The Bay Street Bull 4.2

GOLF HEAVEN Luxury golf destinations in Ontario, California and Mexico

CLASSIC CRUISERS The passion of vintage car ownership

COTTAGE LIFE

Architect James Ireland creates beautiful living spaces SUMMER 2007

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THE TIME IS NOW. BIGWIN ISLAND IS GOING PRIVATE IN 2008

M U S KO K A

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BRING YOUR GROUP TO BIGWIN FOR THE ULTIMATE GOLF EXPERIENCE — CUSTOM PACKAGES ARE AVAILABLE FOR GROUPS FROM 8-144.

BIGWIN ISLAND GOLF CLUB BECOMES A PRIVATE CLUB IN 2008

To celebrate the transition to a private club, Bigwin Island is releasing a limited number of EQUITY MEMBERSHIPS. An intimate club, with only 300 members Bigwin combines world-class golf and dining in conjunction with family and cottage living. Discover how a membership at Bigwin can add so much to your family’s cottage experience. JOIN WHILE YOU CAN.

LIVE BUILD YOUR DREAM HOME ON BIGWIN

Become a part of this legacy community. Enjoy all that Muskoka has to offer with a unique, custom-built vacation home. An exclusive collection of pristine, lakefront estate sites from 200’ TO OVER 1,000’ offering unparallel privacy, magnificent lake views, miles of walking trails, property management, security and more. Enjoy privileged leisure through spectacular amenities.

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IN THE ISSUE:

fe a t u re s

CLASSIC CRUISERS 22 The passion of vintage car ownership.

departments

ON THE STREET 8 Palazzo Versace, Swing Time, Light Speed.

IMAGE & FASHION 34 The transformative powers of hats.

THE ARTS 42 Join in the fun with these summer celebrations.

4 | THE BAY STREET BULL | SUMMER 2007

10

DESIGN Architect James Ireland creates beautiful living spaces.

14

BULL REVIEW The Saab 9.3 combines innovation and style.

16

GETAWAYS Luxury golf destinations in Ontario, California and Mexico.

28

WINE REVIEW Tour de Force: French wines stage a comeback.

38

PEOPLE + PLACES Meet event planners Sinclair Russell and Sebastien Centner.

46

ON THE SHELF Summer reads and DVDs.

COVER PHOTO: Richard Hamilton Smith/CORBIS

Big_c_U 8`Ugg]W

Some meeting spaces have more atmosphere than others

We l c o m e t o D e e r h u r s t R e s o r t i n M u s ko k a , O n ta r i o • An easy 2-hour drive from Toronto • Ideal for groups up to 1,000 • 40,000 sq. ft. of meeting and exhibit space (including the newly redesigned Signature Ballroom) • 400 guest rooms and condo suites • Two 18-hole golf courses (including the premier Deerhurst Highlands) • More on-site dining options than any resort in Ontario • On-site sports facilitators for recreational & team-building events • Spectacular musical shows and customized entertainment options Call us at: ^ ^ ^ or visit DEERHURSTRESORT COM

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PUBLISHERʼS NOTE

BAY STREET PUBLISHING Vol. 4, No. 2

SUMMER 2007

VICE PRESIDENT, PUBLISHER Fred Sanders EDITOR Catherine Roberts CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Dianne Fowlie ASSOCIATE EDITOR, SPORTS & MUSIC Sean Litteljohn ART DIRECTOR Mark Tzerelshtein CONTRIBUTORS Marjo Johne Patricia Post Chris Powell Laura Pratt Sarah Scott Dick Singer Vivian Vassos PROOFREADER Rob Smythe PHOTOGRAPHERS John Hryniuk Ruslan Sarkisian WEB DESIGN Karl Stahl DIRECTOR, ADVERTISING SALES Bill Percy COMMUNICATIONS FACILITATOR David Rees The Bay Street Bull is published six times yearly and distributed in Toronto’s financial and business districts. Distribution method: hand-delivered, inserted, mailed and retail. Editorial + subscription + retail advertising enquiries 305 Evans Ave., Suite 305, Etobicoke, Ontario M8Z 1K2.

S

ummer is in full swing—long, warm days full of opportunities for rest, relaxation, and recreation. At The Bull we understand the demands and pressures of Bay Streeters’ lives and the need to maintain a sense of balance.With this in mind, we have loaded this issue with lighter fare that we believe will put you in the mood to unwind and recharge your batteries.

Fasten your seatbelt—if there is one—as veteran journalist Sarah Scott takes us for a ride inside the world of antique and classic cars and their adoring owners (page 22). Switching to a fashion theme, Scott wonders what happened to hats, as she examines their diverse and sometimes dramatic roles both in Toronto and in London (page 34).

Tongue planted firmly in cheek, arts writer Chris Powell entertains with a rundown of summer festivals in Canada and around the world, celebrating practically everything from kumquats to country (page 42).

Closer to home, architect James Ireland’s sensitivity to the Muskoka landscape is showcased in Carolyn Leitch’s feature on a stunning cottage that graces the shores of Lake Rosseau (page 10).

If you’re thinking of a golf vacation but can’t decide where to go, look no further than Patricia Post’s review of four luxury resorts—two of them right here in Ontario—that serve up challenging fairways, soothing spa therapies, and culinary excellence (page 16).

And speaking of excellence, Toronto-based event specialists Sinclair Russell and Sebastien Centner talk with frequent contributor Marjo Johne about the art of high-end party planning—a calling that often requires them to reach beyond the ordinary to achieve the near-impossible (page 38).

Be sure to also check out our regular features for book and DVD ideas, along with imaginative gift suggestions for that special someone—or even yourself.

