Special Events Announces 2019 Gala Award Nominees

Special Events magazine today announces the nominees for the 2019 Gala Awards, the oldest and most prestigious award in events. This year, the magazine received entries from 13 countries; the nominees were chosen by members of the Special Events Advisory Board.

The winners will be named at a gala celebration on Jan. 10 at The Special Event in San Diego.

BEST FAIR/FESTIVAL
“Surrey Fusion Festival”
City of Surrey, Surrey, British Columbia, and John Donnelley and Associates, Vancouver, British Columbia

“Intergalactic Art Car Festival”
Lyft Nevada, Las Vegas

“Chandler Chamber Ostrich Festival”
Steve LeVine Entertainment and Public Relations, Scottsdale, Ariz.

BEST INVITATION
“A Great Impression is Key: Aurora’s Secret Garden Bat Mitzvah”
Dragonfly Custom Design, Orlando, Fla.

“Vizcaya Mansion Site Visit Invitation”
Hello Destination Management, Hollywood, Fla.

“Norman and Blake Launch Celebration”
Yonder Design, San Francisco

BEST DINING TABLE DESIGN
“Farm to Fork VIP Dinner”
BeEvents, Minneapolis

“Acrylic Artistry”
Emerald City Designs, Farmington Hills, Mich

“Reina and Kavi”
Nahid’s Global Events, San Diego

BEST OFF-PREMISE CATERED EVENT
“The Silver Anniversary Daffodil Ball”
Fairmont Le Reine Elizabeth, Montreal, and Marc Lintanf, Montreal

“Rolls Royce Villa Concours d’Elegance Monterey”
Good Gracious! Events, Los Angeles

“Culinary Tour Across Canada”
Swirl Custom Cakes and Desserts, Calgary, Alberta

BEST ON-SITE CATERED EVENT BY A HOTEL BANQUET DEPARTMENT
“New Year’s Eve in Floating City”
The Venetian | The Palazzo, Las Vegas

“The 85th Celebration”
The Venetian | The Palazzo, Las Vegas

BEST FUNDRAISING EVENT
“The Silver Anniversary Daffodil Ball”             
Alison Silcoff Events, Montreal

“20th Anniversary Discovery Ball”
California Science Center, Los Angeles

“Who Cares Backyard Concert”
Someone’s in the Kitchen, Tarzana, Calif.

BEST EVENT PRODUCED FOR A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION
“National Civil Rights Museum MLK50 Commemoration”
LEO Events, Memphis, Tenn.

“The USC Village Gala”
University of Southern California, Los Angeles

“Wallis Annenberg PetSpace AnniFURsary”
Zynger Events, Los Angeles

BEST WEDDING: BUDGET UNDER $1,000 PER GUEST
“Miami Love--A Modern Caribbean Getaway”
Designs by Sean, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Event Effects Group, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“Anjali and Vishaal”
Nahid's Global Events, San Diego

“Viva Maselyn!”
Wilkinson Rhodes, San Antonio

BEST WEDDING: BUDGET $1,000 AND ABOVE PER GUEST
”The Kat Von D and Leafar Seyer Wedding”
Center of Attention Events, Burbank, Calif.

“Boho Meets Soho”
Kristin Banta Events, Studio City, Calif.   

“A Wedding for All Seasons”
Lee Logan Events, Dallas, and Puttin’ on the Rizz, Denver

BEST MULTIPLE-DAY INCENTIVE EVENT
"Amway Achievers 2017”
ACCESS Destination Services, San Diego

“Sentimental Journey: A Step Back in Time”
Hello! Arizona Destination Management, Scottsdale, Ariz.

“Diamond Club Maui Incentive”
MC&A, Honolulu

BEST MULTIPLE-DAY EVENT PROGRAM FOR A CORPORATION OR ASSOCIATION
“Our Magic Moment”
Hello! Florida Destination Management, Orlando, Fla.

