| EVENT REPORT 09.16.09 2:35 PM |
|
Cinema Against AIDS Fund-Raiser Goes Old Hollywood With Black and Gold Decor
|
 | The Carlu's concert hall
Photo: BizBash |
|
Amfar, the Foundation for AIDS Research, partnered with Dignitas International to host the first Cinema Against AIDS Toronto fund-raiser at the Carlu Tuesday. The event, which featured performances by Sarah McLachlan and Deborah Cox, attracted 400 guests, including Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York; Miranda Richardson; Amfar ambassador Michelle Yeoh; and Nobel Peace Prize winner and Dignitas co-founder Dr. James Orbinski.
“Cinema Against AIDS, this particular branded event that we do in conjunction with film festivals, was actually started in 1993 at the Cannes Film Festival by Dame Elizabeth Taylor, our founding chairman. That event did so well and Amfar’s relationship with the film industry has been so strong that it has just grown and grown,” said Franklin G. Fry, Amfar’s director of special events.
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
Toronto International Film Festival, Amfar, The Foundation for AIDS Research, Dignitas International, Sullivan Entertainment, M.A.C. Cosmetics, Cartier, BMO Financial Group, Brookfield Properties Corporation, Burgundy Asset Management, Gucci, Rave Motion Pictures, RIM |
 |
| EVENT REPORT 04.29.09 8:00 AM |
|
Oversize Teddy Bears, Palm Trees Fill Brazilian Ball's Benefit for SickKids
|
 | The samba parade
Photo: System 4 Productions Inc. |
|
The Brazilian Carnival Ball—known for its elaborate decor and the colourful costumes worn by performers in its annual samba parade—took a cue from this year's charity, the SickKids Foundation, and opted for a teddy bear theme for the 43rd annual fund-raiser, held Saturday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. "Every child loves a teddy bear, so that's how we came up with the concept," said 2009 event chair Janice O’Born, a member of the SickKids Foundation board.
Large pink, black, and silver bears—created by Brazilian artist and decor director Zeka Marquez—sat atop risers on the dining tables, and images of bears decorated panels that covered the walls throughout the ballroom. Marquez came up with the design for the event, and Toronto-based decor manager Luis de Castro put the look together, said Kathie Gayda, executive director of the ball. “The bears and the wall panels were produced in Brazil,” she said. In addition to centerpieces made out of Styrofoam, the decor team created two oversize bears that flanked the stage.
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
SickKids Foundation, TD Bank, Rogers, The Printing House, BMO Financial Group, C.I.B.C., RBC, George Weston Ltd., Lexus on the Park, Scarborough Toyota, American Airlines, Tiffany & Company, Metropolitan Hotels, Hallmark Canada |
|
| EVENT REPORT 04.21.09 3:33 PM |
|
Sixth Annual Buy Design Fund-Raiser Draws Guests With Social Media Campaign, Promises of Swag
|
In a time of economic uncertainty, Windfall Clothing Service event manager Kelly Carmichael wanted to emphasize the return on investment for guests attending (or considering attending) the clothing bank’s "Buy Design 6: In Space" fund-raiser, held Saturday at the Fermenting Cellar. “We really wanted people to know it was worth it to come,” said Carmichael, who worked with Faulhaber PR to launch a social media campaign and Web site promoting the benefit’s purpose and perks.
“Facebook and Twitter are great ways to get a dialogue going with people about the event and our organization, which is especially important in times like these," Carmichael said. The face of the Twitter campaign, BuyBarella, a character inspired by the Jane Fonda movie Barbarella, tweeted about everything from outfit ideas for the space-themed event to hints about the night’s hors d’oeuvres (like herb-crusted lamb chops), and the gift bag (stuffed with full-size beauty products from sponsor Proctor & Gamble). BuyBarella's 477 Twitter followers had a chance to win one of three sets of tickets to the benefit.
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
Windfall Clothing Service, Procter & Gamble, Smashbox, L'Oréal, Hugo Boss, Stonegate, TD Bank Financial Group, BMO Financial Group, Alterna Savings, Ontario Credit Union Charitable Foundation, Davis + Henderson, Mill Street Brewery, XOXO Wine, Skyy Vodka, Evian, Fashion Magazine, Now, The Globe and Mail, blogTO, She Does the City |
|
| EVENT REPORT 01.27.09 4:37 PM |
|
Dragon Ball Ushers in Chinese New Year With Lion Dancers, Gods of Fortune
|
 | A Chinese God of Fortune
Photo: BizBash |
|
For the 20th anniversary of the Dragon Ball—presented by the Yee Hong Community Wellness Foundation at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre Saturday—organizers attempted to infuse the gala with a number of new elements and chose the tagline "Expect the Unexpected" to advertise this year's event. But the nature of the venue and the nature of the event brought limitations, said Henry Chiu, the foundation's director of development and communications.