We are always interested to hear how you think we’re doing. If you want to write in about this issue, or have an idea that you would like to see featured in the magazine, please address your letter to The Publisher, The Bay Street Bull, 305 Evans Avenue, Suite 305, Etobicoke, Ontario M8Z 1K2 or e-mail me at fred.sanders@cdnpub.com

info@thebaystreetbull.com WWW.THEBAYSTREETBULL.COM 1 (888) 866 2855. (416) 252 4356 Printed by Signature Printing Inc.

6 | THE BAY STREET BULL | SUMMER 2007

Fred Sanders, Publisher

Photo: Ruslan Sarkisian

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S T R E E T

courtesy: BMW

courtesy: Hammacher Schlemmer

T H E

courtesy: Palazzo Versace

O N

PALAZZO VERSACE

SWING TIME

LIGHT SPEED

Iconic designer Donatella Versace extends her signature label to a landmark hotel whose 205 elegant rooms and 72 decadent condominiums and three award-winning restaurants lay claim to a particularly perfect stretch of Australia’s Gold Coast. This, the world’s first Palazzo Versace property, is an avant-garde hotel concept whose design borrows expansively from opulent Renaissance palaces of Europe, right down to the mosaic in the driveway—the second-largest pebble mosaic in the world. All of the marble used at the Palazzo Versace was imported from Carrara, Italy. And the 750-kg chandelier dangling over the foyer once hung in the State Library of Milan. The natural abundance of the beachfront setting is improved upon, courtesy of five shallow lagoons that surround the hotel and a man-made beach decked out in sand from Surfers Paradise beaches. The lagoon— heated to a comfortable 25 degrees Celsius for guests’ pleasure—is 65 metres long and contains over 1.2 million litres of salt-chlorinated water. When you're done swimming, wander into one of the resort's three restaurants for a nibble of Northern Rivers rabbit, West Australian marron, or Lockyer Valley beef. All of the china and cutlery used throughout the resort is from a limited edition Versace line. The resort offers private yacht cruises, deep sea fishing, a surf school, and seaplane rides to the Great Barrier Reef. Better still: Why not drop by the gift shop—the Gianni Versace Boutique—before you leave.

The Hammacher Schlemmer Golf Swing Analyzing Watch measures the tempo, rhythm, backswing length, and club-head speed of a golf swing, and instantly displays the particulars of each on the face. A glance at the metrics of this wrist-buddy during a practice session will, in theory, alert the wearer to those occasions when near-perfection was achieved and, ideally, develop the muscle memory that locks it in for the next time he's on the green trying to recall his last secrets to success. The watch features three accelerometers (electromechanical devices that measure acceleration, detect and measure vibrations, and measure acceleration due to gravity) that record 200 measurements per second, from the start of the backswing until the club kisses its intended, and uses proprietary algorithms to gauge a golfer’s technique. If the golfer’s moves are determined to be anything less than flawless (a few-degrees-short backswing or a tempo that misses by as little as 1/100th of a second will be duly noted and reported), he gets the opportunity to reflect on it immediately courtesy of a blinking LED screen that tells an indisputable tale. If she delivers the goods like a pro, she can check the display, and make a mental recording of the particular combination that produced the successful swing.

The watch has four scorekeeping modes and retains handicaps for one or two golfers. It can record distinct statistics for tee shots, fairway shots and putts. Oh, and the thing can tell time, too. Cost: US$399.95.

palazzoversace.com.au

hammacher.com

Spurn convention and go alternative with a new motorbike that’s lighter and more agile than its clunky forefathers—and looks great to boot.

BMW’s F800 series of motorbikes is the star player in motorcycles’ emerging sports middleweight class. This uncomplicated little lovely is available in two versions: the sporty half-faired F800 S and the sports touring-oriented F800 ST. Both are good bets for novice riders and experienced bikers looking to put a little breeze in their bangs. This BMW debut has a powerful, torque-rich 798cc parallel-twin engine—the first in BMW’s history. The 800’s engine is used as a load-bearing part of the chassis (a light, elegant, Japanese-inspired attachment to the rear of the aluminium frame) and incorporates Formula 1 technology, particularly in the valves, which have been designed to be powerful at high speeds. That translates into less wear, a smoother torque curve, and better fuel economy. Both bikes have a potential range of 322 kilometres from only a 16 litre fuel tank. The tank’s under-the-seat position creates a nearperfect 50/50 weight distribution and a low centre of gravity, resulting in effortless handling even when fully loaded. And the whole package weighs in at just 182 kg dry (187 kg for the ST version), making it one of the lightest BMWs ever. The bikes are designed to appeal to city and country riders alike. The standard F800 S is available in red or yellow; the ST comes in blue or grey. The S version also uses wheels styled to mimic those found on the awesome K1200 S, while the F800 ST’s rims share the look of the larger R1200 STs. But the comparisons end there, with the F800 proving conclusively that one needn’t be big to be beautiful. bmw-motorrad.ca

8 | THE BAY STREET BULL | SUMMER 2007

D E S I G N

Cottage Life ARCHITECT JAMES IRELAND COMBINES THE RUSTIC WITH THE SOPHISTICATED, CREATING STRUCTURES THAT SIT LIGHTLY ON THE LAND

BY CAROLYN LEITCH he cottage started with an extraordinary piece of Muskoka landscape, “the likes of which I’d never seen,” says architect James Ireland.The client, a pioneer of cable television in the United States, had recently exchanged some of his network holdings for 100 acres on Lake Rosseau.

Most unusual for Muskoka, it was a large, sandy bay with a great arc of beach, says Ireland, who has spent the past 12 years clambering over the archetypal jagged terrain of northern Ontario as he designs cottages and country houses for the mavens of Bay Street and Wall Street.

