... By D. CHANNING MULLER City Views Rooftop Lounge opened in August atop the Townhouse Hotel in Miami Beach. The 5,000-square-foot lounge can accommodate as many as 250 for a reception with expansive city views. Seating for 80 is comprised of white wood chairs and loungers. There is also a communal table for 12, and catering is provided by the hotel’s Bond Street Sushi restaurant. (150 20th St., 305.534.3800) Signature Cocktails The Bombay Sapphire Lounge is scheduled to open in October on the ground ﬂoor of the Carnival Tower of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-

22 bizbash.com fall 2010

Dade County in downtown. The 2,800-square-foot lounge is decorated in the brand’s signature blue and can seat 60 inside, with an additional 50 on the patio. (1300 Biscayne Blvd., 305.576.8888)

eco-friendly details like bamboo ﬂooring and LED lighting. (801 Silks Run)

In-House Entertainment La Fee Verte, a 1920s-style Parisian burlesque club, opened in June Dinner and Dancing Greenhouse Florida is in Miami Beach. This 4,000-square-foot private scheduled to open in October at the Village at nightclub derives its name, which means “the green Gulfstream Park shopping and entertainment cen- fairy” in French, from a 1920s nickname for absinthe. ter in Hallendale Beach. The 10,000-square-foot The club, which can host about 220 people, specialbilevel venue has a 65-seat restaurant on the first izes in absinthe cocktails and features burlesque floor—serving organic, local, and seasonal dishes dancers nightly. There are two event areas for until 2 a.m. daily—and a secondgroups: the semiprivate Betty Page Room ON BIZBASH.COM for 18 people and a second-floor V.I.P. floor nightclub accommodating 500 people. Greenhouse features The latest venue news room for 30. (912 71st St., 305.865.5955)

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF BOMBAY SAPPHIRE LOUNGE, DAVID (LA FEE VERTE), COURTESY OF ROOFTOP LOUNGE; RENDERING: COURTESY OF GREENHOUSE

Rooftop Lounge

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Event Planners of the Year â&#x20AC;˘ Our Editors Reveal the Event Strategists Who Shined. Learn Their Secrets to Success. Audiovisual Production/ Staging â&#x20AC;˘ Practical Ideas for Planners Last-Minute Holiday Party Ideas NEW! Meeting Venues â&#x20AC;˘ From Small Gatherings to Large Corporate Functions, Cool Places for Meetings Advertorial: Entertainment Directory â&#x20AC;˘ Entertainment Companies Whose Talent Pleases Even The Toughest Crowds Advertorial: Production & Design Directory â&#x20AC;˘ A One-Stop Guide to Help Pick the Right Event Producers

PHOTO: COURTESY OF RED BULL

EVENT REPORTS

Slam Dunk After a six-year absence, Red Bull brought its 2010 Flugtag tour back to Miami, where 85,000 locals came out to watch.

The competition took place in the center of downtown Miami at Bayfront Park.

Nearly 85,000 people watched the event from the park and nearby boats.

Flying High Red Bull brought its air show back to the U.S. after a year hiatus, and attracted 85,000 spectators. First and second place winners Team Formula Flug and the Ibis Engineers from the University of Miami posed for photos with their trophies. Local rescue workers waited on nearby wave runners to pull the contestants to the dock following their ﬂights.

The seven judges held up score cards following each ﬂight.

26 bizbash.com fall 2010

Red Bull kicked off its 2010 Flugtag tour on July 10 at Bayfront Park after a yearlong absence from the U.S. and a six-year hiatus from Miami. Flugtag, a German name for an air show, pits contestants from four cities against one another to create a working one-person flying machine. Nearly 85,000 people stepped out in downtown Miami or launched their boats on Biscayne Bay to check out the aerodynamic machines. Red Bull pre-selected the day’s 35 competitors during a selection event held at Nikki Beach on April 20. Beginning at noon, the contestants took turns piloting their inventions off a 30-foot flight deck. A panel of seven judges, including the Miami Heat’s DJ Irie, scored each entry on the distance flown—before it ultimately landed in the bay—as well as creativity of the craft and showmanship. To increase its presence in the city, Red Bull partnered with six local restaurants, including Mia at Biscyane and Burger and Beer Joint—as well as two in central Florida—to show a live stream of the event. The day wrapped up with an award ceremony where Red Bull representatives named the Formula Flug team and its winged Formula One race car the winner for its 54-foot flight. The team won a chance to meet and visit with Red Bull Air Race World Champion Kirby Chambliss at his ranch in Arizona. The Flugtag tour continued in Minneapolis-St. Paul on July 24, Long Beach, California, on August 21, and Philadelphia on September 4. —D. Channing Muller

MIAMI

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF RED BULL

Team Formula Flug, the ultimate winner, posed for photos with its ﬂying machine before taking off.

Dewar’s created an all-white lounge inside the building adjacent to the pavilion to provide guests with a bit of relief from the summer heat, as well as samples of its products.

ING provided branded dominos for playing in the ballroom.

Tyson Band, costumed performers from Hot Jam Entertainment, and fourlegged zoo residents Sponsorships were up at Amigos for entertained guests Kids’ domino-themed fund-raiser. throughout the 90-minute reception Children’s charity Amigos for Kids held before the party MIAMI its annual domino night fund-raiser, moved upstairs to the Treetop Ballsponsored by ING for the sixth year, at Jungle Island on June 19. After a dip in the total number room. Nearly 120 of sponsors last year, the event rebounded with domino tables filled more than 120 corporate and individual sponsors—20 more than in 2009, and many donating the ballroom, each adorned with a flag at a higher level than in previous years. recognizing its spon“Some of the corporate sponsors have been able to up their sponsorship level this year, while sor. The entertainwe’ve seen a decline in the number of individual ment continued throughout the sponsors,” said Amigos executive director Rosa Plascencia, who added that nearly 80 percent of domino tournament with performances sponsors attained the corporate level this year from DJ Peter Diaz by donating $2,000 or more. “I think it’s a direct Jr., the Salsa Kings, reflection of the South Florida economy.” In previous years, many small businesses and and band Kukaraindividuals have sponsored domino tables priced makara until the party wrapped up at $1,000 each; a number of those sponsors upgraded their level of support to the corporate around 2 a.m. Top sponsors intier. While fewer individual donors sponsored cluded Bacardi USA, tables this year, the event still attracted nearly Carnival, Burger 1,800 attendees. King, Comcast, and The evening began with a food-centered fete charter school in the zoo’s courtyard, where 27 local restaurants Academico. and caterers—seven more than last year—set up —D. Channing Muller food stations around the perimeter. The Valerie

PHOTOS: BIZBASH

Game Night

Edda’s Cake Designs returned this year with the event’s signature dominodecorated cake bites.

Amigos for Kids’ Domino Night Additional Stafﬁng, Catering Versailles Restaurant Audiovisual Production, DJ, Lighting, Sound, Staging Pete Diaz Productions Catering Aroma Espresso and Cappuccino Bar, Donut Divas and Fun Foods, Edda’s Cake Designs Coral Gables, French Quarter Restaurant and Bar, Giardino Gourmet Salads, Golosinas, Half Moon Empanadas, Healthy Weight Catering, K’s Designz, La Palma Ristorante, Mena Catering, MIA at Biscayne, Paellas R Us, Por Fin Restaurant & Lounge, Red Koi Thai and Sushi Lounge, Rice House of Kabob, Sunshine Promotions, Sushi Maki, Todo Frio Ice Cream N More Catering, Entertainment, Linens, Rentals, Venue Jungle Island Entertainment Hot Jam Entertainment, Kukaramakara Miami, Salsa Kings, The Valerie Tyson Band Event Management, PR The Agency PR and Event Specialists Flowers Costa Farms Furniture Rentals Nuage Designs Rentals Soiree Event Rentals

The Hard Rock preplated the salad served with a watermelon dressing in a shot glass. The Hard Rock once again draped the perimeter of the ﬂoor to camouﬂage the stadium seats and used ceiling treatments to transform the arena for the dinner

Basketball Cap A beneﬁt hosted by two N.B.A. players increased ticket demand by limiting the seats.

Models in large frames lined the perimeter of the dining area.

Zo’s Summer Groove, the annual five-day fund-raiser hosted by N.B.A. all stars Alonzo Mourning and Dwyane Wade, returned to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood on July 17 for its 14th benefit gala. After attendance reached nearly 980 people last year, organizers capped the number of this year’s seats at 800 to increase demand for tickets and in turn the amount of money raised for the hosts’ namesake charities. “It’s all about supply and demand,” said the event’s sponsorship manager, Tod Roy. “You can keep putting more tables, but that doesn’t make it a hot ticket.” Roy added that table prices have increased from $2,500 to $5,000 in the past few years and he hopes to increase that number to $10,000 in the future. Organizers also introduced a 30-day online auction that began June 25 in an effort to raise funds from supporters who couldn’t attend the gala, many of whom are seasonal residents in Miami and sports fans around the country. The dinner returned to the property’s Hard Rock Live arena, which was draped to disguise its stadium seating. The Hard Rock’s special events team, led by director Susan Renneisen, utilized lighting and reflective surfaces like crystals and mirrors to bring the “Fuego y Agua” (fire and water) theme to life. Zo’s Summer Groove The event raised Benefit Dinner approximately Catering, Decor, Design, $158,000 through Event Management, its auctions, guitar Venue Seminole Hard sales, and raffle. All Rock Hotel & Casino proceeds at the benHollywood Decor, Entertainment ION efit dinner, as well Events LLC as preceding golf Entertainment tournament, comedy DrumJungle, Glitter night, and finale Productions, Sixth Star Entertainment & block party on July Marketing 18, will be donated to Flowers, Rentals Grand the Alonzo Mourning Events by Al Davis Charities and Wade’s Lighting, Sound, Video Beachsound & Lighting Inc. World Foundation. Linens Over the Top Rental —D. Channing Party Linens Muller

Costumed dancers from Ion Events posed for photos along the red carpet before arrivals.

The Hard Rock event team used sparkly silver linens from Over the Top Party Rental Linens to adorn the tables and reﬂect the colorful lighting in the arena.

Ion Events provided two box-shaped ice luges for the night’s specialty cocktail, an Ultimat Vodka cosmopolitan, served during the cocktail reception.