“Volvo Ocean Race--Corporate Hospitality”
Newport Hospitality, Newport, R.I.

“Global AYA Cancer Congress”
The Special Event Co., Cary, N.C.

BEST EVENT STAGED IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
“Big Bash 2018”
Atlassian, Austin, Texas

“Doctor’s Day 2018”
Blue Spark Event Design, Orlando, Fla.

“Shaping the Future”
Insglück, Berlin, and Volkswagen, Wolfsburg, Germany

BEST FLORAL DESIGN
“The Opposite of Hate Karaoke Event”
B Floral, New York

“WUSF Public Media's ‘The Longest Table’”
Concept Bait, St. Petersburg, Fla.

“Sublime Boudoir--Egyptian Art Deco”
Fiore Dorato, Singapore and Austin, Texas

BEST TENT INSTALLATION
“Museum of Modern Art's Party in the Garden”
Arena Americas, Oak Creek, Wis.

“Swan Ball”
Chattanooga Tent and Event Solutions, Chattanooga, Tenn.

“'Avengers: Infinity War' Movie Premiere”
Town and Country Event Rentals, Van Nuys, Calif.

BEST USE OF LIGHTING
“SFJazz Gala”
Got Light, San Francisco

“Under the Cosmic Sea”
Kehoe Designs, Chicago

“Fortune 50 Tech Steampunk Masquerade”
Russell Harris Event Group, North Hollywood, Calif.

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN TECHNICAL SUPPORT
“Intergalactic Confetti”
Future Affairs, Pawtucket, R.I.

“USC Village Gala”
Images by Lighting, Los Angeles

“AHA Heart Ball”
Rock the House, Oakwood Village, Cleveland

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN LOGISTICS
“Rugby World Cup Sevens”
Giants Enterprises, San Francisco, and USA Rugby, Lafayette, Colo.

“Mega Relief”
Keller Williams Realty, Austin, Texas

“Volvo Ocean Race”
Newport Hospitality, Newport, R.I.

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN EVENT RENTAL SUPPORT
“Jurassic World: The Exhibition”
Arena Americas, Oak Creek, Wis.

“KC2 Wedding”
Town and Country Event Rentals, Van Nuys, Calif.

BEST NEW EVENT PRODUCT/TECHNOLOGY
“VR Technology for Oculus Go”
AllSeated, New York

“StaffMate Safe”
StaffMate Online, Crestview, Fla.

“Datakalab”
Vibe Agency, Miami, and Datakalab, Miami

BEST EVENT ENTERTAINMENT CONCEPT AND EXECUTION: BUDGET UNDER $100,000
“Bollywood Ball”
Imprint Events Group, Denver

“Investment Aktuell 2018”
Insglueck, Cologne, and Union Asset Management, Frankfurt, Germany

“Avon RepFest 2018”
Mills James, Hilliard, Ohio

BEST EVENT ENTERTAINMENT CONCEPT AND EXECUTION: BUDGET $100,000 AND ABOVE
“Living Works of Art”
Kennedy Creative Events, Austin, Texas, and Austin Oddities and Entertainment, Austin, Texas

“Tamarack Music Festival”
Silhouette Group, New York

“The 85th Celebration”
The Venetian | The Palazzo, Las Vegas, and Angel City Designs, Chatsworth, Calif.

MOST OUTSTANDING SPECTACLE
“TUI Cruises Naming Ceremony of The New Mein Schiff 1"
Insgluck, Berlin

“Walmart Associates and Shareholders Week”
LEO Events, Memphis, Tenn.

"Experience Amazing: Lexus On-Demand Press Conference”
VOK DAMS, Wuppertal, Germany

BEST EVENT PRODUCED FOR A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL--BUDGET UNDER $1,000 PER GUEST
“Party for a Pop Star”
Kristin Banta Events, Studio City, Calif.

