This weekend contains one of my most favorite days of the year – Academy Awards Sunday!

I got a taste of Hollywood glamor a little earlier this week with the production of my latest work event. The Opening Night Party at this year’s Northwest Flower & Garden Show.

The Garden Show is celebrating its 25th Silver Anniversary with a tribute to the Silver Screen – this year’s theme is Gardens Go Hollywood! We really got into the  Tinseltown mode at this annual preview party that benefits the Arboretum Foundation.

With the Oscars coming this weekend, I thought I would share a few photos from the event in the hopes of inspiring you to sparkle up your celebrations this Sunday.

Lively swing music from Underground Swing filled the hall as guests arrived on the red carpet. We encouraged guests to dress up as their favorite Hollywood celebrity or movie character. Dean Martin & Marilyn stopped by (thanks to Live Wires!)

Even King Kong took his photo opp in front of our step & repeat along the red carpet!

Gardening celebrities joined in the fun with gardening guru, Billy Goodnick, leading a tour of the gardens for our guests

and Ciscoe Morris announcing the world premiere of a very special movie made especially for us by Utopia Media & Entertainment.

A concessions candy guessing game raised money for the Foundation.

Guests donated for the opportunity to guess the number of pieces of candy and win prizes – including the chance to take home these lovely jars full!

The table centerpieces were a very simple decor that carried the theme through. These would be perfect for your Oscar party this weekend!

Make these from items easily picked up at your local party store – popcorn buckets, raffle tickets, paper shred (looks like popcorn at the top of the bucket, right?)and a movie prop clapboard.

We stuffed butcher paper almost to the top of the large popcorn bucket, added the shred and placed the clapboard on top. The small buckets simply had two colors of raffle tickets coming up out of them. Super easy!

Finger foods are great to serve at your awards party. Prepare appetizers ahead of the soiree, leaving you more time to enjoy your guests.

A cheese plate is easy to put together and always a winner!

Volunteers at the event even got into the spirit with Usher/Usherette hats and trays. (Thanks mom for coming into town for a visit just in time to volunteer and make these costumes for our big party!)

And of course I had to show you the wonderful Hobbit themed garden that our Arboretum Foundation designers created for this year’s show!

If you are feeling down in this dreary NW winter weather and want a taste of spring, the Garden Show continues through this weekend at the Washington State Convention Center.

Thank you to Event Photos NW for being there to capture the magic! See more great photos of the gala event on their website.

That’s why I am so thrilled to tell you about this event that blends two of my favorite things!

If you’ve been to the Northwest Flower & Garden Show you know what a wonderful spectacle it is. Fun vendors, engaging guest speakers & DIY sessions, and the incredible life-sized display gardens! If you haven’t been, it is the perfect place to take a stay-cation in mid-February. With all the beautiful flowers and plants, it is just like a mini-spring vacation right in your own “backyard”

This year marks the 25th anniversary of The Northwest Flower & Garden Show, which returns to Seattle February 20-24th. To celebrate this milestone, the theme of the Show this year is “The Silver Screen Takes Root: Gardens Go Hollywood” with all of the display gardens having a Hollywood bent to them.

To kick off this amazing four-day event, the Opening Night Party, produced by the Arboretum Foundation, will be a Tinseltown extravaganza!

On Tuesday, February 19th, guests will enjoy a fabulous evening of delicious food, fine wines, live music by the very talented quartet, Underground Swing, terrific silent auctions, and the opportunity to view the beautiful display gardens at the Flower Show (including the Arboretum’s display garden, which pays homage to the flora of New Zealand and Peter Jackson’s new movie of The Hobbit) the day before it opens to the public!

The party will emulate the glamor and magic of Hollywood. You will have the opportunity to walk the red carpet, bid electronically on incredible auction items, hob-nob with your favorite Northwest horticultural celebrities, and view the world-premiere of a short-short film featuring gardening superstar Ciscoe Morris (who will also will emcee this year’s Fund-A-Need event, which will raise money to support the Arborist and Tree Care Program at the Arboretum) produced by Utopia Media and Entertainment.

TICKET INFORMATION:

GENERAL ADMISSION—$75 Arboretum Foundation Members; $100 Non-Members

• 6:30 to 7:30 PM: Wine reception, light fare, live entertainment and silent auction

• 7:30 to 9:30 PM: Garden viewing, desserts, hosted wine, and entertainment

Dinner is not included as part of the general admission ticket benefits. General admission guests are encouraged to dine before they come to the event—but they’re also encouraged to save room for some delectable desserts and wines!