28 bizbash.com july/august 2010

Fender guitars branded with the event’s logo were signed by Mourning and Wade.

PHOTOS: MATT HORTON/ARTIST GROUP PHOTOGRAPHY FOR BIZBASH

MIAMI

PHOTOS: RED EYE PRODUCTIONS

The Misshapes’ Leigh Lezark and Geordon Nicol served as the main DJs for the night, following opening act Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

way,” said Andrea Lim, events marketing manager for Lexus. Actor and comedian Jamie Kennedy moderated the discussion between panelists Amanda Little, an author and environmental advocate, Lexus launched its new hybrid with and Christopher Horner, an author and climatea touring eco debate series. science skeptic. Lexus first debuted the debate concept in On July 20 Lexus hosted its second in March with a press event at New York’s Skylight MIAMI a series of four environmental debates West the night before the car’s official launch at at Grand Central in downtown Miami. As part of the New York International Auto Show. Coordinatthe company’s Dark Side of Green series to launch ed by Inform Ventures, the tour began at Palihouse its new CT 200h hybrid car, the debate pitted two Holloway in Los Angeles on July 8 with moderaenvironmental experts against each other in a tor Andy Samberg then, after stopping in Miami, 40-minute debate about sustainable energy and headed to New York’s Bowery Hotel on July 27 with Lexus commissioned L.A.-based NonDesigns to the green economy, comedian Tracey Morgan. The series wrapped up at create an artistic interpretation of the vehicle. climate change, the Ivy Room in Chicago on August 5, moderated by and where the singer Mark McGrath. Nearly 750 people attended common ground is the Miami event, which began with a 60-minute between the two cocktail reception sponsored by Patrón. sides on environLexus is also staging a vehicle tour to follow mental issues. the Dark Side of Green series that stopped in “It’s a way to each of the four cities Lexus Dark Side of keep the conversa- about three weeks Green Debate Series tion alive and reafter its debate form the message and offered local Additional Staffing, Event that you can have customers and V.I.P.s Management, PR Inform Ventures two [seemingly] the chance to test Decor NonDesigns contradictory lifedrive the new hybrid Actor Jamie Kennedy moderated the Lighting, Production, styles brought tovehicles. discussion between an environmental Staging 3B Productions —D. Channing Muller Venue Grand Central advocate and a climate-science skeptic. gether in a unique

Both Sides Now

In Chicago, the promotion hit a number of places, including the platform of the Chicago Avenue stop on the El train.

Described as a live art installation, the promo was meant to introduce the premise of Covert Affairs and its main character, while disseminating information about the show’s debut.

Covert Operations USA Network teased its new spy drama with an army of secret agents. Eager to drive viewers to the July 15 premiere of Covert Affairs, USA Network deployed a crop of identically dressed women to march through the streets of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago on July 14 and 15. Masquerading as the show’s lead character, C.I.A. agent Annie Walker, the troop of 40 spies clad in white trench coats, sunglasses, red fedoras, and red pumps paraded past high-traffic public areas to silently spread the message. Devised by the TV network and XA, the Experiential Agency as more of a live art installation than the typical street stunt, the promotion involved carefully scripted movements and a strategic route to maximize exposure in each market. The operatives were instructed not to speak and limited their interaction with consumers to handing out fliers about the premiere, a sweepstakes contest, and the show’s online presence. “We are always trying to find innovative ways to create cultural chatter about our series. We have created a visual spectacle that both teases the spy premise of Covert Affairs and stops people in their path,” said Alexandra Shapiro, the senior vice president of brand marketing and digital for NBC Universal/USA Network. “This is the next evolution of street marketing. Nothing has been left to chance. We have choreographed every move.” Starting with New York on July 14, the group trekked across the Brooklyn Bridge and into the financial district and various Manhattan locales before deploying in busy sites in the other three cities on the 15th. Gathering at 8 a.m., groups of agents simultaneously made their way into and around iconic spots like Michigan Avenue and Daley Plaza in Chicago, Philadelphia’s RitUSA Network’s Covert tenhouse Square and Affairs Promotion 30th Street Station, Event Management, and Faneuil Hall and Production XA, the the Public Garden in Experiential Agency Chicago Boston, before wrapStaffing Eye5 Mktg & ping up just after 6 Talent Inc. p.m. —Anna Sekula

COAST TO COAST

The producers instructed the teams to disperse in certain areas and strike covert poses, such as reading newspapers on benches in a Chicago train station.

Operatives were instructed not to speak and limited their interaction with consumers to handing out ﬂiers detailing the premiere.

SUVs subtly branded with the name of the show and television network transported the spies to new locations.

The Covert Affairs stunt began in New York on July 14, starting at the Brooklyn Bridge in the morning.

PHOTOS: ERIK JACOBS (BAG, LIVE ART INSTALLATION), SCOTT NAVA CARASCO PHOTOGRAPHY (CHICAGO EL TRAIN, CHICAGO TRAIN STATION, SUV), JAUHIEN SASNOU/WONDERFUL MACHINE (HANDING OUT FLIERS), DAVID GIESBRECHT/USA NETWORK (BROOKLYN BRIDGE)

To add a bit of intrigue to the promo, the producers employed lowkey clues such as bags marked with a small graphic of the show’s logo.

The Hershey Company and Kraft Foods partnered to create an immersive suite with a focus on s’mores made with their brands.

At an event for Schick Intuition Plus at Stone Rose, the design team from We Came in Peace placed razors inside cocktail tables.

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF HERSHEY’S, HONEYMAID, AND KRAFT JET-PUFFED MARSHMALLOWS (S’MORES SUITE), COURTESY OF SCHICK, COURTESY OF PEPSICO

PepsiCo brought female executives together to discuss the impact women have on society and the marketplace.

on the expo floor, an 80- by 20-foot kitchen for chef demonstrations, tastings, and a sandwich-making competition hosted by Padma Lakshmi. Procter & Gamble also occupied a significant area with its The sixth go-round of the rapidly grow- “Home Away From Home” concept, where bloggers could attend presentations, get product news and ing BlogHer conference drew more giveaways, and relax. attendees and big-brand sponsors. Despite being in a large hotel, the two floors of event space felt intimate, Groh said. One level BlogHer, an online network of fewas dedicated to all opening and closing sessions, NEW YORK male bloggers, has a tagline: “Life keynote speeches, parties, and the entrance to the Well Said.” But the organization’s fast-growing expo hall. The other floor housed breakout sessions, conference—an annual two-day symposium— the swag exchange, an Internet café sponsored by could have its own moniker: “Event Well SponChevy Bolt, press and speaker lounges, and a lactasored.” On August 5 and 6, the sixth iteration of tion lounge. the conference attracted some 2,400 attendees That’s right, a lactation lounge. Many women and 100 sponsors to the Hilton New York, an bring their babies, “and we encourage that,” Groh increase over last year’s conference in Chicago by said. It’s a nod to the conference’s mom-centric 1,000 guests and 50 vendors, respectively. audience and an acknowledgment of how the The swell in numbers is a key indicator of the BlogHer attendee differs from that of a tradirapid growth of women who blog and the scores tional B-to-B conference. “They’re not just here to of high-profile companies looking to actively ennetwork; they’re here to form relationships with gage their attention. people,” said Elaine Wu, BlogHer’s marketing pro“They realized the value of having this in-person grams manager. connection with bloggers,” said Erin Groh, who BlogHer also made an effort to clarify for atheads up sponsor services at BlogHer. The goal for tendees which were the official BlogHer events by sponsors is to build relationships with attendees, keeping almost everything on site. Only two sancand thus Groh encouraged companies to create tioned events, a Liberty Mutual event at Ellis Island experiences that would resonate with the audience and a party hosted by AOL, were held off site, both rather than just hand out products. on Thursday. But that didn’t stop other ON BIZBASH.COM brands—like Schick, which hosted a That push was evident throughout the event. Sara Lee-owned food More photos and vendor Thursday night cocktail party at Stone credits for promotions sur- Rose—from piggybacking on the concompanies Hillshire Farm and Jimrounding the conference ference. —Erika Rasmusson Janes my Dean created the largest booth

’Her Again

The grand opening party culminated with the illumination of the Hogwarts Castle and a ﬁreworks display.

Radcliffe and the Phelps twins rode the park’s Flight of the Hippogriff roller coaster with park guests on June 18.

Wizard’s World Many of the movies’ stars turned out for the celebrity preview party.

Universal opened its Harry Potter attraction with the film stars and re-enactments. After more than two years of construction, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter officially opened to the public on June 18 at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure theme park. In anticipation of the final unveiling, the park hosted an invite-only grand opening party on June 16 with many stars of the film in attendance. Lead actors Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint arrived via a replica of the films’ flying car, while seven of the cast’s supporting actors, including Tom Felton (a.k.a. Draco Malfoy) rolled up in front of the Hogwarts Castle replica in the triple-decker Knight Bus from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The celebration included staple entertainment elements from the films, including the Frog Choir under the direction of actor Warwick Davis, who plays Professor Flitwick, instructor in the art of magical charms and conductor of the choir in the Harry Potter films. Late in the evening, guests gathered in front the replica of Hogwarts Castle, home to the “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” ride, for a special presentation. Radcliffe took the stage and led guests in flicking the wands they received at Ollivander’s shop and saying “Lumos!” to illuminate the castle, upon which Universal projected images from the films as a fireworks display took place overhead, choreographed to music from the films by composer John Williams. The festivities continued during the next two days, with cast members and key players in the creation of the park, including author J.K. The Wizarding World Rowling, holding of Harry Potter Grand press conferences on Opening June 17 and Radcliffe Entertainment, PR, and twins James and Production Universal Orlando Oliver Phelps carousVenue Wizarding World ing with guests on of Harry Potter only at June 18. Universal Orlando Resort —D. Channing Muller

At the grand opening party, performers dressed as students from Beauxbatons, one of the schools that competed in the Triwizard Tournament, re-created the welcoming performance similar to the one in the movie.

All of the Hogsmeade Village stores, including Ollivander’s Wand Shop and Zonko’s Joke Shop, remained open for the preview party.

32 bizbash.com fall 2010

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL ORLANDO RESORT

ORLANDO

Cane Fire Grill offered grilled chorizo with basil pesto, baby arugula salad, and fried Manchego cheese.

