It was fitting, then, that the color scheme for the entire three days was pink and white – with many people decking out in pink gowns, pink suits, hot pink sunglasses and even hot pink sneakers.
In fact, Boon Chong Soon, Global Sales Director for Corum, who flew over to join Richard C. Louis, Vice President of Corum North America and the Caribbean and the Corum team, wore some pretty sharp Gucci sneakers – one in hot pink and the other in lemon yellow.
The event witnessed more than 30 rose’ wine, prosecco and champagne companies (and even one brewing company that turned its ale pink for the weekend) exhibiting and giving out lots of samples – pouring wine into plastic glasses with the words The Seaglass Rose’ Experience written on them and hanging from lanyards around people’s necks. Local restaurants and chefs prepared exquisite hand-held foods throughout the three-day all-inclusive weekend that took place in tents on the beach.
Sponsors, including Corum, also had cabanas on the beach adjacent to the stage and dance floor where guests indulged in more rose’s and some fine music. Inside the tents: a 10-foot tall floral flamingo statue; an entire wall and vintage phone booth decked out in roses (courtesy of Bodvar Roses); a 7-foot-tall Corum Admiral Watch statue with hot pink strap, and a lot more.
According to Louis, the Admiral watch is a great fit for this event because of the nautical theme. The Admiral watch was originally launched more than 60 years ago and was inspired by the great sailing races. The watch was avant-garde for its time with a round case and dodecagonal bezel, but what really set it apart was the nautical pennants that acted as markers on the dial. The line, an icon in watchmaking today, has enjoyed a host of evolutions over the decades and remains a sought-after watch by sailors and watch lovers around the world.
Each year during its sponsorship of The Seaglass Rose’ Experience, Corum auctions an Admiral watch at a pre-event dinner that benefits the cause. That dinner didn’t happen this year so instead, later this year, Corum will be working with The Seaglass Rose’ Experience organizer, Venice Magazine, to auction off a Corum Admiral watch at an exclusive dinner – also to benefit the DRV PNK initiative.
While the cause is a great one, the Seaglass Rose’ Experience is also great in and of itself, and is a truly unique festival. Depending on the exhibitors, guests can indulge in a host of rose’ wine experiences such as stomping grapes in wine buckets at the Cotes de Femme table, or enjoying shaved ice rose’ at the Three Olives Rose’ stand.
According to Boon Chong Soon, these grassroots-level sponsorships and charitable causes is the key direction for the brand globally moving forward. “We don’t believe in doing really large events. We always do small-scale events like Seaglass that are on a local level and that are meaningful. To us, grassroots events are who we are. We think globally but act locally and try to adapt to the local markets. This is how we can satisfy our customers. Globally, we can’t. It is a conscious decision we made about four or five years ago, and it works for us.”
As the sign at one of the exhibitors tables at the event said: Sip, Sip, Hooray.
