On Friday, young professionals (YPs) from across the city found themselves ballin’ in a big way.
Presented by AIR MILES a Loyalty One Program, the 14th annual motionball Toronto Gala (which sold out yet again) transformed the Liberty Grand into a blinged-out, fabulously flashy, and over-the-top evening, inspired by theme of “Glitz & Graffiti.”
This meant glitz in all its glory – whether reflected in the short, glittery dresses of the easy-on-the-eyes ladies, or the sparkling décor that included a magical entranceway. The graffiti factor came into play with artwork, live graffiti artists, multi-coloured lighting, and a large graffiti-like motionball painting that was the star of the Instagram show – just check out #glitzandgraffiti.
A 100-item silent auction included items like a six-person dinner from Food Dudes, WestJet flights to anywhere in North America, four platinum tickets to the Rogers Cup, and a chef night at Montecito restaurant for a party of eight. There were also all kinds of art that made you wish for more wall space at home, with a mix of fine art and street art, including a piece up for bids by Notable Award nominee JessGo.
Timbits from Tim Horton’s were well-received late-night snacks, soaking up some of the booze that flowed from several open bars spread throughout the sprawling space.
Other crowd-pleasing perks included music by DJ Skratch Bastid, DJ Dopey & DJ Saratonin, as well as live performances by Running Red Lights and Andria Simone. It seemed even the “non-dancers” were busting a move by the later part of the evening.
All the regulars on the Toronto event scene were out in fine form, as were YPs in every profession, who come out of the woodwork when it’s a big deal like a motionball Gala.
Some of the city’s most notable faces – like TSN’s Cabbie Richards (the evening’s host), CP24’s Pooja Handa, and CBC’s Mr. D’s Gerry Dee – also showed up and partied the evening away with friends.
Of course, it was all for an amazing cause, with proceeds allocated to the Special Olympics Canada Foundation.
One of the best parts of the evening is the chance to interact with the evening’s beneficiaries, the Special Olympics athletes, many of whom have become familiar faces over the years, and many who proudly sported their heavy hardware from the 2015 Special Olympics Ontario Winter Games.
Just as at recent events, this year’s motionball featured a YELLOWCARD installation station, where guests could take the pledge to become a YELLOWCARD Ambassador and eliminate the “R-word” from their vocabulary, if they haven’t done so already.
Because, really, there’s #NoGoodWay to use the hurtful term.
For yet another year, guests seemed to stay right until the very end, soaking up everything they could before they’d have to wait another year for motionball to once again sweep them off their feet.
#NOTABLE
Images by: K. Protopapas, Patrick Thompson, Jason Kwan
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