4 Essential Tips for Planning a Corporate Dinner Party, New Venues in Dallas and Phoenix

1. ESPN TO LAUNCH FIRST COLLEGIATE ESPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP: ESPN Events will debut its first ESPN Collegiate Esports Champion in Houston in May. Schools will compete in qualifying rounds hosted by Tespa and the Collegiate Star League, and winners will have the opportunity to compete in the semi-finals and the championship, slated for May 10-12 during Comicpalooza at the George R. Brown Convention Center. ESPN: Among the titles being played in the CEC are Overwatch, Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, Hearthstone, StarCraft II, and Heroes of the Storm. Collegiate Starleague will host the qualifying rounds for Street Fighter V, while Tespa will host the qualifying rounds for the other four games, all developed by Blizzard Entertainment. Capcom is the creator of Street Fighter V. ‘ESPN has been a terrific collaborator with Blizzard Esports over the years, having created monumental esports moments together, and we couldn't be more excited to team up again to provide our collegiate players the opportunity to finish out the spring Tespa season on the big stage,’ said Todd Pawlowski, senior vice president, live experiences, Blizzard Entertainment. ‘It'll be a first for Blizzard to have four collegiate championship events under one roof, which should make for an awesome show for the fans.’”

2. STUDY FINDS ONE IN FOUR WOMEN HAVE BEEN SEXUALLY HARASSED AT TECH CONFERENCES: Ensono, an IT service management company, recently conducted a study that found female representation at tech conferences is still lacking—and that one in four women who’ve attended a tech conference said they experienced sexual harassment. The company conducted a survey of 500 women across the U.S. and the U.K. Fast Company: “Nearly half (49 percent) of women reported being unclear about the existence of a code of conduct at conferences they attend. More than a third (38 percent) of those who had seen a code of conduct at a conference said they have experienced sexual harassment. Forty-one percent of women report having an experience at a tech conference that makes them less likely to attend a future event.”

3. NBC AND CBS WILL SWITCH FUTURE SUPER BOWLS: CBS and NBC are switching their coverage of the Super Bowls between 2020 and 2022. CBS will move up a year and air the game played at the end of the 2020-21 season, and NBC will air the 2021-22 Super Bowl. The switch was made so NBC could pair the Super Bowl with the 2022 Olympics. New York Post: "Having the mega-events back-to-back in one year makes selling advertising easier, as NBC will be able to make combo deals instead of competing against another network for many of the same sponsors. For CBS, it now will avoid having its next Super Bowl going against the Olympics. If the switcheroo hadn’t happened, then the Super Bowl on February 6, 2022, would be matched up against the Olympics that are set to begin February 4 of that year from Beijing. Instead, NBC would be able to figure out how to shift its programming and have the blockbusters of the Super Bowl and the Olympics."

CHICAGO: Children’s Place Association’s spring gala, “Once Upon a Time… at the Derby," will take place April 13 at Rockwell on the River. Jewell Events Catering will cater the black-tie event, and Greenlight will provide entertainment.

LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books will take place April 13-14 at the University of Southern California.

NEW YORK: Brittany Witter has joined the Lede Company, where she'll be handling PR for fashion and entertainment clients. She previously worked at BWR.

SAN FRANCISCO: Anime streaming service Crunchyroll has named Mary Franklin head of events and Julia Renda head of marketing. Franklin previously served as global event director for ReedPOP, while Renda handled marketing for Polyvore and Yahoo View.

TORONTO: The 13th annual Luminato festival will take place June 7-23. This year’s festival, curated by artistic director Naomi Campbell and her predecessor Josephine Ridge, will feature work from more than 165 Canadian and international artists, six world premieres, five original Luminato commissions, and 88 performances in 14 venues throughout the city.