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Gregory Burke pulled the Power Plant out of debt and enhanced its international reputation. Then, he quit.

By Daniel Baird

Gregory Burke with Sarah Bywater, the former Power Plant head fundraiser, at the 2009 Power Ball (Image: George Pimentel)

The Power Plant’s first board meeting of the year was held at noon on Monday, February 7. The gallery, situated on prime waterfront property, is a magnet for the city’s wealthy society figures. The clubby board of governors reflects that. Trinity Jackman, an archaeologist and the daughter of Hal Jackman, is the vice-president. The Drake Hotel owner Jeff Stober is a member, as are Rosedale hostess and arts patron Elisa Nuyten and the entertainment lawyer Paul Bain. The board’s president is Shanitha Kachan, an art collector and the wife of investment guru Gerald Sheff. Kachan called to order what should have been a routine, low-key meeting. Then came the big revelation.

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The Dish

Foodie Follies

April 19, 2011 | 9:14 am

4 Comments

All-night foodie raves are the latest street food trend unlikely to appear in Toronto

(Image: samthor)

It’s no secret that when it comes to street food, Torontonians are a little behind the curve. So when a new curbside craze sweeps across the U.S. and Europe, bypassing Toronto entirely, we’re not exactly surprised. This time around? Late night “food raves,” like San Francisco’s Underground Market, which started with eight vendors in a friend’s apartment and has ballooned into something much bigger.

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The Hype

The Velvet Rope

March 25, 2011 | 3:46 pm

1 Comment

AGO’s Massive Party is back with a flamboyance that’s, well, massive

The AGO’s annual spring art fling, Massive Party, is hitting the gallery on April 14 this year. The theme for the fundraiser is inspired by European patron of the arts Marchesa Luisa Casati’s legendary parties held at her Venetian palazzo and at the Palais Rose in Paris. The AGO even insists Casati herself will re-emerge to host the party as one last art soirée and promises an unforgettable evening (most ghost-hosted parties are; Casati died in 1957). Considering Casati was known for her style and eccentricity—she infamously took nightly strolls clad in fur while leading cheetahs on diamond-studded leashes, was attended by nude servants gilded in gold leaf, and included wax mannequins as guests at her dining table—we hope this year’s Massive Party will be equally fabulous.

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The Hype

Awards Season

March 2, 2011 | 12:16 pm

2 Comments

Photos from the Vanity Fair Oscar party: George Pimentel takes us through his shots of Bieber, Gwyneth and many more

Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber arrive at the Sunset Tower in L.A. for the Vanity Fair Oscars party on February 27, 2011 (Image: George Pimentel)

Toronto’s top celebrity shutterbug, George Pimentel, spent last week—Oscar week—stargazing in Tinseltown. His tour included the Academy Awards’ most VIP red carpet at the Vanity Fair Party. Here, George dishes on Justin Bieber’s new lady, Scarlett Johansson’s superior beauty and why (as we suspected) Natalie Portman is as smug and snotty as they come.

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: “This is why I do the VF party. You get the pictures that you just don’t get on the Oscar red carpet. When he came in, we all freaked out because they were holding hands, which is a first. They strategized and decided to finally give up the photo.”

: “I yelled out, ‘Kiss her, kiss her.’ He almost did; he leaned over, and then he realized it probably wasn’t a good idea.”

: “Any time Madonna shows up to an event we all go crazy. For me, she was definitely the highlight of this party. Everyone always asks, ‘What does she really look like?’ and honestly, she looks great. Really. This night was all about promoting her daughter, so Madonna kind of stepped back. She’s very proud. Her daughter is shy, though. She doesn’t have that Madonna exhibitionist quality.”

: “I was kind of disappointed that Gwyneth changed. That first silver dress was so much better. I’m not into the whole flesh-coloured thing. I don’t think she pulled it off, but it’s Gwyneth, and she doesn’t really take a bad picture. She is still the princess of Hollywood, and photos of her always sell well and get good placement.”

: “Colin was walking the carpet with his wife, and then Anne came along, and they decided to do a shot together. Colin was the big winner of the night. And Anne—I don’t think she’ll be asked to host again. And after seeing her, I don’t know if she can pull off Catwoman. We were all expecting James Franco to show up. I don’t know why he snubbed the party.”

