Back with the MAC Ball and cancer centre benefit
And we’re back, Noties, with all kinds of good social for the fall season, which is shaping up to be one of our best yet. Course it is. Let’s get this party started!
MAC BALL TAKES IT OVER THE TOP — AND OVER THAT TOP
For the past several years, I’ve had the distinct pleasure of covering the MAC Ball, the biggest fundraising event for our cultural bijou Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, and each year I’ve watched it evolve into more of the sought-after spectacular it is today.
In fact, at this year’s event, one of the ball’s repeat guests from Toronto, über-developer David Daniels (who attended festivities with beautiful producer wife Kate Alexander Daniels), corroborated same when he couldn’t say enough about the annual dazzler. He called it one of his faves, a must-attend that never ceases to inspire with its one-of-a-kind magic and allure.
Hmmm — gotta love that brand of fête feedback from a discriminating Torontonian who sees his fair share of impressive events the world over.
Just what made the 2017 edition at TOHU — organized by devoted committee members Sophie Banford, Ruby Brown, Violette Cohen, Nathalie Goyette, Stéphanie Larivière, Josée Noiseux, Jean-Philippe Shoiry, Marie-Josée Simard, Nicolas Urli, Debbie Zakaib and the foundation’s assistant director Daniele Patenaude, communications director Anne-Marie Barnard and co-ordinator Marie Samuel Levasseur — so irresistible?
Success is in the details: Let’s start with the signature artistry that permeated every wellorchestrated moment of the Libertés!-themed night, masterminded by the visionary magicmakers at Cirque du Soleil event management arm 45 Degrees. It ranged from dancers in moodily lit cages (who eventually erupted onto the scene with a captivating performance), to the stunning cubist-chic arrangement of dining room tables, to the genius presentation of the multi-course meal — so esthetically riveting that consumption seemed akin to an act of creative destruction! The mises-en-bouches and main meal, prepped by superchef/ caterer Marc-André Jetté, with dessert by sweets aficionado Patrice Pâtissier, were as pleasing to palates as they were to peepers.
(Sm)art touch: Majestic artistry was also very much in evidence in the glorious array of works generously donated for auction by revered artists like Françoise Sullivan — which, predictably, were immensely popular, helping to generate more funds for the foundation.
Fashion as it should be: Et bien sûr, fashion was once again a huge part of the MAC experience, with each committee member commissioning a Montreal designer to create her entrancemaker. Highlights were Debbie Zakaib in Frédéric Joncas; Josée Noiseux in UNTTLD; Ruby Brown, Violette Cohen and Nathalie Goyette in Xavier Laruelle, Stéphanie Larivière in DUY and
Marie-Josée Simard in Denis Gagnon. (Yes, the other attending guests were fabulish, too!)
The right kind of beats: As astutely noted by co-president of honour Mitch Garber (with legal eagle wife Anne-Marie Boucher), “Good tunes add much to a partyscape!” Accordingly, the MAC made sure to have beatmasters like DJs Thomas H and Stéphane Cocke in the house. They provoked a flurry of enthusiastic dancercise, keeping guests active and happy well into the late hours. The ultimate party perfecters:
Finally, while good (ahem, nextlevel) ambience, entertainment, food, fashion, auctions and music are essential to the production of an A-list event, no party can achieve top-tier status without an interesting and first-rate guest list.
Well, mission accomplished — make that exceeded — once again at the MAC. Movers and groovers from multifarious arenas of accomplishment heeded the call in their noir-est finery, as per the invites from the prestigious host presidents — foundation board president François Dufresne; committee president/board member Josée Noiseux; board chair, managing partner, XPND Capital Alexandre Taillefer; and museum director/chief curator John Zeppetelli.
