La Nuit des Musées

This Saturday, May 14, Paris invites old and new visitors to explore its many beautiful museums for a night that comes once a year during La Nuit des Musées. The annual event was launched in 1999 and was adopted by more than 40 European countries in 2005. Beginning at sundown and lasting until 1 am, the night welcomes visitors free-of-charge for a rare experience of world renown art, revolutionary history and French culture. Word to the wise: in Paris specifically, the Louvre and Musee D’Orsay are mobbed (as one would expect). Instead, opt for Hôtel des Invalides in the 7th arrondissment to forgo the lines. You can see the Eiffel Tower light show in the skyline, learn about the military history of France and see Napoleon Bonaparte’s tomb. Regardless of where you decide to spend the night, however, La Nuit des Musées is an unforgettable event you will not want to miss!

Fun Twists on Your Cinco de Mayo Fiesta!

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone! For everyone needing some fresh recipes for what to serve at your fiesta, EE has some delicious ideas for the menu.

For starters, feast your eyes and taste buds on guacamole bruschetta. Check out the recipe at JustaTaste.com.

For a tasty and healthy main course, try these easy fish tacos with yogurt crema. Recipe available at PoppyTalk.blogspot.com.

And what’s Cinco de Mayo without a margarita? Try out this recipe for a raspberry flavor courtesy of MyRecipe.com.

Felices fiestas!

Memphis Music Fest in Review

This past weekend, I attended the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, Tenn., the kick off event of Memphis in May International Festival, which also puts on the World Championship Barbeque Cooking Contest and the Sunset Symphony. The festival grosses more than $40 million every year that helps set up economic, educationl and international programs. Drawing in tourists and visitors from all corners of the country, it is a great event to promote the city and its unique history and culture.

This year’s lineup at Music Fest featured top notch acts, including Cee Lo Green, Avett Brothers, Jason Mraz, John Mellencamp, Ludacris and many, many more, but my favorite was Mumford and Sons. The British group combining folk and rock has been riding a huge wave of popularity ever since the act’s compelling performance at the Grammy’s. Ironically, they didn’t win a single award, but after the award show’s broadcast, their album sales doubled. If you saw the performance on TV or ever see them live, you will understand exactly why.

The festival is surprisingly efficient for a large scale event by dividing the exhaustive number of acts among three different stages. The festival takes place right on the Mississippi River and right off of historic Beale Street. Between its location and set up, guests really get the vibe and soul of the city while enjoying popular and highly sought after musical acts. For a widely attended festival hosting thousands upon thousands of guests and natives, it’s very well done!

The Finale

Today is an eventful day and a lot of lasts for EE. First, PR campaigns will wrap up the semester with our final presentation to showcase the work we have done over the entire semester for Ryan Seacrest Foundation and its media center THE VOICE at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Rumor has it Mr. And Mrs. Seacrest (Ryan’s parents) will be in attendance to see our work! It is such a nice feeling to end the semester with showing off the time and effort we have invested for so many months now and to highlight the positive difference it has made for a great cause.

Some of our campaigns class at THE VOICE during Open Mic Week

Another last of the day is my sorority’s final date night of college. This will be a bittersweet occasion as these functions have made college even more fun and eventful, but it’s been a great four years full of special events with amazing friends.

With friends at our last semiformal

Lastly, tonight is the eve of the royal wedding! I know there will be millions around the world who wake up at all hours of the night to watch Prince William officially taken off the market. To those deeply saddened I bring you this comfort:

Source: http://parisapartment.files.wordpress.com

Final events bring closure and come with the expectations of lasting memories and greatness. Just like any event, I hope they are successful and go off without a hitch!

P.S. My good friend so rightly reminded me after posting that Steve Carrell’s last episode as Michael Scott on “The Office” airs tonight! Now that truly is a memorable finale. He will be missed, but I can’t wait to see how he leaves the show! Great, great expectations.

TriBeCa State of Mind

via soundonsight.org

It’s April in New York City, and the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival is upon us! The festival is ongoing from April 20-May 1, and the brightest Hollywood stars and award-winning actors are in attendance watching more than 1,500 films produced all over the world. Julia Robets, Jeremy Piven and Orlando Bloom have all worked the red carpet this week as just a few of the big names present at the event.

via way2online.com

The now famous and well-respected film festival was founded in 2002 by Robert DeNiro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff as a response to the September 11 attacks that destroyed the TriBeCa neighborhood in Manhattan. The festival was founded to recognize New York City as a center of film and to help rehabilitate lower Manhattan. It embraces both the international film community and the public and allows them to experience film in an entirely different way by aiming to redefine the festival experience.

Another cool feature about the festival is that you don’t even have to hunt down a ticket to experience all the fun. On the festival’s website you can become a film critic and screen the featured films for yourself!  Just visit  www.tribecafilm.com, go to WATCH NOW and enjoy. What a wonderful NYC tradition to honor a legendary Manhattan neighborhood.

A Masterful Event

In keeping this blog all-encompassing, EE will add athletic events to its repertoire. One of the most precisely planned and exclusive sporting events is The Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National in Georgia.

Since 1953, The Masters has been considered one of the most important tournaments of the PGA tour. The National’s signature green jackets are awarded to tournament winners and worn by club members year-round. The week is highly organized from tee times and pairings to spectator traffic and concessions. The Masters is known not only for outstanding displays of golf, challenging course and gorgeous landscaping but also its homemade sandwiches. From pimento cheese and egg salad at just $1.50 a piece to barbeque and chicken breast at $2.50, spectators will pile three and four at a time in their laps as they soak in the beauty and tradition of the golf course.

