Trying to squeeze in a dinner reservation before catching a show can make for a bit of a rush, especially on a week night. So when organizers of the third annual "One Night Live" benefit in support of the Sunnybrook Foundation decided to hold an off-site dinner for 300 guests prior to Thursday's concert at the Air Canada Centre, they knew the logistics would present a challenge. With celebrity chef Mark McEwan set to serve a three-course meal at the Fermenting Cellar to guests at 5 p.m. and concert host Chris Noth ready to take the stage several blocks away at the A.C.C. at 7:30 p.m.—timing was everything.
"We are serving a full dinner to a crowd of people. We have to work hard to get them out of their offices, over here, and then get them back over to the A.C.C. for a 7:30 p.m. start. We'll do it. The team is up to it," Kevin Goldthorp, C.E.O. of the Sunnybrook Foundation, said in an interview just prior to the dinner. "We have special limo buses [from BookMeALimo.com] transporting people. We were really clear to everyone that they have dinner reservations waiting for them and we will take them over to the A.C.C. They will not be late."
In 2008, organizers held the V.I.P. dinner in the A.C.C.'s Platinum Club and a preshow reception at the nearby Fairmont Royal York Hotel. This year, the foundation chose to host the dinner in the Distillery District and the cocktail party at the Westin Harbour Castle on Queens Quay. "Our whole strategy is to create a unique experience, so to be unique we had to change our location," Goldthorp said. "The whole 'One Night Live' concept is something that you can not get anywhere else, and so the Fermenting Cellar is part of that experience."
Goldthorp worked alongside Jessica Diniz, director of corporate sponsorship and events at the Sunnybrook Foundation, to plan the event in conjunction with a volunteer committee and Jamie Lamont of One to One Communications. Organizers decided on a purple and silver colour palette—accented with zebra-print carpets from Contemporary Furniture Rentals—for the V.I.P. dinner, which included a surprise performance by the Canadian Tenors. "I think our dress code says it all, it's concert chic. We're trying to create a venue that is full of the sparkle and excitement that speaks to the entertainment industry," Goldthorp said.
McEwan (of North 44 and One Restaurant) catered the dinner while filming an episode of his HGTV program The Heat. He served chicken noodle soup with parsley pappardelle and heirloom carrots followed by braised short ribs with sweet pea morel risotto, roasted ramps, and fiddleheads in a natural reduction. Guests dined on rhubarb tarts with toasted rosemary ice cream for dessert.
For the reception at the Westin Harbour Castle, located just two blocks from the A.C.C., organizers created a nightclub feel for the 1,000 guests who purchased the silver ticket package for the event. Red and gold decor filled the Frontenac Ballroom. A square red bar topped with four oversize red urns filled with palms sat in the centre of the room, and servers at four food stations offered items like individual macaroni and cheese with aged sharp cheddar, crispy kettle chips served in martini glasses, and salt-crusted mini russet potatoes. In the foyer, photographer Ryan Faubert of Rynopolis Studios snapped photos of guests at a photo booth sponsored by Toronto Life. The take-home images, printed at the event, replicated the cover of the magazine.
S.L. Feldman & Associates produced the concert and served as the liaison with the talent, Goldthorp said, noting that the volunteer executive committee chose the evening's lineup. "There are a whole group of people who are advising us on our talent, and we have a very clear target market in mind, we know what the skew of the audience is," he said. "Generally we're looking for the female between 40 and 60. Chris Noth does that for us, so do Sheryl Crow and Sting."
Goldthorp reported that ticket sales reached the mark set last year. "We're coming right up to where we were last year, over 11,000 and counting. As is common in the entertainment industry right now, given the economy, there are a lot of last-minute purchasers. The last two weeks of sales have been extraordinary and we are getting incredible volume today," he said.
Event sponsors included SunLife Financial, Aquafina Plus, Astral Media Outdoor, Bassett Media Group, Biotherm, BMO Financial Group, Canon, CityTV, Fasken Martineau, Omni, OneStop, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Rexall, The Globe and Mail, Toronto Life, Wellington Financial, and 98.1 CHFI.
