Montreal’s historic streets were abuzz once again as the Grand Prix rolled into town. The three-day event drew international thrill-seekers, bon vivants and car enthusiasts for the Canadian incarnation of the international motor racing championship. A welcome break from the hustle and bustle of the packed city streets was a dinner on June 6 hosted by a brand with sport at its core, Hugo Boss. The German fashion brand toasted their ambassador, superstar driver Nico Rosberg, with a relaxed cocktail party and dinner at Le Bremner, Chef Chuck Hughes ‘ too-cool seafood haunt in Old Montreal. Cocktails and a Q&A with Rosberg were held in the restaurant’s cobblestone courtyard before dinner, and the air of excitement was heightened when a group of young partygoers on a rooftop nearby caught sight of the Mercedes Formula One team member below; selfies and well wishes for the following day’s race ensued.
Guests then headed into the below-ground dining space, where the wine flowed and well-suited attendees relaxed before an exciting day ahead.
While Rosberg didn’t take home the top spot at the race, the winner, Lewis Hamilton, was (thankfully) racing for the same team and happens to be another face of the Hugo Boss brand.
Among those out in old town Montreal:
Browns Shoes’ President Michael Brownstein and his wife, Thérèse; Hugo Boss Canada’s managing director, Lanita Layton; Galerie Alan Klinkhoff’s Craig Klinkhoff; ELLE Canada’s Anthony Mitropoulos; divisional vice-president at Holt Renfrew & Ogilvy, Normand Ciarlo, and his partner, David Lapierre; Holt Renfrew-Ogilvy’s senior vicepresident Joanne Nemeroff and her husband, lawyer Howard; TIFF CEO Piers Handling and his girlfriend, Federica Foglia; Barrick Gold Corporations’s vice-president and corporate secretary, Dana Easthope; D. F. King Canada’s executive vice-president, Dexter John; fashion show producer Hans Koechling; Karine Schnapp, Hugo Boss’ New York-based senior vice-president of marketing and communications; and UCS Forest Group’s president and CEO, Warren Spitz, and his sons, Matthew and Gregory.
Another occasion of note that week celebrated the launch of the Royal Ontario Museum’s latest exhibition Pompeii: In the Shadow of the Volcano.
The museum’s Samuel Hall Currelly Gallery was transformed into an intimate dining space inspired by the ancient Roman city of Pompeii on June 9. Roman numerals marked the tables, the aptly titled Vesuvius Ensemble performed, a charcuterie board of epic proportions was served and toga-wearing attendants served flutes of prosecco.
Chef David Rocco was on dinner duty, serving up a southern Italian-inspired spread before the philanthropist– heavy crowd made their way downstairs to the museum’s Garfield Weston Exhibition Hall for a first look. The show includes some 200
artifacts, many on view outside of Italy for the first time; they illustrate the incredible story of the ancient city, frozen in time, that was engulfed by ash after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79
AD. A poignant moment comes at the end of the exhibition, when visitors encounter plaster casts of the victims, the very citizens of Pompeii at the moment of their demise.
Alive and well that evening were the museum’s patrons, including my table-mates Don Reed, president and CEO of Franklin Templeton Investments and his wife, Nita; Pronto Reproductions Ltd.’s Wayne and Edda Burlington; and Susan Horvath, ROM Governors president and CEO. Also in attendance: Giuseppe Pastorelli, the Italian Consul General in Toronto, and his wife, Lilla; Deputy Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Drew Fagan; The Montreal Museum of Fine Art’s director, Nathalie Bondil; chair of the ROM
Board of Trustees, Bonnie Brooks; ROM interim director and CEO, Mark Engstrom; event chair Jennifer Ivey Bannock; and organizing committee members Isabella Bertani, John Bianchini, Marisa Gambin and Robert Keilty. Pompeii: In the Shadow of the Volcano is on display in Toronto until January 3, 2016.
