Hycroft Manor Celebrates Bastille Day in High Style

Hycroft Manor was truly the perfect spot for this soiree to unfold. Oozing with elegance and drenched in history, the manor now functions as the University Women’s Club of Vancouver’s headquarters, seemingly perched atop the city scene that fans out below.

A red carped awaited to mark our entrance, as did a classic car adorned with the French flag, of course. After being ushered inside, we felt as though we’d all but stepped back in time… at least until the early 1900s, when the manor was built and functioned as a private residence. 

After being greeted by our hosts for the evening, the Consul General of France and The Social Concierge (famous for producing noteworthy events like diner en blanc and The Deighton Cup), we made our way out into the sprawling gardens to take in the scene.

Tables had been set in anticipation of a multi-course dinner prepared by Executive Chef Walter Messiah and various cocktail, wine and champagne stations had been positioned throughout the grounds.  

A DJ had set up shop for the post-dinner cocktail party to follow, but guests at the reception were entertained by a piano player’s tinkerings as they sipped on flutes of bubbly, mingling with other ex-pats with the chance to try their hand at a game of croquet.

Prior to sitting down for dinner, we scored a chance to check out the historic house – though we didn’t have time to meander around all 20,000 square feet of it. Much of the estate’s original accents are in place or have been meticulously repaired over the years by volunteers, and it oozes old world class; the perfect venue for celebrating France’s birthday in style.

After dining on dish after dish of exquisite eats (including duck confit flown in from France) guests left their seats and the party got underway thanks to DJ Marc Fournier and an open bar… but not before one lucky partygoer scored big time and won a trip to France courtesy of sponsor Air France.

Definitely a stylish setting and an event worth adding to your agenda next year.

#NOTABLE

Want more updates on the most Notable things happening so you know before your colleagues do? Get our exclusive newsletter here and follow us on Twitter for all the latest.