Thanks for hosting
The events of 2016 have a high bar to live up to
What a year it’s been! There were so many great reasons to put on our fancy frocks and dancing shoes! We have had a ball, both literally and figuratively, and here is a reminder of what makes this city so fantastic.
Best House Party: Grand Cru Culinary Wine Festival What is a surefire sign that a dinner is going to turn into a proper up-late-intothe wee hours of the morning kind of party? When you are a patron of the Grand Cru Culinary Wine Festival presented by BMO Wealth Management. The 11th annual brouhaha, which spanned three delicious nights, included the Grand Cru Live Auction, the Grand Cru Exclusive Wine and Dine experience, topped off with the Grand Cru Appreciation party. With co-chairs Todd Halpern and Cheryl McEwen at the helm, it’s no wonder this fabulous fundraiser banked more than $3 million dollars for McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine at UHN. Most Patriotic: True Patriot Love One of the highlights of the year is the True Patriot Love Toronto Tribute Dinner. The seventh annual extravaganza was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, with all the pomp and circumstance we have come to expect. The event, with support from the Presenting Sponsor, Bell Canada, is dedicated to raising funds to support military programs and organizations across Canada. Bring Haute to a New Level! Haute Health Well, there is certainly something about Mary! 2015 Haute Health charity fundraiser and luncheon had all the ladies who lunch in a tizzy as they took in a fashion show by Mary Katrantzou. The Grecian goddess is known for her wild and wonderful digital print patterns, a fusion of style and substance. Top shoppers sipped on champagne and chatted with the gracious designer. The intimate fete was the talk of the town — as this was one highly coveted invite. Best First Outing: Sky’s The Limit Fabulous Integral House set the scene for the War Child fundraiser called the Sky’s the Limit to benefit war-affected children and families. The event committee that included Rosario Cartagena, Karim Kanji, Halla Rafati, Maryam Mansouri, Jenny Jing Wang and others … at $1,000 per VIP ticket, guests were invited to meet and greet activist/singer Chantal Kreviazuk and raise loads of money for a great cause. Best Field Trip: Drake Devonshire Eclectic and beyond expectation was how the fieldtrip to the Drake Devonshire Inn would be described. Already winning accolades and awards galore, the curiosity of resident-hipsters had been peaked! Fashion crowd kids, musicians, actors, producers and TV hosts to bloggers, media, architects, designers and business execs all hopped on coach buses to come spend the afternoon and evening at the sprawling country Inn, otherwise knows at the “Drake-by-the-Lake.” There is only one Karl Lagerfeld … Art Shoppe Lofts and Condos In a city that has an overflowing condo market — how do you set your project apart from the others? Well, you invite the iconic Karl Lagerfeld to design your lobby, of course! It’s rare that you would have more than 1,000 scenesters, clamouring to get into a party at a presentation centre at Yonge and Eglinton, (complete with a red carpet and paparazzi) but this launch event for the Art Shoppe Lofts and Condos was clearly not any ordinary launch. Coolest Event of the Year: Shantell Martin for Saks Toronto’s cool brigade styled themselves in black and white to check out the artistic stylings of New York based visual artist Shantell Martin, who has been featured in Vogue, T Magazine, The New Yorker, to name a few. Cultural tastemakers came out to a speakeasy location in the city’s east end to experience a floor to ceiling black and white installation which paid homage to Toronto’s unique neighbourhoods and landmarks. To be sure — this was one of the coolest events of the year, which set the twittersphere on fire! Best Flow: Waterkeeper Gala It was over to the CBC for the Waterkeeper Gala where this year’s event made a massive splash. The
fab crowd was a sea of do-gooders meets a who’s who of the art scene; the likes of Tom Hopkins, Edward Burtynsky, Barbara Cole and Robert Polidori along with fellow Canadian superstars like Giller Prize winner Joseph Boyden and of course the Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie who has been front and centre at this event since its inception. When it comes to water — The Waterkeeper Gala has become the gold-standard for both fundraising and awareness of this precious resource. They’ve raised $1.3 million since 2012 and recently expanded to Vancouver. All proceeds support swimmable, drinkable, fishable water. Talk about going with the flow! Best Brain Bash: Pencer Brain Trust It wasn’t just the corseted gal perched on a gigantic ring in thin air as guests arrived in the circular drive (while pouring champagne, of course) that had people talking at the annual Pencer Brain Trust bash. David and Stacey Cynamon, threw open the doors of their Forest Hill home, for the jam-packed party full of do- gooders. Over the past 14 years, a net total in excess of $ 7.3 million has been raised to help brain tumour patients and families at The Pencer Centre. Talk about raising a little health.
