Notable’s Best of 2013: Toronto Events

It’s pretty amazing what can happen in just 365 days. We spent 24 incredible hours in Cali, ate pizza with Diddy in NYC, après skied in Whistler, worked beachside in Nicaragua, hit Fashion Week like divas, made TIFF our BFF, ate and drank at some of this country’s most spectacular new restaurants and bars, and spoke with celebrities, chefs, movie stars, racecar drivers, authors, and influential people from all over the world. So ya, 2013 wasn’t too shabby. And since it deserves a proper farewell, we’ve rounded up the Best of Notable 2013 for you to have a look back at the year that was. Don’t linger in the past too long, though, ‘cause we can’t wait to start turning 2014 into our most memorable year yet! And we hope you’ll be right there with us making it happen.

Events
One thing is certain: Toronto has a year-round, bustling event scene that caters to a young professional (YP) crowd, offering so many options that it is difficult to do them all. Yet, we did our best and were there, camera in hand, for some of the city’s most memorable events. This meant everything from charity functions at some of the city’s best venues to a large-scale paint party in an abandoned hospital and some of the most exclusive TIFF after parties complete with some of Hollywood’s biggest names. Here are our top events for 2013…

TIFF 2013: The Parties
From sipping cocktails alongside Kristen Wiig, James Franco, Scarlett Johansson, Amy Poehler and Joseph Gordon-Levitt to chatting with some of Canada’s top entertainment talent on the red carpet and networking with some of Hollywood’s business elite, TIFF 2013 was truly one for the books. Here is what we saw and heard on the TIFF party scene…

Paint the Halls
If you missed Art Battle’s Paint the Halls, you unfortunately will probably never be able to experience anything like it. In just a few event-filled hours, the walls of Toronto’s landmark Women’s College Hospital were transformed into one of the most vibrant galleries of art in the city before the original WCH location closed its doors to the public forever…

Operanat10n: A Night of Temptation
Back in October, one of our favourite young professional (YP) charity events, Operanation, infused Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts with a seductive young energy that lasted all evening. Operanat10n: A Night of Temptation, the Canadian Opera Company’s 10th annual fundraising event, was designed to test our resistance to temptation…

ROM PROM: Ancient
On Saturday, April 6th, Royal Ontario Museum’s beloved ROM PROM filled the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal with ready-to-party young professionals (YPs) and charity event regulars from across the city and from varying professions. This year’s “ancient” theme inspired quite the photo opportunity-worthy medley of outfit options, with choices reflective of the Roman, Egyptian and Greek Empires… 

AGO Massive Party: GOLD
This year’s AGO Massive Party was all about glitter, gold, grillz and glamour as the sprawling venue quickly filled with easy on the eyes and gold-clad young professionals…

Motionball
Like other years, motionball 2013, Winter Wonderland presented by Air Miles, drew the city’s finest, most stylish young professionals and charity circuit regulars for an evening of networking, mingling and a good cause, as Muzik was transformed into an icy winter wonderland with no shortage of silver beads and branches and an ice-inspired dance floor…

Joe Carter Classic After Party
The 4th annual Joe Carter Classic celebrity golf tournament official after party was filled with iconic sports figures of our youth, like Wayne Gretzky (who arrived with sons Ty and Tristan), Kelly Gruber and, of course, the Blue Jays World Series hero himself, Joe Carter…

Toronto Life’s Most Influential
Toronto Life’s 50 Most Influential party celebrates the contributions of influential Torontonians in culture, the arts, fashion, media, politics, business and everything in between. We chatted with some of Toronto’s most influential – some whom officially made the list and others who we’ll likely see on it in the near future – and asked them the same two questions…

Canadian Stage Theatre Ball Gala
The Canadian Stage’s annual gala event, Theatre Ball, was a particular cause for celebration this year as the theatre company marked its 25th anniversary season. Guests included some well-known faces from favourite YP shows past, like Jason Priestley and actress and comedienne Caroline Rhea (the aunt from Sabrina, the Teenaged Witch, as you may recall) who hammed it up with us for the camera…

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