More than 125 celebrities, creatives and influencers came together in Beverly Hills for a poolside celebration combining luxury gifting, lifestyle discovery and animal rescue awareness
The days leading up to the Emmy Awards have become a season of their own in Los Angeles, with Hollywood gathering across the city for intimate celebrations, gifting lounges and brand experiences. On Thursday, September 10, the Beverly Hills Marriott provided the setting for one of those gatherings as The Marianna Group hosted its annual HARVEST Awards Week Experience.
The private poolside event brought together more than 125 Hollywood celebrities, creatives, VIPs and influencers for an afternoon devoted to discovery, hospitality and connection. Against the backdrop of a warm Los Angeles day, guests explored a wide-ranging selection of brands spanning beauty, wellness, fashion, accessories, fragrances, food and beverage, health and fitness, luxury services and home products.
The event also carried a philanthropic component, with Kiss My Paws Rescue attending alongside four-legged friends to raise awareness about dog rescue, rehabilitation and adoption.
A Poolside Celebration Built Around Discovery
The HARVEST experience was designed to feel more like a relaxed Hollywood gathering than a conventional trade event. Guests moved through the poolside setting while discovering emerging and established lifestyle brands, sampling products and meeting the people behind them.
The breadth of the participating brands was one of the afternoon’s defining characteristics. Beauty and skincare companies appeared alongside jewelry, fashion, fragrances, wellness products, beverages, fitness concepts, home accessories and publishing. Authors and other experts were also introduced to guests, giving the event a broader lifestyle focus.
For brands, the format created an opportunity to meet entertainment personalities and influencers directly. For guests, it offered a chance to discover products and services in an informal setting during one of the busiest periods on the Hollywood calendar.
The atmosphere was complemented by lunch, spirits and music, creating the kind of social environment in which conversations could develop naturally rather than feeling like a series of formal presentations.
The Marianna Group’s Approach to Brand Experiences
The event was presented by The Marianna Group, a female-owned entertainment marketing, consulting and production company led by founder and president Heather Marianna. The company focuses on helping brands in the lifestyle, wellness and beauty sectors increase their market exposure.
For Marianna, the annual gathering is as much about relationships as it is about products. Reflecting on this year’s celebration, she emphasized the opportunity to introduce members of the Hollywood community to new brands while providing an atmosphere centered on hospitality, food, music and social connection.
That approach is particularly relevant during awards season, when celebrities and industry professionals can encounter a seemingly endless schedule of receptions and promotional events. A relaxed setting gives both brands and guests more room to interact without the pressure of a formal agenda.
Emmy Winners and Nominees Among the Guests
The guest list represented a broad cross-section of television talent, including both established performers and individuals at the center of the current awards conversation.
Among those attending was Ernest Harden Jr., who had recently won an Emmy for his work on The Pitt at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Current Emmy nominees included Lauren Weedman of Hacks, Carlos Manuel Vesga of Pluribus, Dale Dickey of Widow’s Bay, Kim Estes of Big Law and Stacy Haiduk of Days of Our Lives.
The gathering also welcomed Constance Marie, Diana Maria Riva, Gilles Marini, Geoffrey Blake, Rosa Blasi, Kristian Alfonso, Beth Broderick, Maria Canals-Barrera, Naomi Grossman, Sean Kanan, Ray Proscia, Nicholas Guest, Sofia Milos, Lisa Vidal, Debra Christofferson and Mark L. Walberg, among many others.
The variety of names reflects the event’s broader appeal across television, film, entertainment and digital culture. Rather than being built around one production or one category of talent, the HARVEST experience created a common meeting point for people working throughout the entertainment ecosystem.
From Beauty and Wellness to Food and Fashion
The brand lineup offered an extensive snapshot of contemporary lifestyle culture. Beauty and skincare participants included N-O-E-E Skincare, Shhh It’s a Secret, Cotrini Skin, RFA Skincare, Pixi, Julia Gonzalez Beauty, Beauty Kitchen and Beaut Beauty Co., alongside hair-care brand Glamour Boulevard.
