A BEAUTIFUL SUMMER NIGHT IN LIBERTY VILLAGE

With a tagline promising “5 Thursdays, 5 Locations, 1 Community,” Liberty Social Hour: Le Bel Été kicked off on July 7, 2011. Held at Barista Espresso Bar on East Liberty St., a cozy café with a distinctly European feel, guests were treated to free appetizers, $5 beers and an evening spent rubbing shoulders with fellow Liberty Villagers.

Hoping to do its part in fostering community relations, the inaugural event did not disappoint. The neighbourly welcome began at the door and carried its way inside, where, akin to a party held at a friend’s house, introductions and co-mingling were plentiful. Even one-time mayoral candidate, Sarah Thomson, CEO of Women’s Post and current Liberal candidate for October’s election, stopped by to say hi!

After an evening spent making new friends, a gift bag featuring information and deals from various businesses located in Liberty Village was given out, placing a metaphorical cherry on the top of the night. With one Thursday down and four more to go, the next Liberty Social Hour is taking place on July 14 at Merci Mon Ami, on their 3rd year anniversary and a portion of sales will be donated to ovarian cancer. Attending Liberty Social Hour definitely reminded me why living in Liberty Village truly means a beautiful summer is ahead.

For more pictures go to: Link

Chef’s Challenge for a Cure

Bobby Flay is no stranger to culinary showdowns. This November, however, he’ll be hosting a culinary challenge in the name of ovarian cancer research at Mount Sinai Hospital.

We were lucky enough to attend the press conference for the second annual Chef’s Challenge last Wednesday and boy did our stomachs thank us. Each celebrity chefs came with a special hors-d’ouevre and everything was simply delicious! Whoever end up getting to work with these chefs is in for a real treat.

Chefs present included David Rocco, host of La Dolce Vita, Massimo Capra, host of Restaurant Makeover and Mark McEwan, head judge on Top Chef Canada and host of The Heat with Mark McEwan.

Though we’re not huge chefs ourselves, the event looks so exciting and goes towards such a great cause that it had us thinking we’d want to participate too! The actual Challenge will be hosted on November 26, 2011 and will feature six (one more than last year) celebrity chefs from The Food Network who will each lead a team of 10 top fundraisers and self-proclaimed foodies to create the best-tasting five-course meal, as judged by a panel of celebrity judges. Last year, the Challenge raised $1.1 million for ovarian cancer research. This year, they plan to do even better!

Should be great! Can’t wait to see the culinary rivalry heat things up!

Ps. The Sub-Zero Wolf showroom is spectacular. It could not be more gorgeously designed. Great venue.

Liberty Social Hour – Le Bel Été.

inLibertyVillage.com and CityEvents invite you to a series of socializing and networking events. Each Thursday will be hosted on a beautiful summer evening in various locations throughout Liberty Village. We present to you the “Liberty Social Hour: Le Bel Été.”

Liberty Village is the creative centre of Toronto, highlighting everything that is artistic, urban and chic. Liberty Social Hour will give Liberty Village residents a chance to experience the venues, and potential of Liberty Village while meeting your neighbours or collaborating with a local technology company.

Join us on the following Thursdays and create some valuable relationships within your community, Liberty Village:
July 7 – Barista Espresso Bar, 171 East Liberty St
July 14 – Merci Mon Ami, 171 East Liberty St
July 28 – Locus 144, www.locus144.com, 171 East Liberty St
August 11 – Mildred Temple, 85 Hanna Avenue
August 18 – Liberty Noodle 171 East Liberty St.
Sampler sushi appitizers
1/2 price sake cocktails
Sake tasting

From 5:30PM to 8:30PM, socialize, mingle, network, and experience your community.

And if that isn’t enough of a reason to experience this series, think of the free swag bags we’ll be giving out! We will be announcing a great drink or food special each week.

For more information visit www.torontocityevents.ca, www.deblewis.ca or www.inlibertyvillage.com and supported by www.mercadonews.com

Here are some photos from the first thursday at Barista Espresso Bar: Link

Merci Mon Ami: Link

Locus 144 :Link

Mildred : Link

Liberty Noodle : Link

Andrew Designs Night – Secreto de Verano

Andrew Richard Designs presented its Annual Industry Night Summer Secret last Wednesday. It was a great event and showcased some amazing talent for the event-planning industry. We were lucky enough to make guest list and got to sample a variety of food and drinks all night thanks to partners like Moët & Chandon, Belvedere Vodka as well as many other terrific catering companies in Toronto like 10tation catering, Encore Catering or Malbec Restaurant. Everything was delicious!

From decadent ice creams provided by Origin and Colborne Lane to sliders, ravioli and salmon, everything was delicious and perfected complemented. I particularly enjoyed the wines from Wines of Argentina, Chateau La Garde and Andre Lurton and the champagne from Moët & Chandon was absolutely delicious! The rest of my friends had a great night drinking beers and sipping on Belvedere Vodka cocktails made by the fabulous bartenders of R.E.D.

All this, coupled with sensual Argentinean tango and Brasilian samba, topped with an impressive show of Brazillian martial arts, it made for a riveting event!

Apart from the standout food, beverage and entertainment, the evening did a wonderful job at showcasing the venue. It was beautifully decorated and the atmosphere was perfect. It can definitely be adapted to

suit a variety of different themes and functions. The two storeys and patio create distinctly different spaces but has enough flow and cohesion to make for one great party! Definitely a terrific place to host an event if you have more than 400 attendees. The possibilities are endless!

Celebrate Bloor

Coinciding (unintentionally?) with Father’s Day, last Sunday’s “Celebrate Bloor” was the perfect event for a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. Hosted by the Bloor Yorkville Business Improvement Association with sponsors like Holt Renfrew and Manulife, the event promised to transform Bloor St “Red Carpet Style” by closing down the street and rolling out the red-carpet. They sure delivered. I was pleasantly surprised by how wide the red carpet actually was and even more so by the number of attendees there. It was very busy for a first-time event. Perhaps scheduling it for Father’s Day helped!

I have to say I had a good time there. The food partners were great. For $5, you had access to a wide selection of snacks and treats, not bad for being on Bloor St. I also got to take home a bottle of free beer from Stella Artois. I don’t even know if that’s legal. Are you allowed to hand out free beer, even if it’s a festival?

I was dragged to check out Shawn Desman who I thought was great with his dancing team and the crowd tripled when he came on stage, I also saw a bit of Keshia Chanté she was great, I skipped  Platinum Blonde, just not the same as when they visited my high school…ah back to the good old days… Great event!

Here are some photos of the event: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cityeventstoronto/sets/72157627002409908/

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