Blue Door, in the Delano Hotel, prepared its Crabavocat with blue crab, tomato coulis, and avocado.

Chef’s Choice On July 31, the Miami Beach Convention Center hosted a kickoff event for Miami Spice, the Greater Miami Convention and Visitor Bureau’s prix-ﬁxe menu promotion, which showcased dishes from 35 of the 199 participating restaurants. Here’s a sample.

MIAMI

Aventura’s Ocean Prime prepared ahi tuna tartare with avocado, pickled ginger, and ponzu sauce.

PHOTOS: MATT HORTON/ARTIST GROUP PHOTOGRAPHY FOR BIZBASH

The National Hotel’s restaurant, Tamara, served smoked duck conﬁt with cranberry and jalapeno sangria and Napa slaw.

Nightlife staple B.E.D. offered sweet chili tuna tartare ﬁnished with a dollop of guacamole.

Sing-a-Long Without studio backing, Standing Ovation threw performance-packed premieres in L.A. and Philadelphia. It’s not often that a film without studio backing opts to host not one but two red carpet premieres, but Standing Ovation—executive In addition to a DJ, the evening’s produced by James Brolin—did just that. Working entertainment in Philadelphia with Precision Event Group, the teen-centric film included a three-song held bicoastal screenings in Los Angeles on July 10 Glowing bars performance from the film’s cast. and Philadelphia on July 13 that put the focus on bearing the the young actors. “Dance Sing “We had these kids that were choreographed Dream” motto Wigged Hard and knew how to do these different numbers,” anchored the Rock Cafe said Precision’s Jason Wanderer, explaining that after-party space staffers passed the film centers around two rival song and dance in Philadelphia. sliders during teams trying out for a music video contest. “It the after-party was a no-brainer that we should weave them into in Los Angeles. both events.” Wanderer had the film’s 16 principles sing and dance for the press on the pink carpet in Los Angeles, then give a post-screening performance on a stage on Universal Walk. Some 600 guests headed to the after-party at the Hard Rock Cafe could stop and watch the kids singing and dancing just as they’d seen them moments earlier on the big screen. Shot in Philadelphia and Atlantic City, Standing Ovation stars 26 children, all Standing Ovation Los unknowns from the region, which Angeles Premiere is why producer Diane Kirman After-Party Venue Hard and others involved with the film Rock Cafe Hollywood at wanted to throw a local premiere. Universal CityWalk Attended by 800 guests, the PhilaArrivals Venue Universal delphia event mainly entertained Studios Hollywood Special Events the movie talent, their families Audiovisual Production (each actor received 10 tickets), Clair Sound Worx and local journalists. Despite a Design, Production, looming foreclosure, the Prince Ticketing Precision Event Group Music Theater was able to host the Flowers C.J. Matsumoto screening. & Sons Precision spent two days buildLinens Cloth Connection Local Philadelphia news radio station ing out the hotel’s ballroom, relyRentals Classic Party KYW donated its Kidcasts activity Rentals ing on local and New York vendors station, where children could report Security Special Event to supply rentals, linens, furnishfrom the event. The recordings were Management ings, lighting, and more. The afterStaging Entertainment later uploaded to the KYW Web site. party footprint had a “kids-only” Lighting Services floor in the ballroom’s balcony, Standing Ovation Sixteen principles from the a move that granted the many Philadelphia Premiere film performed on the pink tweens in attendance autonomy Design, Production, carpet for Los Angeles press. while allowing parents to keep a Ticketing Precision Event watchful eye from below. Upstairs, Group the menu literally catered to its Entertainment Catch the Moment audience, with chicken tenders, inFurniture Rentals Bridge dividual pizzas, and pigs in a blanFurniture & Props, C.O.R.T. ket offered alongside the much Event Furnishings, Taylor in-demand s’mores, cupcakes, and Creative Inc. Lighting ShowPro sugar cookies dusted in crystals. Lighting Equipment Earl The film’s principles once Girls Inc. again stole the show, performing Linens Cloth Connection three numbers on stage during the Rentals Party Rental Ltd. party. —Courtney Thompson Staging Main Attractions

Producer James Brolin walked the pink carpet in Los Angeles with wife Barbara Streisand.

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF PRECISION EVENT GROUP (CAST PERFORMANCE, GLOWING BARS, KIDCASTS STATION), NADINE FROGER PHOTOGRAPHY (WIGGED STAFFERS, PRINCIPLES ON PINK CARPET), CHRIS POLK/GETTY IMAGES (BROLIN)

COAST TO COAST

The eTalk and MuchMusic studios were transformed into party spaces.

Katy Perry turned the MMVA stage into a candyland for her performance of “California Gurls.”

that wound across the ceiling and added a playful element to the spaces. “The tubes represent connecting all of the different [CTV] properties.” Party guests, who began arriving at 7 p.m. (two hours before the broadcast), received color-coded CTV transformed its Queen Street wristbands (purple for media, red for reception headquarters into a multilevel guests) at a check-in desk set up in a black tent party venue for the MMVAs. at the venue’s Richmond Street entrance. Guests mingled and watched footage of the red-carpet arMore than 2,000 guests filled CTV’s rivals on television sets throughout the venue. TORONTO Queen Street headquarters on June Non-broadcast artists arrived via the red 20 for a multilevel party during the broadcast of carpet while performers entered through a the 21st annual MuchMusic Video Awards, which separate door that attracted a crowd of 8,000 fans to the intersecled directly into the MuchMusic Video tion of Queen and John streets for a show coartist lounge and Awards hosted by Miley Cyrus and featuring performanc- greenrooms. White Catering Daniel et Daniel es by Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, and Drake. furnishings from Event Creation & Catering The network—which didn’t host a major Furnishings by Corey Decor, Event Management industry party at the 2009 event—invited emfilled the 40 dressThree Event Planning & Design Inc. ployees, sponsors, artists, and record-label execu- ing rooms, each of Flowers Earthwork tives to the bash, planned by Mafalda Caruso, which had a table Furniture Rentals CTV’s executive director of special events, and Rob laden with sweets. Contemporary Furniture Dittmer of Three Event Planning & Design. The Rather than Rentals Inc., Furnishings by Corey pair designed two party spaces in the eTalk and hosting a gift Printing National Sign & MuchMusic studios on the building’s main floor, lounge, CTV made Design Group Inc. and another in the network’s fifth-floor offices. a $10,000 donation Rentals Exclusive Affair “The inspiration for all of the party space was to the Young Artists Rentals Inc. Staffing Core Event Staff from the promotions on MuchMusic,” said Caruso, for Haiti initiative. Staging RnR Staging who called on Dittmer to create colorful tubes —Susan O’Neill

Much More

PHOTOS: STACEY ANTONAKIS, BIZBASH

Servers from Core Event Staff passed hors d’oeuvres from Daniel et Daniel on trays with armrests shaped like tubes.

Bathing Beauties

The Los Angeles-based Aqualillies performed at a pool party at the Raleigh on July 19, sponsored by Zync from American Express.

Mercedes-Benz sponsored a Gran Turismo 5 driving simulator as part of its on-site activations at the Raleigh.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim returned to the Raleigh with 19 shows the same long weekend that SwimShow attracted 7,000 attendees to the Miami Beach Convention Center. Here’s a look at the runways, parties, and stunts.

MIAMI

By CHANNING MULLER

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim

Models sporting Red Carter swimsuits that had been featured in the media posed on pedestals throughout the Bass Museum of Art before the designer’s 2011 collection debuted.

The Dolores Cortes show took place on an elevated runway on the sand behind the Raleigh pool on July 16.

DJ Mia Moretti performed along with violinist Caitlin Moe at a pool party on July 18.

ON BIZBASH.COM More photos and ideas from these events

36 bizbash.com july/august 2010

PHOTOS: SPENCER STRAYER/WORLDREDEYE.COM (AQUALILLIES, MIA MORETTI), BIZBASH (GRAN TOURISMO SIMULATOR, DOLORES CORTES SHOW, HEAT BOOTH, SUNSETS SWIMWEAR), JOHN PARRA/GETTY IMAGES FOR WHITE SANDS

White Sands held a special press preview of its new line on July 16 in the Raleigh penthouse.

For SwimShow, swimwear line Heat created a beach bar-style booth with a central elevated runway.

Latitude’s Rick Fatzinger launched Salon Allure, a new high-end trade show, at the W. The opening night party saw a pool-top runway show.

SwimShow

Designers like Sunsets swimwear staged fashion shows for buyers in their SwimShow booths.

Salon Allure

Diesel and 18 other brands participated in a group show during the Salon Allure opening night party on July 16.

PHOTOS: THOMAS KLETECKA (SALON ALLURE PHOTOS), COURTESY OF CONAIR CORP, RED EYE PRODUCTIONS (W SOUTH BEACH DINNER, NEON TREES), JOHN PARRA/WIREIMAGE (FIRE DANCER)

The W South Beach hosted a private dinner in its penthouse on July 16 to honor its new Puerto Rico property, the global fashion director of W Hotels, and swimwear designer Melissa Odabash.

Conair sponsored branded Beat the Heat buses that transported swim week attendees to the Miami Beach Convention Center and other party locations on July 16 and 17.

Parties The Neon Trees performed on a stage over the W South Beach’s pool on July 18.

A ﬁre dancer performed along with two percussionists during the Inca fashion show on July 16 as part of Funkshion Swim at the Setai.

bizbash.com july/august 2010 37

The Tag Heuer/Tesla roadster was on display.

Road Warriors Signage at the entryway described how a Tag watch is made.

