The Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce 89th Annual Gala

Our last newsletter was dedicated to the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce and one of its signature yearly events. Contributing writer and friend Charlotte Libov puts into words a wonderful evening of fundraising, networking and fun:

On June, Friday 4th 2011 revelers were whisked back in time as the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce presented its 89th Annual Dinner Gala and Silent Auction, to pay homage both to the city's fabled past, and also to Miami Beach business and community leaders of today.

The event, entitled "Live from Miami Beach," attracted a record attendance of 1,100 guests, who filled a Miami Beach Convention Center that was transformed into a glittering black-and-white 1950s extravaganza.

"I am so proud and honored to have had the most successful dinner gala in its 89th year with the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce membership; businesses and Miami Beach residents all coming together to celebrate our outstanding leaders from this community," said Jason Loeb, Chairman of the Board and CEO at Sudsies.

The creative use of the menu to turn back time from the "Lucy I'm Home" appetizers, to the "Away We Go" entree and the spectacular array of retro-desserts served in the Poodle Lounge, transformed by Social Catering Sales Director Bruce Townsend, was a tribute to Chef Jonathan Barnett and the Centerplate team.
The program was highlighted by the awards ceremony, in which the Chamber honored four of the most accomplished people in the community for their contributions:

Barth Green, M.D. was given the Distinguished Service Award for his outstanding work in Haiti as co-founder of Project Medishare; Green has worked tirelessly to help bringing medical care to the earthquake-ravaged country.
Jason Loeb, Chairman of the Board was awarded the new Hi-Tides Outstanding Achievement Award, which pays homage to Loeb's mantra: "hi tides raise all boats". The award was presented live on screen from Los Angeles by one of Hollywood's most prominent director/producers, Miami native and Loeb's childhood friend, Brett Ratner.
Bill Johnson, Director of the Port of Miami received the Excellence in Tourism Award in hands of William Talbert III, President and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, who congratulated Johnson for helping to make the Port of Miami successful and "sexy".
And last, but certainly not least, came one of the evening's most awaited events, the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to City of Miami Beach Mayor Matti Bower. In accepting the award, Bower said, "I have loved this community ever since I moved here with my husband. Miami Beach is different from any other city in the world."

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT

PHOTOS BY HENRY PEREZ PHOTOGRAPHY

INCard 2nd Anniversary Event

For those who never heard about it, the INCard is an innitiative of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce to bring value to Miami Beach residents and visitors by making available a discounts/promotions card with offers from several local businesses.

On June, Wednesday 29th, 2011 this program will celebrate its 2nd year with "A Taste of the INCard", a community event to take place at Jungle Island from 6pm to 8pm, at the Treetop Ballroom.

Neighbors, families and friends will enjoy food, drinks, prizes, music and much more...at no cost!

For more details about the INCard 2nd Anniveresary Celebration please in the image below

About the Miami Beach INCard Program:
You can now see savings through a breakthrough business card and business stimulus program - the Miami Beach INcard. The Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce (MBCC) is leading this innovative program to stimulate business, benefit visitors, and reward residents of the exciting destination.

Miami Beach residents are eligible to register and receive a free black Miami Beach INcard. Visitors, tourists and non-residents of Miami Beach are eligible for a free platinum Miami Beach INcard. Both the black Miami Beach INcard and the platinum Miami Beach INcard have no expiration date.

As bearers of either a black or platinum Miami Beach INcard, Miami Beach residents and visitors can chose from a menu of special discount opportunities at local Miami Beach and South Florida businesses that can be viewed on http://www.miamibeachincard.com/; the same website can be used to sign up and order the cards.

