AUGUST CULTURE DROP 2025
For the Event Organizers Who Don't Just RSVP — They Orchestrate. Even if you don’t go, knowing is half the job.
CULTURE BEGINS AT HOME… UNTIL IT BLOWS UP THE DINING ROOM
Before we dive into the normal monthly Culture Drop, a moment of cinematic privilege. Coming soon: The Roses—a reimagined, razor-sharp update of The War of the Roses, based on the novel by my late father, Warren Adler. Check out the trailer above. I am particularly proud to share elements of my dad’s 50 novels and 100 short stories with a new generation and want to thank my brothers Jonathan and Michael Adler for spearheading the efforts of getting this movie to the finish line. Watch this space for more of the work of our father coming to stage, print and the big and little screens soon.
This new take stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Katherine Parkinson, and Andy Samberg, with direction by Jay Roach (Bombshell) and a script by Tony McNamara (The Favourite, Poor Things). It's set in contemporary Northern California, where love, legacy, and catered dinners combust into war. And not metaphorical war—real chaos with soup tureens as weapons and wedding china as collateral damage. This isn’t the book or the 1989 film—it’s a bold, biting reimagining for a new era.
Event Organizer Takeaway:
The Roses is a masterclass in hospitality-as-emotional-theater. Event designers and caterers will see their worlds mirrored, then detonated, in scenes where table service becomes character development and kitchen layouts become psychological battlegrounds. If Saltburn made us rethink bathtubs, this will make you rethink every plated course.
Food, service, space, tension—this is an RFP for how storytelling can use event architecture as subtext. It's a must-watch for anyone who sees events not just as logistics, but as layered narrative stages.
EDINBURGH, DARLING, JUST SAY YOU’RE THERE
The Scottish capital in August isn’t a city, it’s a global content lab in full bloom. The Fringe explodes with thousands of performances, from monologues in meadows to clown ballet in tunnels. The International Festival adds prestige. The Book Festival draws 200,000+ literate obsessives. And the Film Festival rounds it all out. Brian Cox opens a James Graham world premiere. Book tents become sponsor lounges. Side alleys become black box theaters. If you throw events and aren’t taking notes, you’re in the wrong business.
Event Organizer Takeaway:
City-wide cultural layering at its peak. Edinburgh is a playbook in sponsorship saturation, artist access, and scalable audience engagement. Bring a notebook and three pairs of shoes.
SOUTH FACING FESTIVAL: LONDON’S COOLEST MASHUP
Where else do you see Basement Jaxx, Busta Rhymes, and a mental health day called Flackstock in the same lineup? Crystal Palace Bowl becomes a genre-melting, food-fueled cultural picnic with serious sponsor muscle. The streetwear meets streetfood moment is peaking here.
Event Organizer Takeaway:
Festival architecture that seamlessly supports families, hip-hop fans, and wellness culture in one footprint. Study the zone segmentation and social vibe design.
VENICE: RED CARPET AS SOFT POWER
The Venice Film Festival launches August 27, but deals and dreamscapes start weeks before. Jarmusch. Baumbach. Lanthimos. Sorrentino’s La Grazia opens it. Herzog and Kim Novak get golden lions. The branding isn’t on the screen—it’s on the yacht.
Event Organizer Takeaway:
Hospitality as narrative. Observe how sponsors activate yachts, terraces, and villa dinners. Think in-room gifting meets press-worthy backdrops.
TASTE PORT DOUGLAS: CULINARY REEF RAID
Aussie chefs shed whites for wetsuits. Think Adam D’Sylva and Darren Purchese plating in paradise. Panels meet masterclasses meet shoreline pop-ups. Rainforest cocktails. Reef-to-table.
Event Organizer Takeaway:
Chefs as headline talent. Geographic storytelling. Full immersion with an edible edge.
LOCARNO & SARAJEVO: THE THINKER’S CIRCUIT
Locarno (Aug 6–16) goes high-art with Payne, Lanthimos, and a Leopard that still matters. Sarajevo (Aug 15–22) brings Balkan edge with Ukrainian jurors, student docs, and regional intimacy.
Event Organizer Takeaway:
Smaller festivals = bigger connection. Watch how emerging filmmakers + geopolitical stakes = authentic narratives perfect for sponsorship.
STATE FAIR REALNESS: THE FRONTIER OF FOOD + FORMAT
You think fashion week is where the trends start? Try a fried pickled taco at the Minnesota State Fair and tell us what future food doesn’t look like. These aren’t just corndog conventions. They are blueprints for audience flow, culinary innovation, and hybrid stage activations with roots deeper than any VIP wristband.
1. Minnesota State Fair (Aug 21–Sept 1)
The Beyoncé of fairs. Over 2 million attendees. 300+ food vendors. 33 new food items this year alone. Fusion bites like tandoori quesadillas and banana s’more doughnuts? Yes. Also: branded stages, livestock competitions, and sponsor pavilions that would make CES blush.
Event Organizer Takeaway:
Observe the layout: zones by interest, mobility design, family-friendly-to-party-hard scale-ups. This is a living test kitchen for programming.
2. Iowa State Fair (Aug 7–17)
Event Organizer Takeaway:
The infrastructure updates alone are a masterclass in how to evolve legacy events without losing soul. Think food + family + forward design.
Also Worth a Look:
Illinois State Fair (Aug 7–17): discount bundling, all-ages ticketing, and mega-pass modeling.
New York State Fair (Aug 20–Sept 1): concerts included in admission. Great case for built-in entertainment.
Indiana State Fair (Aug 1–17): heritage ag programming meets sponsor-built experience centers.
West Virginia State Fair (Aug 7–16): small-town charm with big show infrastructure.
Fairground Playbook:
Tiered ticketing with food-based incentives.
Mainstage programming that matches music festivals.
Crowd flow shaped by food scent, not signage.
What You’ll Add to Your Next Event:
You’ll come back with a newfound obsession for roaming food labs—think chef collabs served off custom carts like they’re headliners. Your next layout won’t just be a floorplan, it’ll be a mood map: zones defined by vibe, not vendor. You’ll budget for a sensory-friendly entry path, not as an afterthought but as a welcome gesture. You’ll add shaded lounges not just for comfort, but as unscripted recovery zones for sponsors and guests alike. And tucked into your RFP will be a new clause for cooling stations and all-ages reset spaces.
Because when you see how state fairs choreograph flow, flavor, and fatigue management, you realize: we’ve all been planning with blinders on. If you’re not building your next experience with fairground choreography in mind, you’re just playing house.
YOU ARE THE CURRENCY. CURATE HARDER.
Look for the September Culture Drop—coming later this August. 💌