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With his closest friends around him and a bottle of Crown Royal raised in his memory, Dusty Cohl's spirit remained vibrantly alive last night. Standing outside the Rosewater Supper Club where an opening night cocktail reception has become an annual tradition, the likes of Norman Jewison, Lynne St. David, Jack and Myrna Daniels, Bill Marshall, Helga Stephenson, Ivan Fecan plus at least a dozen others posed for a photograph with a larger-than-life-sized picture of the Toronto International Film Festival's founding father who passed away in January.

Each wearing the trademark cowboy hat pin that Mr. Cohl would bestow to an inner circle of close friends and festival supporters, they represented alumni new and old.

Long-time Dusty pal David Daniels was bang on when he said, "Basically, as far as I'm concerned, that moment will eclipse anything else at the festival."

The parties, in other words, are as much about poignant moments shaped by those who have brought TIFF to life as they are about the celebrities who generate all the buzz.

Inside, the mood was festive, with Dusty jokes served up faster than the mini-burger hors d'oeuvres.

"His pin is almost harder to get than the Order of Canada," said Bill Marshall, another festival founder and wearer of both.

The tribute to Mr. Cohl continued at Roy Thomson Hall with a pre-Passchendaele video produced and directed by filmmaker Barry Avrich. With sound bites from Roger Ebert and his wife, Chaz, who were both in attendance along with a gaggle of other TIFF veterans, it was short, bittersweet and 100-per-cent Dusty.

And with this tip of his cowboy hat, the festival had officially begun.

Meanwhile, the eve of the festival was inevitably low key.

On Wednesday night the big-name stars had yet to descend and no one wanted to pass out before the marathon began. Which offered the perfect opportunity to piggyback on building buzz while guaranteeing that people aren't too committed to decline a good invitation. With that strategy in mind, New York-based men's fashion designer Andrew Buckler travelled to Toronto for the official opening of his Queen Street West store.

Mr. Buckler's Clockwork Orange-meets-James Bond sensibility makes him a favourite of such boldface hipsters as James McAvoy, Shia LaBeouf, and Giovanni Ribisi. Sadly, none of them were in attendance. But I did happen to run into Anwar Mukhayesh, one-third of the Designer Guys. He's a celebrity of sorts, no? In any event, he mentioned that his real-life firm the Design Agency is nearing completion of One Eleven, a champagne and caviar bar located in Yorkville.

And just as I was preparing to make my exit, , I bumped into Roz Griffith Hall, the celebrity stylist who's been mighty busy of late dressing Ben Mulroney (he has been less plastic these days) and Sass Jordan in addition to all the Canadian Idol contestants. The show's finale Wednesday is one of many non-festival events causing well-connected music lovers to make a tough decision: watching guest crooners John Legend and Mariah Carey, or seeing Patti Smith perform at the Gardiner Museum that night to coincide with Steven Sebring's documentary on the singer, Dream of Life.

I had every intention of heading up to the Bloor Street flagship of Harry Rosen, which was celebrating its upward expansion and stranglehold on the men's luxury market, but the Canadian Filmmakers party took TIFF precedence.

Held at the Spoke Club which, like Mr. Mulroney, is looking much spiffier, the low-key gathering hosted by eTalk was a simulacrum of a South Beach or Santa Monica schmooze: warm winds, oversized loungers, Sade and industry chitchat.

Four Seasons director of marketing Alex Filiatrault mentioned that veteran Hollywood journalist George Christy is already in town; his invite-only lunch is a TIFF tradition. David Kines and Brad Schwartz, the magic men behind MTV Canada, spoke of gearing up for Diddy (he takes the stage tonight). J. Harry Edmiston, a cross-Atlantic bon vivant, discussed a recently wrapped film made with Anthony Green, son of Roots co-founder Don Green.

Newsworthy tidbits, all, but then it struck me that the majority of the guests would be unrecognizable to the average film buff, which would not be the case at an event for, say, American filmmakers. In other words, what does it say about the country's industry that so much talent goes so unknown?

Impossible to miss, however, was Sara Diamond, president of the Ontario College of Art and Design and fashion maverick, sharing a glass of wine with Robert Montgomery of Achilles Media. On the table was undoubtedly the best accessory of the night: a baseball cap bearing Obama in block letters with his signature in neon green stitching underneath. It's an election year, folks; and everyone knows that politics and film make strange (albeit entertaining) bedfellows.