The National Ballet of Canada’s fifth annual fundraising gala, Mad Hot: A Russian Seduction, at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, raised an impressive $1 million.
Co-chairs Lina Gagliano and Clara Mathur organized a magical evening that included a gourmet dinner onstage, and dancing with National Ballet dancers.
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Food lovers and the restaurant community united to raise funds for Second Harvest, at the 20th annual Toronto Taste event, an unforgettable evening of cuisine and libations.
Some 1,600 guests sampled delicious, innovative dishes from the city’s top chefs, including Chris McDonald, Mark McEwan and Michael Smith. Chef and TV personality Bob Blumer served as host.
If you have an event you would like to tell us about please email [email protected]
I AM WRITING this to you as a changed man. On July 1, 2010, in Laguna Beach, California, I married my sweetheart, Karina Lemke, after a whirlwind courtship of 14 years.
I have never been married before. I waited 58 years to do this as I watched my friends walk down the aisle, one by one, until I was the Last Bachelor Standing.
I always thought that, if I did ever get married, I would do it on a beach, because that’s what Pam Anderson would do, and I try to live my life like her as much as possible. So when Karina and I decided to tie the knot, we knew we wanted to do it by the ocean.
Karina is not only a wedding planner in real life, but also on TV as one of the hosts of Rich Bride, Poor Bride. So when we made the quick decision to get married within 30 days, she was able to leap into action and make it happen.
I knew I’d get an elegant wedding, but how would I bring my sense of surreal humour to the occasion? That would be a challenge. But not an insurmountable one.
Luckily, Karina has been my co-conspirator for years and has no problem enabling my pranks and troublemaking. So what prank could I play on my guests this time?
Karina and I came up with not one, but two showstoppers.
The day of the wedding, I drove deep into Orange County mall territory, to a tattoo shop I’d contacted earlier. I had them shave my torso and put on a full chest fake tattoo of my bride’s face with the words “Karina Forever” emblazoned around it.
Three hours later, I was back in the car to pick up a Baby on Board sign.What no one knew is that my bride was five months pregnant, and that this is how we were going to tell everyone, including ET Canada, who were covering the event. (A first-time father at 58? Yes, I’m full of surprises.)
At the ceremony, the rabbi gave his blessings, handing me the cup of wine, which I swirled and tasted like an oenophile, getting a big laugh.
Then when he asked me to put my hand on her heart, I copped a feel instead, getting another good laugh. But nothing compared to the laughs and gasps we got when I kissed and hugged my new bride, stuck the Baby on Board sticker to the back of her Vera Wang gown, and we marched back down the aisle.
But wait, we still have the tattoo joke to play out.
At the dinner, cult comedian Emo Philips gave the toast to the couple: “Now that you are married, may your naked couplings no longer sadden the Lord.” Huge laughs.
Speech time. I roasted many of the guests and told my in-laws not to worry: “You’re not losing a daughter, you’re gaining a pensioner.”
And then I launched into a tribute to my beloved, a paean to eternal love. “In fact, to show just how eternal my love is for you, this afternoon I went and did this,” as I ripped open my shirt to show the full-body tattoo of her beautiful face.
The laughter started slowly, as shock gave way to pandemonium.
Remember, it looked real. We blew people’s minds that night with the elegance of the event, but also made them laugh. Elegance and humour: Ours was a wedding that captured the essence of our love.
MALE READERS: HOW do you hope to look and sound when you are 80 years old?
If you want to see an ideal specimen, check out Christopher Plummer’s leading role of Prospero in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival’s The Tempest before it closes on Sept. 12: a handsome, chiseled face; lithe body; and a perfect, clear voice which treats each exquisite, powerful word like Rodin chipping away at his The Thinker.
He is masterful, and one of our era’s true masters of the art of acting and speaking. And many of his comically timed phrasings make this the funniest Prospero I’ve seen. Yet his rendition of such lines as “We are such stuff / As dreams are made on; and our little life / Is rounded with a sleep” will tear at your heart.
