BRANCHING OUT
Originally a division of Newtown Party Rental, Newtown, Pa.-based OPEN AIRE AFFAIRS has spun off and is now its own event venue company. LARRY OTT is founder. For more information, call 215/860-1859, or visit www.openaireaffairs.com. • Lighting, sound and video provider HAWTHORN, based in Leicestershire, England, has acquired London-based CORE CREATIVE. Call +44 1664 821111, or visit www.hawthorns.uk.com. • Chicago-based MOSS INC. has joined forces with NICHOLS INC., based in Salt Lake City. Nichols specializes in printing technology while Moss makes custom tension fabric structures. For more information, call 800/341-1557, or visit www.mossinc.com. • CLASSIC PARTY RENTALS, based in Los Angeles, has acquired Pompano Beach, Fla.-based PANACHE … AN EVENT RENTAL CO., expanding Classic's presence in the Southeast. Classic also recently bought Napa, Calif.-based LA BELLA PARTY RENTAL CO. Its Napa showroom and warehouse and St. Helena, Calif., showroom will continue to serve the area. For more information, call 310/535-3660, or visit www.classicpartyrentals.com. • MICHELLE THORNTON has launched ELEMENTAL MEETINGS & EVENTS, based in San Francisco. For more information, call 415/290-2097, or visit www.elementalmeetings.com. • Torrance, Calif.-based AZTEC TENTS has expanded its global sales team. RON NORTON of Madison, Wis.-based Great American Tent & Party will represent Aztec Tents in the mid-Atlantic region; DAMIAN BISHOFF will sell and distribute Aztec's products in England from London-based Beaumont Marquees; and MATTHEW DOBSON of Harts Party Distribution, based in Oakleigh, Australia, will supply Australia and New Zealand. For more information, call 800/228-3687, or visit www.aztectents.com. • Detroit-based GEORGE P. JOHNSON CO. has partnered with Los Gatos, Calif.-based ALTUS LEARNING SYSTEMS to capture and deliver event-related content over the Internet. For more information, call GPJ at 248/475-2500, or visit www.gpjco.com; for Altus Learning Systems, call 510/914-1712, or visit www.altuscorp.com.
BUSINESS NEWS
VOK DAMS GROUP, based in Wuppertal, Germany, has announced it will stage the festivities for the 40th anniversary of Switzerland-based EXPERT INTERNATIONAL. For more information, call +49 202 38 907-0, or visit www.vokdams.de.
MEA CULPA
In our February issue, the pictures of the event produced by Frank Andonoplas, MBC, in the “Big Birthdays” article should have been credited to Karen Smilie. We apologize.