Tag Heuer partnered with Tesla Motors for its 150th anniversary world tour. Luxury watchmaker Tag Heuer stopped in Miami on August 24 as part of its Odyssey of Pioneers world tour to celebrate the company’s 150th anniversary. To mark the occasion, Tag partnered with Tesla Motors, which created a one-of-a-kind electric roadster to tour 15 cities with the brand. “We decided to partner with [Tesla] since we’ve become committed to everything in relation to the environment in the past couple of years, and that partnership kept us going in that direction,” said Stephanie Cariglio, Tag Heuer’s marketing and brand manager for the Caribbean and Latin America. The tour kicked off in Basel, Switzerland, on March 18 with brand ambassador Leonardo DiCaprio and a showcase of 15 timepieces from the company’s history. The party for 250 at the Temple House in Miami Beach marked the 13th stop for the exhibition and the Tesla car, which is being driven from one location to the next. The Vibe Agency produced the three-hour cocktail party and designed separate areas within the private residence’s main event space to showcase the watch exhibit and the car, the latter of which remained covered until Burn Notice star Jeffrey Donovan unveiled it with the help of four stilt walkers about an hour after arrivals. Ronen Bar and Furniture Rental set up white furniture groupings throughout the space with copies of Tag’s Odyssey of Pioneers 150th anniversary book on the coffee tables. Aaron’s Catering passed hors d’oeuvres Tag Heuer Odyssey of Pioneers Tour and small plates acCatering Aaron’s Catering companied by three DJ Sunset Music signature cocktails, Productions including one blasted Entertainment DreamArk with liquid nitrogen Entertainment Furniture Rentals, Rentals for a smoking effect. Ronen Rental: Boutique The tour conEvent Furnishings tinued to New York Lighting, Sound ARPI September 2 to 6, Events PR Patton Group Inc. London September Production The Vibe 15 to 20, and Paris on Agency September 29. Venue The Temple House —D. Channing Muller

Tag Heuer’s 150th anniversary book was displayed at the party.

Tag founder Edouard Heuer’s image hung above a piece from the brand’s collection.

Some 250 people attended the event.

38 bizbash.com fall 2010

Nitrogen created a smokey effect for some of the evening’s signature cocktails.

PHOTOS: JOSEPH CANCELLARE & ASSOC. FOR BIZBASH

MIAMI

Equinox Fitness Club conducted morning yoga sessions on the beach behind the hotel.

Red, the Steakhouse and Gotham Steak chefs participated in a barbecue competition on Saturday afternoon.

and dinner party in a hotel ballroom—moved from the back lawn when torrential rains and flooding that afternoon forced the party inside— with the hotel’s restaurants Scarpetta, Hakkasan, Gotham Steak, and Solo providing food stations Thrillist staged a branded hotel in Miami for dinner and dessert. Singer Angela Laino and Beach with three days of parties. band Suénalo performed during the cocktail reception and dinner, respectively. Thrillist is no stranger to trip giveaways. Saturday’s planned activities kicked off early MIAMI In October the email newsletter staged with morning yoga on the beach led by Equinox its Jet Mystery event, which flew 158 guests on Fitness Club instructors and a light breakfast at JetBlue to a surprise location, Jamaica, for a three poolside eatery La Cote. Presenting sponsors Bacdays of activities. In an effort to create a more ardi and Corona supplied poolside liquid libations grounded presence in one of its 16 markets, the throughout the day. New York-based company created the inaugural Other afternoon activities included musicHotel Thrillist in Miami Beach June 4 to 6. spinning lessons from Scratch DJ Academy, ca“Thrillist recommends the best poeira lessons from Miami Capoeira restaurants and nightclubs [in Project, tours and animal encounHotel Thrillist Miami], and our mission [with this ters at Jungle Island exotic zoo, and Catering, Rentals, Venue initiative] was to showcase just mini massages from Equinox. DJ Fontainebleau Hotel that to a national audience,” said Elle spun for the majority of the day, Catering, Venue Red, the Steakhouse the company’s event manager, Ben and R&B singer Kat Deluna gave a Hindman. “We wanted people to be Catering Gotham Steak, special 30-minute concert complete Hakkasan, Scarpetta, Solo able to experience the brand as a with dancers on the pool deck. at the Fontainebleau local entity and not just an email.” That night Thrillist transported Costumes, DJ, Entertainment, Makeup, Thrillist ran national and local everyone to the South of Fifth Staffing Overthrow online sweepstakes for readers to neighborhood for a dinner party at DJs DJ Elle, Scratch DJ win a hotel room at the FontainebRed’s rooftop event space. DJ Señor Academy leau, which Thrillist rebranded with Entertainment, Venue Stereo from event company OverJungle Island signage and designated activity throw, fire dancers, and the Miami Entertainment Miami areas, and access to its sponsored Heat dancers entertained throughCapoeira Project, Suénalo, events. About 200 people from out the night. The Gurkha Cigars around the country, plus 100 locals The company held a farewell Sound Southern Audio Visual and national media, attended. breakfast at Gotham Steak on Transportation Coastal Car The festivities began on Friday Sunday morning before attendees Worldwide night with a welcome reception checked out. —D. Channing Muller

Weekender

PHOTOS: NICK MCGLYNN (BEACH, BIRDS), JUSTIN NAMON/WORLDREDEYE.COM (CHEFS)

Guests who signed up for the Jungle Island tour Saturday morning had hands-on experiences with the zoo’s residents.

The organization chose fancy crystal stemware and ﬁne china for the galas.

Mitchell Zeidwig performed piano feats.

L’Ombre shadow dancers added drama to the extensive performance lineup.

ater with aerial performance rigging from Branam Enterprises, a 60-foot LED screen backdrop, and a main stage as well as multiple video screens. Aramark created a Western menu for the Chinese palate, including crispy battered tofu with Amway China brought 13,000 snap peas and soft fettuccine, and Halal roasted travelers in for an $80 Million, Petaluma duck. five-gala incentive program. When guests were seated, the show kicked off with a multidiAmway China Gala If size matters, as they say, a mensional opening Series LOS ANGELES five-gala series for Amway staged with custom Catering Aramark China that spanned the month of June mattered visuals against the Decor, Flowers more than most other events. The nearly identical LED screen and DesignWright Inc. parties, with a total budget of $80 million, conincluding gymnasts Decor, Flowers, Production sisted of five events for the five different waves of in flying stars susEventworks Inc. Lighting Visions Lighting Chinese sales reps who visited Southern Califorpended in the hall, Reception Talent nia as part of an incentive travel program. Each acrobats and paper Champagne Creative group experienced the same program of activities puppets on stage, and Group, International and gala evenings. Roughly 13,000 attendees pyrotechnic displays. Celebrity Images, Key Artist Group, Ray Johns participated, with 1,800 to 3,000 at each gala, The action occurred Presents all of which were held in Hall D at the Anaheim overhead, on the Rentals Chameleon Chair Convention Center. Amway greater China and floor, and on stage Collection, Classic Party regional office associate director of audiovisual simultaneously. The Rentals and events production Bert Li oversaw the event dinner show included Rigging Branam Enterprises internally, tapping EventWorks to produce. shadow dancers Sound Design Harold Amway China invited proposals and bids for L’Ombre, basketball Blumberg the program last summer, and a contract was sensation AcroDunk’s Sound Equipment Delicate Productions Inc. signed early this year. Janet Elkins, Ted Bowers, and flying performance, Talent Entertainment Plus Greg Holford of EventWorks came up the event’s and a Michael JackProductions Inc. title and concept, “You Are a Star.” (The meaning son tribute. A-Mei, a Talent L.A. Linq/ of star is different in Chinese, so the slogan had to star in the MandarinSports Marketing & Entertainment be translated to something like “You Are a Part of speaking world, conTechnical Direction Heaven” to make sense.) The message was that all cluded the evening Technical Show guests were stars of Amway China’s sales force. with a concert. In all, Management Novelty acts like human fountains, walking the galas used 50 live Venue Anaheim Convention Center buffets, and stilt walkers entertained the crowd. performers. Video Equipment DWP Live EventWorks transformed Hall D into a dinner the- —Alesandra Dubin

The Fab Four Beatles tribute act entertained the crowd.

A ﬁve-gala series for Amway China had a “You Are a Star” theme.

40 bizbash.com fall 2010

PHOTOS: STEVE ELKINS (CRYSTAL STEMWARE, HUMAN BUFFET), COURTNEY LINDBERG (ALL OTHERS)

Starry Nights

Stilt walkers and other novelty acts performed.

FEATURING Paula Deen Guy Fieri Bobby Flay Emeril Lagasse Rachael Ray Giada De Laurentiis and many more

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Human buffets and other eye-catching acts amused the crowd. AcroDunk performed basketball feats.

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A total of 13,000 travelers came from China to participate.

Registration Web Development Online Evites Lead Retrieval www.events-registration.com

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The High Life Straddling the High Line, AndrĂŠ Balazsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Standard New York drew attention before complete. Designed by Polshek it was even Partnership, this 337-room property ofďŹ cially opened in September. thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the High Line Room and For events, Terrace on the third ďŹ&#x201A;oor, which has views of the Hudson River for receptions. The hotel also and holds 250 offers the 285-seat Standard Grill with an adjacent garden well as the 18th-ďŹ&#x201A;oor bar dubbed room for events, as Bon Bon. (848 Washington St., 212.645.4646, standardhotels .com)

Although economic turbulence has tempered the intended ďŹ&#x201A;urry of venue openings and renovations in New York this year, it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t bring the city to a halt. In fact, some of the bigger projectsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;two new baseball stadiums, the park on the High Line, and Lincoln Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s massive overhaulâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;debuted in 2009, while chefs spawned more casual eateries to match the change in diner preferences . However, the biggest change will come in 2010, when the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only convention center unveils an expansion and renovates its existing space. By ANNA SEKULA

ON BIZBASH.COM/NEWYORK The latest venue news, reports from recent events, and a comprehensive directory of local suppliers and venues

2010 bizbash national venue

guide 151

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Happier Holidays

Decor

Combining elements of Christmas and Hanukkah, Toronto’s Regent Park School of Music staged a Chrismukkah beneﬁt with a modern winter look. McNabb Roick (416.703.1000, mcnabbroickevents.com) hung oversize snowﬂakes, stars, and icicles while Westbury National Show Systems (416.752.1371, westbury.com) lit the room in shades of blue and purple.

End-of-the-year gatherings haven’t been a top priority over the past few years, but they are still an important way to show appreciation. Here are ideas from real holiday parties and the people who plan them. By LISA CERICOLA

Hargrove Inc. (301.306.9000, hargroveinc.com) transformed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s H Street headquarters into a rustic ski lodge complete with a 20- by 30-foot faux stone ﬁreplace, a lifelike stuffed moose head, six-foot-tall wooden reindeer, and a massive Christmas tree.

