Legends Never Die: The El Mocambo

Try as fate might, the El Mocambo is here to stay. The building that houses the legendary El Mocambo has had live music played in it since the original building was erected in 1850. Over the years it has hosted music for Toronto’s Hungarian, Irish and Portuguese communities. Had a Latin club on the top level,  a German dance club and even a striptease show at one point in 1971.

In 1972 it was rebranded to appeal to youthful blues and rock fans, bringing in the likes of Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Tom Waits, U2, and Elvis Costello.  Its infamy exploded in 1977 with a surprise performance by the Rolling Stones (where they also recorded the Love You Live album). They booked massive acts like Blondie, the Ramones, Devo and Joan Jett. Basically, it was the place to go for live music in Toronto.

Changes in the music industry’s touring practices meant a decline in business for the El Mocambo, unable to book big names, they resorted to small local acts. The club was sold in 1986 and suffered many changes of hand and closures over the years.

But like a classic rock band, the El Mocambo resurrected in the 90’s as an underground and garage music venue hosting the likes of White Stripes and Zoobombs and helping in the launch of Peaches, Toronto’s breakout electronic musician and performance artist.

El Mo changed hands and was reinvented once again in 2001 to feature music from every genre and a particular focus on charity events, hosting fundraisers for War Child, Amnesty International, Free the Children, World Vision and Blanket-Fest.

 

November 6th, 2014 was to be the final swan song for the venue that could. At the last minute, the venue was bought by Dragon’s Den outspoken Michael Wekerle. But it has been closed since then, but for good reason, it’s been under renovations for yet another reincarnation.

This time around the El Mocambo will be home to a recording and production studio, designed my the same people that did Jimi Hendricks studio in NYC, as well as host live music events. The new El Mo will be managed by INK Entertainment, the same company behind REBEL, UNIUN, and Batch.  The remarketing and lead up is quickly gaining momentum on social media for the summer 2017 reopen. In the meantime, you can buy swag from their pop-up shop (when it’s not sold out of branded classic logo shirts and hats), Prohibition at 66 Kensington.

Keep an eye on our blog if this excites you as much as it does us. We’ll be sure to keep you updated

– Paula McDines

The Drake Effect

As part of Drake Hotel Properties recent expansions, the Junction Triangle will now get a taste of the hip trendsetter all to itself. The Drake Commissionary, opening this spring at 128 Sterling Rd. (right beside Henderson Brewery) will be an 8,000 sq. ft. creative culinary and social neighbourhood hub.

Drake Commissary will offer fully customizable event planning that will include every step from innovative food and drink, to art, music, and décor. Expect expert event coordination for anything from afternoon brainstorming sessions to team building events where you can get your hands messy at a cooking class. And of course, there will be a bar for after work cocktails accompanied by talks from artists.

Continuing with their promise to serve healthy, unprocessed food, the new bakery will be dedicated to exploring new and fresh creations daily using locally sourced products. The whole place is set to become a “gastronomic town square” that blends the edges of guests and chefs.

The Drake’s expanding empire now includes the Commissary, Drake Hotel, Drake One Fifty, Drake Devonshire Inn and multiple Drake General Stores. Each venue encapsulating and reflecting its own unique neighbourhood.

Read all about the features and exciting happenings here, and stay tuned for more information as it becomes available

 

 

A Fresh Distillery Opens in The Historic Toronto Distillery District

On Thursday, May 11tth, the Spirit of York Distillery Co. will open to the public offering their unique bottles of vodka and gin premium spirits. The small batches are being created using fresh spring water in stainless steel tanks using only locally-sourced ingredients.

The space is perfect for events. There is a large bar featured as the room’s centerpiece, with a three-tiered hydroponic fresh herb garden directly above it as well as a wall of botanicals and dried herbs used to infuse their spirits.  A specialty bitters bar is ideal for interactive demonstrations, mixology training, innovation, and education for others who are as passionate about spirits as Spirit of York Co. is.

There are also other rooms perfect for private dining and Team building here is a unique idea for your team.

The space fits up to 150 people and has maintained the historic features of brick and beam from the original roots of Toronto’s distillery hub.  Like many historic spaces, the venue has achieved a great mix of old and modern, with the lighting design and layout being a key feature. The Spirit of York Co. has brought back the art of distilling to the historic Distillery District with this contemporary ‘Spirits Hub’.

The Spirit of York will be exclusively available at their new location. But, keep your watch for their concoctions in the LCBO in the future. Perhaps at specialty cocktail bars, we can hope…

For more information visit:

Website: SpiritofYork.com

Instagram: @SpiritofYork

Twitter: @SpiritofYork

 

Is it a Restaurant? Is it a Comic Book Store? It’s FIGURES!

