River Monsters Party

Animal Planet threw a party for the press Wednesday April 21st at the restaurant A Voce in New York City’s Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. The event celebrated the new season of their most popular show River Monsters. I was hired to do the event photos for Animal Planet thanks to my friend Laura whose a Photo Editor for them. I’m an animal lover and a fan of the channel, so these events are always something I enjoy.

Arriving at Columbus Circle the first thing I saw were a half dozen Smart Cars painted to look like the show’s mascot piranha fish. They had professional drivers looping around the circle keeping the little gas-savers in tight formation like the predators they resembled on a hunt for blood. I have to imagine a dreaded reaction when cabbies looked in their rear view mirror to see a school of these quick little killers, fangs bared closing in on them. Maybe we should all be using electric cars..

Upstairs on the 3rd floor A Voce had a private section decorated with pictures from the show, a 12 foot billboard with it’s name, and each wall played HD video of River Monsters on large flat televisions. They had fishbowls on the tables containing those brightly colored Japanese fighting fish you see at pet stores. All the tropical flowers and colored lights gave the ambiance of jungle.

The guest of honor would make it to the party only by skype. Jeremy Wade's flight was canceled like millions of other passengers due to a natural disaster that shut down a great amount of air travel in mid-April 2010. A volcano in Iceland had erupted and shot a cloud of smoke and ash into the earth's atmosphere forcing trans Atlantic air travel to a halt. The show must go on though, and Jeremy was able to interface with NYC party guests through the hi-tech screens and audio system. With a q&a about his adventures, and a toast with the guests he was virtually there at the party with us. Otherwise guests mingled, refreshments were enjoyed, and Animal Planet looks forward to a successful new season of it's highly rated program.