: “Love her. She is so cute. The whole weekend, she was all over L.A. and just very sunny and fun. It was a great touch to wear her those Converse [shoes] to the after party. She’s not taking it so seriously, which is so nice to see.”

: “Steven is back out there now doing the red carpets because of American Idol. He’s such a rock and roll guy, but he’s also a very affectionate father. He was hugging her and kissing her all night. Liv’s no angel, either. Let’s just say that girl parties.”

: “They’re friends with Graydon Carter, so they attend every year. The American media never know who they are, so I always make a big deal of yelling out their names. Sometimes I say their names in a British sort of accent so they don’t know it’s me. Once I start shooting them everyone joins in.”

: “Ugh. My nemesis. There’s always one star who is just difficult. In the history of the VF Oscar party, it is a tradition to pose with your Oscar. Everyone does it, but she refused. She just walked past and turned for one second. Let’s just say she is not the most-liked person among photographers. We actually booed her.”

: “She doesn’t show up to everything, so it’s special when she does. She’s a true star and just so beautiful. She’s happy to do the posing, and her amazing figure always looks great in the dress. Since her divorce, she’s been coming out more often.”

: “At the end of the night she was waiting for her valet. I asked if I could get one more of her in black and white. She agreed, and when I showed it to her, she said it was great and asked if I could send it to her.”
“So no now you have ScarJo’s e-mail address?” we asked.
“Yes,” replied George.

The Informer

From the Print Edition

February 9, 2011 | 3:07 pm

76 Comments

King State of Mind: When did the once-cool King West strip descend into a mess of stretch Hummers, drunken bachelorettes and last-call brawls?

Scenes from a never-ending party By Chandler Levack | Photography by Jess Baumung

2:45 a.m., Cobra

“Let’s get drunk and fuck! Let’s get drunk and fuck!”

I’m at Cobra, a King West club in a sprawling basement underneath a 19th-century warehouse. In this neighbourhood, the best parties are either deep underground or high above in a rooftop bar. Cobra is decorated like a gothic funhouse, with a wall of glowing skulls and lots of black. The get-drunk-and-fuck directive bleats from a techno remix as coloured lights, inducing a kind of electric synesthesia, pulsate on the basement ceiling. To my left, two girls make out and topple over, knocking down their bottle service glassware. Guys eagerly watch from the sidelines, plotting how to make their move. My teeth chatter from the vibrating bass. I down a shot that’s half Sour Puss and half vodka, proffered by a human Barbie doll bartender.

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The Informer

Federal Election Guessing Game

January 21, 2011 | 3:22 pm

1 Comment

When Liberals attack—or “clarify”—they still somehow mess it up

Between the Conservative ads out earlier this week, the “leaked” NDP memo about how awesomely ready they are, and the news this morning that the Liberal Party has released ads of its own, it’s beginning to look a lot like Writ-mas. The new Grit ads have the shocking novelty of not being terrible or confusing, like some of the 2008-era ads were. In this latest batch, the Liberals are attacking “clarifying” the Conservative record on matters fiscal and military, and so far there isn’t even a single happy-shiny ad in the package to give this a veneer of positivity. (Not that we were taking the lone positive Conservative ad seriously.)

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The Hype

The Velvet Rope

November 30, 2010 | 3:23 pm

1 Comment

The sartorial highlights of last night’s George Pimentel party

There’s nothing Toronto society loves more than looking at a bunch of pictures of themselves. Or so we’re left to assume after the socialite-studded turnout at last night’s Absolut George photo exhibit, a vodka-drenched soirée in celebration of Toronto’s celebrity shutterbug George Pimentel. It’s not often that so many of the city’s fashion plates are gathered under the same roof. See who sizzled and who fizzled in our slide show.

View the photos now >>

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The Informer

Ford Focus

November 5, 2010 | 4:56 pm

4 Comments

Calgary’s new mayor takes a page out of the Rob Ford playbook

Naheed Nenshi (left) and Rob Ford

There’s a scandal afoot in the city of Calgary involving some misused funds at the city-owned energy utility, Enmax. Seems as though a chief executive there may have been blowing tens of thousands of dollars on private events. This probably isn’t all that interesting to Torontonians, but what caught our eye (for once) wasn’t the scandal; it was the eerily familiar way that Naheed Nenshi—the city’s much-hyped new mayor—dealt with the whole thing. Stop us if you’ve heard this one before.

