Making it’s North American debut right here in Toronto, TIFF Bell Lightbox’s exciting exhibition just opened to the public! What’s not to love about the world’s most famous secret agent exuding British flair, martinis, fast cars, gadgets, action and the Bond girls.

To celebrate 50 years of Bond style, TIFF rolled out the red carpet for an evening of adventure and intrigue at the James Bond opening night party. Passports were given out to each guest with the mission of reaching each checkpoint. Live performances included the one and only Sheena Easton singing “For Your Eyes Only” followed by a great live band, “The Big Sound”, that captivated the crowd on the ground floor and rang through the rest of the floors with classic James Bond theme songs. There was also a casino room, martinis (of course), and the various James Bond exhibits available for viewing.

Our favourite feature was the Kobo Ice lounge giving out snow cones with your personal choice of liquor. We tried a similar gin-flavoured ice in a cup at the recent Eat to the Beat, but now this is in snow-cone form! There was so much to enjoy with so little time. For the latter part of the night, the party happened to be at the TIFF Bell Lightbox’s loading dock where there was a bar, DJ and a Parts and Labour catering truck allowing you to hop on board and enjoy oysters. Different but great!

This new must-see exhibition now at TIFF Bell Lightbox, “Designing 007: 50 Years of Bond Style” at TIFF Bell Lightbox features a treasure trove of James Bond memorabilia from Dr. No to the latest upcoming film, Skyfall. For more information visit tiff.net/bond and also CBC’s detailed article about the exhibition here.

Art installation from the new James Bond Exhibition, Designing 007

Art installation from the new James Bond Exhibition, Designing 007

Well played, Spiro!

Here are some of our favourite tweets from the night

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Eat to the Beat
Panda Ball for the World Wildlife Fund

Nick Lee

Editor and Photos at BestOfToronto.net