During that time, he has worked with investment bankers, billionaire CEOs, the owner of a National Hockey League team, a celebrity author and a succession of brothers from one of Canada’s most storied business dynasties The people who come to Ireland have a shared understanding of what a cottage can and should be, the Toronto-based architect believes. What he’s not doing is designing large suburban houses and transplanting them to cottage country.

10 | THE BAY STREET BULL | SUMMER 2007

Photos courtesy of James Ireland Architect Inc.

T

Instead, he aims to make the most of the building’s perch in the landscape without detracting from the beauty of the terrain. The habits of cottage life are more relaxed, less self-conscious.

People put on less of a show than they do in the city. They crave comfort and take pleasure in the texture and rusticity of stone and wood.

“Those are things that many of us want from our holiday places whether they’re big or small and it’s often what distinguishes a cottage from a city house,” says Ireland. “Some people will say that as soon as a cottage gets larger it’s not a cottage anymore. But if it gets larger it doesn’t [have to] turn into a house—or at least not if you do it the right way.”

At the Lake Rosseau property, a six-thousand square-foot cottage now sits on the curve of the bay. Behind the building lie woods and meadows, forest glades and dramatic cliff top trails. In front is a panorama of shimmering lake and uninhabited islands.

Late in June, the cottage sees a whirl of activity as the staff prepare for the arrival of the American executive and his family. Outside, the caretaker rakes twigs from the beach while the housekeeper distributes heaps of cushions to dining chairs and chaise longues. When the wind sends a massive inflatable raft skidding down the beach, she wades into the water and tows it back.

At this unusual site, the land is low and flat so there was no reason to build up. Instead, Ireland saw an opportunity to allow the building to spread out so that its considerable size is diminished in the landscape. “As there’s more and more building in places like Muskoka and Georgian Bay, it’s really important that these buildings be done quietly.”

This quiet cottage required about $2.5-million to build. Needless to say, that doesn’t include the cost of the land or the three-slip boathouse.

And even the most ardent nature lovers do seem to want their dose of luxury amidst all that wilderness. The slamming-screen-door shacks of years gone by have virtually disappeared from the shores of Muskoka as cottagers require spa bathrooms, dining pavilions, and guest cabins.Wine fridges and commercial-grade Wolf ranges are standard equipment in the kitchen.That’s to say nothing of getting to and from the cottage, which often calls for a whole array of speedboats, sport utility vehicles and a float plane, or perhaps a helicopter.

The TV exec’s cottage is centred around a lodge-type great room with a soaring timberframed ceiling and imposing stone hearth. “I think the great room has an interesting openness in two directions—so that it faces out to the water but it also faces inland,” Ireland says. “That makes it an interesting place to be in the course of the day [as] the sun moves around.” The children have their own wing with each bedroom opening to the verandah, the parents have a sumptuous suite with a private view of the lake SUMMER 2007 | THE BAY STREET BULL | 11

and gardens, and guests have yet another enclave.

A screened porch overlooks the water and provides a sheltered living and dining area surrounding the kitchen. Nothing more than a few columns, a roof and some screening, it is finished in natural materials so it does seem truly outdoors.

Rising over the kitchen is a great, pyramidal skylight which adds an element of surprise and drama to the room. “It gives a vertical dimension to a building that is otherwise spread out and

horizontal,” says Ireland. “It’s bringing light into the building in a completely different way than the windows do and a particularity that I think is important. If you’re making a series of rooms and spaces it’s wonderful to give each of them quite a distinct character.”

For builder Robert Goltz of Windermere, Ont., the cottage afforded an opportunity to rejuvenate a neglected piece of property without spurning the conventions of traditional Muskoka.

Ireland, in his experience, seems to respect the tradition of screen porches and cedar shingles.

“Every architect has his calling card,” the builder says. “He wants the cottage to be subtle and to blend in. He’s always going back to that: ‘we want to save the trees, we want it to disappear,’” despite the fact, Goltz says, that the cottage is of such significant size and craftsmanship that it gave a boost to the local economy.

The flat land surrounding the executive’s cottage offered Ireland a rare tabula rasa and an opportunity to make the building appear interesting from many different aspects. More often, the building is wrapped over and fitted into the complicated landscape of northern Ontario. Just around the shore on Lake Rosseau, Goltz and Ire12 | THE BAY STREET BULL | SUMMER 2007

land meet to talk about another cottage currently under construction.

“The immediate distinguishing feature is that it’s a dramatic, rocky point. And it just shows what fabulous variations of landscape we can find because the great arc of beach is very beautiful in its way and yet a few kilometres away is something vastly different,” Ireland says.

In this case, the architect had to place the new building far enough out on the promontory to take advantage of striking views but not

THE SLAMMING-SCREEN-DOOR SHACKS OF YEARS GONE BY HAVE VIRTUALLY DISAPPEARED FROM THE SHORES OF MUSKOKA. so far as to spoil the point as a place to be and enjoy the outdoors.

“The trickiest regulation was the height of it because in this rugged topography it was difficult to fit it into the height limit and at the same time kind of drape it over the landscape.”

Ireland, who graduated from the University of Toronto’s School of Architecture, cites Sir Edwin Lutyens as a lasting influence. The British architect of the early 20th century was renowned for houses in the English countryside that combined rustic materials with very sophisticated classic details.That tradition connects at least to Palladio and probably the Romans, says Ireland. “It is interesting that what we’re doing with these cottages has a very significant, long tradition that’s certainly not local.”

At the same time, Ireland does see an opportunity to maintain aspects of local tradition in his

roof lines, porches, and the sizes and shapes of the windows.

“We don’t need to be slavish about that, but there are reasons why people like some beautiful bits of traditional Ontario cottage country and it’s not just the landscape. It’s also some of the more traditional ways of building there.”