The lovely scenery, pleasant atmosphere and southern hospitality really make The Masters in a league of its own as far as professional sporting events. The Augusta National works hard to foster an environment that is both inviting to spectators and conducive to focused golf. Those caught bringing cameras or cell phones on the course during tournament rounds will be escorted out and their tickets will be permanently revoked.  The Masters is a true champion’s tournament that means a great deal both to PGA players and those who love the game of golf. Its attention to the fine details set it apart from other tournaments and maintain its high caliber and prestige as a sporting event year after year.

As today marks the last round of the 75th Masters, I wonder who this year’s winner will be!

A Royal Wedding

It seems as though every day I see somewhere in the news an update about the upcoming royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton. Americans have such a fascination with the royal family and weddings definitely amplify the craze. Even though Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married nearly eight years before I was born, circulation of photos and video footage from their wedding make me feel as though I watched it live. The fairytale ceremony was held at St. Paul’s Cathedral as opposed to Westminster Abbey because of its greater seating capacity.

More seating would seem to be a moot point when a television audience of 750 million tuned in to watch the wedding, while 600,000 people lined the streets outside to catch a glimpse of Diana as the beautiful bride. The princess wore a dress designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel that was the epitome of romance with a 25-foot train.  Now, for the first time in more than 30 years, the public will be spectate a royal wedding once more that will surely be larger than life. It has been reported that video of the ceremony will be available for purchase on iTunes that same day, and no doubt it will be a top seller!

Local Happenings

Today’s entry is inspired by a wonderful event I had the pleasure of attending last night for an Arch Society assignment at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. The Regents Awards for Excellence Gala gathered the best of the best of the University System of Georgia to honor excellence in teaching and contribution to public education. Special guests of the evening included President Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Governor Nathan Deal and Senator Johnny Isakson. The black tie event began with a silent auction of items from all 35 universities and colleges of the system before a seated dinner in the Atrium Ballroom after which awards were presented. Served to nearly 850 guests was a delectable menu of mushroom strudel with roasted red pepper coulis, seared filet of beef with pepper cream demi glace along with mango glazed sea bass, sweet potato hash and haricots verts. For a sweet ending, dessert was a triple chocolate and Bavarian gianduja with raspberry coulis and minted macerated strawberries. Are your taste buds swooning yet? My favorite Pellegrino sparkling water was also a nice touch to the delicious meal! Guests were seated at tables with blue tulip centerpieces complemented by olive green silk napkins and chair covers. It was truly a delightful event I was honored to be able to attend. Though I can never fully express my gratitude for those who have devoted their lives to giving others the invaluable gift of a good education, it was certainly a privilege to be able to see several standout educators be recognized.

Mrs. Rosalynn Carter accepting the Regents’ Hall of Fame Alumni Award

With Sen. Isakson in center and fellow Arch Society member on right

Tasteful Dinner: A Chanel Event

Chic and Chanel are two words that are irreversibly interchangeable in my opinion. Chanel is the epitome chic and vice versa. Both French, both fashionable and both timeless, these two words were destined to coexist.  So when Chanel hosts a dinner, one expects it will be an event with dress to impress. The fashion house recently named modern muse Blake Lively as the newest face of its Mademoiselle handbag line, and to celebrate, company President and COO John Galantic hosted an intimate and tasteful dinner. High-profile with a classic and understated elegance, the event very much reflected the aesthetic of the brand it represented. It was only fitting that dinner was served at La Grenouille, a well-established and high-priced French restaurant which opened its doors in midtown Manhattan in 1962.

Lively arrived to the dinner on March 2 perfectly dressed for the occasion in signature black and white Chanel.

She posed as Chanel’s new leading lady in a feminine white cocktail frock inside La Grenouille where top dishes include grilled sole and frog legs.

A gracious honoree, Lively mingles with John Galantic before being seated for dinner.

Chanel affairs are always ones to be remembered, and Galantic’s dinner held in Lively’s honor was no exception. Fashionably sophisticated and gracefully elegant, this event was unmistakable both for chic and Chanel.

all photos from www.PopSugar.com

Apple Events: What’s the Secret?

All eyes and media turned to Apple today for its special event to launch the iPad 2. Widespread speculation may have correctly predicted the iPad’s second installment as its big announcement, but Apple has successfully mastered the marketing tactic of holding secretive events to build hype around new products.

In January 2010, Apple announced an event to reveal its latest innovative product that would change the landscape of mobile media. It was highly covered by traditional and social media outlets leading up to the event as people discussed what this breakthrough technology could possibly be, and sure enough, during the announcement Twitter was bombarded with live updates about Apple’s release of the revolutionary iPad. Very quickly, 2010 became “the year of the iPad,” and in March of 2011, Apple set out to do it again.

This year the product announcement came as less of a surprise, but that didn’t make the event or the announcement any less anticipated. Knowing that Apple would soon release a second edition of the iPad, the public had a pretty good idea of what it could expect the product to be. However, its features and technology still remained a secret…until today, that is. This morning in San Francisco at the Yerba Buena Center For the Arts Theater, Apple CEO Steve Jobs and company announced the launch of its latest and the “year of the iPad2.” Twitter, blogs and news stories have been buzzing all day. Clearly, Apple is on to something. The top secret event seems to have a considerably greater impact than the conventional press release.