| EVENT REPORT 10.13.09 1:01 PM |
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Bell Gala Adopts Storybook Theme With Enchanted Forest Decor, Fairy-Tale Fashion Show
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 | The entrance to the dining room
Photo: Gary Beechey for BizBash |
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For the 18th annual Bell Gala, which also marked the final year of a five-year funding commitment to the SickKids Foundation at the Hospital for Sick Children, Patricia Lakin, Bell’s national director of special events, created a fairy-tale theme meant to signify a storybook ending to the partnership. Held Thursday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, this year’s event, dubbed Once Upon A Time, attracted more than 1,800 guests, including 100 local celebrities.
“We wanted to do a really storybook entrance. It’s like entering what I’ll describe as Bell’s version of Once Upon A Time,” said Lakin. She used a white rather than red carpet and created an interview area where guests sat on oversize Alice in Wonderland-style chairs prior to posing for photos in front of a step-and-repeat adorned with the Bell logo. A doorway fashioned from a blue and white book led guests into the reception area, which was decorated like an enchanted forest and included a teacup carnival ride.
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RELATED TOPICS
Bell Canada, Hospital For Sick Children, SickKids Foundation, Samsung, Palm, BlackBerry, VMC Group, CGI, The Globe and Mail, Resource Integrated, Lufthansa, Vincor Canada, Corby, Hudson's Bay Co. |
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| EVENT REPORT 10.02.09 3:09 PM |
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Jeanne Lottie's Pink Bedroom Party Gets New Format, New Venue
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For the sixth annual Pink Bedroom Party, hosted by the Jeanne Lottie accessories brand to benefit cancer research at the Hospital for Sick Children and Princess Margaret Hospital, Jeanne Lottie president and event founder Jane Ip took a new approach to the all-pink fund-raiser, held Thursday. The event, a sit-down dinner traditionally held at the Liberty Grand, took on a cocktail party format and moved to Berkeley Church.
“We found that right now people don’t really want to spend that much—time-wise too—to go to a dinner charity event that they have to pay more than $250 for. That’s what we charged previously," said Ip, who set a $50 price for this year's tickets. "This is so much easier," she added. "We don’t need to assign tables...people just buy a ticket and come."
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Jeanne Lottie, SickKids Foundation, Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation, David Rocco, Clarins, Utb Untouchable, LouLou |
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| EVENT REPORT 09.28.09 4:14 PM |
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Drivers, Celebrities Pair Up for Fund-Raising Scavenger Hunt With Interactive Pit Stops
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 | The Gypsy Kings
Photo: BizBash |
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More than 20 teams raced around the city Saturday during the second annual Rally for Kids with Cancer Scavenger Cup, created and produced by Solutions With Impact to benefit the SickKids Foundation at the Hospital for Sick Children. The two-day event, which features a car rally where drivers are paired with a celebrity navigator, included a draft night party for 400 at Muzik on Friday, the "Start Your Engines" brunch at Harbour Sixty on Saturday morning, and "The Winner's Circle" gala dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel on Saturday night.
Developed by SWI president Joel Hock, the event's goal is to raise funds for children’s cancer research, care, and treatment. The inaugural event last fall, chaired by Goldie Hawn, raised just over $1 million dollars. (The fund-raising total for this year's event is still being tallied.) SWI took the event to Los Angeles in May and has plans to hold similar rallies in Miami in November and Las Vegas next April.
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Rosseau Asset Management, SickKids Foundation, Air Canada, eTalk, CTV, Solutions 2Go Inc., Affinity, Shaftesbury, Toronto Sun, Pfaff, Serengeti Eyewear, Heys, Movado, Dan Aykroyd Wines |
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| EVENT REPORT 09.14.09 1:25 PM |
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TIFF Gift Suite Sponsors Add Charity Component
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 | The Tastemakers Lounge
Photo: Courtesy of Rock-it Promotions |
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Sponsored lounges have popped up in the Bloor-Yorkville area to give celebrities and media a place to relax and pick up swag during the Toronto International Film Festival. Here's a look at a few of the lounges around town, many of which have added charitable components this year.
The Tastemakers Lounge, produced by Rock-it Promotions, adopted a "Peace, Love, and Film" theme for its fifth installment, held in the Britannia Room at the Intercontinental Toronto Yorkville. Tastemakers founders Debra Goldblatt and Leesa Butler called on Croma Design Inc. to create a relaxed vibe for the lounge, intended to serve as a respite for celebrities in town to promote films and to expose visiting stars to brands. "We wanted to do something that was special and timely, something that would unite people around a theme globally, and peace seemed like something everybody could get behind," Butler said.
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Toronto International Film Festival, Croma Design Inc., President's Choice Home, War Child, SickKids Foundation, World Vision, WaterKeeper Alliance, Fila, Brooks, Teva, Goody, Kiehl's, Casalife, Skyy Vodka, Smashbox Cosmetics, Foxy Originals, Teuscher Chocolates, Trollbeads |
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| EVENT REPORT 09.01.09 1:37 PM |
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Driven by Volunteers, Inaugural Oceana Ball Adopts Water Theme
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 | Models in mermaid costumes at the Oceana Ball
Photo: BizBash |
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Planning a black-tie gala at the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex is big undertaking, particularly for a volunteer committee of students and young people organizing a first-time event without the help of an event management firm or a PR agency. “We have a few corporate members on board but most of us are students,” said Vanessa Drautz, co-chair of the inaugural Oceana Ball, held Monday in support of the Herbie Fund at the Hospital for Sick Children. “We really wanted to put a first-class event together. We wanted to do something to contribute.”