Farmland also has its own pleasures for Ireland and he draws on the customs of England, France, and Italy when designing country houses. Clients who prefer country to cottage often want a yearround house that allows them to enjoy winter activities as well as summer.

“One of the most exciting possibilities with a country house is to integrate it with a garden.”

Especially in the spring, summer and fall the garden is a very, very important adjunct to the house, Ireland says. “It’s not something that’s added on later but should really be envisaged right from the start. As with a cottage, you’re not just designing a box that you plunk down somewhere, you’re really designing a much larger area of where you live.”

And while city houses may come and go, Ireland finds that his clients are often building cottages and country homes that they hope will remain in their families for generations. The stone fireplace is in many ways emblematic of the intended permanence of these places.

“There’s certainly in so many cases an interest in permanence in the country building and obviously a significant hearth is almost the centre point of that permanence.”

As for his own legacy, Ireland hopes that his cottages and and country houses sit lightly on the land, with the rocks and trees and natural beauty at the forefront. “I’d like to think that I do them with some sensitivity to the landscape and that I keep the best aspects of the landscape.”

Dream Golf at the Water’s Edge You dream of the game as it’s been played for centuries: authentic links-style golf, played over fairways that run and tumble, past pot bunkers and billowing fescue rough, to greens sited as though by Nature herself. You would cross a continent to find golf this good – and now Cobble Beach Golf Links brings it to the shores of Georgian Bay. Architect Doug Carrick’s 18-hole layout plays to par 72 and 7,100 yards from the championship tees, with classic links features that make shot selection a challenge and a delight.

Call us about corporate outings and tournaments (special rates apply for groups over 16). Our courteous Cobble Beach staff will create a memorable day, or several, for you and your friends or colleagues.

Public Play • Private Golf Membership • The Residences The Inn and Spa at Cobble Beach, Fall 2007 519.370.2173 TOWNSHIP OF G EORGIAN BLUFFS, OWEN SOUND

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BULL REVIEW

Saab 9-3 C O N V E R T I B L E

Saab light alloy wheels are thoroughly tested for durability. They enhance the car's road-hugging qualities and ensure adequate cooling for the brakes—crucial for both performance and safety.

An icon of Scandinavian design, this car is sleek, energetic, and enticing. It’s surprisingly sturdy, deceptively simple, and aerodynamic enough to keep you firmly on the ground. And with one press of a button, you go from covered to convertible in about 20 seconds.

14 | THE BAY STREET BULL | SUMMER 2007

The first Saab car was unveiled to the automotive world on June 10, 1947, in a staff canteen at the aircraft company’s headquarters in Sweden. In celebration of the company’s diamond jubilee it has released an anniversary Saab 9-3 edition—the car which, more than 20 years ago, pioneered the year-round convertible. Over the decades, while the design of the cars has changed, one thing has remained the same: their style. And the anniversary 9-3 edition is no exception.

Enjoy the kind of power that turns any highway into a r unway.

The Saab conver tible’s turbocharged engine provides superb mid-range torque and forceful response when you need it most.

Accelerate from cruising to overtaking speed in seconds and sit back for the ride.

The 9-3 Convertible earned the 2007 Top Safety Pick award for open-top models in crash tests conducted by the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. It is equipped with Saab Dynacage, which includes pop-up roll bars and active head restraints on the front seats of all current models.

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Before you can be in the money you have to be on the money.

Wealth and Risk Management

G E T A W A Y S

BY PATRICIA POST

GOLFHEAVEN Photos courtesy of Las Ventanas Al Paraiso and Pebble Beach Golf Links (top)

These luxury golf resorts offer unforgettable opportunities to swing into summer

16 | THE BAY STREET BULL | SUMMER 2007

A great golf vacation resort is a summit of challenging fairways and greens, spa therapies, and culinary excellence. It can also be a place to extend that quintessential moment when the perfect swing slows time to another dimension—where things that usually matter a great deal don’t matter at all.

As one avid golfer puts it, “the feeling is like the planets have aligned.

You know from the rhythm, the contact, the sound, and the trajectory of the ball that you’ve hit a great shot.”

Two of the finest places to make those shots are in Ontario—The Inn at Manitou and Taboo Resort-GolfConference Centre. Farther afield are the courses at Pebble Beach, California, and Rosewood’s Las Ventanas al Paraiso in Mexico. All have their share of awards, rankings, and gem status.

GETTING THERE ABOVE IT ALL

Along the undisturbed shores of Manitouwabing Lake in McKellar, just east of Parry Sound, Ont., sits The Inn at Manitou, a five-star golf and tennis resort that is part of the exclusive Paris-based Relais & Chateaux group. The intimate 34-room resort has 70 attentive staff members, handpicked by owner Sheila Wise, who travels to Paris each year to interview the many international applicants vying for a position.

Wise personally greets her guests upon their arrival. “People say they feel as if I’m welcoming them into my home,” she says. “First-time guests are often completely taken by surprise by the attention to detail.”

Guests have special playing privileges at The Ridge at Manitou golf course right next door.

Sculpted from natural forest contours and Canadian Shield granite, the par-72, 6,815-yard course was designed by award-winning architect Tom McBroom. The course has earned some impressive awards including Best New Canadian Course.

If you’re looking for some expert help with your game, try The Manitou Golf Academy, which offers a variety of workshop packages for all levels. Set on 10 acres of lush fairways, greens, granite outcroppings, and bunkers, the academy also has an indoor learning centre, covered allweather tee boxes, and a video analysis and teaching room. Head pro Jim Pearson and his associates have a reputation for being “patient and very informative,” says Wise.

