Teddy Bear Party Raises $21,000 for Charity, Collects 700+ Teddy Bears For Children's Medical Center

The Teddy Bear Party at the West End Event Center was a smashing success. This image shows one of three
rooms with lighting from Dallas Light and Sound in signature holiday colors. DJ Brandon Moses is shown working
the crowd from a custom designed and installed DJ booth from Dallas Light and Sound.

On Saturday night, December 13th, more than 600 revelers came together for The Teddy Bear Party for an evening of fund, food, great music and charity. One week ago today the event organizers donated 710 teddy bears to Children’s Medical Center - which is 19% more than in 2013! In addition to the teddy bear donation, TBP raised $21,000 for three charities, 30% more than 2013! Charities that will receive the funds are Family Equality Council, Equality Texas and Stand Up 2 Cancer. The event took place at the West End Event Center - a three room venue featuring built in bars and a unique floorplan.

More than 700 Teddy Bears were donated
by attendees at the Teddy Bear Party.
This Teddy bear Tree display is a creation of
Dalls Light and Sound

Dallas Light and Sound returned for our second year to The Teddy Bear Party to provide production services for the event including event planning and design assistance; three rooms of lighting in holiday signature colors of blue, green and red; Christmas décor throughout including 10 brilliant white lighted trees; pipe and drape; and a red carpet stand and repeat experience. DJ Brandon Moses kept the crowd jumping with a sparkling mix of HiNRG dance music. Ben E. Keith, One Bar, and Willa Vodka sponsored all of the beverages for this year's event which featured three separate bars with the finest Bar 10 bartenders. Ophelia’s New Soul Restaurant provided tasty bites for the evening.



Teddy Bear Party Founders and Principal
Organizers Joe Riggs and Jason Hanna

The Teddy Bear Party is organized principally by Jason Hanna and Joe Riggs, with the able assistance of an all-volunteer host committee. The Teddy Bear Party started in 2009 as a small Christmas house party of seventy-five friends who got together, have a few cocktails, laughs, and spread the holiday cheer. The annual event originated as a tree trimming party for the first year but transformed into a toy drive for Toys for Tots the following year.

Event organizers deliver 700
teddy bears to Children's Medical Center

Following the loss of Jason’s mother to cancer, and with the continued expansion in attendance at the event, the scope of the event has expanded considerably. Organizers of the group have sought and received 501C3 non-profit status, have raised a total of $48,750 for area charities, and have donated more than 1,900 Teddy bears to children who are suffering.

Thank you to the event organizers for choosing Dallas Light and Sound for production services again for this year's Teddy Bear Party. To learn more about the organization, visit the Teddy Bear Party on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/540801582614956/?fref=ts . To view an album of images from the event, visit the Dallas Light and Sound photo albums at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10155003619815245.1073741864.401445150244&type=1

Aimee and Ryan are a Cool Couple who are very much in ... L O V E !

The Wall Gallery, located on Dragon Street in the Design District, is a unique venue that
works perfectly for wedding receptions of 100 or fewer attendees.

Congratulations to Aimee and Ryan, who were wed earlier this month before an intimate group of friends at family at the Wall Gallery in the Design District. We are very thankful to have played a major role in celebrating the love these two wonderful people obviously feel for each other.

The courtyard at The Wall Gallery is very unique for art galleries
located in the Design District, and lends itself to cocktails
and casual conversation.

Aimee and Ryan’s choice of the Wall Gallery for both their ceremony and reception perfectly reflects their personalities - easy going, smart, laid back, and very focused on the happiness of their closest friends and family. From the non-traditional venue to the eclectic choice of music (both for the wedding and for the reception), to the carefully selected beverages, this couple provided a beautiful experience for their guests that looked and felt effortless.

Kristi Kirkpatrick at the Wall Gallery is a delight to work with – and her gallery is absolutely perfect for receptions of 100 or fewer attendees. Aimee and Ryan’s reception welcomed approximately 85 guests. The floorplan for the evening, which was designed by Dallas Light and Sound, featured both inside and outside seating. The inside seating was arranged theatre style with a combination of 60” rounds and 30” highboys positioned in a semi-circle so that all attendees could see the ceremony, which took place right inside of the Wall Gallery font doors. The seating arrangement meant that before and after the ceremony, the visual focus of the evening was on the courtyard, which featured DLS highboys crowned with silver candelabras and white taper candles. Aimee was resplendent entering through the courtyard and her white dress looked lovely against our black carpet entry – chosen to echo the black elements present in the floor to ceiling window and door framing that separates the main gallery from the courtyard.

Linens for the evening consisted of white with white organza overlays in the courtyard. In the main gallery space we utilized cream linens throughout and cream organza overlays on the highboys. The choice of cream linens inside the gallery added warmth to the space and helped to bring together the “total look.” The white linens outside reflected the white walls of the gallery while bringing a touch of grandeur to the courtyard. Soaring florals from Parc21 were the crowning element that completed the “look” inside of the gallery. Their 4 foot tall golden vases picked up on the gold Chiavari chairs supplied by Dallas Light and Sound which looked lovely against our cream linens – and all together brought warmth and a special touch of sparkle to the room.

