| EVENT REPORT 03.30.09 4:35 PM |
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ROM Channels Miami's Delano Hotel for PROM Gala
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Just one week after the first day of spring, the fourth annual PROM event at the Royal Ontario Museum attempted to bring some Miami heat straight from South Beach. Called "PROM IV: Ocean Drive" and hosted by the museum's Young Patron's Circle, the benefit transformed the museum’s Samuel Hall Currelly Gallery and the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal to look like the famous Delano Hotel and flew in two DJs who play South Beach clubs—DJ Mateo and Canada's own DJ JoJo Flores—to spin tunes throughout the night.
“It was like a stay-cation,” said Candice Best of Best PR Boutique, who co-chaired the event with Jennifer Bassett. “Guests experienced all of the heat and energy of what happens in the Delano Hotel on a Saturday night—but at the ROM.” Organizers drew inspiration from the museum’s new Schad Gallery of Biodiversity, which will house a live coral reef and opens May 12.
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RELATED TOPICS
Young Patrons' Circle, Mark McEwan, Grey Goose, DeBeers Canada, Puma, Revolution Fitness, Crossworks Manufacturing, Evoke Solutions, Eye Weekly, Flare Magazine, Gee Beauty, Icon |
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| NEWS 09.02.08 4:10 PM |
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Boy George, Sir Richard Branson Among Those Hosting Parties During TIFF
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Plans to entertain the more than 500 special guests and celebrities scheduled to hit town for the 33rd annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)—which starts Thursday and runs until September 13—are sure to create a buzzing party scene in Toronto, with everyone from Boy George to Paris Hilton getting in on the action this year. "We do a lot of focused entertaining for the directors and talent that come to the festival. Virtually every programmer will be entertaining," says TIFF director and C.E.O. Piers Handling, who personally plans to host two large dinners for 60 to 70 filmmakers.
"The rest of the party scene is basically our sponsors who are leveraging their sponsorship—Holt’s, the big CTV bash on Friday—there is a whole series of events like that. Then the distribution industry, Canadian and U.S., will get into the scene in a major way and do parties post- film," he said.
The TIFF party scene kicks off Thursday with a cocktail reception at the Rosewater Supper Club prior to the presentation of the Canadian film Passchendaele at Roy Thomson Hall. The screening will be followed by the official TIFF opening night gala at the Liberty Grand. (Barbara Hershenhorn of Party Barbara Co. is planning the event for more than 3,000 guests.) Alliance Atlantis also will host a Passchendaele party at the Drake Hotel following Thursday's screening, and Ultra Supper Club presents a performance by Boy George.
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RELATED TOPICS
Toronto International Film Festival, eTalk, Holt Renfrew, CTV, ET Canada, In Style Magazine, Alliance Atlantis, DSquared2, Flare Magazine, Hello! Canada, Canadian Film Centre |
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| GUEST QUESTIONS 03.21.08 4:08 PM |
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Fashion Week Tent Poll: What Do You Think of the Shows?
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With 35 shows being held over four days, there's been plenty to see on the runway at L’Oréal Fashion Week. This season's shows have included a mix of newcomers, including Project Runway Canada winner Evan Biddell and established designers Andy Thé-Anh, David Dixon, and Pink Tartan. We asked members of the crowd for their impressions of the fall 2008 presentations.
"I think Toronto Fashion Week is growing up. And being condensed to four days really made a difference because it was hot and heavy every day, so I think it's been great. I think there's been some terrible [shows] like there is in every fashion week all around the world. I mean, Jeanne [Beker] and I were talking about this before: When we go to New York we see the seven or eight major shows, but there's two shows running parallel to each other so there's more bad than there are good. Toronto is no different. There are a lot of people trying very hard who just are not there yet. But there's some outstanding collections. Greta Constantine, world class. They will end up being the next DSquared. They are outstanding. Spectacular."
—Michael King, C.E.O. and co-founder of Kontent Publishing
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Fashion Week, Kontent Publishing, Flare Magazine, Fashion Magazine, Evan Biddell, Andy Thé-Anh, David Dixon, Pink Tartan, Greta Constantine, DSquared, Comrags, Project Runway Canada |
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| MY FAVORITE VENDORS 03.14.08 1:55 PM |
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Flare Favours the Drake, ROM
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 | Flare's Tracy Finkelstein
Photo: Courtesy of Flare Magazine |
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As the group director of business development and promotions for Flare magazine and Hello! Canada, Tracy Finkelstein—together with her team of three—is responsible for producing between 15 to 20 events a year, including red-carpet galas, cocktail parties, consumer shopping events, and client receptions. Finkelstein is currently finalizing plans for a private party (being cohosted by Fido and featuring a performance by the Juno-nominated band Dragonette) for 400 at the Drake Hotel to celebrate fashion, music, and technology during Toronto Fashion Week.
Catering: "We have two unbelievable caterers we rely on. For smaller, more intimate cocktail receptions, we work with the Salt & Pepper Catering Company. Stefanie Tortorella, the owner, really understands our guests and always delivers innovative menus—not to mention her cupcakes are addictive. After every event the company caters [for us], I am bombarded with emails from guests wondering how they can get their hands on the white fluffy cupcakes.
"For our larger galas, I have repeatedly gone back to Dee Gibson at Catering With Style. Dee has such a distinct style that I instantly know when I am attending one of her catered events. Her food is delicious. But it's her careful attention to detail that impresses me most. Flare has relied on Dee for many years, and it's been a wonderful collaborative effort in pulling off grand events like our Canada Style Gala and Flare's 25th anniversary party."
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RELATED TOPICS
Flare Magazine, Hello! Canada, Dragonette, Fido, Ikea, Oscars, Toronto International Film Festival, MuchMusic Video Awards, Cannes, Sundance, Juno Awards |
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| NEWS 02.21.08 12:30 PM |
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Introducing Our Event Style Award Winners
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 | CTV's Doctor Zhivago party
Photo: Gary Beechey for BizBash |
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At our annual trade show yesterday at the Direct Energy Centre, we announced the winners of the BizBash Event Style Awards. Here's a rundown:
Best Entertainment Program/Concept
Nexen Inc.’s "Feel the Beat" party, submitted by Experiential Events
Experiential Events packed Calgary’s Telus Convention Centre with eight styles of entertainment for Nexen Inc.’s employee-appreciation party in September. The oil and gas company wanted to branch out, and the event planning company chose to include musical, cirque, and dance performances. To keep guests on their toes, the acts performed on multiple stages around the venue, and attendees were encouraged to take part in salsa lessons and playing a floor-to-ceiling harp.
Best Corporate Event Concept (Budget More Than $50,000)
Piller’s 50th anniversary celebration, submitted by Big Events Inc.
Piller’s enlisted Big Events Inc. to create a Western-themed 50th anniversary party at the meat company’s Waterloo headquarters last June. Although the celebration was relaxed and fun, it managed to be upscale at the same time, with sleek white couches, cowhide pillows, and a wood floor dressing the tent for 600 V.I.P. clients (900 staff members also attended). The entertainment stayed true to the party’s theme, and included a rodeo, pig races, and barn dancing with fiddlers.
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RELATED TOPICS
Anica, CTVglobemedia, Cushman & Wakefield, Film Italia, Flare Magazine, Italian Trade Commission, Make-A-Wish Foundation, National Bridal Show, Nexen Inc., Piller's, Professional Convention Management Association, Spafax, Women in Insurance Cancer Crusade, World Airline Entertainment Association |
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