The Crochet Crowd returns to the Caribbean in February 2027. The march to the ship. This will be our 23rd & 24th Crochet Cruises. In the meantime (at the time of writing), we have our Alaskan Crochet Cruise (21st cruise) and Mediterranean Crochet Cruise (22nd cruise), both still in the planning stage, along with more. […]
The post COCO DuMore Two Crochet Cruises February 2027 appeared first on The Crochet Crowd.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/lainey-wilson-2-3db608cb7015430aa3ce653990be221d.jpg "<p>Lainey Wilson/TikTok</p>")
© <p>Lainey Wilson/TikTok</p>
Status: Workshop Spaces Available. Sail away with us on board Celebrity Edge on July 10th, 2026, from Seattle, Washington, to as far north as Skagway, Alaska, on board a fabulous crochet cruise. A week on board a luxury cruise ship with fellow crocheters like you. A holiday and planned events just for you, hosted by […]
The post Stitches & Glaciers Crochet Cruise July 10th to 17th, 2026 appeared first on The Crochet Crowd.
Rob Floyd is undoubtedly the premier mixologist in the world. But he has also built a beverage-entertainment company that encompasses global partnerships, live events, a presence on social media, TV, a book on Amazon, cruise ship events, and more. We interviewed Rob to see how his entrepreneurial journey started and how it has grown.
It all began somewhat accidentally. I got into the bar business, as so many do, when I simply needed a job and found myself behind a bar. But very quickly it became clear that what I was doing wasn’t just serving drinks, it was creating experiences. I absolutely love making people happy, and the interaction every night feels like anything can happen. One study says people laugh and smile about 17 times a day. In a truly great bar, you might get 17 smiles an hour.
As I refined my style, I embraced the idea that the cocktail isn’t just a drink, it’s a story, a moment, a production. In time, I founded Rob Floyd Entertainment (RFE) to execute that vision: a global mixology practice specializing in live and virtual events, consulting, and training.
From that foundation, I began designing programs, training staff in over 75 countries, performing at major award shows, and building out the business side, not just the bar side. The journey from bartender to CEO of a beverage-entertainment company was really about seeing the intersection of hospitality, entertainment, and brand experience.
Cocktail Theatre is our signature live-event format, essentially where entertainment meets exceptional cocktail craftsmanship. We have been taking “Cocktail Theatre” out into the world since 2012.
The idea is that you don’t just have a bartender at the back mixing, you have a show; you have a theme; you have a narrative; and you have beverage artistry, flair, and theatrics. Whether it's a Super Bowl client, a corporate event, or a lavish private home, the audience is drawn into the story behind the drink.
The business logic behind it is that brands and events increasingly demand immersive, memorable moments—so we created a high-end, scalable service that marries mixology with performance, branded for the client. The script for the event can be custom-tailored and work great at company off-sites, holiday parties, and executive events.
At RFE we offer “Live Cocktail Parties” as one of our event service categories. These include everything from intimate gatherings to full-on production events, with a team of world-class mixologists creating handcrafted cocktails and guiding guests.
Guests don’t just drink—they participate, learn, and enjoy. We might design a signature drink; walk participants through the process; provide cocktail-making classes on site; and add team-building layers for corporate groups. I love the team-building events because they are so fun and energetic, but also have an interactive “Top Chef” aspect.
From an operational perspective, our mission is to elevate the art of cocktail making, providing unforgettable experiences and expert training for enthusiasts and professionals alike.
So when you engage us for a live cocktail party, you’re engaging not just a bartender but a curated mixology experience: planning, design, execution, and after-event support if needed.
Consulting is a major pillar of the business. We help bars, hotels, and brands with staff training, menu creation, bar operations consulting, and drink menu design. For example, our bar menu creation service gives you innovative menus, optimized offerings, and helps you stay ahead of trends.
In staff training, we have a trademarked teaching program used globally—we have trained over 8000 bar professionals worldwide.
Operationally, we consult on bar efficiency, profitability, menu logic, bartender performance, and brand alignment of the beverage program.
So from a business perspective it's about turning the art of mixology into a scalable asset for hospitality venues, which means systems, training, brand thinking, and profit metrics—not just the “cool cocktail” part.
With the rise of hybrid work, remote teams, and global audiences, virtual events became a meaningful extension of our business. We host virtual mixology classes, virtual cocktail-making sessions, and virtual team building for remote groups.
We’re set up with a state-of-the-art studio, professional director on set, leading digital cameras, and high production value. Our viewer retention rate for those events is 89%, well above industry standard.
