On Friday night, the Carlu came alive with the energy of countless young professionals – 1500 to be exact – and charity circuit veterans alike in support of the sold-out Toronto motionball gala, which benefits Special Olympics Canada. This year, motionball was able to raise an incredible $250,000 for the cause.
We were lucky enough to have tickets for the VIP reception, which began at 7pm and allowed for ample mixing and mingling with the dressed-to-impress crowd and early access to the impressive silent auction. Silent auction items included coveted items like Black Keys tickets, certificates to some of the city’s most notable restaurants and no shortage of autographed sports memorabilia. Much to our envy, lucky raffle ticket winners left with tickets to Fiji and New York.
Food stations lined the space and included salmon, pasta and roast beef sandwiches. A sweet buffet featured a selection of heavenly favourites, like chocolate covered strawberries and a white chocolate fondue station. A live band played some fun YP favourites and had the VIP crowd singing along and dancing, setting the stage for the evening in store as DJ Kissette and Scratch Bastid spun some of the hottest tunes until 2am.
The influx of younger people around 9:30 marked a noticeable change in energy as the doors to the main party room opened and guests, who were handed glow bands on the way in, turned the party up a notch. An Under Armour underwear fashion show turned up the heat to get it going and featured a selection of hard-bodied models, who showed off not only the underwear but their impressive athletic abilities as well.
Some notable local celebrity sightings included VIP hosts Melissa Grelo (CP24) and Cabral Richards (TSN), tennis pros Daniel Nestor and Milos Raonic, MTV’s Aliya Jasmine-Sovani, MUCH’s Jesse Giddings, Stereos’ Daniel Johnson, model Liron Lashesky, actress Laura Bertram, CP24’s Nathan Downer and Steve Anthony, DJs Marsha and Sandra Krcmar of Kissette, DJ Skratch Bastid, Low Level Flight’s Ryan Malcolm.
Perhaps the best part of the evening was seeing Special Olympic athletes having such a good time with their peers and party guests alike.
Oh, and the taxi vouchers we were handed on the way out made for a well-received way to end the evening!
Click here to see the photo gallery.