The rest of the production is far from perfect, but there are enough moments to make for a superior theatrical experience and one far more satisfying than the late William Hutt’s handling of the same role, several years ago.
Des McAnuff ’s direction is highly creative and intelligent, aided beautifully by most of Paul Tazewell’s striking costumes and Michael Roth’s often-eerie music.
And there are a number of magical moments in this striking production — the last vision before the single intermission, inarguably — that will burn into your memory.
The plot should be familiar: a dozen years earlier, Plummer’s Duke of Milan has his position usurped by his brother and is banished to an island (the recently discovered Bermuda, most scholars believe) with his three-year-old daughter Miranda (Trish Lindstrom).
A magician of great gifts, Prospero causes a tempest to wreck a ship carrying his betrayer Antonio and others, manipulates the King of Naples’s son, Ferdinand (Gareth Potter), to fall for his own beloved child as the audience is caught up in a whirl of some of the finest poetry of all time.
No, the entire production is not perfect: Dion Johnstone’s essential role of the savage Caliban lacks the required malevolence; Bruce Dow’s Trinculo is disappointingly fey. But, along with the remarkable gifts of Mr. Plummer, what almost redeems the entire, brief play is Geraint Wyn Davies’s Stephano, the butler.
In addition, closest to Plummer’s portrayal of Prospero in majesty, is the thrilling, tiny (is she much over four feet?) Julyana Soelistyo as Prospero’s beloved “spirit”Ariel, whose newly granted freedom is more satisfying than the engagement of the young lovers and the heartbreaking growth of Plummer’s revengeturned- forgiveness at the finale.
Ms. Soelistyo has a voice thrice her size, moves and even flies like the spirit she plays, and the love between her and her master is palpable.
Musical aficionados set for a trip to the South Pacific When presented only decently, the great Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific can be embarrassing, but reviews of the Lincoln Centre production in April 2008 filled me with optimism. This is the same production by the gifted Bartlett Sher that Aubrey Dan is bringing to Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre from Aug. 12 to Sept. 5.
It is a stunning study of the post-war world of the late 1940s: its “cock-eyed” optimism, its hope, its racial intolerance. The music is some of the best that Richard Rodgers ever composed, and Hammerstein’s lyrics are unforgettable.
Bravo Aubrey Dan for bringing this production to one of the best theatres in our city.
FIVE YEARS IS a long time between records. But Sarah Harmer is an artist who can’t be rushed. So don’t ask. With her new album Oh Little Fire, the wait is over.
The iconic singer-songwriter is in fine form hearkening back to her rock ’n’ roll roots on what could be the most enjoyable disc of the summer.
“I did expect to chill out for maybe six months at least after the last tour, but then I just got used to putting down some roots a little bit, and there was a lot of time moving back and forth between Kingston and Toronto,” says Harmer, trying to explain the long period between albums.
According to Harmer, she isn’t one to sequester herself for a period of time to crank out some material. The first single off the new album, “Captive,” is Harmer’s ode to that feeling of being shackled to a project with the light at the end of the creative tunnel far from view. It has all kinds of relationship appeal, sure, but the inspiration was her inability to sit down and say, OK brain, hit me with a song.
“I did pick up the guitar and say to myself I’m going to f***ing write a song.” Harmer laughs. “My attention had really been fragmented, and I was just not able to really commit to something, you know. So I wanted to be held captive. I wanted to not get up until I had something to show for it.… But, I did get up and that song took months to finish!”
The album’s heightened energy level is the result, at least in part, of Harmer’s collaboration with producer Gavin Brown (Metric and Billy Talent).
What makes it a uniquely Harmer experience is the localized songwriting that links the natural world with a personal experience. Her interest in writing about her immediate surroundings was inspired by songwriters such as Suzanne Vega and Michelle Shocked, artists who were writing about their own little corners of the world.
