A Moulin Rouge inspired 50th Birthday Celebration was held on October 28, 2015 here at modernized historic venue NOVA 535 in beautiful downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. My long-time friend from the University of South Florida MBA program Olivier was approaching the big 50 and something proper needed to be done about it. He spends several months a year here in sunny St. Pete, “getting away” from his amazing home in the south of France. Olivier is a warm, friendly, worldly guy, traveling all over the globe, enjoying new people, places and experiences, always with a big smile on his face. Well for his 50th, we wanted to ensure that he was smiling from ear to ear, especially as Olivier made some pretty specific “suggestions’ as to how he wanted the night to go.
Music. Since Olivier has literally traveled the world, end to end, and he’s turning 50, we wanted to ensure that his DJ was versatile in his skills and music selection, has great energy, able to interact with and entertain our guests from every corner of the globe, plus be at the top of his game. And since all of our entertainment was for grown-up only, we wanted someone cool, really cool; and fresh! My first call was to my pal and superstar DJ Doug Hensel, aka DJ Fresh. Fresh KILLED IT! From first beats until the wee hours of the morning, we danced and grooved all night! Bravo Doug!!!
Food. Bon Appetite! Like with music, there are endless options and scores of amazing chefs to call here in the Tampa Bay area. We live in a foodie region for sure, luck us! So who to call? Hmmm. Well a few months prior we had another event, and after trying them all, our client landed on Chives Innovative Catering. Because of owner Chef Ken’s 5-Star performance, we called him up to work his magic once again. Ken delivered another world-class menu – in fact, and 100% my fault, the food was so good we didn’t even get any photos; just some of the French inspired desserts! I didn’t want to get the camera messy. Keep in mind that I’m playing photog here, not a pro by ANY means, just a guy with a good (Canon 6D) camera and some basic lightroom skills. Please be kind as I payed host and photographer, and well fed guest. We didn’t hire a professional photographer on purpose, but I was allowed to share these photos here. Thanks Olivier! See, NOVA is a private venue, with a secure location, no uninvited guests allowed; so our clients like Olivier, can relax and enjoy themselves! Tres Bien!
Event Hostess (and Magician, Entertainer and Illusionist). Erika Cain aka Gypsy Allure was also my first call to host and perform for Olivier and his guests. Erika is always fun and radiates great energy, she’s also super professional and ultra reliable (sadly, many entertainers aren’t so reliable). She’s hosted, performed and dazzled many crowds and clients here at NOVA 535, always wowing and delighting our guests!! Tonight she performed several wonderful magic and card acts, plus was the hostess with the mostess! Fantastique! Magnifique!!
Fire Performance. Olivier made it CLEAR that he wanted an amazing fire performance. Hot HoT HOT!!! Our first thought was to, once again, hire the fabulous, too good to be true, Mayven Missbehavin. She’s astonishingly talented – a true Vegas entertainer! Mayven sings, dances, performs burlesque and she warms, well REALLY HEATS UP, the crowd – literally! Can’t wait to see, hear and feel (the heat!) you again soon Mayven!
Entertainment. What’s a 50th birthday for a good looking, unmarried, globe trotting a guy without a gorgeous, exotically talented (1/2, err 3/4 naked) lady dancing around his birthday cake? That’d be not delighted. Here at NOVA we focus on wowing and delighting our clients’ and their guests. So we called local dancer, and burlesque star Katie James, once again, to bedazzle our birthday boy! Katie too has performed here many times, always leaving our guests wanting more!
Friends and Family. Olivier is that rare kind of super charming, always smiling, worldly and diversely experienced guy, yet he’s always so humble and unassuming. He had family and friends arrive from across the globe, a been-way-too-long reunion for some; a room full of French chatter for most and love and hugs and welcomes for all. No matter from where you came, or exactly how you know Olivier, the same emotional thread throughout NOVA was one of love and of one big happy family.
Happy Birthday once again to my dear, and OFFICIALLY OLD “FOP” Olivier!!
Below are all of the photos from this event, enjoy!
If you or someone you love is looking for that perfect wedding or event space, where you can custom create your own 5-Star event, then get started here or call / text NOVA 535 at 949-973-6682. Of course you can email us at Sales AT NOVA535.com. At NOVA 535, we LOVE creating weddings and events just how YOU want them! After hosting over 1,000 5-Star events, perfected the NOVA Way, trust us with your memories today.