STEAL TH IS I D EA

Large-scale projections brought a winter setting to sunny Los Angeles for DirecTV’s annual holiday party. Firefly LA (323.571.1447, fireflyla.com) and the Hand Company (818.843.2402, thehandcompany.com) projected snow-covered forests, icicles, and other scenes onto a 120- by 140-foot tent on DirecTV’s campus.

New York-based Internet company IAC hired Frank Alexander (212.677.5176, frankalexandernyc.com) to capture the Viceroy Santa Monica’s sophisticated cabanas with green and white rentals from Taylor Creative Inc. (888.245.4044, taylorcreativeinc. com) and colorful, arty lighting by Glow Design Group (646.201.9557, glowdesigngroup.com).

“When decorating a conference room, make the table the central focus by creating a runner installation. Use white plush fabric adorned with white and silver ornaments. Incorporate height by propping white feather mini trees on either side of the table, which can be adorned with a touch of red. If the ofﬁce has glass windows, you can create a bigger statement by designing holiday graphics that frame your table-runner installation.” Shai Tertner, president, Shiraz Events, New York and Miami (212.255.7001, shirazevents.com)

bizbash.com fall 2010 45

Employees of Astellas Pharma U.S. Inc. teamed up with Total Event Resources (847.397.2200, total-event.com) to celebrate the season by building 48 bicycles for children from Chicago Youth Centers, a local nonproﬁt organization. About 40 kids showed up at the end of the event to surprise the company’s staffers, who then surprised them with their new bikes.

Activities Instead of a single evening of festivities, Minnetonka, Minnesota-based Carlson Companies held 12 days of events. Activities included an employee-cooked progressive meal that took place over several ﬂoors and an ofﬁce-wide scavenger hunt with clues via e-mail throughout the day. Prizes included an iPod Touch, a Sleep Number bed, and box seats at a Bon Jovi concert.

Joffrey Ballet’s Nutcracker family dinner in Chicago had kid-friendly touches including apple cider and Sprite cocktails, strolling magicians, and an activity station with a branded Lego tower provided by “brick artist” Beth Weis (847.494.5346, bethweis.com).

STEAL TH IS I D EA

“We hired My Party Impressions (416.963.8302, mypartyimpressions.com) to provide a ﬂip book station, which was a huge hit at the event. The guests had a blast creating their own unique scenes, and it was a great take-home for them as well.”

Entertainment

STEAL TH IS I D EA

“Last year we were on a tight budget, so we hired Precision Event Group (310.285.0420, precisionus.com) to turn one of our parking lots into a dance club complete with DJ—who was spinning from above the crowd on an industrial staircase—and, of course, a disco ball. Our employees loved it.” Pam Byrne, executive director, studio services, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Los Angeles

46 bizbash.com fall 2010

At a holiday-themed event to celebrate the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Event Architects (888.365.4511, event-architects. com) brought in a pair of professional ice skaters who performed on an elevated skating rink.

The South Floridabased Ofﬁce Depot Foundation held a holiday party with a tropical theme. Boca By Design (561.447.3349, bocabydesign. com) brought in live ﬂamingos, parrots, and other creatures from Rainforest Aviaries and Gardens (305.246.5930) and Jesse Williams Ranch (305.238.5437, jessewilliamsranch.com) for photo ops and atmosphere.

PHOTOS: PAUL STEVEN PHOTOGRAPHY (OFFICE DEPOT), COURTESY OF CARLSON, MATTHEW KAPLAN PHOTOGRAPHY (ASTELLAS), ERIC CRAIG FOR BIZBASH (JOFFREY), RICK AGUILAR STUDIOS (CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL), COURTESY OF PRECISION EVENT GROUP, BIZBASH (HIGH ROAD)

Laura Bryce, account executive, High Road Communications, Toronto

PHOTOS: JEROME ENO FOR BIZBASH (STYLE BOSTON), VICTORIA JACOB (URBANDADDY), MIREYA ACIERTO FOR BIZBASH (CHOCOLATE), COURTESY OF BLUE PLATE, NIKKI LEIGH MCKEAN FOR BIZBASH (CAPITOL C), COURTESY OF EATERTAINMENT

At a holiday party hosted by Style Boston and Boston Magazine, the Catered Affair (781.982.9333, thecateredaffair.com) served tuna tartare with wasabi aioli on a tray accented with wheatgrass and peppers—traditional Christmas colors on unexpected objects.

Food & Drinks STEAL TH IS I DEA

Online magazine UrbanDaddy held a holiday party for its New York readers with a dessert bar piled high with macaroons, cakes, and other sweets from several local bakeries.

STEAL TH IS I D EA “It’s back to basics: comfort food with an air of sophistication for our clients this year. Gourmet grilled cheese is in high demand. We serve spicy Genoa salami and aged cheddar with tomato and green apple and Brie with crushed walnuts and watercress.” Sebastien Centner, director, Eatertainment Special Events and Catering, Toronto (416.964.1162, eatertainment.com) Match Restaurant (905.850.5699, matchyyz. com) created a menu inspired by fairy tales and 1960s op art, the theme of Torontobased marketing agency Capital C’s party. Psychedelic trays held chicken dipped in gooseberry-plum sauce.

At the AIDS Foundation of Chicago’s holidaythemed World of Chocolate event, guests sipped vanilla- and cinnamon-spiced hot chocolate from mini pipettes by the Signature Room at the 95th (312.787.9596, signatureroom.com).

“It’s the return of the specialty cocktail. We don’t foresee clients returning to the luxury bar packages, but rather sticking with beer, wine, and soda, with a specialty drink added for creativity and variety.” Loren Johnson, sales consultant, Blue Plate Catering, Chicago (312.421.6666, blueplatechicago.com)

Capital C’s event also had seasonal cocktails like Santa’s Beard (white chocolate liqueur, half and half, a hint of peppermint, and crushed candy canes).

Blue Plate’s Red Sombrero incorporates tequila, Sprite, pink grapefruit juice, kumquats, and pomegranate seeds.

bizbash.com fall 2010 47

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s A Better Way bizbash.com/jobboard The Best Job Board in the Business FIND JOBS / POST JOBS / GET BACK TO WORK

Guests at the Museum of Modern Art’s annual Party in the Garden dined on a simple heirloom tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad by Glorious Food.

Catering Trends 2010

PHOTO: KEITH SIRCHIO FOR BIZBASH

Where High Meets Low You never know what might be on the menu at an event these days. Bowls of unadorned fruit. Fancy box meals. Edible art installations of donuts. Grilled cheese sandwiches made with a clothing iron.

Although chicken dinners—often locally sourced, these days—are still served at galas and other formal functions, today’s menus regularly mix upscale and casual. A recent beneﬁt dinner in Chicago included passed pulled pork sliders, an appetizer of caviar and smoked salmon, and mini root beer ﬂoats for dessert. At a New York dinner, dressed-up guests carved whole roast turkeys and rabbits. Tried and true comfort foods like burgers and nachos are still making the rounds on catering trays, but so are cotton candy-wrapped shrimp. Meanwhile, guests are more food-obsessed than ever, staying up on sustainable ingredients, cooking techniques, and the latest big-name chefs. To meet these high stan-

dards, caterers are sourcing food from local farmers, plating dishes artfully, and keeping up with the latest trends. Some are even giving attendees more control over what’s on their plates. Customization is everywhere, from D.I.Y. cocktails to small-plate buffets that allow attendees to pick and choose from a range of offerings. Here’s a look at the trends and ideas that epitomize this moment in catering—event food that feels comfortable and considered, not formal or fussy, with a focus on giving guests an experience that’s not ostentatiously expensive. By LISA CERICOLA

bizbash.com fall 2010 49

Guests roasted marshmallows and assembled their own s’mores at an Occasions Caterers station at MSNBC’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner after-party.

What’s Next “Menu items that speak of value and prudence, such as organic chicken or whole brownies with whipped cream for dessert. These items, when done well, are as satisfying as any four-star dinner, without the cost and perception of possible corporate excess.” Peter Callahan, owner, Callahan Catering, New York

For The Twilight Saga: Eclipse premiere in Los Angeles, Along Came Mary served lunch trays with fried chicken and mashed potatoes as a nod to the movie’s high school cafeteria.

Ciudad Catering provided tacos for Sony Pictures Television’s employee appreciation day in Los Angeles.

Staffers from Creative Edge used clothing irons to make grilled cheese sandwiches at a party celebrating New York-based event production ﬁrm MKG’s new ofﬁce space.

What’s Next “Thanks to the rise in popularity of food trucks across the country, we predict a lot of ethnic street food on menus in 2011. We’ll see a rise in Middle Eastern fare—falafel bars with hummus, baba ganoush, stuffed grape leaves, and couscous.” Michael Baker, owner, Bakers’ Best Catering, Boston

ON BIZBASH.COM More of the latest food ideas

PHOTOS: KEITH SIRCHIO FOR BIZBASH (AMERICAN IDIOT), COURTESY OF ALONG CAME MARY, DALE WILCOX (SONY PICTURES), COURTESY OF MKG, TONY BROWN/IMIJINATION PHOTOGRAPHY FOR BIZBASH (MSNBC)

LAID-BACK COMFORT FOOD

For the Broadway opening party for American Idiot in New York, Canard set up buffet stations with Frito pies, chips and dip, homemade Pop Tarts, and sandwiches made to order.

At the International C.T.I.A. Wireless show in Las Vegas, Aramark Catering provided small desserts like cupcakes and strawberry shortcakes for a Sprint event.

What’s Next

ONE-BITE BUFFETS

“Our team is excited about highly seasonal, single-ingredient stations offering sweet and savory dishes along with beverage pairings. From strawberries to tomatoes to autumn root vegetables, we see this as a fun, interesting addition. Also big cooking classes as social gatherings. These types of events are hands-on, interactive, and incredibly memorable and were inspired by the realization that many great parties end with everyone congregating around the kitchen.”

PHOTOS: MATT MAYFIELD (C.T.I.A.), GUSTAVO CAMPOS (NEW BALANCE), CHARITY DE MEER FOR BIZBASH (POW WOW), STEPHANIE LEWIN (LONGHOUSE RESERVE)

Robb Garceau, executive chef of Union Square Events, New York

Chicago’s Limelight Catering offered jerk chicken skewers with plantain chips at the Parkways Foundation’s Galapalooza fund-raiser.

