Display Comb 4

/ featured media, post meta, title, read more link and full content

Anne-Marie Mediwake, CBC
Anne-Marie Mediwake, CBC

Anne-Marie Mediwake, CBC

AWHL-BestofToronto-007

For over 25 years, the AWHL (Assaulted Women’s Helpline) has strived to provide completely free 24/7 support to women who have been assaulted. This is available in up to 154 languages, and is completely anonymous and confidential. 49,000 women call the helpline every year in the Greater Toronto Area.

So the goal of this annual gala is to raise funds for the helpline and awareness. At this year’s 10th annual gala, CBC News anchor Anne-Marie Mediwake was the host. The evening started with a cocktail reception and viewing of the silent auction items. Then there was a 3 course dinner, live auction and entertainment provided by “The Intentions”. All proceeds of the AWHL gala go directly back to the Assaulted Women’s Helpline.

Anne-Marie Mediwake, CBC

Anne-Marie Mediwake, CBC

Some tweets from the evening

Check out the great video from Kardinal Offishall and Shawn Hook “A Way Out” made for the Assaulted Women’s Helpline.

For more information including how donating just $25 can save a life, visit awhl.org

The annual POGO Gala held in support of children with cancer was held on April 20th, 2013 at the Liberty Grand. Last year I was lucky to have won tickets to attend, so being able to come again this year brought back some nostalgia as one of the first galas that @FashionEcstasyT and I went to together. It’s always a well-attended gala for a great cause. The after party featured a DJ, dancing, a host bar and stunningly colourful decor. But no great party is complete without great food and treats, so the maple bacon donuts were a welcome, sweet treat.

There was a raffle featuring 2 separate prizes of Rolex Watches courtesy of Royal de Versailles. Among the many silent auction items, there was also an exclusive pair of tickets to the 2013 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show & After Party, coveted as the most anticipated fashion event of the year.

It was another great, memorable POGO gala. Be sure to stay tuned next year to support this great cause or go to pogo.ca to see how you can help now.

POGO-Gala-Mike-Chalut-BestofToronto-012

POGO-Gala-BestofToronto-006

POGO-Gala-BestofToronto-016

Claire Kerr

Claire Kerr

Some tweets

ABOUT POGO
The Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO) was founded in 1983 by a group of pediatric oncologists to champion childhood cancer care and control. As the representative voice of the childhood cancer community, POGO works to ensure that all of Ontario’s children have equal access to state-of-the-art diagnosis, treatment and required ancillary services. We also aim to make certain that Ontario’s children have the greatest prospects for survival with an optimal quality of life.

POGO’s mission is to continually drive improvements across the continuum of children’s cancer care in Ontario by:

  1. ensuring access to and availability of the absolute best cancer care
  2. providing essential support for children, survivors and families
  3. conducting childhood cancer research
  4. providing ongoing professional development opportunities

For more information visit pogo.ca

To see how POGO helps check out Andre B.’s story, diagnosed with cancer 3 times before he was 16.

Walk off the Earth performing Gotye's "Somebody that I Used to Know"
Walk off the Earth performing Gotye's "Somebody that I Used to Know"

Walk off the Earth performing Gotye’s “Somebody that I Used to Know”

Samsung held a preview party to celebrate the launch of the highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone, their newest flagship (launching on major Canadian carriers on May 3rd in limited quantities). The S4 party was held on the same evening on April 25th across 3 cities: Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. Feist was hyped up to play all 3 cities simultaneously as a 3D hologram. Walk Off the Earth rocked the Kool Haus that evening playing 2 lively sets.

Walk Off the Earth

Walk Off the Earth

Sarah Blackwood, Walk off the Earth

Sarah Blackwood, Walk off the Earth

Samsung also held a casting call to showcase one local artist in each of the 3 cities. Toronto got a performance from this handsome guy, Milan Boronell.

Milan Boronell, Toronto's Samsung GS4 Casting Call winner

Milan Boronell, Toronto’s Samsung GS4 Casting Call winner

Samsung-S4-Party-BestofToronto-045

Overall it was a great as expected and free tickets quickly sold-out as usual. Other great Samsung launches I’ve been lucky to attend include the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 launch (with Psy performing “Gangnam Style”) and the Galaxy S3 launch with Cobra Starship. Stay up to date with Samsung Mobile Canada on twitter to keep up with all the activity they have going on.

Feist Photo: Samsung Canada

Feist Photo: Samsung Canada


Awesome Gotye cover by  @WalkOffTheEarth at @SamsungMobileCA #GS4Canada

Some other tweets from the evening:

Check out our live video of Walk off the Earth’s “Somebody That I used to Know”.

Here is Feist’s live video performing “A Commotion”.

Behind the scenes video of the making of the Feist holographic concert

Walk Off the Earth’s set lists:
FIRST SET
Revo
Magic
Corner
Speeches
Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know”
Sometimes
Summer Vibe

SECOND SET
Red Hands
Trouble
No Ulterior
Shake
Little Boxes
Money Tree
Man Down
Gang of Rhythm

More info about the Samsung Galaxy S4 including specs are here here.