"We follow a formula," Chiu said of the program for the evening. "There are certain elements you can't get away from. It is a celebration of the Chinese New Year...we can't get away from the Chinese elements." In an effort to switch things up this year, organizers—who worked with a team of 300 volunteers—opted to have several traditional Chinese gods of fortune mingling with the crowd of 1,200 guests. "People love to touch them...they hope their luck will rub off," Chiu said, noting in past years there was only one costumed god of fortune who mingled with V.I.P. guests.
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
Yee Hong Community Wellness Foundation, Tridel, Rogers, Landmark, BMO Financial Group, Sing Tao Daily, Don Valley North Lexus, Lexus of Richmond Hill |
|
| EVENT REPORT 11.04.08 3:48 PM |
|
Fashion Cares Adopts Halloween-Meets-Hitchcock Theme With Costumes, Film Tributes
|
 | The stage show at Fashion Cares
Photo: George Pimentel |
|
When Michael King and Phillip Ing signed on to plan this year's Fashion Cares, the pair knew they had a lot of ground to make up for after a disappointing event in 2007. "Last year was a very difficult year. It wasn't my year chairing it, but they made a number of mistakes," King, chair of the Fashion Cares steering committee, said of the 2007 event, which was criticized for the choice of venue (a tent in the Distillery District) and the lack of a runway show. "They were well intentioned. They just didn't think things through."
On Saturday, the gala returned to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for an evening hosted by David Furnish that included an elaborate runway show featuring looks from more than 40 designers and performances by the likes of Katy Perry and Dame Shirley Bassey. The annual fund-raiser for the AIDS Committee of Toronto, dubbed "Fashion sCares" this year, adopted a Halloween meets haute couture meets Alfred Hitchcock theme.
"I was watching the Movie Channel and I saw The Birds and I realized there are so many iconic elements from Hitchcock movies—the fabulous blonds, the sort of sexual repression, the horror of the birds, the suspense. There's great stuff to pull out of that and throw together for a theme for a Fashion Cares show," said Ing, who produced the event for its first 20 years and returned this year as the show's producer and creative director.
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
AIDS Committee of Toronto, Alfred Hitchcock, Shirley Bassey, Katy Perry, Kreesha Turner, BMO Financial Group, LG Canada, CTV, The Globe and Mail, CHUM FM, Sir Magazine |
|
| NEWS 09.18.08 4:05 PM |
|
AIDS Benefit Announces Lineups
|
 | Models at the Fashion Cares launch
Photo: BizBash |
|
Haute couture meets Alfred Hitchcock is the theme for this year’s Fashion Cares fund-raiser—being held November 1 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre to benefit the AIDS Committee of Toronto—organizers revealed Wednesday. Event chair Michael King described the upcoming gala, dubbed Fashion Scares, as “a Halloween weekend spectacle…a fancy-dress costumed affair that takes it’s theme from the master of suspense…and a marvelous excuse to exhibit sartorial excess for a community that loves any excuse to dress up.”
Wednesday’s launch, held at the Brant House, offered a preview from some of the 40 designers set to participate in the runway show at the 22nd annual gala. Models donned creations by David Dixon, Pam Chorley, Greta Constantine, and Izzy Camilleri. “We’re putting fashion back in Fashion Cares,” King said of the event, which is being organized by artistic director and producer Phillip Ing. The vice president of special and retail events for M.A.C. Cosmetics is back after stepping down for a year. (Ing was not involved in last year’s gala, which received mixed reviews after moving from the MTCC to the Distillery District for the first time.)
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
Fashion Cares, AIDS Committee of Toronto, BMO Financial Group, LG Canada, CTV, The Globe and Mail, CHUM FM, Sir Magazine |
|
| EVENT REPORT 06.09.08 1:17 PM |
|
Big Night Out Adds V.I.P. Reception, Live Auction
|
 | The silent-auction room
Photo: BizBash |
|
Organizers adopted a superhero theme and added two new elements—a sponsor reception and live auction—to the 38th annual Big Night Out gala in support of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Toronto, held Thursday at the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex. "We wanted to do something different, and we wanted the opportunity to celebrate our corporate partners," BBBST president Cathy Denyer said of why they added the V.I.P. reception for sponsors.
