“It’s all about building awareness, and sampling as well,” said Karen Daneliuk, brand manager at Mott’s Fruitsations.

The product launch was geared to kids and adults, with tons of samples for the younger attendees and the nutritional info on hand for parents. “We really wanted to showcase to parents how these healthy snacks can fit into their busy lifestyle,” said Daneliuk. “It speaks to kids, but ultimately, moms are the gatekeepers, right?”

To match the recent ads that have children posing as detectives searching for vegetables in the new veggie product, the “V.I.K.s,” or very important kids, could dress up like investigators and get their photos taken at the event. Photos were printed on the spot and handed out in envelopes stamped "Top Secret." Additional activities included a beanbag toss and temporary tattoos of Mac and Tosha. Kid-friendly musician Chris Patterson performed during the event.

The theme was inspired by this year’s gala co-chair, Vivian Abdelmessih, who has Egyptian heritage. “Her knowledge of the culture helped us shape the gala,” Roach said.

The evening kicked off with a reception in the hotel's grand foyer, where decor channeled a hookah lounge, with tapestry rugs, gold furniture, and hookah pipes. Bowls of pomegranates added to the scene. Dinner was served in the ballroom, which was draped overhead in red, gold, and amber colored fabric. “The silken drapery and glowing lanterns in the ballroom made the space feel like a exotic tent in the desert,” Roach said. As an original way to alert guests to dinner, the organizers utilized authentic Egyptian belly dancers, who ushered attendees into the space and later performed on the dance floor.

The silent auction offered more than 100 items and was, as the marketing material put it, designed to feel like an ancient Egyptian tomb, filled with treasures. “The items were presented well and there was a lot of variety for guests to choose from—that's one of the reasons the silent auction was so successful,” Roach said.

Bridgepoint Health plans to open its new hospital in the spring of 2013 and plans are already underway for next year’s Fandango, which Roach promised will be “extra special” to celebrate the opening.

“The goal of the event was to bring Canadians together to celebrate and take pride in the fact that this year, Calgary will be attracting millions of people from around the world,” said Deanne Carson, vice president of marketing and external relations at the Calgary Stampede. Similar stunts took place in city centres of Vancouver and Calgary.

The public promotion, a joint effort between Travel Alberta, Tourism Calgary, and the Calgary Stampede, was part of the Stampede’s marketing strategy to build buzz and excitement about this year’s Centennial festival. “Because we are asking the country to welcome the world this year [at the Stampede], what better symbol to unite the country?” asked Carson. "The White Hat not only stands for hospitality, but reflects values that Canadians can recognize within their own community: pride in community, integrity, and commitment to community."

So far, community involvement has played an important role in the rodeo’s marketing and planning. Under the tagline of “We’re Greatest Together,” marketing has focused on community traditions surrounding the Stampede, from eating to dressing. The Stampede has also been careful to include the local community in the Centennial celebration, which runs from July 6 to 15. To build anticipation at home, the Stampede has planned mini festivals in the four quadrants of Calgary in May and June.

After the hat drop, Juno-nominated band Hollerado performed in Dundas Square. Rock-It Promotions and Anstice Communications promoted the stunt in Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary.

The configuration of the evening was complex and pink draping helped to create two separate spaces during the event. The Currelly Gallery housed the V.I.P.s and the Crystal Court hosted the after-party guests, who arrived at 8.30. V.I.P.s were treated to dinner, the Play With Barbie Fashion Show, and a performance from singer Anastasia A. At 9.45, the curtains between the spaces opened and the T.F.I. New Labels fashion show began, running simultaneously in both rooms; after a model walked the V.I.P. runway, she walked backstage to the entrance of the after-party runway. “It’s complex, but it’s very cool,” said Candice Chan, creative director at Candice&Alison Luxury Event Management, who worked on the event with Alison Slight.

The decor was designed to be as elegant as the black-tie dress code. Working with the flower motif from the invitations and the incubator's brand of pink, the R.O.M. was filled with floral arrangements made up of different pink flowers. Gloss black furniture added contrast. Custom campaign imagery, pink petals, sponsors, and video footage from T.F.I. designers over the past 25 were projected on to the angular white walls of the Crystal.

Installations and sponsor activations added to the visuals. “There are a lot of different elements that helped make the event as multidimensional as it is, but everything had to always be consistent and tie in with the original theme that we had created,” said Chan. Chan and Slight worked with sponsors like the Yorkdale Mall and Reliable to make sure their activations matched the look. The T.F.I. retrospective and Play With Barbie installations also became part of the decor in the Crystal.

In addition to a complicated event schedule, the R.O.M. came with a few difficulties, including the fact that it's a functioning museum and there are limits to what can be brought in for conservation reasons. “The ROM as a venue has many challenges to work with, but the impact of its beauty, scale, and prestige is so worth it,” said Chan. The events team had just three-and-a-half hours to set up after the museum closed to the public. With a team of 300, everything was ready to go when the doors opened at 6.30.

Edmonton designer Sid Neigum won the T.F.I. New Labels competition. His prize includes a fashion spread in Flare magazine, a design studio at T.F.I., and $25,000. Proceeds from the gala went to support T.F.I.

“We want to continue to surprise guests, because we have a lot of people who are so kind to us and support us for many of our fund-raisers,” said Adrienne Maniezzo, manager of development special events at the A.G.O.

