A toast to Oktoberfest!

In Munich, Germany people have already said “O’zapft is” (“The beer is tapped”). In Germany Oktoberfest started on September 20th and lasts until October 5th. So it is time for women to dress in their “Dirndl” and for men to put on their leather shorts. See for yourself, the following picture shows one of the crowded beer tents this year!

 

But no worries if you did not make it to Germany – Toronto hosts some great Oktoberfests as well!

Mill Street Brewery – The BEER HALL Oktoberfest on October 4th

Mill Street Brewery presents their annual Oktoberfest celebration on October 4th at The Beer Hall at Mill Street Brewery. It is one of the biggest Bavarian Bashes in Toronto! They have live entertainment, traditional food fare, 20 different beers on tap and a ceremonial keg tapping. Tickets are $25 and it is $200 for a table (for 10 people). For more information or tickets call them at 416.681.0338

Canadian Cancer Society  OktoberFEAST on October 16th

On October 16th the Canadian Cancer Society`s 2nd Annual OktoberFEAST takes place at the Artscape Wychwood Barns (601 Christie St.). The venue, a century-old former streetcar repair facility creates the perfect atmosphere for beer lovers and foodies! The place will unite beer enthusiasts, brewers, restaurants as well as Canada’s most trusted cancer charity. Tickets are $25 and for more information visit www.cancer.ca/oktoberfeast

Toronto Oktoberfest October 3rd and 4th

Last but not least there is the Toronto Oktoberfest presented by Piller’s. True to the Bavarian roots, they claim to offer an authentic “Festehalle experience”. For 2014 they have increased the capacity of their tent, which is 35,000 sq ft. People can also access an outdoor space, a real Biergarten! And there is non-stop music now, so no excuses to stop dancing! This is going to be great news for beer lovers: There will be at least 12 varieties of German and European beers. The event takes place on October 3rd and 4th. “Tapping of the Keg” starts on Friday October 3rd at 4:30 pm until 1:00 am. On Saturday October 4th is is “Stein Haus Day” from 11:30 am to 5:00 pm. On Saturday October 4th it is “Ein Prosit Closing Party” from 7:00pm to 1:00 am. Get tickets here:

“Tapping of the Keg”

“Stein Haus Day”

“Ein Prosit Closing Party”

For further questions send a mail to info@torontooktoberfest.ca

So you see, there are great opportunities to attend an Oktoberfest! Be sure not to miss them.

 

Canadian Helen Keller Centre Awards

Tenth Annual Awards Luncheon

In conjunction with the Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons, CHKC held the Annual CHKC Awards Dinner on April 15th at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel to honour individuals who have made outstanding achievements and contributions to the disability of deaf-blindness, and to raise much needed funds to operate the centre.

Guest Speaker: The Honourable Ted McMeekin, Minister of Community and Social Services

George Brown College will accept the 2014 Canadian Helen Keller Centre Award for their exceptional community service and training.

Distinguished guests of the luncheon include: Lieutenant Governor David, C. Onley, Ruth Ann Onley,Cindy Accardi Executive Director Rotary Cheshire Homes & Canadian Helen Keller Centre, John Rafferty CEO, CNIB, President & CEO of ICIC Bank of Canada, Sriram Lyer, Honourable Vim Kochhar and Vice-Chairman & COO of Scotiabank Sabi Marwah.

Check out photos from last year:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cityeventstoronto/sets/

For more information :
www.cfpdp.com

 

The April 26th FastLane Event at Kultura

I always look forward to Fastlane events. The crowd is down to earth and ready to mingle. It’s very inviting and energetic. Last night’s Fastlane at Kultura on King St East had it all. There was great people, interesting vendors, generous sponsors and a good crowd for speed networking.  Two full sessions of one on one networking with ten people each occurred at 6:30 and 8pm. Following the huge success of last year’s “Fastlane, In the Community” we decided to rejoin forces with United Way’s GenNext to enlighten our networking social attendees about the importance of giving back and getting involved.

GenNext and The United Way

GenNext is a group committed to encouraging and increasing volunteer awareness of the United Way and their initiatives. They aim to help people in their 20’s and 30’s get more involved in the community. Just like last year, the event was hosted at the beautifully rustic Kultura. The red brick walls and yellow cast birch bark veneer tree trunks made a wonderful backdrops to meeting new people and hearing about new campaigns and ‘good causes’.

Getting into the FastLane

Getting involved is an easy as simply showing up at the door.  Last night that meant battling the inclement weather, but most people I know believe that springtime is the perfect time to get engaged and give back to the community. Most people want to get more involved, but they simply don’t know what to do or where to go. This event was a great reminder about the importance of our collective participation and involvement in charity and the program even suggested some outreach programs not represented at the venue.  At Fastlane however people are generally happy and ready to contribute. In this environment they get to have a couple of drinks, mingle and chat with other interesting people , and help society. It’s a great package, and the goodie bag filled with deals is always a nice bonus.

Thanks For The Help

I wanted to thank everyone for joining us last night and making the event a success. We all got to meet someone new and learn about exciting initiatives. Another huge thank you goes out to the Gatherings and CityEvents team for making this event a success. Planning a wonderful event is always easy when working with a dedicated and talented team. Last but not least, thanks to all of our sponsors for their continued support of FastLane.  Our door prizes were graciously donated by John Frieda, ColdFX, Blo Blowdry, Wrigleys, Lounge, SGT Splatters, Danceology Studio, Extreme Fitness, Mysteriously Yours, tickets to Mirvish’s Ghost Stories.