Illuminated cherry blossoms, a paintbrush bar-back and fiery Twinkies are among the creative features implemented at U.S. meetings and events recently.
They’re on BizBash’s list of 10 Best Ideas of the Week, which is sure to inspire planners and suppliers to implement similar or creative concepts of their own. Here are six particularly innovative ideas.
- Elegant beet dish?: Though generally regarded as a humble vegetable, beets are becoming fashionable and trendy. The Boarding House in Chicago, for example, offers a beet salad with herbed goat cheese, cashew streusel and a carrot reduction.
- The natural elements: The 2016 Allie Awards at The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta was themed “Xperience the Elements,” and included three areas inspired by water, earth and fire. Wolfgang Pack’s after-party deserts, inspired by fire, included Twinkies made with red velvet cake.
- Illuminated cherry blossom tree: The National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC, featured an illuminated cherry blossom tree in the center of a bar at Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. It was a modern interpretation of hanami, the Japanese tradition of reveling in the blooming of cherry blossom trees.
- All-white paintbrushes: Attendees always appreciate playful, unexpected elements at events. Birch Event Design—a Brooklyn, New York-based floral, decor and production company—designed a bar’s backdrop out of all-white paintbrushes for an art-themed event.
- Flower cart: Many planners and hosts are opting for bohemian event decor rather than polished and posh features. Recently, some have been partnering with Los Angeles-based Seed Floral Interactive, which provides flower carts that can be branded or painted in any color.
- Center-Court Dinner: The popular BNP Paribas Open tennis event in Greater Palm Springs, California, recently hosted an intimate dinner at center court of Indian Wells Tennis Garden stadium. Nobu created dishes that were paired with Moet champagnes.