Among said numerous notables were co-presidents of honour Canadiens and Evenko executive vice-president France Margaret Bélanger, National Bank Financial mega-exec Yanick Blanchard and aforementioned Cirque du Soleil chair Mitch Garber, as well as myriad other influentials, including Claudine Bronfman, co-president of the Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Family Foundation, and husband, businessman/philanthropist Stephen Bronfman; Mélanie Joly, minister of Canadian heritage; Martin Coiteux, minister of municipal affairs and land occupancy, with elegant wife Monica Navarro; Pierre Karl Péladeau, president/ CEO of Québecor; Robert Kory, manager of the late and beyond great Leonard Cohen; Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin; Dragon and jools mogulette Caroline Néron and entrepreneur husband Réal Bouclin; former Olympian Bruny Surin with wife Bianelle Legros; actress/producer Julie Snyder; entrepreneur extraordinaire Danièle Henkel, with husband and fellow entrepreneur Michael Teitelbaum; François de Gaspé Beaubien, of the de Gaspé Beaubien foundation; media power duo Sophie Durocher and Richard Martineau; the Birks brigade VP brand and CMO Eva Hartling and brand maestro Francis Guindon with Antonopoulos Group finance wizard Anna Antonopoulos and Real Housewives of Toronto’s Grégoriane Minot Payeur; celeb real estate broker Tatiana Londono with husband, music mogul/restaurateur David Alter; actress/personality Julie du Page with husband, Dazmo exec Andrew Lapierre; and many more. Tall tally: The sold-out soirée raised a spine-tingling half a million plus — funds that are integral to the evolution and flourishing of this precious cultural jewel. Swish swag: Oops — couldn’t move on without a quick nod to the fine swag sponsored by Yves Saint Laurent Beauté and Médime. Another well-done deet! Go MAC.
AN EVENT WORTH TAKING A GAMBLE ON
We skip now to the muchanticipated sixth Casino contre le cancer, proudly presented by Miltenyi Biotec. The city’s young urban change-makers showed up in their party best to support the noble agenda of beneficiary Institut du cancer de Montréal in its purchase of state-of-the-art equipment that is instrumental to immunotherapy-based cancer research. (For those unfamiliar with the non-profit, it is part of Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal.) The where: Held this year at happening New City Gas, the popular benefit event kicked off with a stylish VIP cocktail for 300, patronized by the celeb likes of host Rebecca Makonnen, Tout le monde en parle’s Guy A. Lepage, singer-songwriter Louis-Jean Cormier and humorists Jean-Thomas Jobin and Bruno Landry. That was followed by a stunning VIP souper created specially for the night by Hakim Chajar and Agnus Dei with wine pairings by the SAQ, entertainment and, of course, the simultaneous VIP poker tournament. The latter featured pro player, WSOP champion and event spokesperson Jonathan Duhamel, and offered winners the enviable chance to experience an exclusive VIP evening at Casino de Montréal and to compete for the final table and jackpot. The sizzle!: From there, it was big-time party time at 9 p.m., as doors opened on the rest of the evening (and morning!) for the hundreds of other sartorially savvy supporters who poured in for that portion, officially called Soirée Casino. The sazzle!: Round 2 continued to rivet with still more gaming tables, mouth-watering culinary stops, open bar, musical entertainment by Sandy Duperval, Tony Almonte and Baratanga, as well as a raffle draw and awesome auction. The finale: Congrats to the dream team, including the Young Ambassadors Circle, who planned straight from the heart and worked relentlessly to help raise over $110,000 for vital research: Alexandre Meterissian, Amélie Jacques, Arnaud Bellens, Frédéric-André Vennat, Isabelle Laramée, Jean-François Cailhier, Aymeric Freymond, Benoit Depardon, Carlee Bartholomew, Julien Ciari, Josiane Noiseux, Ludovic Dumas, Catherine Simard, Christine Sauro, Christopher Karambatsos, Marie-Pierre Podtetenev, Nicolas Gaboury, Nicolas Renaud, Daniel Forman, Francis Vinet, Georges Achkar, Saalim Shaikh, Shiv Oberoi, Shoushan Mercier and Stephanie Pagé. Bravo!
Later, loves. Glad we’re back together.
For more party pics from these supersize events and others, drop in on diaryofasocialgal.com, where it’s all party, all the time.