“They weren’t trying to be too general. They were unearthing the dirt under their feet,” Harmer explains. “I’ve always been interested in that localized expression. It felt like no one else could do it, and no one else could write that, and it moved me to participate.”
Harmer grew up on the Niagara Escarpment outside of Burlington, near Mt. Nemo. She started playing in bands while a student at Queen’s University, first with the Saddletramps, followed by Weeping Tile.
But her most successful period came solo. Her first album, You Were Here,went platinum in Canada, followed by All Our Names and the stripped down I’m a Mountain. But what came first, the hippie or the rocker?
“Well, you know, like many Canadians, I got my first acoustic and started playing ‘After the Gold Rush’ in high school,” Harmer says. “Those three chords on the acoustic went a long way for a while.Then I went and got into bars, illegally, and saw rock ’n’ roll up close.”
That duality helps define Harmer. She is at home with rock, pop standards and folkie jams as her latest album demonstrates to full effect.
Check out her tour dates at www.sarahharmer.com.
HOW MANY OTHER rock ’n’ roll bands require armoured car transportation to get to Maple Leaf Gardens?
With Paul McCartney back in town for a rare concert appearance, it is a fine time to remember the heyday of Beatlemania in Toronto.
It was Sept. 7, 1964, when Paul, John, Ringo and George arrived in Toronto for their first concert appearance before more than 35,000 mostly screaming teenage girls at Maple Leaf Gardens.
“The audience is fantastic,” said Paul McCartney in a famous CBC interview.
The band stayed at the King Edward Hotel while in town, boarding the armoured car that whisked them past the 3,000 fans that swarmed the streets and the hotel lobby.
And you thought the G20 leaders required serious police protection? There was a massive containment fence erected at the airport to keep thousands of teenagers back as the four Brits left an airport hangar to board an Air Canada jet, giving their famous turn and wave before boarding their flight to Montreal.
The band played Toronto on each of its three North American tours in ’64 and on Aug. 17 in 1965 and the same day one year later when they played two shows.
Paul McCartney plays the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Aug. 8 and 9, though screaming teenagers are unlikely.
SUNGLASSES, CHECK! Bug spray, check! Pencil sharpener … come again?
As summer comes to a close, parents are faced with the daunting task of getting their kids ready for school again.
“It looms over your head constantly,” says actress Cynthia Dale, who is currently balancing her role as mom and as lead actress in Love, Loss and What I Wore at Toronto’s Panasonic Theatre.
“Nowadays finding school items that are environmentally friendly is important — like water bottles and sandwich containers. There are some great health food stores out there that sell eco-friendly lunch box containers, and you can search for products online, too.”
One such online find is w w w. c r e d i b l e – edibles.ca, a Canadian company that has designed a wide variety of colourful and sustainable containers for meals on the go.
A really great resource is Grassroots Environmental, with locations both in the Annex and in Riverdale, also offers such green school supplies as a staple-free staplers and ecofriendly stationery.
And while back-to-school shopping is obvious for August, former MuchMusic host turned PR consultant Teresa Roncon swears she never has to leave home for school supplies.
“You don’t have to spend money; you’ll find dozens of pencils and markers and crayons in their room,” she says.
“In August I clean and go through everything, test out all their markers, sharpen their pencils, everything that’s not working I throw out. You need to start with a clean slate.”
To carry all the treasures, Teresa recommends a once-in-a-fewyears stop at Roots for a backpack that will last, and last.
“I bought my daughter one a while ago and I just washed it and let it dry. It looks brand new.” ET Canada host Rosey Edeh says that top of list for her is to remember to sign up her daughter for her extracurriculars.
“Everyone clambers for the coveted spot,” says Edeh, referring specifically to daughter Micha’s piano lessons “If you put it off, you wind up getting the 9 a.m. on Saturday. But get in there early and talk to the teacher during the summer, and you’ll get the spot you’re aiming for.”
And with the kids occupying most lobes of the brain this August, Edeh advises parents to take a moment and think of their own fall itinerary when scheduling in the kids’ hobbies.
