Transporting guests to an after-hours urban oasis, the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center’s annual client appreciation event, Sparkle Lounge, integrated a modern graffiti theme to transform one of the building’s signature spaces, the Pavilion, into an international-inspired nighttime street baazar.
A highly anticipated event held at the beginning of each New Year, Sparkle Lounge has been hosted by Trade Center Management Associates (TCMA, A Drew Company) since 2009. The event is a celebration of clients and partnerships as well as a design inspiration showcasing how an event space can be re-imagined and transformed to fit any theme.
This year’s design blended modern graffiti themes, contrasting concrete and natural elements with pops of color and drew inspiration from different regions around the world: the Middle East, Asia and Europe. The event décor was designed in a way to guide attendees through an outdoor park with exposed brick and a hedge wall greeting guests as they walked through the space. The Pavilion foyer was scattered with park benches and low tables, leading to the main event space which featured three vignettes showcasing various cultures through street art. Each corresponding food station served up international street fare with menus reflecting the different regions – such as Wild Mushroom German Spätzle, Spicy Salmon Maki Rolls, and Homemade Falafel – as well as a specialty drinks to complement the dishes. Adding a Reagan Building spin on the design, the European station incorporated artwork from the Berlin Wall on display in the building.
The always popular champagne and caviar bars were situated in the private function room, with the DC skyline etched on a chalkboard backdrop and the Sparkle Lounge logo splashed on the bar fronts.
Sparkle Lounge 2017 featured multiple interactive components to further engage guests including a branded Snapchat filter, GIF photo wall, a live-artist capturing the event as the night unfolded, and a community chalk wall. In keeping with the graffiti theme, attendees were invited to “tag” the wall resulting in a neon wall collage filled with designs, drawings, quotes and other mementos from clients, partners, and friends of the Reagan Building including National Cherry Blossom Festival, Citi Open, Events DC, LINK Strategic Partners and more. Perhaps the most popular interactive element of the night was the graffiti dessert wall constructed by TCMA’s Pastry Chef Shane Goettlicher and culinary team. The wall included everything from edible chocolate ledges, macarons, meringues, cupcakes, brownies and more affixed onto the wall decorated with edible colored food spray. At the end of the night, attendees walked away with a sweet treat: “paint splattered” chocolate bon bons with a chocolate-orange filling.