From an entrepreneurship lens, virtual events turn what used to be location-bound into scalable, global offerings. For brands, it means you can engage far-flung employees, clients or communities with the same RFE experience virtually. I view it as the logical next evolution of our live-event business.
That partnership is a real highlight. We are the global mixology partner for Princess Cruises across their fleet. I have worked with their Global Food & Beverage VP, Sami Kohen, for many years, and he is one of the best in the business, always striving to provide the best customer experiences around the world.
What this means is that we design and execute beverage-entertainment programs onboard, across multiple ships, integrating with their guest-experience model. In effect, we bring our brand and Cocktail Theatre environment into the cruise-ship hospitality world. From an entrepreneurial standpoint, this is a high-leverage contract: volume, scale, recurring bookings, global reach.
So it’s not just events. It’s publishing, licensing, brand extension; it’s taking the mixology business into multiple product lines.
The title is "Sip at Sea: A Princess Cruises Cocktail Collection." It was created in partnership with Princess Cruises and is now available on Amazon and across all 17 ships in their fleet.
What makes it interesting is that it’s interactive: full-color photos, step-by-step recipes, backstories, and QR codes that link to “how-to” video tutorials featuring me.
The book also features some celebrities shaking up cocktails with me. There is a video of Matthew and Camila McConaughey mixing up a margarita. You can taste and view cocktails with Jason Momoa and Liev Schreiber. It’s really so much fun, and there isn’t another book like it out there.
It has been so remarkable, and I am so grateful. The feedback from industry luminaries helps validate what we do. For example, José Andrés, the James Beard-award-winning chef and humanitarian, said: “Rob Floyd is the Delta Force of bar training. We opened up The Bazaar and SLS Hotels to great success, including a James Beard nomination. He is a pleasure to work with in all aspects of culinary and hospitality. Rob’s standards are like no other!”
And Guy Fieri, Emmy Award winner and Food Network star, has said: “Rob is a brilliant mixologist and one hell of an entertainer and performer. It is incredible to see the cocktails he comes up with, always delicious and fun to make. His programs are truly exceptional and one of a kind. Working together is always a blast.”
These endorsements do more than flatter; they reinforce our brand equity, enabling access to high-end clients, celebrity events, and strategic partnerships.
My television career has been a significant acceleration for the brand. I have served as a resident mixologist and contributor on the TV show Bar Rescue for over 10 years.
On TV, I don’t just mix drinks. I am part of telling the hospitality story, operational turnarounds, staff training, and bar service excellence. These tie directly into what we stand for.
John Taffer, the star/host of Bar Rescue, has been spectacular to work with and learn from.
I have also been fortunate enough to appear regularly on The Today Show, Access Hollywood, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Fox & Friends, and other media.
From a business viewpoint, this kind of media presence elevates my personal brand, which elevates the corporate brand, which enables premium collaborations, licensing, and product lines.
I think it came from my partnerships with some of the most incredible talents around the world. From Matthew and Camila McConaughey, artist Romero Britto, Jon Bon Jovi, Liev Schreiber, Jason Momoa, and others. I have been blessed to work with some incredible people.
In particular, I recently worked with Cardi B on a new vodka-infused whipped cream called Whipshots. It's designed to turn up the volume on your cocktails, desserts, and late-night cravings!
My book "Sip at Sea: A Princess Cruises Cocktail Collection" has close to 300 pages of descriptions and recipes. Here is one of my favorite ones:
Sandia En Fuego:
Sandia En Fuego is a tribute to juicy watermelon and a kick of spice. In Yucatan, people love munching on watermelon to beat the heat, and here, spices are added to boost those feel-good hormones activated by the touch of heat. Enjoy this delightful drink with the magic of volcano salt, sweet watermelon, and top-notch tequila sprinkled with pepper.
Ingredients:
Directions:
In a cocktail shaker, muddle serrano pepper and watermelon. Add Don Julio Reposada Tequila, agave, and lime juice. Shake with ice and strain into a volcanic salt-rimmed glass with fresh ice. Garnish with watermelon and serrano pepper.
It has been such an honor to work with Chef José Andrés on his incredible World Central Kitchen Charity. I have also been involved with the Fox Chase Center, Scott Hamilton Cares, Just Keep Living with Matthew McConaughey, and Women of Today.
We have a full digital presence:
You’ll find short videos, cocktail recipes, behind-the-scenes of events, interviews, and ongoing brand content.