Rounding out the list of attractions,The Inn at Manitou also offers expert tennis instruction, canoeing, yoga classes, and wine tasting events. Afterwards, you’ll have no trouble relaxing in one of the 11 treatment rooms of the luxury health spa. And when you’re ready to treat your taste buds, look no further than the 11-chef French kitchen that has earned The Inn at Manitou worldwide recognition as one of Canada’s top gastronomic destinations.

Photos courtesy of The Inn At Manitou

THE INN AT MANITOU

Ultimate Golf Vacations (UGV) has a Fly In & Tee Off service that makes golfing at places like Taboo and The Ridge at Manitou a highly memorable day trip.

An amphibious Cessna Turbo Caravan can pick up a party of eight from either Toronto Island or Buttonville. Everyone gets a headset and microphone to communicate with one another, and if they wish, hear the pilot explain points of interest.

“It’s like a mini-vacation,” says John Gallaugher of Gallaugher Graphics in Mississauga, Ont. He and his colleagues have flown with UGV for two golf trips to Muskoka. “It’s fantastic. The flight itself is half the fun. After driving past these places for so many years, up there I saw so many things I wasn’t aware of. I didn’t really know what to expect, but the inside of the plane was just beautiful.

With staff waiting to assist them at their destination, Gallaugher says, “We were playing 15 minutes after landing.”

UGV also has a classic, refurbished, fourseater DeHaviland Beaver with executivestyle interior. “The most popular float plane in the world,” according to Paul Marner, director of Ultimate Travel Group.

Marner also suggests a luxury ride in a Bell Jet Long Ranger Helicopter from their charter fleet, “for those guys who have been everywhere and done everything.”

They will even throw in the latest Ultimate Soft Wilson Brand ‘50’ Compression Dominant Distance golf balls for your game.

Starting with the ferry ride to Toronto Island Airport at 7:30 a.m., then flying time, 18 holes of great golf, and a leisurely lunch, Gallaugher says he was still home by 8 p.m.

"I highly recommend it", he says.

SUMMER 2007 | THE BAY STREET BULL | 17

Photos courtesy of The Inn At Manitou

TABOO RESORT-GOLFCONFERENCE CENTRE Formerly known as Muskoka Sands, this resort was renamed in 2003 to Taboo Resort-GolfConference Centre, for a closer alignment with the growing success and reputation of its golf course.

Since changing its name, Taboo has been redesigned as an upscale boutique-style resort, with contemporary furnishings and plasmascreen televisions in many of the lodge rooms and all of the suites. Egyptian-cotton robes and high-end linens add to the air of luxury. What hasn’t changed is the spectacular view of Lake Muskoka, seen from the huge picture windows and cedar balconies, as well as from the fullservice spa.

Taboo is also a resort that takes fine dining to another level. At the Elements of Taboo, guests can choose to sit in the restaurant, the piano bar, or the 18-seat culinary theatre, where they can watch and learn as Chef Jay Scaife demonstrates his techniques and specialty ingredients. The sommelier shares the stage, teaching how to match wine, sake, or beer to the menu.

The par 71, 7200 yard course rests on 380 acres of solid beauty on the Canadian Shield, surrounded by mature hemlock, pine, birch and maple trees, all complemented by striking granite formations. These outcroppings are no more of a deterrent than other obstacles created in different landscapes. “Instead of more bunkers and water, we have rock,” explains assistant golf director Ryan Chatwin.

The pastoral views are also a big plus at Taboo, especially at the 10th hole. “It’s a beautiful tee 18 | THE BAY STREET BULL | SUMMER 2007

“FIRST-TIME GUESTS ARE OFTEN COMPLETELY TAKEN BY SURPRISE BY THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL.” deck,” says Chatwin, “where you can hit down 50 to 70 feet, and see the whole fairway and surrounding countryside.”

Taboo is the home course of 2003 Masters Champion Mike Weir. “The thing I really love about Taboo,” says Weir, “is you really have to drive it well. Then you can be creative on your second shots and play a bunch of different types of shots into the greens. I think that is the real strength of this golf course—its flexibility and appeal for all types of golfers.”

The Taboo Golf Academy has daily classes, women’s programs, and a junior program. A helicopter service is available to transport guests to and from the Taboo Golf Club. A golfing package that includes the Doug Carrick-designed course at Muskoka Bay Club can also be arranged.

“We’re ranked the best-conditioned golf course in Canada, so people thrive on that at Taboo,” says Chatwin. He adds that the status of being in Muskoka, where there are now a growing number of golf courses, is to Taboo’s advantage. “It used to be Niagara and out west that people would think of for a golf vacation, but

now Muskoka is also being recognized as a worthwhile golfing destination.”

PEBBLE BEACH GOLF LINKS Down the Pacific coast, on the Monterey Peninsula, lies every golfer’s California dream—Pebble Beach, with its three luxury resorts and four outstanding golf courses distributed around hundreds of acres of lush forest and dramatic coastline.

Pebble Beach has a rich history, and its evolution from a summer resort and lodge in the late 1890s to world-renowned golfers’ paradise is due in no small part to the entrepreneurial vision of Samuel F. B. Morse (distant cousin to the inventor of the Morse Code).

Golfers can choose from any of the four par72 courses: Pebble Beach Golf Links (6,737 yards); The Links at Spanish Bay (6,821 yards); Del Monte Golf Course (6,365 yards); and Spyglass Hill—named after Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island (6,953 yards).

Each of the resort accommodations caters to

THE GAME DEMANDS PERFECTION HOW WILL YOU ACHIEVE IT?

Golf is a complicated sport, whatever your skill level. No matter how much you play, there’s always an aspect you can work on.