“Think about yourself, too, make the schedule convenient for your own needs.You’ll be less stressed in the fall. Get that done early.”
One woman with momhood on the mind is former VJ extraordinaire Erica Ehm, who celebrates moms with her popular site www.yummymummyclub.ca.
With one child in private school and the other in public, Ehm is quick to advise from both sides of the spectrum.
“For private, buy your uniforms a little big in hopes that they’ll get through the year in them,”she says. “Then get ready for an awesome year where small classes ensure the teachers treat the child as an individual.
“For public, I was shocked that the public system provides all school supplies for all the children. No pre-school-shopping rush necessary. Buy a minimum of two pairs of shoes — one indoor and one outdoor.”
Sultry songstress and mother of two Molly Johnson agrees. “Shoes, shoes, shoes are always an issue. Kids grow so much over the summer.” she insists. “Haircuts are a must by the end of August. The boys are always looking a little shaggy.”
But with all this talk of appearances, how does the parent best acclimatize a summersoftened child to academia.
“We often do drive-bys and see the school,” says Ehm. “Sometimes we go and play in the schoolyard to get them comfortable on the property.”
“We start reading and doing some math a few weeks before — but not too much because I don’t want to turn them off the idea of work, which will be all consuming all too soon.”
Alyson Schafer, host of call-intelevision program The Parenting Show, (reached at the cottage on her birthday) is always glad to give advice.
She talks over the dog barking and the happy chatter of her 15- and 16-year-old daughters.
“They’re bragging about getting 12 hours of sleep in four days right now. But on Labour Day weekend we focus on getting their body back on the clock, getting up in the morning, aiming toward shifting.”
“They’re zonked and tired, and they want to organize, and they would die if I booked going somewhere then. They need that long weekend just to be home and be calm and quiet.”
Until that time comes, though, Schafer imparts some words of wisdom to parents who are feeling burdened on the beach.
“You have to know to manage expectations. I know that from September to Christmas that it takes that long to settle in,” she explains.
“A lot of stress happens once school begins, forms, shots, etc. Managing your expectations, knowing the onslaught is coming will help.”
The cool-as-a-cucumber Molly Johnson says that the back-toschool blues rarely seep into her system. She prescribes a positive attitude to help ease back into the scholastic world.
“I am looking forward to seeing teachers and getting back into the community.”
With that mindset, parents shouldn’t be too quick to stash away the lounge chair.
“Support your teacher and the curriculum,” says Johnson. “Get to know the parents of the kids in your class, and it will be the holidays before you know it.”
Packaged food comes labelled with all the nutritional info you need to make a healthy eating decision.
But restaurant food? Not until now.
We had an accredited lab analyze our area’s most popular restaurant food for fat, calories, sodium and more, and the results may surprise you.
Here’s the results for a banana split from Dutch Dreams and three scoops of Valrhona chocolate from Hollywood Gelato:
CBC Dragons’ Den panelist Kevin O’Leary called it a “once in a lifetime deal.”
The deal, offered to Modrobes founder Steven Sal Debus by entrepreneur Brett Wilson, would see a clothing company – whose worth had plummeted from $10 million to zero in less than a decade – get one more kick at the can.
“Basically the investment got me started again,” Sal Debus said of the $200,000 contribution. “At the time I didn’t have a company – it was shelved. I went on [Dragons’ Den] to get the capital to start – to buy fabrics, to book the manufacturing, to set up the space.”
And set up the space he did. Sal Debus’ revived retail store – located just west of Bathurst on Toronto’s Queen West strip – opened its doors in March as The Modrobes Sustainable Garment Shop. The name represents the essential change that has overtaken ModRobes since the company folded in 2005.
“[At the time of the fold] I knew I was going to stay in the industry but it had to be on the environmental side,” Sal Debus told PostCity.com in a recent interview. “I had seen the amount of damage that was typically done by clothing manufacturing.”
