A Different Buzz

NYC & Co. at NYSE

Temporary parties in nontraditional party spaces are having a moment, say the style editors at The New York Times.

And NYC-area meeting planners had their own moment last week, when NYC & Company hosted a tri-state event at the iconic New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Wall Street. The evening began with cocktails in the gilded, filigreed Board Room, where part of the fun was considering who else had walked across the elegant carpets over the last century. FDR? Richard Nixon? Ronald Reagan, for sure, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. And were there such gorgeous flowers on the mile-long conference table when Martha Stewart was on the board of directors?

After drinks, we moved down to the trading floor, which was closed for the day but still seemed to vibrate, thanks to the news and financial market tickers which continued to flash above the floor all evening. A jazz trio played standards, as meeting planners visited with 35 local sponsors and dined on New York City–centric hors d'oeuvres.

The trading floor, which holds up to 500 for a reception, has been available to the public for corporate and other events since early 2010. Additional NYSE venues can be used for dinners, meetings, and receptions.

By virtue of their contact with innovative decor, fabulous venues, and the latest food and beverage options, meeting planners can be famously hard to impress. But the buzz proved that an evening at the NYSE can wow even the most jaded — not to mention the line of planners waiting to have their picture taken at the balcony where the opening bell is rung twice a day to signal the start of trading.

The Bell Jar

I love that New York City event producer David Stark used to be a painter, and that he approaches his work with such an artful eye. I first learned of him when Convene Senior Editor Barbara Palmer interviewed him for our July 2010 cover story, and was happy to find him the subject of a "Tools of My Trade" piece in the July/August issue of Fast Company. In the article, he lists six of his favorite ways to build events "that feel like art installations," saying that "flowers are only one tool in the toolbox. Many instances require different kinds of thinking and materials to bring the occasion to life."

First on his list is the humble glass bell jar (starting at $8 at www.glassdomes.com), which Stark uses to create tablescapes. When filled with item(s) tied to a theme or an organization's mission, bell jars can make creative (and inexpensive) table centerpieces. Stark has filled the jars with fruit for a party at Martha Stewart's home, painted eggs for a Benjamin Moore event, and faux tulips crafted from euros for the Global Volatility Summit — you have got to appreciate the symbolism there.

Part of Stark's genius, I think, is his laser-like focus on specifics — but not in terms of details, as you might think. His approach, he said, is "about creating something event-specific, site-specific, and client-specific." That kind of narrow mindedness can open up all kinds of possibilities. Even if you're not an artist.