add/edit validation with an Object

[eluser]ericsodt[/eluser]
I am running into an issue where I am trying to edit a form (thats for both an add and editing). I am running into an issue with passing my data as an object and was hoping someone might be able to help me out. Here's the code
CONTROLLER

Code:

if(is_numeric(intval($this->uri->segment(3)))){
                 $data['eventObj'] = $this->event->getById($this->uri->segment(3));
                 return $this->load->view('addEditEvent_view', $data);

here is what my form looks like:

addEditEvent_view.php

Code:

<table class="enterCriteria" width="30%">
  <tr>
   <td>Display Name:</td><td>&lt;input type="text" id="displayName" name="displayName" size="25" value="&lt;?=$this-&gt;validation->displayName;?&gt;"  maxlength="50"></td><td class="error">&lt;?=$this->validation->displayName_error; ?&gt; </td>  
...
...

As you can see in the form I am using the validation class, but am stumped in how I can pass my event Object into the view and have the view use it...

Could anyone help me resove this?