Nobody commits to a theme quite like Montreal gala-throwers. The latest Bal du MAC, an annual gala to support the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, was certainly no exception, and the event on Sept. 16 proved to be one of the most fun fundraisers of the fall social season thus far.
The museum, at Place des Arts in the city centre, is where parties past have been staged, but an exhibition within the gallery couldn't be moved, so for this edition of the event, the gala committee had to take things elsewhere. Cité des arts du cirque, a theatrical complex in the Saint-Michel district of Montreal, was the site of the soirée and its main structure, a 360-degree circular hall used for circus performances called TOHU, was where cocktails and dinner were served.
George Orwell's 1984 served as inspiration, and the creative agency 45 Degrees, a division of Cirque du Soleil, was enlisted to bring it to life. The result was nothing short of spectacular. The spaces inside were transformed and signs of the theme of surveillance could be seen all over the room, where mounted security cameras dotted most walls, including rather daringly, over urinals in the men's washrooms. During a cocktail hour that stretched to nearly three (Montreal gala-goers do themes well; punctuality, not so much!), the space swelled with guests who were all dressed in black, and performers yielding boom microphones and large cameras slithered through the crowd listening in and recording party chit-chat. En route to dinner, we were stopped, patted down and scanned with florescent lights before being granted access into the dining space where the dark theme continued – long glossy jet-black tables were set with matte black flatware, and even black bread.
Speaking of tables, I was a guest of Birks, and Eva Hartling, vice president of the Birks brand and chief marketing officer for Birks Group Inc., was on hosting duty for the evening, putting together a group that included Toronto scene regulars David and Kate Daniels, Mary Symons, The Spoke Club president Pierre Jutras and his wife, Grego, and Montrealers including Canadian Olympic track and field athlete Bruny Surin and his wife Bianelle Legros.
Among the others out at this good-time gala, which raised an impressive $510,000 in support of acquisitions for the museum's collection: the evening's hosts François Dufresne, president of the MAC Foundation; John Zeppetelli, director and chief curator of the MAC; Josée Noiseux, chair of the ball organizing committee; and Alexandre Taillefer, chair of the MAC board of trustees. Also in attendance: honorary co-chairs Mitch Garber, Cirque du Soleil's board chairman; France Margaret Bélanger, executive vice-president, commercial and corporate affairs, Montreal Canadiens, Bell Centre and Evenko; and Yanick Blanchard, National Bank's head of corporate and investment banking; financier Stephen Bronfman; mmode executive director Debbie Zakaib; and Minister of Canadian Heritage, The Honourable Mélanie Joly, and her boyfriend Félix Marzell.
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