You keep saying you need to get out and about.
After all, some of the best personal and professional connections are made on the Toronto event scene.
Well, what are you waiting for?
Here are five notable events you need to hit this winter.
1. Book Lover’s Ball: After Dark
The Book Lover’s Ball returns this Thursday, February 5th for a special 10th anniversary celebration. This year, the BLB will have the first-ever after party, After Dark. The well-curated crowd can enjoy a game of Scrabble with an author, dancing, live music, and a DJ, Jason Collett’s Basement Review (with special guests to be announced) and more. Though tickets to the gala dinner – where guests get to dine within the stacks of the Toronto Reference Library with celebrity authors – will set you back a cool $7,500- $10,000/table (gala tickets selling for $750 a piece), the after party offers a more affordable option ($100) and caters to a younger demographic of book lovers.
Funds raised at The Book Lover’s Ball will go to the Toronto Public Library Foundation.
2. Motionball Gala
On Friday, February 6th, the motionball Toronto Gala is back. With a theme of “Glitz & Graffiti,” we can expect an event where fine art meets street art, and the red carpet meets the underground. motionball’s 14th annual gala will take over the Liberty Grand and include perks (and Instagram material) like a 130-square foot art gallery featuring a mix of fine art and street art, live graffiti artists, music by DJ Skratch Bastid, DJ Dopey & DJ Saratonin, and live performances by Running Red Lights and Andria Simone. There will also be a 100-item silent auction featuring things 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 for a party of eight.
All proceeds will benefit the Special Olympics Canada Foundation.
3. The Artist Project: Opening Night Party
If you’re in the market for some art, hit The Artist Project contemporary art fair for their Opening Night Party on Thursday, February 19th at the Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place. Running February 19-22, the fair transforms the space with works of art from over 250 top contemporary artists from Canada and around the world. Featuring music by DJ Vinny Grüvhunter and DJ J-Lah, live art performances, and an installation by Bruno Billio, the party also allows ample networking opportunities as you bond with fellow YPs over some pretty notable art.
Tickets can be purchased in advance here.
4. SNAP!
The AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT) will once again host their annual gala and photography auction SNAP! on Thursday, March 26th to raise vital funds for their organization. SNAP! will include a live auction of art, a silent auction, and a photo competition (plus free-flowing drinks and conversation). Attracting some of the city’s most notable faces, the event will feature art and photographs you’ll want on your walls. This includes work from Vivian Maier, Richard Johnson and David Leventi. Vivian Maier is the nanny from Chicago who secretly took over 100,000 photographs that were hidden in storage lockers and discovered decades later. Her piece at SNAP! is a rare find and among the 100,000 shots discovered after her death.
Find the full list of artists here and buy your tickets ($100) here.
5. ROM PROM: Prom X
On Saturday, March 28th, the Royal Ontario Museum’s YP-filled event of the year, ROM PROM, returns for its 10th year. Inspired by the work of beloved author and artist Douglas Coupland (featured in the ROM’s current exhibition), the party will offer an appropriate explosion of pop culture, live entertainment, dancing, gourmet food, interactive elements, and some of the city’s finest YPs. This year’s theme invites guests to create their own experimental outfit to celebrate Coupland and his post-modern mindset – with neon and bold contemporary patterns encouraged. The VIP party experience ($350) begins at 8pm and includes an exclusive pre-party cocktail reception with Douglas Coupland in c5 Restaurant and Lounge, complete with a signed Polaroid of the two of you and access to the exhibition.
The regular party ($150) begins at 9:00pm. Buy your tickets here.
#NOTABLE
Cover image from: SNAP!
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