With taglines like "Where Nautical Gets Naughty" (a phrase used to promote 2008's Hello Sailor-themed fund-raiser) and "Glamour Goes Underground" (a descriptor for this year's Prohibition-themed party), Rethink Breast Cancer has developed a reputation for throwing somewhat cheeky fund-raisers. Thursday's Rethink Romp on the sixth floor of the Burroughes Building on Queen Street West was no exception.
"We're trying to get young people's attention, so we like to be a little tongue in cheek just to stand out and get people to start thinking about being breast aware," said Lindsay Grange, Rethink's manager of special events, who credits the 25-person volunteer committee with developing colorful themes each year. "We do a lot of brainstorming. Someone mentioned [Prohibition] and we just really ran with it. It seems to fit in with the times right now, and people have really embraced it. It's definitely a different feel from our Hello Sailor event last year."
The Prohibition theme was evident from the moment guests arrived. Attendees received a booklet entitled, Speak Easy: A Saucy 1920's Phrasebook—which included two free drink tickets and translations for sayings like "How's the wife?" (Any rust on the ol' ball and chain?) and "I find you very attractive" (You're a hard-boiled daddy, just the way I like 'em)—at the entrance. Signage around the sixth floor event space, used to attract guests to the various installations, followed a similar theme. The sign above a makeup station by Joe Fresh read "Let's Doll up These Dames" and signs above the bar (constructed out of old milk crates from Made) read "Buy a Skirt a Drink."
Grange used minimal decor throughout the space, but furnished a V.I.P. area with the plush red and gold furnishings used in the photography that appeared on the event Web site and on the invitations—both of which were designed by Bensimon Byrne. The theme continued in a small marketplace where the men could buy fedoras and women could purchase strands of pearls and feather hairpieces supplied by the Economy Store and Frankly Fig. "We're selling a lot of 1920's-themed add-ons for people who don't come fully dressed," Grange said.
Rethink also worked with event sponsors such as Telus and Schick Quattro for Women to create a series of interactive stations for the 500 guests—an element that's become a trademark at Rethink events. "Telus is doing a gaming area with roulette and blackjack; Joe Fresh will be doing touch ups; Coupe Bizzarre will have a hair salon; and Gibson is doing a photo booth with a vintage piano—Fashion Crimes will be styling that area," Grange said.
Event guests will have the opportunity to bid on items like four V.I.P. seats to see a taping of The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos and tickets to the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario, as part of an online auction on eBay that began June 4 and continues until the 18th. "We've been doing online auctions for the past couple of years. It's always a toss up," Grange said. "An online auction is open to all of our supporters [not just those who attend the event]."