PATRONS & BENEFACTORS—$250 Patrons; $500 Benefactors

• 5:00 to 6:00 PM: Wine reception, hors d’oeuvres, live entertainment, and silent auctions in the South Lobby

• 6:00 to 6:30 PM: “Top 10 Design Tips from Show Gardens,” with Billy Goodnick

• 6:00 to 7:30 PM: Exclusive garden preview and buffet dinner

• 7:30 to 9:30 PM: Continued garden viewing, auction bidding, dessert and entertainment

Among other benefits, Patron and Benefactor-level guests will enjoy a buffet dinner and an exclusive preview of the display gardens before the main exhibit hall is opened to all guests as well as free parking at the event.

Patrons & Benefactors will also get to enjoy a special tour of the Show gardens with special guest, designer and author Billy Goodnick. Billy, who blogs for Fine Gardening magazine, will discuss his Top 10 design tips for sustainability and outdoor living in the 2013 show gardens. Billy’s design eye, combined with his keen wit, promises to make this an entertaining way to discover new trends.

For reservations, please call 206-325-4510 or visit www.arboretumfoundation.org.

I am so excited to share this event with you! It is going to be a wonderful evening and I hope to see you there!

Opening Night is presented by the Arboretum Foundation as a benefit for Washington Park Arboretum

DAY ONE: Starbuck – Opening Night Party
DAY TWO: Ethel – Come As You Are – Bones Brigade: An Autobiography – V/H/S
DAY THREE: Sans Soleil – Dead Weight – Andrew Bird: Fever Year
DAY FOUR: Inland Empire – Bad Brains: A Band in DC
DAY FIVE: Pink Ribbons, Inc. – 11 Flowers – How to Survive a Plague
DAY SIX: Romancing in Thin Air – Elena – The Imposter
DAY SEVEN: 5 Broken Cameras – Goodbye – High Tech, Low Life
DAY EIGHT: Big Boys Gone Bananas!* – Off White Lies – The Milwaukee Show
DAY NINE: Las Acacias – The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie – Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God
DAY TEN: Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry – Policeman
DAY ELEVEN: Quartet – No God No Master
DAY TWELVE: Mourning – As Goes Janesville – Blackmail – The Ambassador
DAY THIRTEEN: The Invisible War – Klown
DAY FOURTEEN: Old Dog – Little Red – Five Star Existence
DAY FIFTEEN: The Sessions – Detropia

9-27 Th
01/15

Milling around the lobby of the ornate Oriental Theater for press check-in. Others critics – all male, all late 20s – chat in small groups. Filmmakers, rich middle-aged white men and the mayor enter and do the red carpet step-and-repeat, which I record “just in case”. I’ll flash forward into the future a few moments and retrospectively note that J. Hoberman emphatically praised the wonderful Oriental Theater more than once. Hurrah! We’re led in to the enormous main screening area. The excitement. Spechifying for opening night included about five men including Jonathan Jackson, Tom Barrett, Chris Something and somebody else. The overall message? Milwaukee. Milwaukee. Milwaukee. Barrett told the crowd that the festival’s program guide served as a ‘playbook without any bad plays,’ clearly tuned in to his audience. This is my fourth year covering the Milwaukee Film Festival. What has changed? To promote a more walkable, community-oriented experience, the suburban North Shore and the bumble-eff Ridge Cinemas have been expunged from the schedule and Whitefish Bay’s Fox Bay Cinema Grill has been added, though I venture that would still be a formidable walk from the East Side. There are also fewer abstruse art films and more focus on documentaries (turns out it was possible for more focus to be placed in that area). The sponsor trailer we view before every film is certainly an improvement over the quirkily commercial products of the past two years, yet still not up to the standard reached in 2009. Focus on China and music docs.

Let’s begin with Starbuck, the festival’s opener and alleged Canadian megahit – and it’s easy to see why, being such a polished, easy, pleasing formula film. Minimal piano score, twinkling indy soundtrack… you’ve heard it before, 1000 times. It is about an unambitious middle-aged man name David Wozniak (Gérard Depardieu’s stunt double, Patrick Huard) who delivers meat, as well as his laziness allows, for the Wozniak fam biz. Shock greets David when the announcement of his girlfriend’s pregnancy coincides with a litigious heads up: ‘Remember that sperm bank where your youth was spent? (my own pun, thank you) An impossible snafu has led to your samples fueling over 500 ova. Congratulations! Oh, and you may be getting a phone call or two.’ Suddenly faced with the responsibility of developing a conscience, Wozniak tracks down dozens (out of the 142 who wish to be contacted) of his brood and does whatever he can to make a single positive difference in their respective lives. He even stumbles into a society for the children of Starbuck (Wozniak’s jiz moniker). As a formula film it is pleasant enough and there is intelligence and compassion behind it. It’s cute. The End.

From here we’re off to the only other event of the evening, the Opening Night Party at Discovery World. First time I attended and was not sure what to expect. Lots of sexy well-dressed everybody, lots of Grolsch Beer (a sponsor this year), and a cool Chinese Lion show to highlight this year’s festival on the country. Big Party, Big Deal, Big Milwaukee. Good times had by all.

written by David Ashley

Seen so far:
Starbuck

Ranked:
Starbuck

MY (2) WEEKS WITH TIFF!

