Event Profiles

Master Winemaker Dinner Held High on a Hilltop

We saw and learned a lot that was new and impressive at the recent IMEX America convention in Las Vegas. When it came to food and beverage offerings, there was one clear stand out: the salad presentation at the swank party The Venetian and The Palazzo held at an airport hangar.

When Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows was tapped to host its first World Cup ski event since 1969, the fear was that there wouldn’t be enough snow to sustain the icy, rock-hard course required for top-circuit ski racing by the governing International Ski Federation (FIS). 

Instead, after four years of drought, the major challenges turned out to be too much snow, as in about 50 feet—a near record—by the time the Audi FIS World Cup competition rolled around on March 9-12. 

I’ve been spending a lot of time experimenting with sea salt lately. Grilling fish with Meyer-lemon infused salt, adding a pinch of rosemary salt to pinto beans, making a vinaigrette with a smoked sea salt, sprinkling fruit or popcorn with dashes of this or that. A few weeks ago I took the Sea Salt Workshop at the Terranea Resort in Palos Verdes. Held the first Saturday of every month, at a cost of $70 per person, the workshops are led by the resort’s chefs.

Corks pop in celebration of the popular music festival that almost wasn’t.

Last week, The Garland, a stylish hotel in North Hollywood, celebrated September’s National Yoga Month with a Sound Off Deep Flow Yoga Class. Held in their lovely outdoor venue Beverly Park, this was described as “taking classic outdoor yoga to another level.” The class combined traditional vinyasa yoga movements with an instructor and a live DJ spinning music that could only be heard through glowing, wireless, noise-isolating, three-channel headphones.

Meeting Professionals International, the official sponsor of Smart Monday, has added five new programs to the inaugural day of IMEX America.

Paws for a Break

MPI is teaming up with Love Dog Adventures—a Las Vegas animal-assisted therapy program. Designed as a stress-reducing activity, several dogs will be present during Smart Monday for attendees to cuddle with. These puppy sessions are quickly becoming a hot new trend and have been featured in a number of World Education Congresses. Puppy Cuddling is sponsored by Visit Norfolk.

After it was over—after the Broncos beat the Panthers and fans jammed into restaurants and bars to cheer or cry in their beer before returning to their hotels, exhausted— you could almost feel the San Francisco Bay Area deflate like a popped balloon. It took a few days for the last vestiges of a high-energy, weeks-long Super Bowl 50 celebration to be cleared and traffic in downtown San Francisco returned to normal.

The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles has long recognized that cars, trucks and motorcycles aren’t just modes of transportation. They’re key to the city’s identity, style and history. After closing for a 15-month, $125 million renovation, the museum celebrated its reopening with a December 6 gala attuned to the new look and feel of the museum.

Q&A With Event Director Jaime McAuley