At Boston magazine’s annual Best of Boston event, Au Soleil Catering served ﬂatbread with goat cheese and vegetables.

Creative food displays, including salad stations, abounded at parties held at the Magic Kingdom and other Orlando theme parks for the U.S. Travel Association’s International Pow Wow.

At LongHouse Reserve’s summer gala in New York, Canard served gazpacho in three ﬂavors during the cocktail hour.

bizbash.com fall 2010 51

Boston’s International Contemporary Art Museum’s annual spring fund-raising event included a martini juice bar by Max Ultimate Food.

At the Fragrance Foundation’s Fiﬁ Awards in New York, sponsor Grey Goose deployed its global ambassador of French brands with a roving cocktail cart.

CUSTOM COCKTAILS

V.I.P. ticket holders at ArtEdge, a beneﬁt for Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, sat in reserved lounge area with bottle service and plenty of mixers by Wolfgang Puck Catering.

“Savory cocktails such as pickled ramp martinis or butternut drams will go from being esoteric curiosities for connoisseurs to being introduced and enjoyed by a wider audience.”

Washington’s Design Cuisine offers a champagne bar with four stations offering add-ins such as liquors, fruit, herbs, and edible accompaniments.

Bronson van Wyck, president, Van Wyck & Van Wyck, New York

ORNATE DESSERTS Chefs at the Mandarin Oriental in Miami used painted-on ﬂames and other garnishes to turn a few macaroons into a bold dessert for the “Be a Voice, Feel the Magic” gala. At Loyola University Chicago’s founders’ dinner, guests ate green tea cake with white chocolatelemongrass buttercream by Blue Plate.

At the Harry Potter-inspired LG Innovators’ Ball at the Ontario Science Center, chef Jamie Kennedy served a layered dessert dubbed Boarding School Blancmange.

What’s Next Grand Cuisine Caterers created a ﬂametopped white chocolate mascarpone cheesecake with blackberry gelée for a dinner at the Library of Congress honoring Paul McCartney’s Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

“There will be a continuation of savory-sweet combinations in everything from bar snacks to desserts and beyond—and more impactful dishes with interesting spice combinations, such as ﬁve-spice beef and chili and spice brownies.” Kelven Book, account executive, Canard, New York

PHOTOS: KEITH SIRCHIO FOR BIZBASH (FIFI AWARDS), AVIRAN LEVY FOR BIZBASH (ICA MUSEUM), COURTESY OF DESIGN CUISINE, COURTESY OF ONTARIO SCIENCE CENTER, TONY BROWN/IMIGINATION PHOTOGRAPHY (LIBRARY OF CONGRESS), STEVE BECKER PHOTOGRAPHY (LOYOLA), COURTESY OF “BE THE VOICE, FEEL THE MAGIC” GALA

What’s Next

Top Chef winner Michael Voltaggio served a futuristic take on a buffalo wing (crispy chicken thigh with “Buffalo sauce,” celery puree, and nitro blue cheese) at Food & Wine’s annual Best New Chefs event in New York.

At the Presidents at the Pops beneﬁt show at Boston’s Symphony Hall, Boston Gourmet served preprogram canapés and cocktails, then guests dined on boxed meals of beef tenderloin at their seats after the reception. At the James Beard Awards in New York, Dahlia Naverez of Mozza in Los Angeles made butterscotch budinos with Maldon sea salt, caramel, and rosemary-pine nut cookies.

What’s Next “Different cuts of meat rather than the same old ﬁlet, and nontraditional grains to give the perception of being green, sustainable, and healthy.”

PHOTOS: JESSICA TOROSSIAN FOR BIZBASH (BEST NEW CHEFS), JEROME ENO FOR BIZBASH (PRESIDENTS AT THE POPS), JESSICA TOROSSIAN FOR BIZBASH (JAMES BEARD AWARDS), GARY BEECHEY FOR BIZBASH (TRANSFORMING LIVES AWARDS), NABIL KAPASI/TIMESS LENS PHOTOGRAPHY (INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL)

Adelee V. Cabrera, chief operations ofﬁcer and director of sales, A Joy Wallace Catering, Miami

CASUAL FARE GOES UPSCALE EDIBLE CENTERPIECES At the Center for Addiction and Mental Health’s Transforming Lives Awards in Toronto, Presidential Gourmet created centerpieces out of potted herbs and a selection of skewered hors d’oeuvres, including salami and pickles. At an event to showcase its catering staff and event spaces, the Intercontinental Hotel Boston created a chocolate tree adorned with pieces of fruit.

Jewell Events Catering prepared lobster remoulade with a cucumber collar, asparagus, pomegranate seeds, and an edible red rose for a luncheon for Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet.

TD Bank’s Wow! Leadership Awards dinner in Miami included three mini salads—Caesar, Caprese, and chopped—by Barton G.

PAINTERLY PLATING

At the Art Institute of Chicago’s gala for a new Matisse exhibition, Blue Plate served citrus-poached salmon roulade with Meyer lemon curd, watercress, blood orange, and European cucumber aspic.

What’s Next “The biggest trend our clients are asking for is to incorporate global flavors into another big trend of late: American comfort foods. Grandma’s meatloaf with an Asian twist, Dad’s barbecue with French flair, Mom’s Sunday pot roast with Latin flavors.” Bill Starbuck, executive chef and vice president of catering, Along Came Mary, Los Angeles

Catering company Creative Edge started its 20th anniversary dinner in New York with an artfully plated tomato tartare.

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF JS2 PRODUCTIONS (GOVERNORS BALL), MATT HORTON/ARTIST GROUP PHOTOGRAPHY FOR BIZBASH (TD BANK), CHRISTIAN GRATTAN PHOTOGRAPHY (CREATIVE EDGE), ERIC CRAIG FOR BIZBASH (ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO)

Guests were served an elegant ﬁrst course of seasonal vegetables from Patina Catering at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Governors Ball in 2009.

Glorious Food topped bars with crudité and dip at the Historic House Trust’s Founders Award Dinner in New York.

For the Friends of the High Line summer beneﬁt in New York, Bite Food set out bowls of seasonal fruit and vegetables from the Greenmarket for nibbling during cocktails.

PHOTOS: ROGER DONG FOR BIZBASH (HIGH LINE), KEITH SIRCHIO FOR BIZBASH (HISTORIC HOUSE TRUST), TONY BROWN/IMIJINATION PHOTOGRAPHY FOR BIZBASH (PATRON), BIZBASH (BURGER BASH), COURTESY OF DANIEL ET DANIEL, ERIC CRAIG FOR BIZBASH (AIDS FOUNDATION)

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES What’s Next Guests helped themselves to cheese and fruit plates and shots of hummus with raw veggies at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago’s 25th anniversary gala at the Hilton Chicago.

Daniel et Daniel served grilled tiger shrimp on sugar cane skewers spun with wasabi cotton candy at Power Ball 12 in Toronto.

“Functional foods with health beneﬁts will play a part in cuisine for 2011 and beyond. ‘Black’ foods such as black soybeans, black rice, and black sesame biscuits have cholesterol-lowering and weight-control beneﬁts. We will also incorporate iron- and calcium-rich sea vegetables, like sea oak (arame), light brown kelp, and hiziki black sea grass into our dishes.” Pasquale Ingenito, executive chef, Windows Catering Company, Washington

COTTON CANDY Mixologist Gina Chersevani of Washington restaurant PS7’s topped drinks with cotton candy at a Patron-sponsored charity cocktail reception.

ON BIZBASH.COM More food ideas, contact information for the ﬁrms featured here, and local catering directories

At the South Beach Food & Wine Festival’s Burger Bash, Washington’s Good Stuff Eatery served a bacon cheeseburger with a pink cotton candy-topped milk shake.

bizbash.com fall 2010 55

Food for Thought Jennifer Rubell’s unconventional approach to catering has people second-guessing the seated dinner. By MICHAEL O’CONNELL Catching cheese dripping from the ceiling with crackers, butchering your own rabbit for the main course, and popping balloons to get at a piece of cake aren’t activities familiar to the benefit crowd. But Jennifer Rubell is changing that by bringing her own vision of interactive, art-inspired meals to events. Daughter of Miami art collectors Donald and Mera Rubell—and niece of Studio 54 co-founder Steve Rubell—the 40-year-old entrepreneur has worn many hats in her career: food writer, hostess, hotelier, vintner. She sees this latest job as her two worlds colliding, a happy fusion of food and conceptual art. “For me, it’s purely about whether a project is interesting and if it connects to art history,” Rubell says of the select events she’s taken on since forging her latest career. It started almost 10 years ago when her family first asked her to host a now-annual breakfast at the Rubell Family Collection during Art Basel Miami Beach. Jennifer’s playful execution of the earlier meals included grids of Styrofoam cups filled with instant coffee, mountains of bananas, walls of doughnuts hanging from nails, and tables covered with eggs, bacon, and croissants,

Rubell at her family’s Art Basel Miami Beach breakfast with only latex gloves as serving utensils. Before long, she overheard a guest ask, “Who’s the artist?” “I just started doing these projects without really knowing what they were, but when I looked at them, I could see the conceptual underpinning that had been there the whole time,” she says. “And there were key people who recognized that in my work.” One of them was RoseLee Goldberg, the art historian and founder of Performa, a New York arts nonproﬁt known almost as much for its biennial festival as its high-concept fund-raisers.

PERFORMA BENEFIT

Keeping with an Adam and Eve theme, Rubell placed small felled apple trees beside piles of cleaned apples for the picking.

