Last Friday night at LDI, myself, Marian Sandberg, Ellen Lampert-Greaux and Dean Muscio were fortunate enough to remove ourselves far from the madding crowd on Las Vegas Boulevard as we co-sponsored a designer dinner with Epic Technologies. Marc Raymond and Holly O'Hair from Epic served as our gracious hosts for the evening, which included some of the industry's top designers and designers. The venue was the Vintner Grill, a quiet spot suggested by Cirque's Jeanette Farmer, and we all sat in the peace and quiet of a patio area reserved just for us.
As you may know, Epic is the new company formed by the merger of Q1 Productions and Ed and Ted's. In addition to Marc and Holly, Craig Redden, Tracey Ploss, Ben Kantorovich, Brian and Linda Konechny, Adam Burton, and Andrew "Hamish" Mills were also on hand from Epic.
Designers on hand included Jeanette, given a rare night off from her work at the new Cirque show Chris Angel Believe; Jeff Ravitz, who showed off his photography skills during the evening; his partner at Visual Terrain, Kristie Roldan; our Projection Master Class savior, Bob Bonniol and his associate at Mode Studios, Jordan Janesko; noted West End LD Rick Fisher, who was spending his first day ever in Las Vegas and probably appreciated the peace and quiet after the initial shock of the Strip; and many, many other designers we'll be highlighting in subsequent blogs from myself, Marian, and Ellen.
We brought a video camera to the event, and will be uploading interviews from the dinner with some of the participants in the next few days. Stay tuned for that.
This was our second year serving as co-hosts with Marc and his team for this event, and he hope to continue this new tradition at next year's LDI in Orlando. Keep Friday, Nov. 20 clear on your calendar!
Bob Bonniol (left) and me, David Johnson 
Wally Russell Newcomer Award winner Ben Hagen (left) and Paul Collison 
Marc Janowitz, Chris Nyfield, Ted Mather, Mary Reed, Rob Halliday, and Brian Konechny.
Epic's Adam Burton (left), Holly O'Hair, and Andrew "Hamish" Mills
Ted Mather shares a laugh with Mary Reed and Rob Halliday
Marc Raymond of Epic Production Technologies and Live Design's Ellen Lampert-Greaux
Lighting designers Jamie Burnett (left) and Paul Collison