Mood Lighting

The buzz around the upcoming Sex and the City movie helped Helen Taylor, a manager at the Canadian Cancer Society, come up with the New York City theme for the organization's eighth annual Toast fund-raiser. "We knew everyone would be excited about the movie, so we decided to ride that wave of excitement," said Taylor, who worked with an 11-person volunteer committee on the event.

To create atmosphere in the Fermenting Cellar, the lighting company Visual FX Inc. projected images of a New York skyline onto three of the walls. Blue spotlights helped draw attention to the projections, which provided the background for companies like Oyster Boy and Steam Whistle to serve food and drinks to close to 350 guests.Along with the lighting, busker-style singers and an illusionist helped carry out the theme. A gallery-style photo setup of an exhibition called "Cancer Connection," launching May 20 at Nathan Phillips Square, added to the decor. Guests received Mr. Big chocolate bars as they left, a more pointed nod at the Carrie Bradshaw-and-gang flick coming out at the end of the month.