From actors and musicians to current and former professional athletes, the stars showed up in force at Bell Canada's Bell Celebrity Gala to help raise money for the Hospital for Sick Children. In all, more than 200 celebrities—including Eric Peterson and Gabrielle Miller from the sitcom Corner Gas, members of the band Barenaked Ladies, and Olympic gold-medal-winning speed skater Catriona LeMay Doan—put in appearances at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for the 14th annual event, which also drew more than 2,000 hospital supporters at $600 per ticket.
The large turnout of famous faces is what gives this gala its cachet. But Bell takes pains to ensure that the decor is impressive as well. This year, the company's director of national events, Patricia Lakin, worked with the Aragon Group and Solutions With Impact to design a fun 60's look. Paolo Pasquini, Bell's associate director of media relations, said organizers picked the 1960's as the decor premise because the decade invokes the notions of inspired change and possibility. "Bell has entered into a new partnership with Sick Kids with the goal of raising $10 million in five years, and we felt using this theme for the party would be a great way to start the relationship."
To enter the event space, guests had to pass through a fake time machine. On the other side, they found period vignettes, such as one that featured an Apollo-style rocket, a spacewalking astronaut, and several planets. Other decor highlights included colourful bead treatments hung from the ceiling, and a full-size tour bus inscribed "Diana Ross and the Supremes." (No, the legendary Motown diva didn't perform; she was present in spirit only. Each table had a lit acrylic centerpiece with printed black-and-white images of the group on the sides and a wrap of red and yellow roses around its base.)
The large stage included a runway for a fashion show by designers Wayne Clark and Dolce & Gabbana, which was part of the post-dinner entertainment. Mandell Entertainment Group provided a stage backdrop lit with 60's-era colour patterns that changed throughout the evening. The event concluded with performances by several musical acts, including Liberty Silver and the Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards.
The large turnout of famous faces is what gives this gala its cachet. But Bell takes pains to ensure that the decor is impressive as well. This year, the company's director of national events, Patricia Lakin, worked with the Aragon Group and Solutions With Impact to design a fun 60's look. Paolo Pasquini, Bell's associate director of media relations, said organizers picked the 1960's as the decor premise because the decade invokes the notions of inspired change and possibility. "Bell has entered into a new partnership with Sick Kids with the goal of raising $10 million in five years, and we felt using this theme for the party would be a great way to start the relationship."
To enter the event space, guests had to pass through a fake time machine. On the other side, they found period vignettes, such as one that featured an Apollo-style rocket, a spacewalking astronaut, and several planets. Other decor highlights included colourful bead treatments hung from the ceiling, and a full-size tour bus inscribed "Diana Ross and the Supremes." (No, the legendary Motown diva didn't perform; she was present in spirit only. Each table had a lit acrylic centerpiece with printed black-and-white images of the group on the sides and a wrap of red and yellow roses around its base.)
The large stage included a runway for a fashion show by designers Wayne Clark and Dolce & Gabbana, which was part of the post-dinner entertainment. Mandell Entertainment Group provided a stage backdrop lit with 60's-era colour patterns that changed throughout the evening. The event concluded with performances by several musical acts, including Liberty Silver and the Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards.
Colourful strung beads and a space vignette featuring an Apollo-style rocket, both from the Aragon Group, were among the decor elements that created a 60's vibe at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for the Bell Celebrity Gala.
A costumed model from Monarch Events Group posed by a tour bus inscribed "Diana Ross and the Supremes."
Mandell Entertainment Group lit the stage with bright colours and psychedelic patterns meant to suggest the 60's.
Roses decorated the base of acrylic centerpieces from the Aragon Group that featured images of Diana Ross and the Supremes.