Drautz worked alongside committee chair Brittney Kuczynski and fellow co-chairs Alireza Rafiee, and Michelle Spezza to plan the event in conjunction with Vicky Braverman, development coordinator for community involvement at the SickKids Foundation. “I support them from a fund-raising side, but the details like the decor and food, I don’t get involved in that,” said Braverman, who reported that the Herbie Fund—a volunteer-based organization that helps bring kids from all over the world to the Hospital for Sick Children for life-saving surgeries—relies solely on fund-raising efforts.
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RELATED TOPICS
Hospital for Sick Children, SickKids Foundation, The Herbie Fund, Citytv |
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| EVENT REPORT 04.29.09 8:00 AM |
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Oversize Teddy Bears, Palm Trees Fill Brazilian Ball's Benefit for SickKids
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 | The samba parade
Photo: System 4 Productions Inc. |
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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.
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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 |
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| EVENT REPORT 12.02.08 4:25 PM |
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Chanel Replicates Miami Fashion Show With Lifeguard Towers, Runway Surrounded by Water
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 | Models at the Chanel show
Photo: George Pimentel |
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More than 600 guests attended a rare Chanel fashion show at the Direct Energy Centre's Heritage Court Thursday to benefit HealthyKids International, a new initiative of the SickKids Foundation at the Hospital for Sick Children. Mafalda Caruso, CTV's executive director of special events, worked with the luxury retailer to replicate the presentation of Karl Lagerfeld's 2008-09 Chanel resort collection, which was held poolside at Miami's Raleigh Hotel in May.
In South Beach, models walked a curved black runway that ran along the inside edge of the hotel pool. "I replicated the runway exactly the same as Miami," said Caruso, who agreed to produce the event when CTV signed on as a sponsor. "It was difficult, but I feel I brought a piece of South Beach back to Toronto in the middle of winter." Caruso planned the evening in conjunction with Ruth Grant, chair of HealthyKids, and Jeffry Roick of McNabb Roick Events.
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RELATED TOPICS
Chanel, SickKids Foundation, Hospital for Sick Children, HealthyKids International |
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| EVENT REPORT 10.29.08 8:00 AM |
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Carnival Games, Indoor Roller Coaster Create Circus Vibe at Bell Gala
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 | Carnival games at the Bell Gala
Photo: BizBash |
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More than 1,800 guests—including 100 celebrities—had the chance to play arcade games and ride an indoor roller coaster at the 17th annual Bell Gala, held Thursday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The event, planned by Patricia Lakin, Bell Canada's director of national events, adopted a "Rock 'n' Roll Circus" theme this year. "We wanted this year to focus on celebrating emerging Canadian talent," she said, explaining that the circus theme allowed organizers to showcase a range of performers on one stage.
Bands like Finger Eleven, Hedley, Serena Ryder and Suzie McNeil performed at a dinner held under the Big Top. The production also included acrobatics, pyrotechnics, and a fashion show featuring designs by Versace and Jean Paul Gaultier. "We always want to have a combination theme that allows us to evoke some kind of childhood memories combined with a chic event," Lakin said. "The event is in support of a children's hospital so that connects the dots."
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RELATED TOPICS
SickKids Foundation, Hospital for Sick Children |
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| EVENT REPORT 09.29.08 3:03 PM |
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Dancers Show Off Shoes at Browns' Fashion Show for SickKids
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 | Dancers at the Browns' fashion show
Photo: Henry Lin |
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A team of freelance dancers from Montreal showcased the latest footwear from Brown Shoes during two fashion shows held to support the SickKids Foundation on Wednesday and Thursday. “It’s different than your typical fashion show, which is just models walking down the runway. It’s all professional dancers,” Browns buyer Kim Watt said of the "Shine in the Shadow" benefit held at Hazelton Lanes. “All the dancers are dressed in heels and they do a huge dance performance. They’re wearing all our latest fall items—the wilder more fashion kind of stuff—and the dances are all choreographed so the audience gets to really see the shoes…it’s really quite unique.”
The fashion and dance event, now in its fifth year, took place over two nights in Montreal earlier this month and here in Toronto last week. “We used to do one night free and one night for charity, and then it’s such a great show they decided to charge $20 [for admission on the first evening],” Watt said. “Browns takes care of everything, and all the proceeds go to the SickKids Foundation [at the Hospital for Sick Children].” Ticket sales for Thursday’s show, priced at $150, also benefited the hospital foundation, specifically the Philip Witchel Endowment Fund, which funds research in pediatric cardiology. The Montreal events supported the Montreal Children's Hospital.
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RELATED TOPICS
Browns Shoes, SickKids Foundation, Fashion Magazine, AXI Studio Yorkville, Lacoste, Durbanville Hills, Grand Hotel, Porter Airlines, Nars Makeup, Kim Stockwood |
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