From your equipment to your swing mechanics to your strength and conditioning, everything matters. To help achieve all your goals, we’ve established The Golf Institute at Bond Head. Our state-of-the-art facility is under the direction of CPGA Master Professional Bruce McCarrol, the 2004 CPGA Teacher of the Year. The institute will include a 3D Motion Reality Golf System and features three performance studios with the latest technology programs for club fitting and perfecting your swing.

You expect a lot from your game, now you can make it happen. After your session, put your new skills to work on one of our two championship courses, then join us for a meal at the Bistro, our gourmet restaurant. Call now to book your session.

1.877.472.6348

•

theclubatbondhead.com

different tastes and styles. At Spanish Bay, golfers can enjoy a panoramic view of both the ocean and the abundant forests of Pebble Beach.

Traditional taste would gravitate to the original Lodge, authentically restored with a living room, library, a billiard room, and a swimming pool.The Mediterranean Casa Palmero caters to those who enjoy personal attention and privacy (a coordinator customizes all resort activities and services for guests). And for post-golf therapy, the spa is right next door, with 25 treatment rooms, an outdoor pool, and a full-service salon.

Instruction is available at the Pebble Beach Golf Academy, where teaching pro Laird Small was honoured with the 2006 PGA Teacher Of The Year award. “That’s the academy award for pros,” explained public relations director Valerie Ramsey.

Pebble Beach Golf Links has seen improvements since hosting the 2000 U.S. Open, and more are underway for the 2010 event, serving to make it an even more challenging course.

Time to flip your back to the sun, but your partner just left poolside? No problem. A pool butler will be there quicker than you can say “Las Ventanas al Paraiso,” sunblock in one hand, a cooling spray of Evian mist in the other.

As the name suggests, this resort really does provide “windows to paradise.” It is blessedly far from all stress-filled reality, unless you consider things like choosing your favourite linen from the bed sheet menu a cause for anxiety.

From the time your plane touches down at San Jose del Cabo, resort staff seek to prove their mission statement of “identifying the needs and desires of each guest, and then fulfilling them.”

It starts with the Airport Host, who assists with any incoming needs before driving you to the resort in one of their Mercedes G500s (the only fleet of its kind in Mexico.)

Entrance to the exclusive resort has no sign, and no front desk. Instead, a lineup of employees will greet you in an open-air lobby. Check-in and a tequila welcome are provided in the privacy of your huge suite, with its own hot tub, fireplace, and telescope.

“Delivering a level of personalized service and pampering not experienced anywhere else is what Las Ventanas is all about,” says resort spokesperson Edward Placidi.

And it’s an experience with universal appeal: guests from every continent can be found at any one of their six never-crowded swimming pools.

Even your best friend can get in on the action: Pet Program attendants will give your dog a massage and provide a pet cabana to protect him or her from the tropical sun.

Why not let the director of romance create something special for you and your partner. How about dinner and a bath?

20 | THE BAY STREET BULL | SUMMER 2007

Photos courtesy of Las Ventanas Al Paraiso

LAS VENTANAS AL PARAISO

French chef Fabrice Guisset came to Mexico several years ago, and has developed a “deeprooted knowledge of regional Mexican foods. He stimulates the senses, delights the palates, and

brings smiles to the faces of our guests,” says managing director Andre Araya.

Follow up dinner with the spa, where holistic therapies, healing rituals, organic products, and native remedies are administered in suites, with a secluded desert garden setting.

For golfers planning the ideal resort vacation, though, the strongest draw is still in the game, wherever you go. Choices include El Dorado, a Jack Nicklaus-designed course, and the Cabo Real course, where the 15th hole sits on the resort’s oceanfront. Guests can also make arrangements to play a private course, Querencia, designed by Tom Fazio. “Golfers like the variety of courses along the ocean and in the desert,” says Placidi.

When it’s time to get back to reality, Las Ventanas staff help you leave the way you came. The same lineup that welcomed you assembles to see you off. After being driven to the airport in style, you’ll be assisted once again by the Airport Host, who stays to ease the check-in process as you get ready to leave this paradise behind.

BY SARAH SCOTT | PHOTOGRAPHY: RUSLAN SARKISIAN

CLASSIC CRUISERS

John Hogarth with his 1960 Mercedes Benz convertible

The market has just closed on a warm June day when financial advisor John Hogarth leads me downstairs from his mid-town Toronto Scotia McLeod office to visit the family heirloom. It’s sitting in an underground parking lot, a chocolate and cream 1960 Mercedes Benz convertible. He takes a long look. “Isn’t it a beauty?” Hogarth slips behind the slim beige steering wheel and settles into a deep burgundy leather seat.

“Aren’t these seats fantastic? It’s like sitting in a La-Z-Boy.”

Hogarth pushes the starter button to take me for a spin in the sunshine. He loves driving this 220SE Mercedes. The car has been in the family since his father bought it in 1960 from a friend moving to Brazil. “It’s my dad’s.

I’m just a caretaker for the car,” says the tall 48-year-old. I look for a seatbelt; naturally, this car doesn’t have any. “When I was a boy, I remember my dad saying, ‘Sit behind me’,” Hogarth says.

“I did exactly what he told me not to do.” When his father stopped suddenly, John flew into the dashboard and knocked out a tooth.

You can’t see the mark in the walnut dashboard, but Hogarth likes the memory. Perhaps that’s one reason he loves the car so much. It reminds him of being a kid. It is the dream of many guys— to own that one car they have coveted since childhood. Maybe it’s a fun little Triumph Spitfire. Or maybe it’s an exclusive million-dollar Bugatti racing car built back in the 1930s, before war ruined the company and its founder.