Raising the Roof: Joe Carter Classic It was a hip- hop- hooray kind of night as hundreds of guests packed the third floor of the Shangri-La Hotel Toronto for the Joe Carter Classic After-Party, featuring raise-the-roof performances by Maestro Fresh-Wes and Snoop Dogg. If the lineup that snaked through the driveway and along Adelaide Street was any indication, it was a hot ticket — maybe the hottest of the season! Proceeds from the event went toward supporting disadvantaged Canadian youth.
Biggest Bang: Luminato Big Bang Bash It’s hard to out- do yourself when you hit event perfection but Jorn Weisbrodt and Luminato did it again! The Hearn Generating Station set the edgy stage for the Big Bang Bash, where philanthropists and the too- cool- for- school set wandered through an other worldly environment like no other. You would have to see it when you believe it.
Most Glamorous Affair: Mad Hot Ballet When I heard that MAC founder Frank Toskan and his partner Darren Zakreski would be co- chairing the Mad Hot Ballet: Lost in Venice, I knew that the must-attend affair would be madder and hotter than ever. Patrons were greeted by larger- than- life stilt walkers and cloaked men in Venetian masks. Oooh, the mystery of it all! After the red carpet entrances were made and photos were taken, guests entered the Isadore and Rosalie Sharp City Room, and jaws dropped when they saw the centrepiece on display — a larger than life golden birdcage featuring masked performers, while costumed greeters circulated through the crowd. It was as though we had entered a fairy- tale world that was as imaginative as it was unexpected. And talk about getting your hands dirty — Frank and Darren busied themselves with styling every last detail. A Most Fashionable Lunch: Lunching at the Shangri- La When word got out that it was time for the highly anticipated annual Shangri-La Fashion luncheon, the most gorgeous and glamorous Toronto fashion plates came running to see the spring/summer 2015 collection by Lucian Matis ... well, running as fast as they could in their stilettos! While the Lobby Lounge at the Shang has become THE place to be after-dark — this party got started much earlier with champagne cocktails and a gorgeous luncheon prepared by chef Damon Campbell.
Margaret Invites George to Dinner The dramatic sculptural staircase and 40-foot glass ceilings of historic Walker Court at the Art Gallery of Ontario was the perfect venue was a wonderful start to the fifth annual George Invites Margaret to dinner. Once again, Lisa and George Corbo of Yorkville’s luxe George C boutique hosted glamorous guests with a presentation of Los Angeles-based designer Zaid Affas’s S/S16 ready- to- wear collection, which was seen for the first time ever. All money raised will go to the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation’s BELIEVE IT Billion Dollar Challenge.
Best Summer Soiree: Amber White Party It’s one of the summer season’s hottest tickets and this year’s Amber White Garden Party brought out all of Toronto’s beautiful people. Models and muses pulled out all the stops with white peek-a-boo dresses and barely-there skirts. I had the pleasure of co-hosting the 13th annual soiree along with Toufik Sarwa, who transformed his fashionable whitewashed patio into a lush green garden, complete with wild vines and ornaments made of grass hanging overhead, among the twinkling lights. Bright lights and very late nights!
Let’s Hear it for the Boys! The Holt Renfrew Men Salon Speakers Series is fashion at its brightest. The series was created to feature a curation of the world’s leading power-brokers and bright lights for captivating conversations on business, politics and culture. HR honcho Mark Derbyshire has welcomed thought leaders such as philosopher Alain de Botton, political spin doctor James Carville, historian Niall Ferguson and journalist Fareed Zakaria.