Photos below and also on the Facebook album here.

Fresh Veggie Chips including colored beets, heirloom carrots, and radish
Fresh Veggie Chips including colored beets, heirloom carrots, and radish

Fresh Veggie Chips including coloured beets, heirloom carrots, and radish

Although SPiN is best known for their ping pong centrally located downtown at King West, they have a lot of emphasis on good, shareable food that is great for pairing with all that ping pong with your friends. I first noticed this attention to good food at a corporate party at SPiN last year, with interesting food and presentation.  This isn’t typical bar food!  So it was flattering to be one of the first to sample the new menu with a few select foodies.

They also have 2 full bars, serving interesting specialty cocktails (try the Peach Pitt!) as well as having a variety of draught beers on tap. Attention to details is what really matters to SPiN’s Executive Chef Jon Lovett.  He takes pride in the fact that the food they make is from scratch using only locally sourced and sustainable ingredients. SPiN kitchen creations include homemade breads, ice creams and sauces.

The jalapeno poppers stuffed with Atlantic rock crab with a side of homemade buttermilk ranch dipping were so delicious I had to have two!  And I loved the unique combination of quail egg with ahi tuna tartare. I would definitely order that again. Also, the Daily Sundae, in our case, ginger bread cookie over home made vanilla ice cream, was a nice way to end the meal.  We got to take home a bottle of their home made ketchup and opened it at a breakfast diner later that same night. Love the unique touch of cinnamon! Looking forward to the next visit to SPiN to try some more bites and another cocktail such as a Singapore Sling.

Click here to see SPiN’s offerings as a restaurant here.

SPiN's executive chef, Jon Lovett

SPiN’s executive chef, Jon Lovett

"Can o' Tuna" Line Caught Ahi Tartare, Quail Egg, Herb Salad, Toast

“Can o’ Tuna” Line Caught Ahi Tartare, Quail Egg, Herb Salad, Toast

Jalapeno poppers with Atlantic rock crab, and buttermilk ranch sauce

Jalapeno poppers with Atlantic rock crab, and buttermilk ranch sauce

Cheese and Meats - Market Cheese, SPiN's cured meats, pickles, Kozil

Cheese and Meats – Market Cheese, SPiN’s cured meats, pickles, Kozil

Gingerbread cookie with vanilla ice cream, the daily sundae to end off the night

Gingerbread cookie with vanilla ice cream, the daily sundae to end off the night

ABOUT SPiN
Created by owners Franck Raharinosy, Andrew Gordon, Jonathan Bricklin and Academy Award-winning actress Susan Sarandon, SPiN has begun to spread the love of pong across the world. You can currently find SPiN in New York, Milwaukee, and Toronto.

SPiN Toronto is a 12,000 sq ft ping pong social club located at 461 King Street West in the heart of downtown Toronto! The club boasts 2 fully licensed bars, 12 ping-pong tables, cocktail menu, full food menu, a lounge and a private party room. Memberships are available for the more obsessed players, but not necessary to take part in our nightly events, tournaments, private ping-pong instruction by professional players, and casual socializing and play.

For more information visit the Toronto SPiN website here

Group Shot at AGO Massive
Entrance

Entrance

On April 18th, my friends and I were lucky to have highly-coveted golden tickets for this sold-out party of the year that was worth its weight in GOLD! The AGO illuminated a warm glow on the corner of Dundas and St. George with the Massive Party GOLD. 1,800 party-goers sprawled throughout multiple floors of the AGO, enjoying installations and performances by artists who have been inspired by all things Gold including Thrush Holmes, Tibi Tibi Neuspiel & Geoffrey Pugen, Mango Peeler, Mahmood Popal and Jade Rude. The AGO’s artistic director, Justin Broadbent, created exclusive pieces for the evening’s gold showcase including the 3D waterfalls in the Vine below. DJ Mensa, Felix & Gani (milk.), Your Boy Brian and a live performance by Maylee Todd got the party started. Dazzling guests were dressed head-to-toe in gold as camera flashes lit up their outfits.

Things I liked about the AGO’s 2013 Massive gala:

  • open bar
  • tons of people
  • live art/performers
  • the art installations and decor
  • yummy hors d’oeuvres
  • people dressed up, decked out in gold
  • the photo booth

Funds raised through the Massive Party will help the Art Gallery of Ontario continue to deliver their education and exhibition programs.

Jess Foster Committee and Emily

Jess Foster Committee and Emily

Wearing Gold Grills

Wearing Gold Grills

Models covered in gold

Models covered in gold

Some tweets from the evening


https://twitter.com/briarg/status/325364945439059968

Here’s a few of my pics

For more information on Massive Party GOLD, visit MassiveParty.ca

Some photos from AGO

1 265 266 267 268 269 301