So this happened yesterday:

Followed by this:

MY FACE!

Then I was given this:

COINCIDENCE?!!??!?!?!??!?!? *single blink*

The Northwest Flower & Garden Show returns next week, and the Arboretum Foundation will kick off the show with its annual Opening Night Preview Gala. On Tuesday, February 7, guests will enjoy a fabulous evening of delicious food, fine wines, live music by the lovely Jacqueline Tabor, fabulous silent auctions, and the opportunity to view the beautiful display gardens at the Flower Show – the day before it opens to the public!

This year, the Foundation is collaborating with the Seattle Audubon Society on its Flower Show display garden, “Birdsong,” which will celebrate the diverse bird habitat found in the Washington Park Arboretum.

TICKET INFORMATION:

GENERAL ADMISSION—$75 Arboretum Foundation & Seattle Audubon Members; $100 Non-Members

• 6:30 to 7:30 PM: Hosted wine reception, live entertainment, silent auctions in the South Lobby

• 7:30 to 9:30 PM: Garden viewing, desserts, hosted wine, and entertainment

Dinner is not included as part of the general admission ticket benefits. General admission guests are encouraged to dine before they come to the event—but they’re also encouraged to save room for some delectable desserts and wines!

PATRONS & BENEFACTORS—$250 Patrons; $500 Benefactors

• 5:00 to 6:00 PM: Wine reception, hors d’oeuvres, live entertainment, and silent auctions in the South Lobby

• 6:00 to 6:30 PM: “Highlights of the 2012 Show”—An interview with the Flower & Garden Show judges, by Val Easton

• 6:30 to 7:30 PM: Exclusive garden preview and buffet dinner

• 7:30 to 9:30 PM: Continued garden viewing, auction bidding, and entertainment

Among other benefits, Patron and Benefactor-level guests will enjoy a buffet dinner and an exclusive preview of the display gardens before the main exhibit hall is opened to all guests as well as free parking at the event.

For reservations, please call 206-325-4510 or visit www.arboretumfoundation.org.

I am so excited to share this event with you! It is going to be a wonderful evening and I hope to see you there!

Opening Night is presented by the Arboretum Foundation as a benefit for Washington Park Arboretum. 

The 10^th Annual Washington DC Hip Hop Theater Festival

Date: July 11 – July 16, 2011

Location: The Saint Stephens Church

Time: 6:00pm- Midnight

Cost: Free

About:

Celebrating our tenth anniversary in Washington, DC the Hip-Hop Theater Festival returns to celebrate the best in local and national culture from the Hip-Hop generation. The 2011 Festival presents a series of free and low cost events for Capitol residents.

More Information:

If you are interested in bringing your youth or community group check out the full line-up  and send an email to groups@hhtf.org.

The Boulder City film society has planned a fantastic three-day event that anyone who attends is sure to love. There will be dozens of short film, lots of film makers and parties and events where you can meet them, so check it out if you’re nearby.

It’s 10pm on Carnaval’s opening night and, exhausted from a full day of activities (mental note to self: next year do NOTHING on first day), we’ve just got back from watching the opening parade and have emptied the contents of the dressing-up box onto the bed. I’m staring at the assorted masks, hats, wigs and props and I’m feeling singularly uninspired. Large vodka with Sprite appears at my elbow and the strains of Ministry of Sound reach my eardrums but even those two party starters are failing to muster enthusiasm for the motley bundle on the bed.
Then I spot the grass skirt. “Hmm…this looks interesting.”

Waistband tied in a circle and placed on my head over my pinned up hair and beneath a top hat. Fringe (of sorts) cut and hey presto! Well, more of a “what the…” but it’s late, I’m tired and quite frankly, I can’t think of anything else. So, face is painted white, eyes and lips black; long black velvet skirt and black velvet bodice are donned, full length pink gloves are pulled up above the elbows and it’s time to fill a carrier bag with booze and head off into the night.

Fifty minutes of brisk walking keeps the night chill at bay and gets us to Plaza Charco by 1 am (ish), just as the party’s warming up. We mingle into the dancing hordes of Geishas, trannies, super heroes, Stylistics, spacemen, cowboys and girls, witches, dead rock stars, punks and aliens who fill every square metre of space in the Plaza and surrounding streets.
The competition is simply too good. No-one takes our photo and we barely elicit a second glance from the impeccably costumed throng.
That’s it, I decide, I can no longer get away with my high-on-imagination,-low-on-content approach to Carnaval. It’s time to clear out the dressing-up box and splash out on some real fancy dress costumes.
The photos confirm it; we were simply out-classed in every direction. It’s no good adopting a Canarian approach to doing Carnaval; in future, there’s simply going to have to be some planning.

So what on earth am I going to wear tomorrow night?!!!