Either way, it’s a passion for plenty of guys on Bay Street and elsewhere. The Antique and Classic Car Club of Canada has about 700 members, mostly from southern Ontario. Hundreds more belong to clubs like the British Saloon Car Club of Canada, the GTA Mustang Club, and the Studebaker Driving Club. Some people own antique cars for the pleasure of restoring them. Others love to rebuild them, to show them at antique car shows or race them against other antique cars. For many, the car becomes a key fixture of their social life.

Blaine Shaw, for instance, drives his 1966 Dodge Charger to events organized by Mississauga Classic Car Club throughout the summer.

Members drive, they stop to party, they talk cars. “I’m 57,” says Shaw, a retired credit manager. “But when I jump behind the wheel, I feel young again.” The club has a building in Orangeville to store the cars.

“They’re our babies.We don’t leave them outside,” Shaw says. He’s invested $30,000 into his car. “But that’s nothing,” he says. “Some guys have put in half a million dollars.”

T

he temple of antique car restoration is a 40minute drive north of Bay Street, in the farming town of Bradford, Ontario.You can’t miss it: some of the classic cars are parked outside the building, which has an unusual landmark (for a car restorer), a windmill. This is the Guild of Automotive Restorers, and it looks more like an antique car museum than a repair shop. Inside, old bikes are hanging from the ceiling. Vintage toy cars are on sale. An old toy elephant, the kind your mother might have played on at an amusement park somewhere, is on display, with a stern warning to keep your hands off it.You can even buy a vintage Casper the Friendly Ghost toy for your dashboard. But the main attraction is the collection of old cars that are being restored by a crew of 16, under the management of David Grainger. He’s a former wildlife artist who has become of one America’s foremost authorities on antique cars.

Grainger, wearing a green short-sleeved shirt decorated with little fish, leads me on a tour of the antique cars he’s restoring at a cost of anywhere from a few tens of thousands of dollars to half a million or more. Though most are from North America, Grainger’s clients hail from many parts of the world. And among them are plenty of famous names. “We do look after Conrad Black’s cars,” he discloses. “Conrad is not a collector, but he’s never sold a car. He has mostly Cadillacs. He still has his father’s 1956 Packard Caribbean.” An NHL hockey player that Grainger won’t name owns the 1966 Lincoln Continental convertible that’s being restored in the shop. Allan Manford, founder of American Growth Fund, sends his antiques to the Guild for restoration. “He’s a dear friend,” says Grainger. In fact, many loyal clients become good friends.

24 | THE BAY STREET BULL | SUMMER 2007

Grainger sets me straight on the language of his business. An antique car, in his books, is at least 75 years old. A classic car, formally speaking, has to be deemed classic by the Classic Car Club of America.

It’s usually a luxury car like a Bugatti, not a ’57 Chevy.

A vintage car usually refers to cars made in 1960 or earlier, but these days it can be just about anything.The Antique and Classic Car Club of Canada, for instance, decided to admit members who drive in with any car that’s 20 years old, a move that infuriated some of the old-timers.

Grainger has all kinds sitting in the shop. A red supersonic dragster in one end of the shop was crafted in the late 1950s by the king of customizers, George Barris, who claimed it could go 180 miles per hour, which Grainger strongly doubts. A prototype 1970 Volkswagen concept car sits nearby, and it’s “better looking than the 2000 Volkswagen,” Grainger pronounces. He leads me to one of the real prizes—a yellow and black 1934

SIT BEHIND THE WHEEL OF ANY VINTAGE CAR AND YOU’LL FEEL LIKE A KID AGAIN David Grainger in his office at the Guild of Automotive Restorers (top) and cars inside his workshop.

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Bugatti, “the most desirable and expensive car in the world.” This one—a Type 57 Stelvio Cabriolet—is worth a mere $450,000, relatively cheap in the Bugatti world. Grainger won’t say who owns it, but he does say that driving a Bugatti takes some experience. “[Actor] Nicholas Cage contacted me one time. He was driving a Bugatti and it quit on him. He didn’t understand the ignition. Luckily for him, the engine didn’t blow up.”

Nearby is the chassis of a Schneider 13/65 LeMans, built in 1929. It’s one of 16 left in the world. Grainger found it in a barn in Ontario and is now rebuilding it. It’s not cheap. The radiator was rebuilt in Holland for $17,000 and when it’s done, he figures it will be worth over $300,000.

The chassis beside it looks like a wreck, but for the connoisseur, it’s a real find—a 1942 Alpha Romeo 6C-2500 Pinin Farina-designed body.

Grainger bought it from a Japanese collector for $150,000, and he reckons it will cost $250,000 to restore.The owner, a wealthy American, wants to show it at the antique car show in Pebble Beach, where the truly rich gather to drink champagne and compare their classic cars.

26 | THE BAY STREET BULL | SUMMER 2007

IT IS THE DREAM OF MANY GUYS— TO OWN THAT ONE CAR THEY HAVE COVETED SINCE CHILDHOOD In the back of a shop is a fibreglass form of an Aerolithe, a famous car that Bugatti introduced at a Paris auto show in 1936. All that is left of the car is 10 photographs. Now Grainger is recreating it for the same wealthy American who owns the Alpha Romeo shell. It’s an expensive proposition—$500,000 or so—and it involves some risk, professionally speaking. Only one other recreation of the Aerolithe has been made, by a German car restorer who was criticized by Bugatti fans around the world for being unfaithful to the original.

Grainger is determined to make this one perfect, right down to the magnesium coachwork.

We retreat into Grainger’s office, decorated by 1930s and 1940s pinups, along with model Top left: outside the Guild of Automotive Restorers.

Top right and bottom: cars in various stages of restoration.

planes and antique cars, and hot rod magazines that celebrate the rebirth of the pinup girl. “Right now there’s a renaissance of the muscle cars from the late 1950s and 1960s,” he says. Guys like them because it reminds them of being a kid.The price of these cars, though, has been greatly inflated by TV auctions like the Barrett Jackson auction. “You’re seeing cars worth $40,000 sold to drunken millionaires for $150,000,” he says.

