On April 24th, 2008 we threw seder-avoiding fifth day of Passover party complete with the hostess in a Kimono airmailed from Tokyo. As this party was Kosher for Passover, Orthodox style we made fresh grapefruit, orange and strawberry juice by hand. Sixty lanterns and plenty of lucky bamboos made the intimate crowd of revelers jubilant as they munched on delicious Kosher non-dairy mango sorbets in real mango peel cups at the pink, white and green themed bash.

On Saturday, March 8th we created a formal dinner for our friends Ellen and Ben at the lovely Oak Manor on Capitol Hill. Chef Etsko Iwata was on hand to prepare a special springtime Japanese menu including blue shell crab Miso soup, tofu salad, chicken gobo salad, Burdock root Tempura, Unagi Oshi Sushi, Miso marinade Rock fish with green asparagus, Beef Roll cutlet Katsu fried with bread crumbs and stuffed with Tokyo green onion, Miso, Umeboshi paste and Japanese basil. The formal place setting featured a playful Tanuki and Girl’s Day dolls as place card holders.

On January 13th, 2008 The Adventure School built a wedding show booth for Dr. Tamar Wishnatzky and Barbara Stern showcasing their work in pre-marital counseling. The Bridal Showcase was held in Sacramento at Cal Expo. The ‘Marriage Success Tools’ booth we designed and executed was sandwiched in between a DJ and a cupcake caterer. The showcase was housed in one of eight buildings overflowing with 6000 brides and lined with copious booths from professional California d.j.’s, bands, bridal salons, formalwear, cakes, photographers, videographers, florists, honeymoon sites, favors and invitations. The booth we created for Dr. Wishnatzky and Mrs. Stern was hub of activity and the only one of its kind.

On December 23rd all sorts of rabble-rousers, merrymakers and mischief-bringers gathered together under one roof to dance off the extra holiday calories and trance out to the supersonic tunes to an incontrovertibly danceable conglomeration of DJ’s. Drink specials were of the hot “Holiday” variety and the kids were going nuts as Spencer Moody hocked wares from the Anne Bonny in the back and revelers danced on go-go platforms in front of DJ’s Bring “Em Out, Sam Rousso Soundsystem (of the popular, recently-defunct club night Ruff Gemz), Kendra is Magic of Dreamburger and NYC-based Rezound.

Synapse Product Development held its annual Christmas party in their office this year. The Synapsters arrived to a winter wonderland filled with snowboards, skis, and disco balls. All guests were treated to a walk down a tree-lined aisle culminating in a glowing sculpture of an icy mountain. All twenty-five Christmas trees were purchased from the Dunshee House Christmas Tree sale, with the lion’s share of the proceeds going to their programming, including the Seattle Aids Support Group. A guitarist strummed as Synapsters, friends, families and clients nibbled on tasty morsels from The Boat Street Kitchen and sugary snowballs from Trophy Cupcakes. The elegant affair was punctuated by a skateboard exhibition in the company’s in-office half pipe and a parade led by girls dressed in winter forest ensembles.

All photos by Philip Kramer.