With the date of the opening night party for Canada Blooms: The Toronto Flower & Garden Festival falling on St. Patrick's Day this year, organizers didn't have to look far for a theme. "The theme is Green on Green. It was easy," said artistic director Colomba Fuller. "It's a St. Patrick's Day celebration." The cocktail party for 1,000 guests took place on a six-acre site inside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre's south building on Tuesday.
Due to the number of floral displays throughout the show floor, Fuller chose to focus on entertainment rather than decor to set the tone for the evening, presented by Sobeys and RBC. "Like the other years, we don't do much decorating because everything is done," said Fuller, who topped tables with floating candles inside glass vases filled with varying shades of green water. The Deborah Quigley Trio played outside the main doors as guests arrived and harpist Eithne Heffernan and Irish spoken word artist Jonathan Lynn entertained guests during a V.I.P. reception.
Dancers from the Gilchrist School of Irish Dancing led a St. Patrick's Day parade through the landscaped displays, ending at the celebrity stage where host Susan Hay of Global television conducted the opening ceremonies with Ontario's Lieutenant Governor David Onley—who cut a green ribbon to officially open the show. Girls wearing sparkling green dresses and children dressed as leprechauns added to the Irish theme on the stage.
Fiddler and stepdancer Miranda Mulholland performed while guests dined on a buffet dinner. Cocktail tables were set up throughout the floor near the 12 bars and 12 food stations, catered by the venue. "The food is scattered all over," said Fuller, who opted to offer international dishes rather than traditional Irish fare. "We have a lot of oysters this year, and we will have green beer, of course," she said.
The Irish band Finnigan took to the stage for two hours of dancing at 10 p.m. Event sponsor Tourism Ireland handed out samples of shamrock soil to guests at the end of the evening. Additional sponsors included the Home Depot, Miracle-Gro, Ontario, the Canadian Cancer Society, the CN Tower, Chapters/Indigo, Epic Plants, Grey Power, Häagen-Dazs, Schick Intuition Plus, Pick Ontario, and Via Rail Canada. Canada Blooms continues until Sunday.
