FastLane – Patio Party

On July 14th FastLane held its fifth event of 2009 at Marben Restaurant. Guests came out and enjoyed the warm weather while networking with many interesting people from an array of different professions.

A mix of great food, yummy martinis, fresh juice cocktails and a fantastic street side patio all helped put guests at ease and made them ready to have a fun night of mingling with other young professionals.

Once at ease guests met new people, traded tips and made beneficial contacts in a trendy modern atmosphere.

We hope to see you all at our last patio networking event in August!

Michelle Cheung & The Gatherings Team
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For the next FastLane event, we invite you to the August Patio Party at Jump Café and Bar in the Financial District.

Date: Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Time: 6:00pm – 9:30pm
Location: Jump Café and Bar - 18 Wellington St. West

Tickets: On-line in advance $25 or $35 at the Door, tickets include one drink ticket.
Drinks & appetizers, Gift bag, and Door prizes!
Buy tickets here.

Remember to buy your tickets soon, as space is limited.
Join the FastLane Facebook Group.

“Through the Garden Gate” Beyond the Bridle Path

Toronto Botanical Garden committee and Gatherings team organized the event "Through the Garden Gate" that was held on Father’s day weekend on June 20 & 21. Garden enthusiasts turned out in full force with a visit to the exclusive gardens in the Bayview Ridge to Banbury Avenue, a neighbourhood known for its exceptional residential design and expansive parklands.

The tour offered visits to 14 private gardens, where people were inspired by the talent and creativity expressed in all of these exceptional gardens. The event is an important fundraising event for the Toronto Botanical Garden whose purpose is to inspire passion, respect and understanding of gardening and all the proceeds help to support the program and services offered by the TBG.

Karla Buendia & Gatherings Team

Next year’s tour is already in the planning stages.
For more information about the tour please email us or visit www.torontobotanicalgarden.ca

FastLane - Wine in the City

FastLane held its forth event of 2009 on May 26th at BLU Ristorante & Lounge on Yorkville Avenue, and this month’s theme was wine in the city.

Guests participated in a wine and chocolate tasting in a relaxing environment. There were many chances to meet people of all different professions, as well as the opportunity to learn about the different wines of the world and how to pair them with foods.

We had amazing wine tastings provided by Adriatic Coast, Authentic Wine and Spirits, Black Prince Winery, Kacaba Winery and TreAmici Imports. Incredible Chocolate pairings provided by Daniel Le Chocolat Belge and SOMA.



It was a great tasting experience with the opportunities of networking with a variety of professionals. We hope to see you all at our next event!

Michelle Cheung & The Gatherings Team


For the next FastLane event, we invite you to a patio party at Marben Restaurant in downtown Toronto.

Date: Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Time: 6:00pm – 9:30pm
Location: Marben Restaurant – 488 Wellington St. West

Tickets: On-line Advance $25 or $35 at the Door
Drink & appetizers, Gift bag, and Door prizes!
Buy tickets here.

Remember to buy your tickets soon, as space is limited.
Join the FastLane Facebook Group.

Ga-la-licious

Ga-la-licious, Nightwood's annual fundraiser, returned for its third year, on Thursday April 30th at The Courthouse.

All of the proceeds benefited Canadian women artists. Funds raised through the event went directly to the creation of new works by female artists, free youth programs for girls and enables Nightwood to keep on developing and producing plays.

It was a great success!
A lot of fun, great food, entertainment and silent auctions :)
We look forward to next year’s event!

Renata Altrão & The Gatherings Team

Photo: Pink Pearl Images

FastLane "In The Community"

FastLane held its third event of 2009 on April 21st at Kultura on King Street East, and this month’s theme was focused on community service. Special partner for the event was the United Way of Toronto’s GenNext, who engages young professional Torontonians in their 20s and 30s who want to make a difference in their community.

We had other great features: The ever popular speed networking was back! Redroom Records performed their very own written and produced music. Oh So Cosmo with Josie Dye from Cosmo TV was there with us to cover the event; she was exploring new places, events and ways to meet men!



Another unique guest was IBfrank, a mobile grooming service targeting men (they also offer mini spa services for women). The ever-popular HiTech Tattoos were there to engrave people’s cell phones and mp3 players.

We had so much fun and met great people! Hope to see you all soon!
Renata Altrao & The Gatherings Team



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At next month’s FastLane, we invite you to an exclusive tasting of Wines at the newest hotspot in Yorkville, Blu Ristorante & Lounge.

Date: Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
Time: 6:00pm-9:30pm
Location: Blu Ristorante - 17 Yorkville Avenue

Tickets: On-line Advance $25 or $35 at the Door
Drink & appetizers, Gift bags, and Door prizes!
Buy tickets here.

Remember to buy your tickets soon, as space is limited.
Hosted by: www.torontocityevents.ca and www.GatheringsEventPlanning.com

Join the FastLane Facebook Group.

ELN’s inaugural Summit

Tuesday April 7th at Centre for Arts and Design, George Brown College, Gatherings Event Planning was pleased to participate in the logistics execution of the Emerging Leaders Network ELN’s inaugural Summit.

ELN members participated in a dynamic day-long session where they considered some of the Toronto region’s most pressing challenges, and as a group, identified action-oriented responses for them. The topic areas were Arts and Culture, Diversity, Economy, Environment, Politics, Poverty and Community Services and Transportation.

The ideas presented were creative and inspiring. The energy, enthusiasm and commitment to the future of the Toronto region was unmistakable throughout Tuesday’s gathering.

Each participant joined one workshop where ideas were presented for discussion and debate. At the end of the day, each group reported back in plenary. These ideas will be "tested" over the summer months with a view to presenting our findings at a public forum later this year. Many people worked tirelessly in the background to make this happen and they will still have a lot of work to do.

It is a great initiative and we are very proud to be part of it.

Happy city-building!
Renata Altrao & The Gatherings Team

Read more about ELN here.

The Great Valentine Gala

Gatherings Event Planning was excited to participate in the execution of the ’Great Valentine Gala’ with The Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons as they celebrated their 25-year partnership with Canadians with disabilities.

The Great Valentine Gala is a major fundraising and public awareness event honouring the aspirations and achievements of Canadians with disabilities. This year's Gala paid a special and spectacular tribute to the nation’s medal winners at the Beijing Paralympic Summer Games. The Gala was held on Valentine’s Day at Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York Hotel and featured a live performance from Juno award winning Canadian musical artists Leahy.

The Gala was a beautiful spectacle as well as a spectacular way to honour the achievements and dedication of our Canadian athletes. The Toronto Star covered the Gala in a three page write-up which included pictures of the all of the athletes who attended. Gatherings Event Planning is pleased to have been a part of this extraordinary event.

Renata Altrao & The Gatherings Team