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Dare 2 Dance in support of Variety Village ft Carla Collins

  • June 3, 2013
  • charity
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Special guest host: Carla Collins

Special guest host: Carla Collins

An all night dance-a-thon was held on May 3rd, 2013 where top law firms in Toronto competed to shimmy and shake to raise the most funds in their teams all in support of Variety Village. Taking place at Stratus Restaurant inside the Toronto Athletic Club in the financial district of downtown Toronto. The special guest host of the evening was comedian and actress Carla Collins. She’s dubbed as “Canada’s Tina Fey”, and she was quite a hoot. There were lots of fun dancing demos ranging from Zumba, Salsa, Hip Hop and Belly Dancing.

Congrats to the Cambridge Group of Clubs and all those who participated in Dare 2 Dance for raising $60,000 for Variety Village! Be sure to keep up with all the action at the Cambridge Group of Clubs.

Check out this video to learn more about what Variety Village is all about:

ABOUT VARIETY VILLAGE
Variety Village is a 168,000 square foot sports and fitness facility in the heart southwest Scarborough. With a primary focus on children’s programming, we are a world recognized authority providing integrated sports, fitness, life skills and learning programs that impact lives and strengthen communities.

Variety empowers individuals of all ages and abilities by providing accessible, safe, inclusive, and adapted fitness and sports through facilitation, skills transfer, and training. Our impact extends well beyond the walls of the Village. Through our outreach programs, we provide opportunities for people with disabilities throughout the province and across Canada to participate in fitness, sports, education and recreational activities.

For more information visit www.varietyvillage.ca

ABOUT CAMBRIDGE GROUP OF CLUBS
The Cambridge Group of Clubs is a collection of unique, luxurious health and fitness clubs, serving an exclusive membership of leaders, executives and professionals. For more information visit www.cambridgegroupofclubs.com

Tweets from the evening

Photo Credit: Casey Patrick

Bud Light Sensation Photos from around the Twitterverse

  • June 2, 2013
  • concerts, photos
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Here’s a few photos from the tweets of last night’s Bud Light Sensation. With over 10 years making it’s waves across the world, Sensation finally arrived on Canadian shores on June 1st, 2013 at the Rogers Centre here in Toronto.

I was lucky to snag one of the sold-out deluxe tickets but it was more fun just being on the floor with friends. It was visually spectacular with giant jellyfish hanging from the ceiling, incredible laser displays using water, jellyfish dancers and fireworks. There’s lots of talk about next year’s Sensation in Toronto and there’s clearly a demand for it! Hopefully partnering with another sponsor so that we get better beer.

The DJ Lineup included Sensation’s own Mr. White, followed by 2000 and one, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, Fedde le Grand, Eric Prydz and Otto Knows. The Rogers Centre was packed up until closing at 3am.

Keep up to date at www.sensation.com


Danny SC Tseng @DanShaoc
#SensationWhite #Toronto


Visually and audibly spectacular @sensation #budlightsensation #sensation #edm
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#budlightsensation

Here’s the Official post-event movie of Bud Light Sensation Canada in Toronto

Check out the official mini-documentary

Photos from the One Night Stand Party: Taking a Stand for Children’s Mental Health

  • May 31, 2013
  • charity, party
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Taking a stand for children’s mental health, this fun charity party was hosted by David Sutcliffe (CBC TV’s Cracked and Gilmore Girls) and Natalie Brown (also from CBC TV’s Cracked) at the Burroughes.

One Night Stand Hosts: Natalie Brown, David Sutcliffe

One Night Stand Hosts: Natalie Brown, David Sutcliffe

It was also great to hang out with Mike Chalut from Proud FM, as he really elevates any event into a party.  Natalie Brown, as beautiful as she is, is so down to earth and approachable. She even asked me to take photos of her and her friend with her phone. Like Mike Chalut, she also brought out the energy, setting the tone on the dance floor. Celebrity House DJ k-os helped contribute to the fun, of course, allowing for frequent photo ops with adoring fans. The open bar was served by friendly bar staff who also offered to make makeshift sangrias off the menu. Usually the appetizers at events that start after dinner are forgettable (this charity party started at 8pm) but the watermelon cubes topped with cheese, pulled pork sliders, poutine and rich ice cream with cherry were all top notch.

Silent auction item: Cardinal watch

Silent auction item: Cardinal watch

The silent auction items were great including a Samsung Galaxy Note 2, a Blackbery Z10, wine packages and much more.

Professional hair and make-up touch-ups were also provided. Also, 2 professional photo studios were available courtesy of celebrity photographers, Dustin Rabin and Arthur Mola. Interesting way to get one-stop professional portraits right on the spot.

Such great party vibes all around that night! Proceeds from the event support vital children’s mental health programs including prevention, early intervention, training and research activities. Be sure to watch out for this fun annual One Night Stand charity party next year!