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The Goods

From the Print Edition

November 1, 2010 | 1:00 pm

32 Comments

The Bay vs. Holts: the Bay’s scheme to steal the fashion crown from Holts

The sensible shoes and twin–sets are gone, replaced by stilettos and crystal-encrusted gowns. There’s valet parking and personal shoppers, and they’re serving champagne up on three. It’s all part of the Bay’s scheme to win the loyalty of society shopaholics—and steal the fashion crown from Holts By Leah McLaren

(Image: George Pimentel)

One evening last March, Toronto’s stylish set put on their best frocks and headed to a retail baptism. Sarah Jessica Parker, celebrity high priestess of fashion, was in town to launch the Halston Heritage label at The Bay. The party, which reportedly cost over $200,000, was meant to establish Canada’s oldest department store as a major player in high-end womenswear. If retailers can be born again, this was The Bay’s moment to lean back and dip its head into the holy water.

Fashion media and socialites were ushered into the Queen Street flagship store and up the escalator to sip champagne on the third floor. That’s where The Room is located. The upscale designer dress salon was renovated a year ago for approximately $4.4 million in a high modernist style by the designers Yabu Pushelberg. The result is a treasure trove of conversation piece baubles, heels, flirty cocktail dresses and gowns by some of the most prestigious designers in the business. It’s the beating heart of the new Bay.

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The Goods

Toronto Fashion Week

October 15, 2010 | 4:16 pm

8 Comments

The fashion party of the year? The A-list shows support for The Bay

Charlotte Dellal

In what may go down as the fashion party of 2010, The Bay hosted a tribute to British designers and the first anniversary of its swank couture boutique, The Room. Celebrating our Commonwealth heritage, the God Save the Queen party last night was the place to be. Out went racks of designer duds from the space and in went bottles of bubbly. Such fashion bold-faces as Giles Deacon, Canadians Erdem Moralioglu and Mark Fast, Nicholas Kirkwood, Charlotte Olympia, Jonathan Sanders and Marios Schwab all had designs showcased at the swishy event, and the society queens came in droves. Even the servers were A-list—we spotted musician Gentleman Reg carrying trays of cocktails.

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The Goods

From the Print Edition

September 27, 2010 | 10:00 am

3 Comments

Mismatched: how a couple of romantics reconciled their decorating divide

His serious antiques, her quirky contemporary finds. How a couple of romantics reconciled their divide By Victoria Webster

(All images by Michael Graydon)

He has a fondness for 18th-century French armoires and credenzas. She has a thing for unusual feather lamps and penguin-patterned loveseats. When Bernard Le Corre, born in Brittany, and Lesley Macmillan, an Ottawa expat, moved in together 10 years ago, their Candy Factory loft on Queen West became a melting pot for their disparate tastes. The result is eclectic but unmistakably French: a 2,700-square-foot space with an early 1900s wrought iron garden gate at the entrance (they bought the nine-foot-tall piece near Giverny) and a stash of 500 wines tucked away in a nook. All those bottles come in handy for the couple’s weekly dinner parties.

They met in 1989 at a mutual friend’s get-together in the south of France. Macmillan was an interior decorator; Le Corre had built a career in marketing for multinationals. An instant connection was followed by a long-distance courtship. Four years later, he was ready for a change and agreed to move to Toronto, where Macmillan lived. On the then-sparse retail strip of King Street East, the couple opened Trianon, an interior design and furniture store named after a palace at Versailles, where at the beginning of their relationship, Le Corre and Macmillan would ride their bikes. (In the store’s early days, his English not yet perfect, Le Corre put customers on hold by saying, “Can I hold you for a second?” Most people replied yes.)

