Project 91, the events company that has thrown pop-up raves at Katz’s Delicatessen in New York City with Diplo and meet-and-greets inside a Van Leeuwen ice cream truck with Peggy Gou, announced the launch of Playgrounds, “a scaled live experiences platform” that brings Project 91 together with a growing portfolio of event brands under the same umbrella, according to a press release. Investment came from Justin Kalifowitz’s Klaf Companies, with Creators Partners executive David Hua also participating.
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Todd Mackall and Ryan Williams will lead Playgrounds, which holds a portfolio of branded experiences including Mirari, Friends in High Places, Above 10, NYC Halloween Weekend, the New York Taco & Tequila Festival, and Palma Day Club. Playgrounds will host events with HUGEL and Alesso at Brooklyn Army Terminal, a 10,000-capacity venue located on a pier in South Brooklyn that overlooks Manhattan; a Fourth of July block party on the Brooklyn Waterfront; and a weekly boat series in New York Harbor called On the Decks.
Playgrounds is additionally expanding into Charleston, S.C., and will follow in Project 91’s footsteps by throwing shows in non-traditional spaces around the city, including waterfront parties, industrial spaces and aboard the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier.
“We’re growing Playgrounds by focusing on the experience first, whether that’s the artist, the setting, or the crowd,” Mackall said in a statement. “This partnership allows us to scale that approach without losing what made it work. Justin and his team bring a real global operating experience and share our conviction in how we’re building the business.”
“This is an exciting moment for the whole company,” Williams added in a statement. “We’re expanding into new markets, bringing talent buying in-house, and building a team that can operate at scale. The goal is simple: own more of the experience, take bigger swings and do it consistently across markets.”
Kalifowitz added, “I’m all in on businesses that get people out of the house and off the phone. That’s exactly what Todd, Ryan and the team are doing every single day. I’m looking forward to watching them build Playgrounds all over the world.”