Producer at Bell Canada's Gala Acts as "Part Showman, Part Technologist"

After completely redesigning the Bell Ball last year, Bell Canada aimed to push the boundaries of its annual gala fund-raiser yet again on Thursday night. Held in support of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the gala drew 2,000 guests to the Direct Energy Centre and raised $1.5 million. Sticking with last year's overarching concept of “One Night Under a Blue Sky,” this year's event had the surreal theme "Aurora: Dream Machine."

Bell tapped Circo de Bakuza to create the experience again this year. “I think there’s a new breed of event person. He has to be part showman and part technologist,” said Rick Seifeddine, senior vice president of brand strategy at Bell Canada. He looked to the team at Circo de Bakuza to play both roles.

“We created a whole [new] kind of universe,” said Vincent Drolet, president at Circo. A surreal vehicle called "the Dream Machine" anchored the reception space. As the cocktail hour wore on, performers began building the machine with cogs they found scattered in the space. Once the machine was complete, an actor playing "the dreamer" hopped aboard the unusual vehicle and drove it into the dining room, encouraging guests to follow him. The machine passed through the dining area to a backstage space. An animated version of the dream machine was then projected onto the six screens surrounding the dinner tables.

Along with unusual decor, the Circo team aimed to revamp the dining experience. “We wanted to change up the experience [of a typical gala dinner],” said Drolet, who wanted the meal to feel more like a dinner with friends. When purchasing tickets, guests could sit at one of four areas, each served by a different local chef. The atmosphere was flexible, with harvest tables seating groups of four to 20. During the meal, guests could get up to mingle, get a drink from one of the many bars, and sample hors d’oeuvres from any of the chefs.

Onstage performers participated in dreamy sequence scenes, which included a bathtub-bound actor and an assemblage of balloons and drapes.

Photo: Courtesy of Bell

Bell's signature blue and white colors filled the entryway of the gala.

Photo: Courtesy of Bell

Vincent Drolet of Circo de Bakuza wanted to create a buffer zone between the real world and the event's surreal setting. At the entrance, guests walked through a curtain and were greeted with a projection of an eye that opened and closed. "We wanted to give them the feeling of walking into a cloud," said Drolet.

Photo: Courtesy of Bell

In the main event space, blue balls hung from the ceiling and checkerboard-patterned lights illuminated the floor. Projections of windows lined the room, and the "Dream Machine" anchored the centre of the space.

Photo: Courtesy of Bell

Within the projected windowpanes, images of floating people, hot air balloons, and bicycle wheels drifted past.

Photo: Courtesy of Bell

Lounge areas held eclectic items like umbrellas, rubber ducks, and tennis rackets framed in gold. Once the reception was underway, performers grabbed scattered cogs and brought them over to the Dream Machine.

Photo: Courtesy of Bell

To lead the guests from the cocktail space into the dining room, a band followed the roving Dream Machine.

Photo: Courtesy of Bell

An actor playing the dreamer drove the Dream Machine, which, at one point, sprouted kites.

Photo: Courtesy of Bell

Harvest tables with seats for four to 20 filled the dining room. Six screens hung in the space.

Photo: Courtesy of Bell

Chefs Lynn Crawford, David Lee, Lorenzo Loseto, and Jaimie Kennedy each designed a menu for the evening and served certain tables. Guests got to choose which chef's menu they wanted when purchasing their tickets. Each chef worked in an open kitchen station.

Photo: Courtesy of Bell