The Miami Beach INcard was developed late 2009 as a result of Miami Beach Mayor Matti Herrera Bower's 2009 Blue Ribbon Task Force on Tourism. Mayor Bower said, “Recognizing the important role small businesses plays in our economy is one of the highlights of the task force. A program like this is just what we need to support each other and promote our community as a whole."

http://www.miamibeachchamber.com/

http://www.miamibeachincard.com/

http://www.jungleisland.com/

OUR FAVORITE EVENT CALENDARS

 The need to be informed of what's going on in town is critical for your social life and your business life; sometimes it is hard to figure out what/when/where with so much going on yet so little time. We list below our favorite sources of information when it comes to events and we hope you find them useful as well:

SOCIALMIAMI.COM - Our friends at SocialMiami.com keep a complete list of the most relevant social, cultural and charity events in town; including 2 weekly newsletters (Art About Town & Events of the Week) to make sure you get the information in your inbox on time.
 
GREATER MIAMI CONVENTIONS & VISITORS BUREAU - We find this calendar particularly useful as it generates lists of events based on different categories and you can browse per dates as well. If you have friends or clients coming to town and you know what type of events they enjoy, you can easily send them a customized list with all the information.
 
MIAMI.COM - With a complete list of all types of events, you can also browse by category, dates and even by area within South Florida. How convenient is that if you don't want to go too far from home.
An added value on this site is that some of the listed venues for events have reviews, therefore you can have an idea of what people have to say about the place you are going.
 
See you at the next event and don't forget to Like Us on FB and Follow Us on Twitter

THE LOUIS XIII EXPERIENCE

At the peak of the high season in Miami Beach, luxury brands look for opportunities to reach out to their consumers and private events seem to be the perfect outlet to mingle with them.

On February, Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24, 2011 Louis XIII cognac (by Remy Martin) hosted a series of 2 private tasting events, in partnership with Nisi Yachts, Sojo Design and The Webster. Each event was an intimate affair for no more than 60 VIP guests, including residents of luxury condominiums and homes in South Beach, socialites and philanthropists.

Kathryn Walters (Remy Contreau USA),
Steele Cooper (Louis XIII Brand Ambassador)

Guests enjoyed exquisite hors d'oeuvres and champagne at both events, but the highlight of the evening was a private tasting of Louis XIII, a cognac manufactured using grapes from the Grande Champagne territory of Cognac, France. It is blended from 1200 eaux-de-vie, some more than a century in age, then it is aged in tiercons, oak barrels that are several hundred years old, in its own cellar. The average price range is between $1,800 to $2,500 per bottle.

Fashion Suite by The Webster

Steele Cooper, brand ambassador for Louis XIII, guided guests through the history of this exclusive cognac/champagne while engaging them in a group tasting that ended in a toast to celebrate life.

Fabulous set up by Sojo Design

The events were co-hosted by Sofia Joelsson, principal of Sojo Design, a boutique high end interior design firm. Sofia's penthouse terrace at Capri South Beach overlooks the Biscayne Bay, with a sophisticated design and event friendly layout; it was the perfect private setting to entertain guests while making them feel at home.

The NISI 2400

Nisi Yachts presented the international debut of Nisi 2400, the latest addition to their collection of luxury yachts, and The Webster showcased some of the latest high end fashion and jewelry designs.

 

CLICK HERE

to view the photo album from the event by
Alisa Rauner Photography



CREATIVE WAYS TO GENERATE TRAFFIC: Miami Design District Private Tours

The Miami Design District is growing as a local, national and international destination for interior design, art, fashion and dining, and their businesses are focused as a group to increase the traffic of potential clients. The Miami Design District Merchants Council (MDDMC) was created to implement marketing strategies to benefit the District as a business community and a sample of those efforts are the “Miami Design District Private Tours” for residents of luxury condominiums, co-hosted by Design District Magazine.


Star Services Events & Public Relations designed such tours for the MDDMC to cater to residents of targeted residential communities, where the profile of the average home owner is the same as the profile of the average client of any of the District’s businesses. After the success of 3 tours for residents of luxury condos in South Beach, the MDDMC decided to invite their neighbors from Brickell and Downtown, more precisely from Icon Brickell, Ten Museum Park, Four Seasons Residences and The Santa Maria condominiums.