56 bizbash.com fall 2010

“As somebody who goes to so many benefits in New York that support these great institutions,” Goldberg says, “I find that everyone enjoys that first hour when you can chat and walk around, before you have to sit down and basically work for the rest of the night.” Goldberg commissioned her longtime friend’s first large-scale event, Performa’s 2009 benefit, called “Creation.” Rubell ran with the Garden of Eden theme, littering the floor with apples beside a felled tree, rigging honey to drip from the ceiling onto piles of ribs, and commissioning chocolatier Jacques Torres to create chocolate Jeff Koons rabbits, which guests happily beat to shards with provided hammers. Soon Rubell was throwing similarly interactive but uniquely inspired meals for the Americas Business Council and the Brooklyn Museum. News coverage and conversations of her work now include the term “food artist” (a moniker previously associated with the butter sculptors of the world), which, for her, means never compromising quality of food for aesthetics. “I really don’t mess around,” she says of her hunt for the right vendors, which, in New York, always includes the caterer Bite. “What I do often has a lot of logistical considerations, so even if somebody is a fantastic cook, they might not be able to pull it off. There needs to be a desire and a willingness to work inside my framework.” Whatever you call what she does, Rubell has had the luxury of working with institutions she admires, hiring vendors whose food she trusts, in venues that she loves—always with complete creative control. But as her distinct brand of entertaining becomes more renowned, she’s getting a lot of unexpected offers. “I got an email from a celebrity wedding planner,” she says, laughing. While such events aren’t high on her list of dream projects, she’s not entirely opposed to them either. “A celebrity wedding in a museum context could be really interesting to me.”

Powdered sugar— a symbol for the greater vice of cocaine—was piled in the 2009 beneﬁt’s dessert area for guests to dip cookies.

Guests used hammers to break chocolate Jeff Koons rabbits into pieces small enough to eat.

ON BIZBASH.COM A video interview with Rubell at the Brooklyn Ball

PHOTOS: KEVIN TAEHMAN (RUBELL), PAULA COURT/PERFORMA (PERFORMA BENEFIT), COURTESY OF JENNIFER RUBELL (BROOKLYN BALL TABLES, BROOKLYN BALL PINATA, COURAGE FORUM, DE PURY WEDDING), BIZBASH (BROOKLYN BALL SPIGOTS, PAINT TUBES, FONTINA CHEESE)

Catering Trends 2010

Spigots planted into blank canvases poured different cocktails and wines to create Jackson Pollack-style splatters.

At the Brooklyn Museum beneﬁt, Rubell tried to use the most basic materials, fashioning serving tables out of standard sheets of plywood. Rubell ﬁlled a 20-foottall pinata of Andy Warhol’s head with Hostess products for dessert.

Paint tubes ﬁlled with dips were piled next to potato chips during the cocktail hour.

BROOKLYN BALL

Rubell used a cast of her own head to make molds of Fontina cheese in reference to the Bruce Nauman installation “Topological Gardens.”

COURAGE FORUM

To get to the dance ﬂoor and the band at this event put on by the Americas Business Council, guests had to take cues from strategically placed hammers and destroy a wall of breakaway prop glass.

The June wedding of Michaela Neumeister and auctioneer Simon de Pury at the Saatchi Gallery included multiple wedding cakes at different stations.

DE PURY WEDDING Cured meats hung from the ceiling for guests to inspect and saw off little bites.

Guests received long pins to pop balloons that held the desserts.

Instead of formal tables, guests sat on beds with family-style meals.

bizbash.com fall 2010 57

The Directory A selection of resources from our comprehensive online directory of event and meeting suppliers and venues

New Venues CLUBS & LOUNGES OPENING SOON BOMBAY SAPPHIRE LOUNGE

In 2009, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County announced its partnership with Bacardi USA and the construction of the Bombay Sapphire Lounge. On the ground ﬂoor of the Carnival Tower of the downtown Miami property, the 2,800square-foot lounge is decorated in the brand’s signature blue and is currently open for private events before it debuts to the public in October. The open layout of the lounge can host 60 inside, with an additional 50 on the Arsht Center’s 1,500-square-foot Parker and Van Thomson Plaza outside. (1300 Biscayne Blvd., 305.576.8888 ext. 325) LA FEE VERTE

La Fee Verte, a 1920s-style Parisian burlesque club, opened in June in Miami Beach. This 4,000-square-foot private nightclub derives its name, which means “the green fairy” in French, from a 1920s nickname for absinthe. The club, which can host about 220 people, specializes in absinthe cocktails and feature burlesque dancers nightly. There are two event areas for groups: the semiprivate Betty Page room for 18 people and a second-ﬂoor V.I.P. room for 30. (912 71st St., 305.865.5955) ROOFTOP LOUNGE

Rooftop Lounge opened atop the Townhouse Hotel in Miami Beach in August. The 5,000-square-foot lounge can accommodate 250 for a reception, with expansive city views. Seating for 80 is composed of white wood chairs and loungers topped with gray and red cushions. There is also a communal table for 12, and catering is provided by the hotel’s Bond Street Sushi restaurant. (150 20th St., Miami Beach, 305.534.3800)

LET’S SKATE ORLANDO

Local restaurateur George-Eric Farge, the name behind George’s in the Grove, opened his second namesake restaurant in July. The 3,000-square-foot casual eatery can seat 75 in its main dining room. There’s also a semiprivate room which can seat 25, and space for an additional 50 outside on the sidewalk and patio. (1549 Sunset Drive, Miami, FL, 305.284.9989)

In July, Let’s Skate Orlando opened its 25,000-square-foot facility in Winter Garden. The activity venue can accommodate nearly 500 people, with space for as many as 300 roller skaters on the rink at a time. There are also ﬁve themed rooms around the rink, including rock star- and the princess-themed rooms, which hold 10 to 30 people each. There is also reception space that can be combined with the disco room to host as many as 75 people. (14207 West Colonial Drive, Winter Garden, 407.614.3812)

OPENING SOON GREENHOUSE FLORIDA

PEABODY ORLANDO

Greenhouse Florida is scheduled to open in October at the Village at Gulfstream Park shopping and entertainment center in Hallendale Beach. The 10,000-square-foot bilevel venue has a 65-seat restaurant—serving organic, local, and seasonal dishes until 2 a.m. daily—on the first floor and a second-floor nightclub accommodating 500 people. Greenhouse feature ecofriendly details like bamboo flooring and LED lighting. (801 Silks Run)

The expansion of the Peabody Orlando will be complete in November. Open since July, the property has 300,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and entertainment space and 99 breakout rooms. Also on site: a new tower of guest rooms, a new restaurant and bar, and a 22,000-square-foot spa. The largest new space is the pillarfree 55,000-square-foot grand ballroom, which can seat 4,700 or host 6,200 for receptions. The venue is connected to the Orange County Convention Center by two covered walkways. (9801 International Drive, 407.342.4000)

GEORGE’S ON SUNSET

Where to...

Host a Business Lunch Positano Ristorante opened in Doral in July serving classic Italian cuisine. The restaurant is decorated in a geometric style with all dark wood and white elements. The dining room can seat 92 amid a mixture of booths and four-top tables. There’s also a patio seating 22. The menu is comprised of classic Italian dishes, including various meat and ﬁsh carpaccios as starters, main courses like linguine carbonara and tortellini panna and prosciutto, and tiramisu, panna cotta, and ricottina for dessert. (2475 NW 95th Ave., Suite 10, Doral, 305.594.2828)

CRUISE SHIP NORWEGIAN EPIC

The Norwegian Epic arrived at the Port of Miami in July. The 1,081-foot cruise ship, the largest in the company’s ﬂeet, is in port on Saturdays. There are multiple restaurants, performance spaces, and entertainment options, including an ice bar, a 259-seat comedy club, and a steak house. Ideal for meetings, the Epic Theater can host 681 amid graduated rows of plush chairs. (7665 Corporate Center Drive, 866.625.6338)

ACTIVITY VENUES

HAVANA’S CUBAN CUISINE

Cooper City got its ﬁrst Cuban restaurant in June with the opening of Havana’s Cuban Cuisine. The 2,400square-foot restaurant can seat 80 people in its open dining room. The establishment specializes in classic Cuban cuisine like picadillo criollo (ground beef simmered in tomatobased Cuban sofrito) and masa de cerdo (pork chunks served with a guacamole-style avocado sauce) mixed with Argentine grilled meats and Mexican spices. (8600 Grifﬁn Road, Cooper City, 954.530.1400)

ENTERTAINMENT VENUE IMPROV COMEDY CLUB & DINNER THEATRE/FAT FISH BLUE

This space reopened in July after the closing if its Church Street location. The new venue has partnered with the adjoining Fat Fish Blue restaurant, which opened in August, to form a combined dining and entertainment venue. The attached venues span 14,000 square feet and can accommodate 700 guests. The Improv’s 325-seat theater has three levels of seating at four-top tables. A 500-square-foot private room is just off the lobby. Fat Fish Blue seats 80 at dining tables, 35 at the bar, and 100 on a covered patio. (9101 International Drive; Improv Comedy Club: 407.480.5233; Fat Fish Blue: 407.480.2000)

IL MERCATO CAFÉ AND WINE SHOP

In July, Il Mercato Café and Wine Shop opened in Hallendale Beach. The 60-seat international eatery specializes in global cuisines with healthconscious components, mixing classic Italian dishes like spaghetti with French specialties like duck conﬁt. The restaurant lists 70 wines handselected by the in-house sommelier and priced at $99 or less; an additional list of high-end wines is available. (1454 East Hallandale Beach Blvd., Hallandale Beach, 954.457.3700) TASTE GASTROPUB

This Delray Beach eatery, open since April, features an expansive candy bar. The 4,500-square-foot space, designed by James Beard Awardwinning chef Allen Susser, is divided into three areas: an indoor bar and lounge for 38, a dining room for 18, and a back garden with a waterfall and bar for 33. There is also sidewalk dining for 20. Buyouts are available for groups of 125 for receptions. (169 NE Second Ave., Delray Beach, 561.274.4444)

RESTAURANTS ANTHONY’S COAL FIRED PIZZA

This Italian restaurant opened at Millenia Crossing in June. The 2,600-square-foot restaurant has an open ﬂoor plan that can accommodate 123 people in its dining room and at a marble-topped bar. There are currently plans to add outdoor seating for 24 in the fall. (4048 Eastgate Drive, 407.352.2030) DRAGONFLY MODERN IZAKAYA & SUSHI

This 5,900 sushi restaurant opened an Orlando location in the Dellagio Town Center in July, joining its sister location in Gainesville. The venue includes a 90-seat main dining room, a 22-seat sushi bar, a 32-seat private dining room, indoor and outdoor bars, and a 2,300-square-foot patio. In addition to sushi, the restaurant specializes in food prepared on a robata grill, a Japanese grill that heats up to 1,000 degrees. (7972 Via Dellagio Way, 407.370.3359) INDIA BLUE