Charged with a new sense of responsibility, Sal Debus moved from Toronto to Vancouver to study environmentally sustainable manufacturing and garment-making – skills he now employs on a day-to-day basis with his newly rebuilt empire.
“We now represent a new way of making clothing,” he says. “Clean clothing – it’s a huge priority for us to figure out how to create things that have less of a negative impact on the environment. For example, our T-shirts are made out of eucalyptus trees. The fabric is bio-degradable so it will break down eventually if you throw it out. There’s no chemicals used to make the fabric.”
Another popular line of products is Modrobes’ sustainable active wear, fashioned entirely out of recycled pop bottles.
“We basically take pop bottles, smash them up and melt them into plastic pellets. From there tiny microscopic fibres are extruded to make the clothing fabric. The process of going from pop bottle to fabric takes 80 per cent less energy than going from oil to fabric.”
At the new store, the clothes are flying off the shelves and Sal Debus says he’s concerned that they may not have adequately prepared for the rush. He is, however, adamant that the company won’t fail in the same way it did in 2005.
“My number one mistake was growing too fast,” Sal Debus, whose company began as a simple business project for a course at Brock University in 1996, said.
By the late 90s, Modrobes’ quintessential wide-legged “exam pant”, hugely popular with the rave generation and with college kids nationwide, reached cult-like Canadian status.
“We grew way beyond the original plan and just lost control of it. We sold to really big companies and they didn’t pay us – large multinational corporations that didn’t care about anything but the bottom line. We no longer deal with multinational corporations. That’s what ruined everything about us.”
What has not changed however is the company’s attachment to its national roots, since all their garments are, and always were, manufactured on Canadian soil. As for Toronto itself, Sal Debus says he wouldn’t station Modrobes anywhere else.
“Toronto is the best city in Canada. I built ModRobes in Ontario and people in Toronto are very receptive to new ideas, more so than anywhere in the country. They know bull*hit and they’ll call people out on it. They’re tough and hard to please but if you do it right, they’ll tell their friends and if it’s a hit they’re going to tell you.”
And with Sal Debus’ confident attitude, it would be safe to assume that the feedback has been positive.
“Canadians are humble in terms of what we do well, I’m not that way, what we’re doing here is leading the world in environmentally sound fashion and sportswear, people should feel proud of that – that someone close to home is pushing the parameters.”
Chef Susur Lee says his latest project, Lee Lounge, is "on track" to open just in time for the Toronto International Film Festival.
Lee Lounge, taking over Madeline’s old space, will feature cocktails from the star chef’s travels.
Lee is currently in Asia "gathering information" and "recipes for tropical fruit cocktails, which will be featured at the new hot spot."
Aside from research, Lee is also making a stop in Singapore to cook at his restaurant, Club Chinois.
The great outdoors. In Toronto that means the Don Valley, High Park and movies al fresco. Yes, you read that right. Outdoor movie nights have exploded in the city and, with so many to choose from, PostCity.com has narrowed in on this summer’s best flicks. So grab a lawn chair, pop some kernels and get ready for a starry-skied trip down Hollywood lane.
Ocean’s Eleven (1960 and 2001)
Some things go hand in hand. Salt and pepper. Peanut butter and jelly. "Ocean’s Eleven" a la the Rat Pack and "Ocean’s Eleven" a la George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon. The story skeleton for both is the same: Danny Ocean and his entourage have a rip-roaring time pulling off a massive heist to steal profits from a series of Las Vegas casinos. And if you have a hard time choosing between Ol’ Blue Eyes or the better half of Brangelina, there’s no need to fear. Yonge-Dundas Square is projecting a double-header of both the original and the Steven Soderbergh adaptation.
When: August 3, 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Where: Yonge-Dundas Square
Star Trek
The 2009 film, which won an Oscar for best makeup, is a time-warp trip down memory lane, where viewers get to revisit Spock, Captain Kirk and all the other beloved characters of the late 1960s series. The adaptation is a tall order, considering the drones of devotees director JJ Abrams knew he would be meeting as his harshest critics. However, a strong story-line, breathtaking visuals and a bit of humour to boot will leave most viewers — Trekkies and non-Trekkies a-like — giving Abrams the blessing to "live long and prosper."