Wellness was represented by companies and practitioners including Manta Sleep, Doctor Calm, Ophora Water, Pavo Fitness, PureGenix Wellness, Empower Wellness Spa and The Reverse Aging Club. Other participants brought products and concepts focused on personal development, resilience and holistic living.
The fashion and accessories category included Lizzy James Jewelry, Twisted Silver, Skanties, Bronz’d by Kara and The Weks Selective. Home and lifestyle offerings included Polished Wick Candle Company, while Elvis Rose Floral added a floral component to the experience.
The range illustrates how celebrity gifting events have evolved into broader lifestyle showcases. Instead of concentrating solely on cosmetics or traditional celebrity gifts, today’s experiences can encompass virtually every aspect of daily life, from sleep and fitness to jewelry, skincare, food and personal development.
An Afternoon of Food, Spirits and California Energy
Food and beverage played an important role in keeping the poolside gathering lively. Participants included Above Board, Belle’s Popcorn, Brooklyn’s Bakery, Art of Sucre and Pop and Bottle, while the beverage lineup featured brands such as Status Wines, BuzzBallz Cocktails, Empress 1908 Gin, Dolce Vida Organic Tequila, Deluxe Crystal Vodka and Hermanas Amigas Tequila.
The event’s food and beverage component reinforced its social character. Rather than simply displaying products, guests could experience them within the context of lunch, conversation and entertainment.
That combination of discovery and hospitality is central to the gifting-lounge format. A product encountered during a relaxed conversation can have a different impact than one presented in isolation, particularly when guests have the opportunity to ask questions and interact directly with brand representatives.
Bringing Rescue Dogs Into the Spotlight
Perhaps the most meaningful element of the HARVEST experience came from Kiss My Paws Rescue, a nonprofit focused on rescuing, rehabilitating and placing dogs in new homes.
Four-legged guests joined the event, providing an immediate and tangible connection to the organization’s mission. Their presence transformed animal rescue from an abstract charitable cause into something guests could experience firsthand.
Celebrity events frequently incorporate philanthropic partnerships, but rescue organizations offer a particularly direct form of engagement. Guests can interact with animals, learn about fostering and adoption and potentially become advocates for rescue after leaving the event.
At HARVEST, the dogs became part of the afternoon’s social environment while helping draw attention to the importance of responsible pet care and finding permanent homes for animals in need.
More Than a Gifting Suite
The extensive list of participating brands also included authors, podcasts, coaches, media companies and experts, such as Angela O’Mera Press, author Kim Sorrelle, Warrior to Wealth by Jon Berryhill, That One Podcast with Mike C-Roc, The Inner Circle Studio Podcast, The Women’s Channel, Beauty Brand Coaching and Inspired Choices.
This broader participation reflects the changing nature of lifestyle events in Hollywood. Consumers and creators are increasingly interested in experiences and ideas as much as physical products. A book, podcast, coaching platform or wellness concept can become just as relevant to a guest’s lifestyle as a beauty product or fashion accessory.
The HARVEST event therefore functioned as a kind of living marketplace of ideas, with brands and experts meeting an audience that already has an interest in culture, entertainment and personal lifestyle.
A Distinctive Part of Awards Week
The Marianna Group’s HARVEST Awards Week Experience offered a relaxed alternative to the formal atmosphere associated with the awards themselves. There were no red-carpet speeches or acceptance moments; instead, the emphasis was on conversation, discovery, hospitality and the connections that happen around them.
For participating brands, the gathering created an opportunity to place their products directly in front of influential members of the entertainment community. For guests, it offered a chance to step away from the intensity of awards-season schedules and spend an afternoon exploring something new.
And with Kiss My Paws Rescue bringing its mission into the center of the experience, the event demonstrated that celebrity hospitality can also create space for meaningful causes.
As television’s biggest night approached, Beverly Hills became a gathering place for Hollywood’s tastemakers. At the Beverly Hills Marriott, The Marianna Group’s HARVEST celebration captured another side of awards season—one where luxury, lifestyle, entertainment and community came together around a pool, a table, a soundtrack and a shared afternoon of discovery.
Note: The HARVEST Awards Week Experience was not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the Television Academy or NATAS.