On Saturday November 6 2010 a group of 27 residents arrived in a limo-bus courtesy of Wolrdwide Transportation, and started the tour through the showrooms, galleries and stores where they were graciously greeted (in many cases by the owners) and pampered with wines, refreshments and hors d’oeuvres. The almost 3 hour tour through over 13 businesses  ended up at Mai Tardi restaurant where guests had complimentary prosecos and tapas before getting on the limo-bus  to head back to their respective buildings with gift bags and all.

SUNSET SOIREE: Bringing together luxury brands and their consumers

On Thursday October 28, 2010 an exclusive cocktail party hosted by the Continental Concierge Group and Mondrian South Beach gathered residents from some of the most prestigious addresses in South Beach. This was the first of a series of monthly private events which take place every year between December and March.

“These events are a unique opportunity to mingle with a selected group of high net worth individuals who enjoy luxury lifestyles” says Dr. Julio Gallo, principal at the Miami Institute for Age Management and Rejuvenation, who participated as a gift bag sponsor along with Robovault, Tui Lifestyle, One Sotheby’s, Casa Mia, Cognac Louis XIII, Jetcard Plus and Adrienne Arsht Center.


Thanks to a good understanding of the luxury condominium residential communities and a strong network of luxury brands, Star Services Events and Public Relations combines  the right ingredients at these targeted events. Participating companies have direct visibility to potential consumers, while guests are pampered with gift bags, raffled gifts, complimentary cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and entertainment.

The Continental Concierge Group is a division of The Continental Group, one of the largest property management companies in the country; created to improve the level of service to their high end clients by networking, sharing experiences, training and putting together their signature events.

CLICK HERE

to view the photo gallery courtesy of
Alisa Rauner Photography

SWELL SUITS MIAMI 2011

This year Star Services was able to experience first hand the success of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week SWIM -the Miami event that showcases the latest collections in swimwear. Along with Ainsley Connell Management, we co-produced Swell Suits Miami 2011, the first All Male Swimwear Group Show to hit the runway presenting the collections of 3 designers: Naila, Olasul and parke & ronen.

Three designers one show! Everything had to be perfect and thanks to the countless hours of planning and the flawless execution of our staff, the show went off without a hitch! Our clients had the opportunity to showcase their latest designs in front of national and international buyers as well as media representatives.

The models were accessorized exclusively by our sponsor Randolph Engineering, a high end line of sunglasses famed for their extreme durability and classic American styles. At the end of it all, it was a great success. It was covered by over 70 different media outlets ranging from NBC’s Today Show to DNA Magazine in Australia. CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE SHOW

MERCEDES BENZ FASHION WEEK

There are few fashion events with the international reach as that of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week (MBFW). It is produced in New York, Miami, and Berlin by IMG- a sports, entertainment, and media company- which by partnering with “the world's leading marketers and media networks” it has revolutionized the fashion world and has transformed MBFW into a dominating force within the industry.

In 2007, Mercedes Benz joined in as the title sponsor and in 2009, they renewed the contract: “Our commitment to the event’s success will continue as we officially renew our three year agreement with IMG to remain title sponsor,” said Stephen Cannon, vice president of marketing for Mercedes-Benz USA. Renewing the agreement is a sure sign that Mercedes Benz feels its investment is paying off.

An event of this magnitude translates into hundreds of hotel rooms, restaurant reservations as well as transportation and production dollars for the hosting city. "The Mercedes Benz Fashion Week has grown to become the most significant fashion industry event in Miami Beach and South Florida.  As such, it represents a significant source of income for Miami Beach businesses and brings tourists from all over the world every year” says Max Sklar, Director of Tourism and Cultural Development from the City of Miami Beach.

WEDDING IN BOLLYWOOD

Saturday, December 5th, 2009 - Mumbai - India
Many of us have heard or even used the word “Bollywood”; now, do we really know what it means? This catchy term refers to the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai, India (formerly known as Bombay), although it is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema. Bollywood is the largest film producer in India and one of the largest centers of film production in the world.

Just like the original Hollywood, the Indian counterpart knows about fabulous events and world class entertainment, judging from the information shared with me by the production's art director Koushal Choudhry with R-One Media & Events Private Limited, an event production company from Mumbai which produced a surreal 7 events in one for the wedding of one of their clients: Mr. Raj Mehta, film producer and founder of Shri Asht Vinayaka Cine Vision, the biggest film production company in Bollywood.