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The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 20, 2010 | 5:14 pm

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One last after party: hanging out with Harvey Keitel, Jason Jones and Tricia Helfer

Harvey Keitel and Siam Yu; Paulo Costanzo and Tricia Helfer (Images: Fraser Abe)

The TIFF party scene was winding down by Friday night, but that didn’t keep the makers of A Beginner’s Guide to Endings from having a blast at their post-screening fête. Held at Urban Amish, a furniture store at the completely torn-up corner of King and Parliament (making it the first east-end movie party we’ve seen this season), the shindig attracted all the stars of the flick. Tricia Helfer, Jason Jones, Paulo Costanzo and Harvey Keitel all showed and, uncharacteristically, stayed. When Keitel declined to walk the red carpet or hold interviews, we worried he would be standoffish, but inside, he held court on the lower level (away from the roped-off VIP area), chatting with fans and posing for pictures with fellow actor Siam Yu. When we spoke with Helfer, we learned she had recently auditioned for a part in the upcoming film A Game of Thrones, a fantasy flick sure to get fan boys from her Battlestar Galactica days excited, but lost the role to Elizabeth Banks. Asked if she’d tried her eponymous TIFF cocktail, the Sweet Tart Tricia, she complained to us, “I just landed and I’m flying back to L.A. tomorrow. I didn’t even get a chance to try my own drink!” Jason Jones was jovial; when he handed his drink and appetizer toothpick to PR gal Gail McInnes, she said, “I don’t know where this has been,” to which he jokingly responded, “Up my ass.”

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 20, 2010 | 1:42 pm

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The best and worst moments of TIFF 2010

That’s all, folks—TIFF is toast for 2010, but we still have the memories. We asked our team to dish on the best and worst, the scary and the sublime, the hot and the lame of this year’s festival. Find out what they told us in the slide show below.

: The Bell “lounge” at Roy Thomson Hall. It’s basically a shipping crate that blasts Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” before a gala starts. Dancers then emerge from the crate (complete with smoke effects) and do a half-assed number to get people’s attention, though neither the media nor fans seemed to care. (Image: Karon Liu)

: A Snooki impersonator tried to walk the red carpet at Roy Thomson Hall for Black Swan. It’s a sad day in pop culture history when Snooki is considered red carpet royalty. (Image: Jeff Lewis)

: Hotel workers striking in front of the Regency Park Hyatt, where everything TIFF-related took place. (Image: Karon Liu)

: When their publicist walks behind them holding a card announcing their name and title. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Score: A Hockey Musical, which will probably be remembered as the worst movie to open TIFF.

: The press and industry screening of Dustin Lance Black’s What’s Wrong With Virginia, which cleared out halfway through, foreshadowing such reviews as “Everything Is ‘Wrong With Virginia.’”

: The Elgin Theatre, where fans had to line up on the other side of Yonge Street hoping that the zoom on their iPhones would be good enough. (Image: Karon Liu)

: During the introduction of A Beginner’s Guide to Endings, a producer made a very long speech while the cast stood onstage, wondering when he would shut up. Suddenly Harvey Keitel threw his hands in the air and walked off; the cast followed him. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Two-time Oscar winner Paul Haggis being turned away from Soho House, while Josh Brolin helped his pal out by breaking into hysterics. They later made up. (Image: Stefania Yarhi)

: Quebec filmmaker Xavier Dolan, who managed to answer “How did your success at TIFF last year affect your new film?” with a passionate rant against his critics. (Image: Jag Gundu/Getty Images)

: Little Miss Sunshine star Abigail Breslin, now 14, taking the famous stage at the Horseshoe to sing an acoustic ballad. (Image: Jason Merritt/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images)

: Our hard-fought battle against tears at the end of Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling’s drama Blue Valentine.

: Taking a 20-minute nap in the Elgin Theatre’s media pit while waiting four hours for Nicole Kidman’s arrival. Then, during some attempted downtime with Battlestar Galactica, we fell asleep in our armchair holding a glass of water, only to be awakened when we spilled it all over ourselves.

: Natalie Portman, the leading lady in the Oscar race for her role in Black Swan. (Image: Karon Liu)

: When Ben Mulroney and Shinan Govani walk the carpet. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Uma Thurman’s strict Mexican-only menu, which she requested at an after-party dinner at Brassaii. (Image: George Pimentel)

: The ET Canada party for where a generator that burst into flames was replaced in just 20 minutes. (Image: Staci L.)

