All-Star Weekend was in full effect in Chicago this past weekend but as much as we loved what happened on the court, the events off-court made this anticipated weekend worth the wait. Parties started taking over the city on Thursday night when BACARDÍ Premium Rum brought their Rum Room to the Windy City with support from Power star, Omari Hardwick.
The cold temperatures in Chicago did not stop Martell & BET from bringing one of the hottest events to this year’s All Star Weekend, with their Martell HOME experience on Saturday. This event featured a special performance from Quavo who is a Martell ambassador.
NBA All-Star weekend in Toronto was quite a sight. From invite-only festivities to the biggest attractions in the city, Toronto was lit up with stars from all over North America who came down to watch the All-Star game as well as take in the experience of the most talked about city in hip-hop right now.
With everything else going on, the biggest sneaker convention hit Toronto this year for their 4th annual sneaker summit. It was one of the main attractions that took place in the 6 at the Bata Shoe Museum, just minutes from where 2016’s biggest basketball stars threw down on the hardwood. Although the convention was nowhere near as big as it usually is in the US, it was still something to witness, with select streetwear brands displaying their gear and of course a select number of sneaker vendors displaying amongst others, Yeezy Boosts, Jordans, Nike SBs, and so forth.
The DJs had the vibe of the event locked down with their sets as special guests Bun B, Fabolous and more stars pulled up to the summit to hang around and take pictures with the fans. Elizabeth Semmelhack was on hand to sign copies of Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture. It was only moments after when Bata Shoe Museum started to get packed.
Overall, it was an experience worth remembering. It was a great move for Sneaker Summit to team up with Canada’s own Toronto Loves Kicks, that uses youth and sneaker culture to design and deliver community events, educational programs, and creative opportunities for brands, institutions and organizations to engage with the unique and substantial demographic that sneaker culture offers. With the Sneaker summit going places, fingers are crossed it will return next year again to Toronto!
In other All Star news, Trolli, a leading sour gummi brand from Ferrara Candy Co. announced their new Weirdly Awesome partnership with star basketball player, James Harden.