“JLO Dinero”
MGM Resorts Event Productions, Las Vegas

“Gwen Stefani's Opening Night VIP After-Party”
White Hot Events, Las Vegas

BEST EVENT PRODUCED FOR A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL: BUDGET $1,000 AND ABOVE PER GUEST
“The Jewel that is Quebec”
Alison Silcoff Events, Montreal

“Tamarack Music Festival”
Silhouette Group, New York

“85th Birthday Celebration”
The Venetian | The Palazzo, Las Vegas, and MB Event Planning and Production, Ramat-Gan, Israel

BEST EVENT MARKETING CAMPAIGN
“Pop Up Hockey Game in Downtown Toronto”
Fifth Element Group, North York, Ontario

“Arcadia: The Dark Series”
MASN, Dubai, UAE

“The House of Peroni”
Neon Agency, Dublin

BEST EVENT VENUE
“Bently Reserve”
San Francisco

“City Market Social House”
Los Angeles

“Keep Memory Alive Event Center”
Las Vegas

BEST DECOR: TOTAL DECOR BUDGET UNDER $50,000
“Canadian Mortgage Hall of Fame Awards”
aNd Logistix, Toronto

“Andy Warhol Launch for the Art Gallery of Ontario”
Fifth Element Group, North York, Ontario

“‘Garden Grunge’: The Wedding of Kate and Sandy”
R5 Event Design, Toronto

BEST DECOR: TOTAL DECOR BUDGET $50,000 TO $99,999
“The Healing Garden”
Future Affairs Productions, Pawtucket, R.I.

“Mid-Century Glam”
Hello! Arizona Destination Management, Scottsdale, Ariz.

“Teen Choice Awards”
Russell Harris Event Group, North Hollywood, Calif.

BEST DECOR: TOTAL DECOR BUDGET $100,000 TO $250,000
“Steampunk Cirque”
Fox Design Firm, San Diego

“Cirque Couture”
Hello! Florida Destination Management, Orlando, Fla.

“Under the Cosmic Sea”
Kehoe Designs, Chicago

BEST DECOR: TOTAL DECOR BUDGET ABOVE $250,000
“San Francisco Symphony Opening Night Gala”
Blueprint Studios, San Francisco

“Hermès Palo Alto Store Opening Event”
Gallagher, Los Angeles

“DMD Media Distribution International Upfront”
Russell Harris Event Group, North Hollywood, Calif.

BEST EVENT PRODUCED FOR A CORPORATION OR ASSOCIATION: OVERALL BUDGET UNDER $100,000
“Live From Chicago--It's Saturday Night!”
CTC Destination Management, A DMC Network Co., Chicago, and Brass Tacks Events, Portland, Ore.

“eXpedition to Mars”
M2Communications, Belgrade, Serbia

“Cerenovus Award Night”
Russell Harris Event Group, North Hollywood, Calif.

BEST EVENT PRODUCED FOR A CORPORATION OR ASSOCIATION: BUDGET $100,000 TO $249,999
“Big Bash 2018”
Atlassian, Austin, Texas

“Teen Choice Awards Post-Party”
Russell Harris Event Group, North Hollywood, Calif.

“‘Experience Amazing’: Lexus On-Demand Press Conference”
VOK DAMS Events and Live-Marketing, Wuppertal, Germany

BEST EVENT PRODUCED FOR A CORPORATION OR ASSOCIATION: BUDGET $250,000 TO $500,000
“District Chic--Too Cool for Old School”
CSI DMC, Falls Church, Va.

“The Wild West”
Koncept Events, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“Midnight at the Museum”
Verve the Live Agency, Dublin

BEST EVENT PRODUCED FOR A CORPORATION OR ASSOCIATION: BUDGET ABOVE $500,000
“Steampunk Cirque”
Culinary Concepts, San Diego, and Spangler Event Productions, San Diego

“Hermès Palo Alto Store Opening Event”
Gallagher, Los Angeles

“Shaping the Future: Volkswagen”
Insglueck, Berlin, and Volkswagen Group, Wolfsburg, Germany