Step into the past and relive memories of your childhood as you enter Figures. At first glance, Figures offers visitors a look into a their small vintage toy shop, a space that’s been specially wallpapered with comics by a local artist.

If curiosity truly gets the best of you, you’ll notice a faint outline of a door that leads to the best section of Figures.

Through the secret passageway you’ll find yourself in a beautiful restaurant that takes pride in the joys of comic book imagery; custom art, comic themes and some of your favourite superheroes and villains fill the walls, filling you with feelings of nostalgia and excitement.

But what really gets people to come back is the mix of tapas, shareable plates and delicious food that is offered on the menu (which you only get to take a look at once you visit the restaurant in person!) For the curious minds however, you have choices of Yellow Beet & Yukon Gold Gnocchi ($22) or even a Warm Crab Cake over Lightly Truffled Crab Salad ($26) and more.

In terms of events, the venue is a fantastic space for networking and entertaining as the atmosphere provides an intimate space with plenty of character that will be sure to be an icebreaker for guests

Space: 2,000 Sq. Feet

Capacity: 80 seated | 150 cocktail

This space also has a DJ booth and an area for socializing, Figures’ guests can enjoy a delicious dinner into a vibrant nightlife.

Whether it’s through the use of stormtrooper appearances in your latte’s and cocktails or the Pac-Man that seems to leave behind neon trails on the ceiling, you’ll be fascinated with what Figures has to offer.

For more information visit: http://figuresto.com/

Or email: info@figuresto.ca

Twitter: @figurestoronto

 

137 Avenue Road

Toronto, ON, M5R 1R2

416-900-1022

Canadian Special Events Showcases Some of the Best Toronto Has to Offer for Event Planners

Whether you are a seasoned pro with a long list of clients, or you are a graduate straight out of school. The event planning world will keep you on your toes, as it constantly evolves. Technology is becoming an ever-present aspect at events with social media being a popular tool to market your event and to engage your guests. Engaging your guests at events can be a challenge. With the right tools and activations, your event will be one to remember and keep guests coming back or talking about it for days and weeks after.

The CityEvents team took to the CSE Tradeshow floor, fresh after our CEO, Deborah Lewis, won the Independent Event Planner Award at the CSE Reader’s Choice Awards Gala, the night before.

Some of our favourite highlights included:

ABSOLUTE EVENTS & MANAGEMENT: specializing in interactive entertainment, they focus on brand engagement through customized activations. Touchscreens that include games and photo booth applications means your guests will likely be more involved at your event and will recognize branding and logos quicker. Other event materials that Absolute provides include; signage, custom tents, promo gear, photo backdrops and swag for giveaways

ABBEY ROAD ENTERTAINMENT: From their humble beginning of renting poker tables and karaoke machines for small parties Abbey Road is now a full-fledged entertainment management company working with fortune 500 companies. Each year their inventory and services expand as they position themselves to become the go-to for event rentals. Along with their classic casino and karaoke rentals, Abbey Road also offers photo and video booths, arcade games, giant games, carnival games, promotional material, virtual reality experiences, performance and talent, and custom branding on almost all of their wares.  

 

WILSONS: Toronto’s favourite mobile ice cream bar! Showing off some of the most delicious ice cream flavours with equally satisfying names (Hello Handsome, Bombshell, Can’t Get Enough), Monsieur Wilson specializes in building your own desired ice cream cup with a choice of over 50 premium toppings. With their rentable Airstream, clients can customize the mobile vehicle and use it for a variety of purposes like creating a mobile meeting room, dressing room, showroom, photo booth or Ice Cream Bar.

 

After we visited all the vendors we stepped into the Canadian Society of Professional Event Planners (CanSPEP) “Ask a Planner” booth. We sat down for an informal interview with members of the Society Dustin Rivers, Executive Director of Verney Conference Management, and Meagan Rockett, Association Ambassador of CanSPEP. They gave us some advice to pass along to novices and beginners in the business.

• Time management is the most important thing, always stay on top of your schedule.

• Venues make or break you. They are your biggest expense, they need to be your biggest partner, so build close relationships with the front desk, they have all the emergency contacts (especially if you are working in an unfamiliar city).

• There are always going to be risks associated with your events, it’s best to have a contingency plan written up in case any problems do occur. Always be six steps ahead of the problem.

 

Although some of their advice sounds dire, they wanted to let us know that mostly all event planners began in the business because of the continuous creativity, challenges, and amazing people they get to meet and work with.

Visit our Facebook page for all of our photos from the events: https://goo.gl/XYQcHT

We want to give special thanks to Canadian Special Events for inviting CityEvents to the tradeshow. To find out about all the vendors and suppliers that were at the tradeshow visit Canadian Special Events.

 

Contributing writers:

Ashleigh Alexander

Aprile Gonzalez

Paula McDines

 

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