The organization invited Jim Leech, president and C.E.O. of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, to address representatives from sponsors like Metropolitan Hotels, BMO Financial, KPMG, Great West Life, London Life, Canada Life, National Bank, Blackmont Capital, Peller Estates, Molson, Coca-Cola, Global, ET Canada, and The Toronto Sun.
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Toronto, Metropolitan Hotels, BMO Financial Group, KPMG, Great West Life, London Life, Canada Life, National Bank, Blackmont Capital, Peller Estates, Molson, Coca-Cola, ET Canada, Toronto Sun |
|
| NEWS 06.06.08 12:14 PM |
|
Sponsors Drive Free Programming at Luminato Festival
|
Makeup demonstrations, dance classes, light shows, and performances by the likes of the Barra MacNeils and Ashley MacIsaac are just some of the free events being presented as part of the second annual Luminato Festival of Arts and Creativity, which starts Friday and runs through June 15. And, with more than 80 percent of the programming being offered at no cost to the public, sponsorships are critical to the event's success, festival president and C.E.O. Janice Price said in an interview.
“I think last year we were extremely grateful that [the inaugural festival came] off and that people embraced it so well … but we did all of that with only about seven months of planning," Price said. "The luxury of having a year of planning time means that we’ve really been able to leverage the desire of our corporate sponsors to make the connection with the programming. It’s allowed us to be a lot more creative with our partners." She added, “I think the really optimum blend of public-sector, individual, and private sponsorship makes [our sponsors] feel comfortable they’re working with an organization that has brought everybody to the table."
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
L'Oréal, Government of Ontario, Government of Canada, Telus, CTV, The Globe and Mail, Tourism Toronto, Cineplex Media, St. Joseph Communications, BMO Financial Group, OLG, National Bank, Manulife Financial, Toronto Star, Scotiabank Group, Toronto Life, Waterfront Toronto, The Weather Network |
|
| EVENT REPORT 04.29.08 3:23 PM |
|
Studio 54 Inspires Retro Vibe at Buy Design Fund-Raiser
|
 | The Buy Design benefit
Photo: Courtesy of Faulhaber PR |
|
Attracting volunteers to help organize Buy Design 54, the fifth annual fund-raiser for Windfall Clothing Service—inspired by the legendary New York nightclub Studio 54—held Saturday at the Fermenting Cellar in the Distillery District, wasn’t all that difficult, according to event manager Alessia Pugliese. “We never struggle to get volunteers,” said Pugliese, who credited the volunteer team for the event's success. About 50 volunteers, some of whom worked throughout the entire planning process (which began in July), helped pull off the fashion-conscious event, which raises money to support the award-winning charity that distributes new clothing and basic-needs items to Torontonians in need.
“For us, the biggest challenge, being a non-for-profit, is always money,” Pugliese said. “We put on this event on a very tight budget. We are very lucky because our volunteers are so young and most of them are in the media or fashion industry, so creativity is not a problem.” Adrian Mainella, the new host of CBC’s Fashion File, is one volunteer whose profile helped bring exposure to the event. Mainella, who has been involved with Buy Design since its inception, served as the evening’s host and donated a night out with him as one of the more than 150 items up for bid at silent and live auctions.
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
Windfall Clothing Service, TD Bank Financial Group, BMO Financial Group, Mill Street Brewery, Now Magazine, Fashion Magazine, She Does the City, The Globe and Mail, BlogTO, Alterna Savings, Ontario Credit Union Charitable Foundation |
|
| EVENT REPORT 03.07.08 4:49 PM |
|
Theatre Gala Stages Written-That-Day Plays Between Dinner Courses
|
 | The Capitol Event Theatre marquee
Photo: Andreasphoto.ca |
|
It's not difficult to predict the ending of a three-course meal assembled by cookbook author and renowned food editor Lucy Waverman—she's sure to serve a delectable dessert—but it is much harder to figure out how three Canadian playwrights will finish their scripts after starting out with the same opening line. The 220 guests attending the Necessary Angel Theatre Company fund-raiser, called "One Day: Three Plays," held Monday at the Capitol Event Theatre, had the chance to find out.
With only four hours to write a 20-minute play, Morwyn Brebner, Claudia Dey, and Daniel MacIvor were given their first line: "Don't anybody move—there was an asp in that basket of figs and the little bastard is somewhere in this room!" from playwright and Academy Award-winning screenwriter Sir Tom Stoppard. The plays were then performed during a gala dinner at the theatre.
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
Lucy Waverman, Tom Stoppard, Morwyn Brebner, Claudia Dey, Daniel MacIvor, BMO Financial Group, The Globe and Mail, Salah Bachir, Searchlight Canada |
|
|