The retrained yet elegant décor for this reception allowed the artwork in the gallery to really “pop”. Since some that artwork included recent works by Dallas Pop Artist Johnathan Kimbrell – the look of the room really sang and spoke to the fun personality of the couple.

In addition to providing tables, chairs, linens, and décor elements for this reception, Dallas Light and Sound provided DJ services for the evening with DJ Tony Dean curating tracks that fit a very unique playlist supplied by the bride and groom. Artists played during the reception included Blind Pilots, Fitz and the Tantrums, Alabama Shakes, The Rolling Stones, The Black Keys, and Ray Lamontagne. One look at this list and its obvious – Aimee and Ryan are a cool couple with cool friends. Thanks so much for allowing Dallas Light and Sound to help you plan your big day.

Congratulations to April and Best - Newlyweds!

Congratulations to April and Best, our December 6^th Bride and Groom who were married in a beautiful ceremony at Texas Discovery Gardens, followed by a stunning reception in the TDG Grand Hall.

The layout for the reception was based on a floorplan designed by Dallas Light and Sound in cooperation with Sugar City Sweets and Celebrations. This intimate reception saw the Grand Hall divided into three separate sections. Utilizing 12 foot tall white pipe and drape from Dallas Light and Sound aligned with columns that are already present in the building, the Grand Hall was transformed for their reception.

The first section comprised approximately 25% of the total space, situated adjacent to the Butterfly House entry door from the gardens, and hosted cocktails following the reception. The central section, comprising 50% of the Grand Hall, was utilized for dinner seating and dancing. A second line of pipe and white drape created the “third” Grand Hall section most close to the kitchen. This third part of the Grand Hall was kept closed until later in the evening when service staff executed a grand reveal for buffet and food station service.

A custom Lounge Furniture installation in the cocktail lounge portion of the Grand Hall provided a welcome place for guests to rest and converse as they sipped their beverages following the ceremony which took place on the Discovery Gardens Circular Lawn. The arrangement of the furniture pieces benefitted from the designer touch of Neale Jones, who oversaw the event for Dallas Light and Sound. All of the furnishings utilized in the design come from our inventory of event furnishings. Guests were treated to a gorgeous view of the bride and groom cakes in this space, with cake lighting from Dallas Light and Sound. The lounge furniture installation looked great both during the daytime, and took on a new level of appeal as the sun fell and up lighting began to wash over the space.

The central dining section featured a bride and groom initial projection and uplighting that changed to a darker and more vivid color as the evening progressed. Texture washes on the proscenium arch spanning the main stage provided a perfect complement to a traditional long head table, which was situated on the stage.

Dancefloor lighting brought the evening to life with both romantic and energetic lighting programmed for the evening by Dallas Light and Sound. The up lighting and texture wash for the evening from Dallas Light and Sound served as a great companion to a visually impressive linens and floral package from Sugar City. Chiavari chairs completed the look.

Separating the room into three sections made the space very intimate and very “special”. We count this TDG wedding among our clear favorites for 2014. April and Best’s vision for their reception represent a compelling designer finish out for the Grand Hall. We recommend considering this approach if less than 125 are seated for dinner.

To find out more about selecting some or all of these features for your reception or party at this beautiful facility, give us a call. Dallas Light and Sound is a preferred vendor at Texas Discovery Gardens.

 

 

 

Fashion X Dallas Recap Video Shows the Excitement of Three Days of Fashion at Fashion Industry Gallery

 

This stunning video from Boxless Entertainment captures the excitement of Fashion X Dallas - a three day event held at Fashion Industry Gallery in November. Dallas Light and Sound provided the exterior branding and red carpet walk up experience seen in the first few moments of the video - we also designed and provided lighting for all three days of the fashion show and for the VIP lounge.

A custom gobo installation from Dallas Light and Sound
greeted Fashion X Dallas patrons as they arrived
at the Fashion Industry Gallery.

Fashion X produces high end live fashion events that showcase emerging fashion designers alongside national brands and sponsors. Designers at the inaugural Fashion X Dallas included several project runway alums, local designers, and emerging and established designers from around the world - 26 in total.

Designers showcased at the inaugural event included...  League of Rebels, Laura Kathleen, Mychael Knight, Melissa Fleis, Korto Momolu, Ross Bennett, Michelle Lesniak Franklin - Project Runway Season 11, La Miniatura, Romás by Linda Rowe Thomas, Edo Popken of Switzerland, Rare Trends and many more.



Fashion Blogger Cynthia Smooth with
Project Runway Alums
Michelle Lesniak and Daniel Esquivel

For additional information about the 2014 event, and to check in for details about preparations for the 2015 edition, visit the Fashion X website at http://fashionxdallas.com/ and visit their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/FashionXDallas.

To view videos from each designer that showed at Fashion X Dallas, visit the Fashion X YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJr1_a-2Evb4ezu38-UX1hQ