The hottest wedding of the season in India hosted over 7000 guests and included a reception party, an engagement ceremony, a ladies’ Sangeet event, a traditional Mehndi and much more; everything designed, produced and orchestrated by Mr. Yogesh Popat, founder of R-One Media & Events, and his team of over 150 architects, engineers, craftsmen, welders, painters, sculptors, carpenters and other professionals.

The main reception took place on December 5th 2009, and the theme was “Under Water”; preparations started 6 months in advance, in July 2009, when R-One Media received the approved drawings from the client; it took 10 more days and nights of work to finalize the work drawings to be used to produce a scale model and from there to build stages, props, and overall design.

The main set was a structure of 120ft wide x 72 ft deep x 45ft high, and the center piece was a gigantic shell that after being finished and transported to the site, it had to be completely re-done due to problems with the quality of the material only 2 days before the event!
This shell would be the place where the newly weds would “land” from a space ship erected 100 feet above the stage, to be greeted by dancers and performers.

This multi-production high tech series of events hosted the biggest names in the Indian film industry and other

VIP’s from around the world such as Celina Jetli (former Miss World), Katrina Kaif, Ritesh Deshmuk, Kabir Bedi and much more.

I am sure many of you (including myself) are wondering how much was spent in such a wonderful production… well the answer is still an mystery as Koushal prefers to respect his client’s privacy and keep it confidential.

                                    
CLICK HERE TO ENJOY A VIDEO OF THE EVENT

EVENINGS IN VOGUE

Saturday, December 5th, 2009 -South Beach, FL - USA

Miami's best events of the year took place during Art Basel, it was a tough decision to figure out which one was the best one, considering that I didn't attend many as I got sick with a flu by Friday.

Holiday season is over and a new decade started, is time to make a decision to keep you posted with the best events around the world and serial entrepreneurs and marketing gurus Loren & JR Ridinger made it easier for me as they hosted a fabulous fete at their waterfront home during Art Basel week and according to reliable sources it was the best by far.

Below is the press release describing the event, and it certainly matches my sources’ description, enjoy!

MIAMI, FL – Loren Ridinger, Senior Vice President of Market America, hosted the hottest and most sought after invitation only event during Art Basel Miami as she welcomed Hollywood celebrities, star athletes, leaders of industry, art enthusiasts and select VIP’s to her Miami Beach home this past Saturday for an exclusive fashion show where Versace previewed their new 2010 spring/summer collection.

Held in conjunction with Vogue and Versace, invited guests at “Evenings in Vogue” were treated to a stunning fashion show that included never before seen pieces from Versace’s newest collection while enjoying the elegance of Loren and JR Ridinger’s Miami Beach estate, Casa De Suenos. Among the invited guests who attended the event were Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, Alicia and Mike Piazza, Larsa and Scottie Pippen, Vanessa Williams, Russell Simmons, Cliff Floyd, Tarek Al Fassi, Harry Morton, Prince Salman Al Saud, Michael Michele, Ana Cristina Álvarez, Inga Rubenstein, Johan Lindeberg, Robin Quivers, Ashley Gibb, Therese Gibb and Katrina Campins.

Saturday marked another successful event where Ridinger and Vogue partnered to put on Art Basel’s biggest fashion show. Previously, the two joined forces in 2007 for a poolside runway show at the Ridinger’s Miami Beach mansion where famed designer Alberta Ferretti showcased her spring/summer 2008 collection. “Art Basel is one of my favorite times of the year and I was thrilled to partner with Vogue and Versace to host this amazing event,” said Ridinger. “It was wonderful to once again welcome so many incredible and talented people to our home to view Versace’s gorgeous collection. The response from guests is always so positive when working with Vogue and we are already in discussions about what we will do next as we bring the best shows to America’s sexiest city.”

DON'T MISS LIFE WITH LOREN'S WEBISODE, GREAT VIDEO FOOTAGE OF THE EVENT

CLICK HERE