What we see with Rob Floyd is a textbook case of turning a craft (mixology) into a full-fledged business enterprise that spans service, training, entertainment, media, and product. The art of the drink meets the business of experience—and he has built a company that leverages storytelling, brand partnerships, and high-end events to scale beyond the bar.
More Articles:
More than 201,000 people took part in Hong Kong’s annual Cinema Day on Saturday, enjoying discounted HK$30 tickets at theatres citywide.
The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau hailed the event as a “great success.”
In a Facebook post on Sunday, the bureau said that this year’s Cinema Day drew 201,519 moviegoers, with 1,694 screenings held across 52 cinemas in the city.
Saturday’s attendance was up around three per cent compared with last year, when around 195,000 people went to the cinema for discounted tickets.
Among the popular movies attracting cinemagoers on Saturday was Night King, a local comedy that came out last year but was re-released as a director’s cut this month.
Local media reported that some Shenzhen residents travelled to Hong Kong to watch films at discounted prices.
Hong Kong held its fourth Cinema Day amid years of box office slumps and theatre closures.
This year’s Cinema Day saw a record high occupancy rate of 81 per cent, compared with 67 to 77 per cent in previous years.
However, the total number of cinema seats has fallen from almost 43,000 at the end of 2020 to around 36,800 in July 2025.
Cinema Day was introduced in 2023 as part of the government’s “Happy Hong Kong” campaign to boost the city’s economy, as years-long Covid-19 measures dampened sectors from tourism to entertainment.
The 2023 event attracted over 221,400 filmgoers – the highest so far.
According to a government statement earlier this month, Cinema Day attracts over three times as many admissions as on a usual day. Cinema Days from 2023 to 2025 saw over 600,000 moviegoers purchase discounted movie tickets, the statement read.
Cinema Day is sponsored by the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau.
Noah Kahan is detailing the great divide in his personal and professional life.
Indeed, “The Great Divide” singer—who was recently named one of TIME’s Most Influential People of 2026—shared...
Stagecoach 2026 was a family affair.
After all, Noah Cyrus dominated the stage at the annual music festival in Indio, Calif., April 24, concluding her set by bringing out her dad Billy Ray Cyrus...
Hong Kong is famous for its tiny, cramped living spaces. Many flats lack balconies, making drying laundry a major challenge.
As winter gives way to warmer months, many lower-income families hang their garments and bedding in outdoor public areas on sunny days. Some also take food items like dried tangerine peels, salted fish, and dried bok choy out to the streets to sun-dry, creating a uniquely Hong Kong scene.
The shortage of living space pushes the private sphere into the open, where the display of personal items exudes an air of quiet, unhurried life.
China’s equivalent of Netflix, iQIYI, faced backlash on Monday over a new initiative that facilitates the use of actors’ likenesses in artificially generated dramas and films.
More than 100 celebrities have joined a platform to connect with makers of AI-generated content interested in using their image, a senior executive told a conference in Beijing.
China’s entertainment industry has rapidly embraced the use of artificial intelligence, with AI-generated films and shows a common feature on video platforms.
A slate of Chinese actors took to social media to declare they had not or would not sign up to the “artist database”, with fans decrying iQIYI’s apparent move to reduce work for human actors.
The streaming site called the backlash a “misunderstanding” and insisted actors would retain control over how their image was used in AI-generated content.
“We are not currently licensing the likeness of actors,” iQIYI Senior Vice President Liu Wenfeng told AFP.
“Rather, we are enabling AI creators and actors to more quickly establish connections through Nadou Pro,” he said, referring to the company’s new AI tool targeted at filmmakers.
Users can input prompts into Nadou Pro to generate short films and use it for editing, according to a live demonstration on Monday.
“There’s a misunderstanding here,” Liu said. “What kind of drama, which shot — everything needs to be confirmed by the actor.”
Fans were also angered by comments made by iQIYI chief executive Gong Yu suggesting fully human-made work could become “intangible cultural heritage” — a phrase used in Chinese to describe a relic of the past worth preserving.
The phrase “iQIYI went nuts” was the most-discussed topic on social media platform Weibo by mid-day.
“If actors all turn into AI, what warmth will these works of literature and art have?” read one post.
Experts warn there are risks involved in allowing AI to use a person’s image.
“Once an artist’s image data is used for training platform models, there are technical risks such as model fine-tuning, data leakage and unauthorised secondary training, which are difficult to eliminate,” Li Zhenwu, a lawyer from Shanghai Star Law Firm, told AFP.
“This means that an artist’s digital assets may be reused…completely outside of their control,” Li added.
Login