: Peter Fonda, whose left-wing politics mixed uneasily with guests at the Best Buddies gala. (Image: Ryan Porter)

: It’s not like we were expecting to sidle up to Don Draper at the bar and have him offer us a Lucky Strike and a Canadian Club, but missing Jon Hamm at all the glitzy film after parties was our biggest celeb letdown. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Belinda Stronach, who was spotted at Maison in the wee hours, hanging with a group of 20-somethings, one of whom was not wearing a shirt.

: Blake Lively, for wiping out all traces of Gossip Girl’s pristine Serena van der Woodsen to wear the trashtacular tube tops of Boston broad Krista in Ben Affleck’s The Town.

: At the Absolut party, we rode up to the garage in chauffeured golf carts at breakneck speed. (Image: Carldunn)

: A Mexican tabloid reporter asked Hilary Swank if she would appear in a vampire movie. For the record, she said no. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Meeting Ryan Kwanten, who, like us, turns out to be a bit of a mama’s boy. The True Blood hunk (have you ever seen better abs?) took his mom to the Amfar gala and on an Alaskan cruise. (Image: Karon Liu)

: We hit the swag lounges hard this year and came away with some great stuff, albeit mostly for women. Hear that, Mom? Christmas comes early this year!

: A fan had Kevin Spacey sign her cheque book for the premiere of Casino Jack. Unbeknownst to her, the media’s zoom lenses got shots of all her cheque book details, including name and account number. The photographers we talked to blurred out that info before uploading them. (Image: Karon Liu)

: If even for two weeks, we were able to forget about Justin Bieber. (Image: Jake Auzzie)

: James Franco’s movie 127 Hours. One particularly graphic scene caused three audience members to faint at the screening. Others walked out.

: Rachel McAdams and Michael Sheen were reportedly canoodling at Sheen’s party for Beautiful Boy at Cheval. (Images: Sheen by Toby Canham/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images, McAdams by James Helmer)

: The hype for Casey Affleck’s Joaquin Phoenix doc I’m Still Here was strong, but by the end of the week, the reviews were harsh, and we learned it was all a hoax. The film might be in theatres, but we’re not.

: Martin Sheen picketed for 20 minutes with striking Royal York staffers one day and showed off his undies to photographers at a party another day. (Image: Stefania Yarhi)

: (Images by Karon Liu and Stefania Yarhi)

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 16, 2010 | 1:16 pm

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Bang Bang on the Bridle Path: inside the after party with Ryan Phillippe and Malin Akerman

Toronto's own Malin Akerman arrives at a private residence on the Bridle Path last night for the Bang Bang Club after party (Image: Sonia Recchia/Getty Images )

Toronto’s rich and not-so-famous mingled through the house that hair built Wednesday night at the after party for Ryan Phillippe’s South African photojournalist drama The Bang Bang Club. Ray Civello, owner of the Civello salons and the man behind many of Aveda’s Canadian institutions, threw the soirée at his Bridle Path residence. A dashingly suited-up Phillippe sank into the white leather sofas of the VIP quarters, overlooking the home’s wide-open courtyard, joined by his Canadian co-star Malin Akerman. One guest remembered when the 32-year-old actress was slinging drinks back at Bar 606. “I remember when she used to clean the bathrooms,” she says. “She was King Street before it was King Street.”

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The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 15, 2010 | 8:00 am

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Today at TIFF: What’s Wrong With Virginia, the Bang Bang Club, DJ set by AL P. and more

Our daily roundup of opening galas, parties and screenings.

• 4 p.m. What’s Wrong With Virginia Party at Swarovski Gallery Store
• 6 p.m. What’s Wrong With Virginia international premiere at Visa Screening Room (Elgin)
• 6:30 p.m. Peep World international premiere gala at Roy Thomson Hall
• 7 p.m. Jaloux North American premiere at Jackman Hall (AGO)
• 9 p.m. Route Irish North American premiere at Visa Screening Room (Elgin)
• 9:15 p.m. Kaboom North American premiere at Ryerson Theatre
• 9:30 p.m. The Bang Bang Club international premiere gala at Roy Thomson Hall
• 10 p.m. DJ set by AL P. (MSTRKRFT) at Ultra
• 10 p.m. LMFAO at Tattoo Rock Parlour
• 11 p.m. The Bang Bang Club After-Party at 78 The Bridle Path
• Peep World After-Party at Brant House

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