After months of planning and a steady rumble of growing buzz, our long anticipated Quebec Notable Awards Powered by Fusion (a partnership celebrating the all new 2013 Ford Fusion) finally took place last Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012, at the sleek and beautiful Montreal Science Center in Montreal’s trendy Old Port. One thing is certain: if you live in Montreal and scored a spot on the guest list, you’re probably still reliving the memories.
We knew that the first instalment of this initiative would be welcomed by young professionals across Quebec – La Belle Province has some of the most well-cultured, educated, and forward-thinking YPs in Canada – but we could not have expected the overwhelming amount of support, buzz and excitement that we received. Of course, the purpose of the evening was to bring all of us together to recognize and celebrate not only the finalists and the winners of the Awards, but the new, inspiring generation of Quebec that is steadily making waves in their respective careers. These YPs are dedicated fully to their passion, whether in the arts, finance, social good, law, healthcare, fashion, communications, entertainment, through DJing, or owning some of the hottest spots in the city. Today’s young professional comes from every industry, offering their diverse talents to help Quebec prosper and bloom even further.
Let’s get to the much-anticipated evening! The Science Centre started to fill with cocktail-clad YPs shortly after 7pm, as the incredibly dapper guests checked out and took pictures of the brand new 2013 Ford Fusion that greeted them at the entrance. The setting felt reminiscent of a young professional version of the Golden Globes, with a black carpet and a fancy-but-cool room filled with a sea of perfectly polished and fashion-forward guests and no shortage of cameras.
Once a bit of socializing and mingling subsided, the finalists proceeded to their assigned seats along with their guests of honour. The lavishly prepared tables were decorated with delicious canapés prepared by Jewels Catering, which included mushroom box croutons, peppered mint and arugula aperitif, Quebec stuffed potatoes with green peppers alongside other masterfully created edible treats.
Fine wine was served by Gallo Wines (including Ghost Pines, Mirassou and Apothic Red) throughout the Awards ceremony, allowing Notable.ca founder and co-host of the Quebec Notable Awards, Julian Brass, and his beautiful and talented co-host, Quebec’s sweetheart Genevieve Borne, to toast the success of all the YPs in attendance. After opening speeches by Julian Brass (who impressed the crowd with his recent adoption of French) and Ford Canada’s QC Eastern Regional Manager, Bert Lessard, the winners were called on stage to the applause of the enthusiastic crowd.
The winners were selected based on three key factors, two of which aimed to recognize Notable.ca’s 360-degree young professional lifestyle: professional dedication, community involvement and the number of votes received. The format was a talk-show style divided by three or four categories at a time, where the hosts asked various questions (alternating between English and French) pertaining to each winner’s professional endeavours in a fun and interactive way that allowed other YPs and attendees to get to know each of these outstanding YPs.
A special thank you goes out to our celebrity award announcers, including Chom FM’s Jason Rockman, ET Canada and Virgin Radio’s Natasha Gargiulo and The Beat’s Anne-Marie Whitenshaw, for being such notable additions to the evening. The 19 winners were called on stage and cheered on by very supporting friends, families, partners and fellow finalists in a truly team-spirited affair. For the list of all the winners, see our previous post.
After the panels concluded, the speeches were done, and the final applause rang across the room, it was time for the After Party – and what a grand affair it was! Once the VIP cocktail, catered by some of the city’s finest restaurants like Brasero Hardi, BEVO, m:brgr, L’Orignal, The Old Port Fishing Company and delicious cannoli by La Cornetteria, ended, the rest of Notable’s guest list-only attendees arrived…about 600 of them. They joined the night’s media, VIPs and finalists to network, toast together and celebrate each other. *Based on capacity we were not able to accommodate everyone who RSVP’d to attend. We apologize but look forward to seeing you at our upcoming Notable.ca Montreal events in 2013.
The central open bar was run by Best Bar Professional winner Brahm Mauer, and staffed with an upbeat and easy-on-the-eyes set of bartenders who poured snazzy Grey Goose cocktails, including Grey goose fizz, Grey Goose classic, Fraicheur Fete and Laristrocrate. The Aqua Hydrate station was the ideal stopover for those of us dancing our little hearts away to the beats of DJ Fafa Khan…and if you were there, you would have been witness to some of the finest dance-offs we have ever experienced (kudos to Paul Telner for having moves like Jagger!).
The music was a highlight of the party and included a mix of things like high school hip hop classics to today’s best (and most danceable) tracks. Of course, to rest those stiletto-clad feet, guests could catch up with peers in the VIP couches that lined the glass space, with the lights of Old Montreal offering a welcomed backdrop.
The entire Notable.ca team would like to extend a big shout out to everyone who made this happen. Thank you all for making this one of the most memorable nights for many of Quebec’s hard-working and dedicated young professionals. It was an incredibly notable night that will go down in Quebec’s young professional history. All of our young professional readers, Quebec and the rest of Canada, are winners and an inspiration for not only this generation, but the next as well.
A Notable toast to you and your bright futures!
We look forward to hosting you in 2013 and to having you join the notable network – sign up here to be kept in the loop of all things notable.
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