A Carnival for Prabal Gurung's Collection at Target

Fashion designer Prabal Gurung (above), whose clothes are worn by cool girls as well as VIPs like Michelle Obama and Kate Middleton, created a less expensive collection for Target called Love which was recently celebrated with a launch party here in NYC. Well, "launch party" doesn't really cover it. An invitation came from PR powerhouse LaForce & Stevens promising "carnival rides, games and psychics." I don't know about you, but I find it hard to say no to a party that offers cotton candy.

On a bitter cold night my friend Scott and I headed down to Pier 57 on the Hudson River at the end of West 15th Street. Inside the huge building, we progressed down a long dark hall illuminated with colorful lights.

At the end, black curtains pulled back to reveal the Love carnival!

There were rides galore, twirling lights, and tunes by DJ Mia Moretti who spun on top of a truck. I've never seen anything like it at a party in New York.

In the center was a Tilt-a-Whirl ride. Scott insisted that we do it...

I got strapped in for the ride -

and it spun like crazy.

I survived it, dear reader...
After we regained our balance, we investigated food trucks that offered lots of good things to eat 

and the bars for drinks.

Scott took advantage of the amusements offered, and hit the "Strong Man" high striker with a rubber mallet, and played a toss game with a football. And yes, we squeezed into the funny photo booth –

On one side, a small store offered the collection where guests could shop, and later Grammy award-winner Ne-Yo took the stage to perform a few songs.
After our fill of carnival fun it was time to head out through the tunnel of lights

back to reality on the West Side Highway.
The collection was available a couple of days later in Target stores and on Target.com, and reportedly  sold out completely in just one day. That party set the perfect happy tone.