Mike Chalut (Proud FM) and friends

Mike Chalut (Proud FM) and friends

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Thanks to my friend, Tanya for spotting Lauren Hammersley, actress from the TV show, CBC’s Mr. D.

left: Lauren Hammersley (from CBC's Mr. D)

left: Lauren Hammersley (from CBC’s Mr. D)

The hosts Natalie Brown and David Sutcliffe speaking about children's mental health

The hosts Natalie Brown and David Sutcliffe speaking about children’s mental health

DJ k-os

DJ k-os

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Tweets from the evening

About The Hincks-Dellcrest Centre
The Hincks-Dellcrest Centre is a children’s mental health treatment, research, and teaching centre located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Each year, we help more than more than 8,000 children and families through a combination of prevention, treatment, research, and education activities.
Hincks-Dellcrest is a community affiliate of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine (Department of Psychiatry) and Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. Our vision is to bring hope, optimism, and possibilities to the children and families we serve. For more information visit www.hincksdellcrest.org

Photos below and also on Facebook here.

Photos: Havergal Urban Elegance Gala 2013 ft Sean Jones, Eleanor McCain

Sean Jones, Eleanor McCain Photo: George Pimentel
  • May 30, 2013
  • charity, gala
  • Comments Off on Photos: Havergal Urban Elegance Gala 2013 ft Sean Jones, Eleanor McCain
Sean Jones, Eleanor McCain Photo: George Pimentel

Sean Jones, Eleanor McCain Photo: George Pimentel

Sean Jones Photo: George Pimentel

Sean Jones Photo: George Pimentel

Since 1894, Havergal has been educating young women as an independent university day and boarding school for girls. Alumni (“Old Girls”), parents and friends of the school gathered to raise funds at their 2013 fundraising gala entitled “Urban Elegance” for Havergal’s new Outdoor Learning Space in the Junior School, a state-of-the-art Aquatic Centre timing system and upgrades to the Learning Support and Science Lab spaces in the Upper School.

The evening was emceed by Pauline Chan, CTV News, who is also a Havergal “Old Girl” circa 1983. Gourmet food was provided by Chef Mark McEwan, entertainment was provided by Eleanor McCain and Juno-award winning Sean Jones. Live auction was provided by Hal Hannaford.

Interesting live auction items included a Facebook Fantasy, which included a week-long internship with the largest social media company in the world, Facebook, including a lunch with Managing Director of Facebook Canada, Jordan Banks. Another interesting one was the trip to London including a black-tie charity gala inside Buckingham Palace with the Duke of Edinburgh in attendance.

There was also a large silent auction including a Blackberry Z10 and more internship opportunities in the fields of media (including Pauline Chan), Business, Culinary, Medical, Architecture, Fashion, PR and more.

Raffle prizes included a Harry Winston diamond ring and 2013-2014 tuition to Havergal.

Pauline Chan, CTV News, emcee

Pauline Chan, CTV News, emcee

second from right: Eleanor McCain

second from right: Eleanor McCain

Check out Havergal College’s latest video about music at Havergal

For more information visit www.havergal.on.ca

More photos by George Pimentel Photography

A primer for the Festival of Sake, Kampai Toronto

sio-kampai-toronto
After the Beaujolais Wine and BBQ luncheon, Nick and I headed to the Shangri-La Hotel for the media launch and preview of the 2nd annual Kampai Toronto Sake Festival being tomorrow on May 30th at the Fermenting Cellar in the Distillery District.

“Kampai” which stands for cheers in English, is the largest sake festival in Canada. The event is hosted by The Sake Institute of Ontario which is a non-profit organization that brings together sake distributors and producers in Ontario and promotes awareness of sake. There will be over 100 sakes to sample and appetizers to try from 12 of Toronto’s top restaurants.

If you were lucky to snag a ticket to this highly-anticipated sold out affair, here are some notes from the seminar by the world’s leading non-Japanese sake expert, John Gauntner, to help you get ready for the sake tasting:
• Sake is brewed (and not distilled) from rice, and rice alone
• The alcohol content is usually about 16%, watered down from the naturally occurring 20%.
• The existence of sake has been dated about 2,000 years ago, but some sake on the market today, like ginjo sake has been around for only 40 years.
• The three factors that affect the quality of sake are rice, milling, and labour.
• The grade of sake is legally defined by how much the rice has been milled. The more rice is milled, the higher the grade.
• Unlike wine, sake is meant to be consumed young, it will begin to change after about a year.
• Most premium sake should be consumed slightly chilled.

Restaurants participating include:

  • Blowfish on Bay
  • Don Don Izakaya
  • EDO Sushi
  • Guu Izakaya
  • Hapa Izakaya
  • Indian Rice Factory
  • Izakaya Ju
  • Ki Modern Japanese + Bar
  • Kingyo Toronto
  • Momofuku Toronto
  • Mye Restaurant
  • Pure Spirits Oyster House & Grill
  • Ryoji Ramen & Izakaya

Here’s the trailer for the Festival of Sake!

For more information visit www.kampaitoronto.com. Even if you weren’t able to get a ticket, the Sake Institute of Ontario also hosts various tasting events and seminars throughout the year. So keep an eye out for updates by the SIO on twitter and facebook.

About the Sake Institute of Ontario (SIO)
Not-for-profit trade association formed in February of 2012. Principle mandate of increasing the awareness, availability, promotion, and education of Sake in the Ontario market. Kampai Toronto is SIO’s flagship annual Tasting Festival; and also hosts satellite Tasting Events / Seminars throughout the year.
Built on the foundation of collaborative cooperation to grow and nurture the Sake category. Principle Members include 9 Sake Importers and 1 Sake Manufacturer; Associate Members include Restaurants, Chefs & Sake/Lifestyle Promoters.

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