2014, the year Illinois got a new Governor, Chicago was awarded the James Beard Awards Gala, Dailycandy closed up shop and here we are end of the year reminiscing about all that went down. Best is a subjective term and our compilation is based on events we’ve covered this year. In no particular ranking order here are the best events that happened this year in Chicago.
1) Nick Cave debut his soundsuits at WALK 2014. The School of The Art Institute of Chicago annual WALK fashion show is one of the best fashion events in the city and this year took it up notch with Nick Cave’s Soundsuits. The Soundsuits which gained international attention with a 12 page feature in Vogue magazine have performed elsewhere but Chicago, most recently for a Creative Time commissioned project at New Yorks Grand central station.
In between the runway shows, Nick Cave led a colorful caravan of dancers in sound suits to much applause from guests in attendance, it was truly a YASSSS moment!
2) Boys & Girls Club Summer Ball: Over 500 guests donning their best summer ball gowns showed up for the event co-chaired by Marty Higgins and Karen Gray. This was most especially memorable because the event honored the 9 of the past presidents including Renée Crown, Karen Gray some of the city who’s who on the social and philanthropic fundraising scene.
3) Snowball 2014. The Junior Council, an organization affiliated with Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, gathered over 1,500 guests into Union Station with multiple bars, food stations and a night that ended with some guests walking barefoot. Mind you it was during the polar vortex. Now that’s a party!
4) Shedd Blu Festa– The Brazilian themed event held in one of the most scenic spots in the city was a whale of fun and the money raised was one of the largest for an auxiliary/junior board this year.
5) Bowie Gala – The sold out gala, though did not have the great White Duke in attendance, did have some of the art world’s darlings such as Rashid Johnson, Mickalene Thomas and major collectors in attendance. The event might have been one of the most expensive ticket and table prices for the year’s gala scene at $30k/table $3k/person.
6) Magritte Gala. One of the most anticipated exhibit openings this year at the Art Institute of Chicago. The usual Art Institute of Chicago supporters were in tow and this time the dress code was all sorts of Magritte interpretations.
7) Mr & Mrs Smith’s Whisked Away By Wanderlust Dinner Mr. & Mrs. Smith’s dinner hosted by Candace Jordan and Azeeza gathered a varied crew at new hotspot Soho House for dinner and conversation. Think one table with Mayoral candidate Bob Fioretti and another with Jena Gambaccini of Chitown Fashion to name a few.
8) Gene Siskel Film Center of The School of the Art Institute Chicago’s annual fundraiser. Morgan Freeman was quite candid in his questions. This event one of the few that draws A-list honoree most Academy Award winners or nominees.
9) Night In The Stacks Chicago Public Library Junior Board In al honesty, the expectation for this event going in was that it would be a boring group of well, library supporters and far from it. The winter garden of the Harold Washington library was packed, DJ EdwinKonsept had them dancing practically all night and this was their first fundraiser.
10) ChiARTS Kerfuffle! This event had the MCA auditorium packed and more. The organization has only been established a few years and they have attracted some of the city’s top donors and continue to build a world class school that combines college preparatory classes and arts education.
Though Chicago had it’s share of great parties this year, we would love to offer some event ideas moving forward.
Gatsby themed parties needs to be shelved. Instead, let’s think more along the lines of masquerade themed galas and parties.
There was a dearth of big alcohol launch parties this year, save for The Grey Goose Le melon launch. Let’s bring those back.
We love our Chicago DJs(Matt Roan, EdwinKonsept, Megan Taylor) but let’s bring more DJ Kiss, DJ Berrie, DJ Ruckus for special events and not only club events.
Most of all, SOCIAL IS IMPORTANT! If you have gone through the trouble of printing out a program and your organization is on social media, please include your handles. Create unique hashtags for your events, some organizations get it but it’s a small small amount.
It’s been a great year of event coverage and looking forward to 2015!