This 15,000-square-foot Indian restaurant opened in July. The bilevel restaurant can seat 280 on its ﬁrst ﬂoor— which can be divided into three spaces—and 155 upstairs including the private room for 40. There’s also a covered patio for 120 and buyouts are available for 440. (8282 International Drive, 407.363.5333)

HOTEL

THE WATER CLUB MIAMI

MITCHELL’S FISH MARKET

JW MARRIOTT MARQUIS

The 12,750-square-foot eatery on the IntraCoastal Waterway opened in May and combines upscale dining with casual relaxation at its more than 13,000-squarefoot pool and deck area. The venue can host parties of 14 in its private dining room to large receptions of more than 1,000. There’s also a private wine room for 48. (3969 NE 163rd St., North Miami Beach, 305.944.8411)

The 7,700-square-foot restaurant, open since June, can accommodate 270 people. There is a private room seating 48, or hosting 100 for a reception, and 3,000-square-foot patio for 80. A portion of the patio can also be used for a prefunction space for events hosted in the private room. (460 North Orlando Ave., Suite 122, Winter Park, 407.339.3474)

The 313-room hotel opened in July with 80,000 square feet of space, including a 20,000-square-foot ballroom. There are two entertainment ﬂoors with a Jim McLean Golf School, a 10,000-square-foot NBA-approved basketball court, and a virtual bowling alley for groups. (345 Ave. of the Americas, 305.350.0750)

ZUMA

RESTAURANTS THE FORGE

Landmark Miami Beach restaurant the Forge, which closed last year for renovations, reopened last spring. The main dining room doubled in size and now has 130 seats, while the Forge Bar seats 36 and provides full dinner service. For private events, the wine cellar can seat 22, a board room seats 16, and the library seats 40. There is also a courtyard for 100. (432 Arthur Godfrey Road, Miami Beach, 305.538.8533)

58 bizbash.com fall may/june 2010 2010

German chef Rainer Becker opened the ﬁrst U.S. location of Zuma in May inside the Epic Hotel. The 8,500-square-foot Japanese restaurant offers access via private dock as well as the hotel’s main entrance, and is able to seat 198 throughout its main dining room, bar, lounge, and sushi bar. There are two private rooms for groups of eight or 12. There is a 68-seat terrace. (270 Biscayne Blvd. Way, 305.577.0277)

VIA NAPOLI PIZZERIA

ON BIZBASH.COM The latest venue news and our comprehensive, searchable directory of event spaces

In August, Via Napoli Pizzeria opened at the Epcot Italy pavilion. The 9,760-squarefoot restaurant can seat 250. The restaurant specializes in southern Italian dishes and oven-baked pizzas from its three woodburning ovens, each named for Italy’s active volcanoes and adorned with a face sculpture with an opening at the mouth for the pizzas. There is also a covered patio for 50. (1770-A Ave. of the Stars, 407.560.8047)

PHOTO: COURTESY OF POSITANO RISTORANTE

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA

ORLANDO

8;M<IK@J<D<EK

Where Event Professionals Announce the Who, What, Where, and Wow of the Events Industry

National Hotel

Airstar America Inc.

is pleased to announce that the company has provided the Catering and Venue for

is pleased to announce that the company has provided the Lighting for

Dexter Season 4 DVD Release Party Miami Beach August 14, 2010 www.nationalhotel.com 305-532-2311

Bandwagon Roadshow Orlando September 4, 2010 www.airstar-light.us 407-851-7830

Jungle Island

Southern Audio Visual

is pleased to announce that the company has provided the Catering, Entertainment, Linens, Rentals and Venue for

is pleased to announce that the company has provided the Lighting for

ING Celebrity Domino Night Miami June 19, 2010 www.jungleisland.com

Chambord Vodka Launch Party Miami Beach August 23, 2010 www.southernav.com 305-591-3888

305-400-7000

Barton G. is pleased to announce that the company has provided the Catering, Design and Production for

Buoniconti Fund’s Great Sports Legend’s Kickoff Bal Harbour September 10, 2010 www.bartong.com 305-576-8888

Over the Top Rental Party Linens is pleased to announce that the company has provided the Linens for

Zo’s Summer Groove Benefit Dinner Hollywood July 17, 2010 www.overthetopinc.com 954-424-0076

Expo Convention Contractors is pleased to announce that the company has provided the Draping, Drayage and Rentals for

Fall Miami Home Design and Remodeling Show 2010 Miami Beach September 3, 2010 www.expocci.com 305-751-1234

EventStar is pleased to announce that the company has provided the Tenting for

Chanel SoHo Store’s Reopening Party New York September 9, 2010 www.eventstar.net 305-969-0191

To share your success via the BashFlash program, contact your BizBash sales representative or Robert Fitzgerald at 646.839.6840.

Ted Kruckel

Sold! To the bidder left holding the bag. Tips for auctions of all kinds. sider myself knowledgeable. As an organizer, donor, buyer, and even auctioneer, I don’t think I’m exaggerating by saying that I’ve done hundreds of auctions. My whole house is furnished with auction items. I’ve worked on auctions at Sotheby’s and Christie’s and lots of lesser places with auctioneers as diverse as Sharon Stone, Tracy Ullman, and Peter Jennings. I’ve auctioned off cars, a plane, and artwork of every medium. And after thinking about it, I realized that when it comes to auctions, no matter who or where you are, all bets are off. So rather than give you a list of dos and don’ts, I’m going to tell you about a few experiences I’ve had and the lessons (I wish) I’d learned. Nothing smaller than a bread box. Just because tickets are $500 apiece and the money is going to poor children in Africa whose mothers have AIDS, don’t assume a pair of Montblanc pens will still be in their fancy wood case at the end of the night

Sharon Stone began her auctioneer duties at the Watermill Center with the admonition “If you talk or move or breathe, it’s a bid.” she was ﬁlming a movie the same day and was pregnant to boot. The decor by Colin Cowie had received universal oohs and aahs, despite a 50-foot palm tree that nearly crashed earlier in the day. We had successfully rolled an advertiser’s SUV onto the stage and auctioned it off. But by the time I had called in the next day, the car buyer had already reneged. He had apparently had a few, and when he got home and told his wife, well, you can picture the rest. Luckily, Rachael Shaw Greto, In Style’s special events director, needed a car like that. She bought it and saved us major embarrassment.

fool, I started bidding on a celebrity prize: Julie Andrews (whose daughter Emma Walton is the theater’s cofounder) would record the outgoing message on your answering machine. How cool to have Mary Poppins saying hello! But as the bidding got higher, I bowed out at $10,000. But Rosie O’Donnell was the auctioneer, and she uses a “take no prisoners” approach. Suddenly, Julie Andrews is sitting on my lap and offering to make a second recording for me, the lucky loser. Oh, and I never got the tape.

Speaking of take no prisoners. Say what you want about Sharon Stone, Learn the house rules, then teach but there is no dispute that she is them to the staff. If you rent out the most aggressive and successful Christie’s or Sotheby’s for a gala— celebrity auctioneer, bar none. This Not everyone who raises a hand can and you should, they are both great year at the Watermill Center benefit, or will pay. I went to bed one night spaces that deliver on the class and where the auctions raised $1.7 million, after an In Style party I worked on prestige front—know they have very she started the session by saying, thinking I had dodged a bullet. The strict rules. At Sotheby’s for a photog- “If you talk or move or breathe, it’s performer, Erykah Badu, had come off raphy auction, we were told that we a bid.” Years ago, at an event for her without a hitch despite the fact that could not assign a value to any item. sister’s charity, we held an auction To play it safe, we hired at Smashbox Studios. It was a crazy Sotheby’s vice chairnight. Matt Le Blanc donated a sports man Jamie Niven. But car. Sharon donated two outfits from he went ahead anyway Casino, which Bernard Lafferty, while and said that a certain busy being accused of murdering photo was worth Doris Duke, bought for $10,000 each $20,000, and the next and then invited us all back to Duke’s day the buyer called So- house for a swim. It was a big success theby’s looking for vet- but for one thing—by the time the ting paperwork (which auction was winding down, there they didn’t have, since was still no Sharon Stone. At the last it wasn’t their auction). minute her limo arrived, and when I Before you know it, we told her she was too late, she looked were asked to give a re- at me like I was an idiot and told me fund. Ouch. There goes to turn the microphone back on and your bonus. to get her two $100 bills. She got up on stage, shouting, swearing, and One of a kind? Sure, un- charming the crowd. After kissing and til two people have the signing the two greenbacks, she sold I’m often tempted to talk to money. I was a guest the first for $5,000 and the second for the zany performance artists and a sponsor at an $10,000, in about 60 seconds. Then The Olympic ski jumps gave an international feel at the Watermill Center auction for Bay Street she kissed me on the lips and got to the horse action at the Lake Placid Horse Show. benefit. But not in this case. Theatre when, like a back in the car. It was love.

Where Ted’s Been

60 bizbash.com fall 2010

PHOTOS: JAMES LESLIE PARK (LAKE PLACID), ALICE AND CHRIS FOR BIZBASH (PERFORMANCE ARTIST), LOVIS DENGLER OSTERNIK (SHARON STONE)

The other night, I attended a big-deal gala whose cocktail party featured a silent auction. The program and an announcer stated that it would close at 9 p.m. A few bidders wandered by just before then to check on their items. We’ve all done this: bid on an auction item, then stepped back and watched like a hawk. The hour came and went and the bid sheets remained on the table. One enterprising (interloping?) guest had the room to himself for a few minutes, during which he quickly and wisely scoped out the best ﬁve or so values and signed his name. At the redemption table, a number of bidders were outraged. He cheated! He bid after 9 p.m.! Despite their lamentations, however, Johnnycome-lastly made off with his items. It started a lively discussion. It was my initial position that since the organizers hadn’t promptly pulled the sheets, he was in his rights. But what about fair play? The rule of law? Conversely, if the money is for charity, why should anyone complain? The next day during the morningafter play-by-plays (the best part of any event, right?), we went through all the arguments again—sober this time—and still reached no consensus. Now this is an area where I con-

Event design: Fortuna Ludmir, Design 42

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Photography: Matt Horton — The Artist Group