Gibson reported that organizers were notified at noon on Wednesday that Chenoweth was ill and wouldn’t be able to perform. About six hours later, they secured Feist for the event. “It’s my favourite event of the whole year,” Gibson said. “It’s a performance on the street. It’s joyous, and it’s our one public performance each year.”

Although event committee members knew they had some financial challenges due to the economy, Laura Dal Bo, the foundation's executive director, said, "they just made a commitment to really ensure the Venetian Ball didn't suffer this year." Dal Bo worked with event co-chairs James Di Luca and Steven Muzzo to create the theme for this year's gala, which drew a crowd of more than 1,500 guests—up from 800 in 2008.

"We wanted it to be fresh, sparkly, and clean. There are no programs on the tables, no gifting, not a lot of flowers. Really what we've done is we've created a television show within a hotel ballroom," said Rosen who called on Gary Topp of Toppnotch Services Inc. to produce the event. The company constructed a stage and dance floor for the competition and worked with Metalworks Productions Inc. on the audiovisual and lighting for the event. "The whole idea is sparkle. When the lights go, it's going to be wild," Rosen said.

Product displays surrounded the room, and a long table topped with jewelry, dark red roses, black candelabra, and black feathers sat in the centre of the space. “It’s very important for us to have a look for our brand. It’s important that the audience gets to know about the world of Thomas Sabo,” said international PR manager Sonja Opel. "The new sterling silver collection for fall/winter is very dark. The inspiration is the theatre and the stage, so we have created atmosphere and played with the lighting."

"We wanted to bring back the carefree excitement and exuberance of the Roaring Twenties," O'Brien said. "We went to the Design Agency and asked them to incorporate the 1920s feel into a modern environment. We're trying to marry the old Art Deco lines with more contemporary materials."

The proposed project, which will go to city council for approval in December, will have a ballroom, library, meeting rooms, and a spa. The venue will include underground parking for 400 vehicles, and will be built according to the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver rating design standard. The hotel is slated for completion in 2013.

Owners Harpreet and Ginni Sethi of Priyance Hospitality broke ground on the property, designed by Desmond Silveira Design Ltd., in 2005. Crown moulding, crystal chandeliers, dark woods, and a mix of Asian and Victorian furniture fill the public areas, event and meeting spaces, and the guest rooms.

Koerner Hall, which opened with a concert Friday, features a layered wood veil that forms a floating ceiling canopy above the orchestra. The hall is suitable for music and spoken-word events such as lectures and conferences. The space holds 1,140 in a theatre-style set up, 117 for a reception on the stage, and 100 for dinner.

1. Open since July, Nadège Patisserie is a traditional French pastry shop owned by Nadège Nourian and her partner, Morgan McHugh. The patisserie specializes in miniature cakes, known as the couture collection. The cake at the forefront of this fall's collection is La Veuve—a mousse made with Veuve Clicquot Rosé Champagne and wild strawberry coulis. Additional flavours include the Marie Antoinette, made with maple syrup, vanilla, and macaroons; and the Marie Galante, made with pineapple and rum. Nadège also provides a selection of macaroons, marshmallows, and a variety of savoury mini sandwiches served on croissants. Gift baskets will be available in the coming months.

1. Founded this summer by Candice Chan, a former brand director for the Toronto-based chain of RK stores, and Alison Slight, a former general manager of Dubai-based event agency Platinum, Candice&Alison has an emphasis on the fashion and arts scene. The firm a range of design and production services geared towards retailers, designers, and corporate clients for events like product launches, runway shows, galas, and exhibits.

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.

In Toronto, more than 120 riders gathered at the northwest corner of Queen and Bay streets for the public launch of the two-day ride in support of the Campbell Family Institute at Princess Margaret Hospital. The cyclists made a visual statement by raising their bikes overhead in unison for 60 seconds—a gesture meant to reflect the "Strength in Numbers" motto for the event, which takes place here on June 12 and 13.

The evening includes an event dubbed LG Cinematic Style, which will feature the launch of a new SL80 television at the LG booth in the Fashion Environment. Guests will then watch a presentation offering a retrospective look at the 100-year history of L'Oréal Paris, followed by a Shakespearean-themed runway collection presented by the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. "The Stratford Festival archives have been turned into current looks...fashion is not original, it’s us that change," F.D.C.C. president Robin Kay said in a recent interview.

The two-acre site near King and Shaw streets has also enabled organizers to expand the event by 400 seats. "We were at capacity at Nathan Phillips. We had to turn people away. We have 1,000 seats here," she said. "The Fashion Environment where everyone goes to mingle is about 4,000 square feet larger, too."