Jeffry Roick of McNabb Roick Events and Jann Coppen of the Idea Shop certainly delivered an unusual look. “We decided to go colourful because it was spring and the room was very bright at that time [of day],” said Roick. Walker Court had bright yellow and blue carpet and lounge furniture in and lime green and yellow hues. Eight artists sketched nude models in each of the archways of the court, which, according to Roick, “pulled the art component in.”

Upstairs in Baillie Court, pink lighting washed the dinner space, a setting inspired by springtime in Paris. Cherry blossoms added height to the tables and lavender linens, pink chairs, red cushions and plates kept with the colour palette. The menu incorporated French and Spanish flavours, inspired by Picasso's homes in Paris and Barcelona.

The organizers opted to avoid direct references to Picasso’s works until the post-dinner reception. “For this particular event, we felt that we wanted to go with decor that really enhanced the spirit of the evening and allowed the artwork and the exhibition to really shine on its own,” Maniezzo said. “No sense in reproducing a Picasso when you have 100 plus of them in the building.”

The Picasso exhibition opened to the public on May 1 and will continue until August 26.

In addition to the interior renovations, there were several announcements. Guests at the castle will have access to Wi-Fi starting in June, air-conditioning will be installed in the Library and Conservatory this summer, and event hours will be extended until 1 a.m., a request that venue managers had recently been receiving more frequently.

What is your primary goal for this year's C.N.E.?
Community celebration. We used to sell the future, and the future is now on Google and other places. You don't go to an exhibition anymore to find out what's new, and it's taken a long time for people to get their heads around that one. That's been a change in terms of exhibitions everywhere, especially large ones.

What was it about last year’s experience that made you decide to participate in Luminato again this year?
L'Oréal Paris did a tent at Yonge-Dundas last year, and we're doing exactly the same thing this year. Our brand strategy is to really align ourselves with fashion and to show the expertise of our beauty experts. Our vision with that tent was to take everything we do with Fashion Week and with Project Runway Canada and bring that backstage feel to the street. Last year we conducted 6,500 makeovers [over three days]; the success was so great that we decided to do it again.

Why did you decide to take the event national this year?
I think the event itself works from a fund-raising standpoint. People, once they understand it, want to get involved. And kids with cancer is a cause that hits home whether it’s in L.A., Vegas, Miami, or Toronto. In my opinion, the cure is just around the corner and all it takes is money. This event is driven by the participants.

What is the WWF hoping to achieve with Earth Hour?
Earth Hour is a symbolic event. The goal is to get people to turn off their lights for one hour and send a visual statement to government and world leaders that people are taking action on climate change and they need to do the same. But the other purpose is to show individuals that each of us can play a role in the fight against climate change and even simple actions like turning off your lights add up to make a really big difference.

“A lot of hours from both Stampede volunteers and employees have gone into making this year's show a historical event for the Stampede and this great city,” said Mike Casey, president and chairman of the board for the Stampede, at the event. Casey revealed some of the new attractions for the Stampede, which runs from July 6 to 15 and will have the theme “We’re Greatest Together.”

Although the TransAlta Grandstand Show always ends with the “TransAlta Lights Up the Night” fireworks display, this year the power company is upping the ante. For six of the 10 nights, the effort will light four quadrants of city with fireworks, creating Canada’s largest synchronized pyrotechnics display. Corus Entertainment will broadcast accompanying music on the radio.

Casey also announced details about the new Bell Centennial Plaza. The new entertainment plaza will be located in the centre of Stampede Park and will house a stage and a massive zip line. The latter will be 80 feet high and 850 feet long, making it the largest temporary freestanding zip line in North America.

This year will also feature new attractions, including a beach exhibit complete with a FlowRider surf machine inside the BMO Centre in Stampede Park and a new midway ride named Outlaw, in honour of the infamous Calgary Stampede bull.

Last year, the Stampede attracted 1.1 million visitors. Tickets for this year's event have been selling at a record pace, and hotels are reportedly selling out much faster than years past.

Starting today and running through Wednesday, April 4, we will accept nominations in all categories. To suggest someone, just review the criteria and submit your nomination with an explanation of why your nominee deserves recognition from industry peers.



At the conclusion of the nominations phase, we will review the submissions to ensure their compliance with the criteria and then invite you to cast your vote on the finalists from May 3 through May 17.

We'll reveal the winners at the BizBash Celebrates Toronto Events cocktail reception at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts on May 22. All information for the nominations and voting portions of these awards, as well as category descriptions and nominations criteria, can be found here:

http://www.bizbash.com/torontovotes
Today we're opening up the nominations for the first-annual BizBash Toronto Readers' Choice Awards. The awards are an opportunity for event professionals in Toronto to honor their colleagues, bosses, employees, vendors, and clients, highlighting the work of individuals in 12 separate categories, including the newly added Fund-Raising Event Planner of the Year. Other categories include Corporate Event Planner of the Year, Event Producer of the Year, and Association Event Planner of the Year.

Starting today and running through Wednesday, April 4, we will accept nominations in all categories. To suggest someone, just review the criteria and submit your nomination with an explanation of why your nominee deserves recognition from industry peers.

At the conclusion of the nominations phase, we will review the submissions to ensure their compliance with the criteria and then invite you to cast your vote on the finalists from May 3 through May 17.

We'll reveal the winners at the BizBash Celebrates Toronto Events cocktail reception at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts on May 22. All information for the nominations and voting portions of these awards, as well as category descriptions and nominations criteria, can be found here:
http://www.bizbash.com/torontovotes