Saturday night, one room held so much power. Oprah Winfrey, Forest Whitaker, Idris Elba, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Tyler Perry,  Kevin Hart, Lupita Nyong’o, Halle Berry and Kerry Washington were some of these power players amongst the audience at the 45th NAACP Image Awards. 

The red carpet attracted bustling media, the security held back excited fans and when the show began host of the evening Anthony Anderson brought the Pasadena Civic Center to life as the nominees anxiously waited to hear the results. 

Highlights of the show included a beautiful tribute to Nelson Mandela performed by Stevie Wonder and introduced by Oprah Winfrey, "12 years a Slave" knocking out "Fruitvale Station" and "The Butler" for best motion picture, Kerry Washington and her baby bump gracefully going to the stage multiple times to accept awards for "Scandal" and "Tyler Perry Presents The Peeples," and of course we can’t forget the hilarious Kevin Hart requesting the booster steps for the podium while accepting his award for Entertainer of the Year.

While an exciting show happened on stage, many people don’t think about everything that goes into crafting the production. One of the biggest aspects of the craft is coordinating the talent and knowing how to keep the stars comfortable so that they are able to deliver a great show. 

So just how does one keep an entertainer entertained? Well, after working years as a talent coordinator, Founder of Back Stage Creations Karen Wood developed the celebrity retreat, a solution that she has successfully implemented in awards shows for almost 20 years. The celebrity retreat is a type of mini getaway for the stars. Designed by HGTV’s Josh Johnson, the retreat turned what was once a dull holding area for the talent into a blissful area of relaxation and surprises. 

Surprises ranged from custom built headphones from BiGR Audio and luggage by Lug to designer eyewear by Marchon.

A very interesting surprise was a gift of giving. The people at Hairinfinity thought why not give a gift while receiving a gift ,so they gave celebs an opportunity to tweet in support of anti-bullying. For each tweet the organization donated $100 to Keshia Knight Pulliam's Kamp Kizzy, a non profit foundation to help young women build self esteem, confidence and to promote anti bullying.