When: Friday, August 6, 9:00 p.m. Where: Downsview Park
Chocolat or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1971 or 2005)
There’s just something so indulgent about chocolate, it’s hard not to recommend anything with the treat in the title. While Harbourfront is still putting out a vote on which cocoa movie to show, each choice delights. The options: "Chocolat", along with either the original version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" or the more recent take on the Roald Dahl classic, shot through the endearingly nightmarish lens belonging to Tim Burton. PostCity.com’s vote? The 1971 version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Sometimes original is better. Just like you can try to replicate a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, you can try to recreate Willy Wonka. But it just doesn’t go down the same — even with Johnny Depp in the picture.
When: August 11, 9:00 p.m. Where: Harbourfront Centre
Some Like it Hot
While Ms. Marilyn Monroe was hesitant to take on "Some Like it Hot", the screwball cross-dressing comedy turned out to be the biggest hit of her career, earning the blonde icon a best actress Golden Globe and defining her as a comic starlet. In the movie, Tony Curtis plays Joe, a struggling saxophone player who — along with his bass-violin-playing friend Jerry (Jack Lemmon) — witnesses a mob-related massacre. To avoid the mobsters who now have a hit on their lives, the pair put on dresses and join an all-girls band. Eventually they run into sultry singer Sugar Kane Kowalcyzk (Monroe), who becomes Joe’s instant object-of-affection. Only problem, Joe now goes by the name Josephine. Hijinks ensue as passion turns to action.
When: August 22, 8:30 p.m. Where: Riverdale Park East
Casablanca
"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." One line, one ending and the beginning of a beautiful relationship between the quotable Moroccan tale of love lost-then-found-then-lost-again and just about every Hollywood ‘Best Of’ list. Starring Golden Era powerhouses Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, the World War Two epic is the story of a man’s conflict between love and duty amidst the backdrop of his life as an American expatriate running a nightclub and gambling den. A popular choice for al fresco movie nights, PostCity.com has just one thing to say: "Play it again, Sam."
When: September 1, 9:00 p.m. Where: Metro Square, Entertainment District
Monday may be a holiday but that’s still doesn’t give you enough time to pack in everything going on in Toronto this long weekend. Check out PostCity.com’s list of the top five things to do this weekend.
Caribana
‘Lime’ with friends and family this Saturday as you take in the sights, sounds and costumes of the 43rd annual Caribana parade. Warm up for the big parade with a steel pan show Friday night at Lampart Stadium.
iPhone 4 release
Okay, it may be a bit of a stretch, but the release of the iPhone 4 qualifies as a big event in our world. Expect long lineups Friday morning as anxious Apple devotees put down their iPads in exchange for the latest gadget from the world of Steve Jobs.
Toronto Summer Music Festival
The Toronto Summer Music Festival is in full swing with concerts from an array of world-class artists. This year’s theme "Songs of the Earth" will have you feeling greener than ever. Check out the Pacifica String Quartet & Menahem Pressler on Saturday night at MacMillan Theatre.
MacMillan Theatre, 80 Queen’s Park Crescent, 8 p.m.
KidSummer
Stores may be closed this Monday but if you want to keep the kids busy head over to the Ontario Science Centre for TELUSCAPE, an outdoor exploration plaza. Then head inside and let the kids check out Toronto’s only public planetarium and the tropical rainforest.
Science Centre 770 Don Mills road 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Uptown Swing Band
Uptown Swing Band is the feature performance this Sunday at Mel Lastman Square. The 10-piece “Little Big Band” bangs out the best in swing music from the 1940s to 1960s. Arrive early and learn the fox trot and jive.
Mel Lastman Square, 5100 Yonge St., 6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.