For true car-lovers, money is not a consideration. One client is spending $160,000 to restore a blue and white ’57 Pontiac to sparkling condition. Grainger has told the client the car is worth only $40,000 but the client wants to do it anyway. “It makes sense in a different way,” says Grainger. “Why do people buy a brand new car and drive it off the curb, when it’s worth 20 percent less? They want it.”

Grainger considers the luxurious lines of the antique French cars in one of his many books on the subject. “This isn’t transport,” he says. “It’s art. That’s why people pay the money. It satisfies some itch, just as buying a Tom Thomson painting does for the Group of Seven collector.”

W I N E

R E V I E W

c o d e u g LanRoussillon

By Dick Singer Photography: Ruslan Sarkisian

FRANCE’S LARGEST WINE-PRODUCING REGION IS LOOKING TO REGAIN MARKET DOMINANCE WITH QUIRKY, CONSUMERFRIENDLY BRANDS 28 | THE BAY STREET BULL | SUMMER 2007

anguedoc-Roussillon is certain to capture the heart and imagination of even the most hardened traveller to France.

Steeped in history, blessed with a wonderful climate and more than 200 kilometres of sandy beach, this southern region that stretches from the Pyrenees to the Rhône is sure to delight.

Its topography varies, as does its composition, from

L

limestone and sandstone to pebbles and granite. And with more than 300 days a year of sunshine, the region is perfect for wine growing.

In fact, Languedoc-Roussillon is literally covered in grape vines—some 160,000 acres of them, representing approximately a third of all grapes grown annually in France. And while Bordeaux and Burgundy, the top-end wine growing French regions, hog the lime-

light, Languedoc-Roussillon is the largest producer of wine by far, yielding more than two billion bottles annually.

Yet winemakers in this region, and throughout the country, have been badly hurt by international competition.

For years, France has been grappling with massive overproduction—much of it in the form of mediocre stock—and a sharp decline in domestic consumption. This has led to

widespread panic, particularly in wine-dependent regions like Languedoc-Roussillon.

The situation was so dire that over the past two years militant grape growers in balaclavas have torched railway cars and planted bombs in businesses suspected of importing foreign, largely Chilean, wines.

Moreover, critics believe that serious packaging or Byzantine labels of French wines have not only intimidated but alienated consumers.

In an attempt to regain their market dominance, French winemakers have embraced innovation and offbeat marketing strategies with the same zeal that brought success to many Australian wine companies.

French products now have unusual, attention-grabbing names (Bad Dog, French Rabbit) thought to be more consumer-friendly, and tend towards velvety smooth and fruit-flavoured rather than angular and acidic.

Here are four wines that you are sure to enjoy:

Fat Bastard 2005 Chardonnay $15.15 Despite its name this Vin de Pays d’Oc, from the cellars of Thierry Boudinaud and Guy Anderson, is worth the price. Chardonnay is no stranger to wine lovers and this offering tantalizes with soft, tropical fruit tones such as mango. It has had moderate oak exposure so a hint of vanilla tickles the nose.

In the mouth it is soft and generous in flavour. It may be enjoyed by itself or with grilled chicken, fish, and cheeses.

SUMMER 2007 | THE BAY STREET BULL | 29

Arrogant Frog 2005 Shiraz $13.20 Produced by Jean-Claude Mas, this is an impressive Australian-style shiraz. The nose is intense, filled with very ripe cherry-prune blend, black pepper, vanillin, and wood smoke. Medium full-bodied, soft and supple, it lingers in the mouth, affording time to savour its power and balance. Very good length and warm, spicy finish.

Will go well with meat pies, game, grilled red meat, beef stews, and medium-flavoured hard cheeses. Chill slightly before serving.

Bad Dog Red 2004 Syrah-Cabernet Sauvignon $11.40 The blend of Languedoc-Roussillon grapes gets six months of oak aging. It is soft on the palate with subtle tannins, offers loads of red berry and spice, and a bit of terroir. A nice gentle wine.

Complements red meats and savoury summer dishes.

Fortant 2006 Merlot $10.10 One of the Skalli family’s first single-variety wines to enter the Canadian market. This merlot hits the scale at 13.5 percent alcohol and comes loaded with flavours of plum and ripe fruit. It is soft and supple on the palate and has good length. The wine is cellar-aged before shipment to market.

A generous wine that offers full flavour to match and mingle at a dinner party or gathering. Try it with roast lamb, medium cheeses, even dessert.

30 | THE BAY STREET BULL | SUMMER 2007

CONTINENTAL GT. APPROACH YOUR DESTINATION.

Moments like this are what you’ve strived for. Don’t put it off any longer.

BENTLEY TORONTO 740 Dupont Street, Toronto, ON M6G 1Z6 For information call 866 475 8112 www.bentleymotors.com/bentleytoronto ‘Bentley’ and the ‘B in wings’ device are registered trademarks. © 2006 Bentley Motors Canada, Ltd.

BENTLEY TORONTO

E U Q I T BOU

TREET BAY S

NATURE'S SCENE David Grieve is fast becoming one of the most sought after artists in North America. The recipient of many awards, Grieve finds his inspiration walking natural areas. His paintings have a bold mosaic style with carefully interwoven colours inspired by nature. Prices range from $1,650 to $9,000. Grieve is available through Art In The Village, 2311 Bloor St. West, 416-763-2224 and State Of The Art, 1541 A Bayview Ave., 416-489-4795

HANDCRAFTED Woodford Reserve Bourbon is handcrafted at the historic Lambrot & Graham Distillery nestled in Kentucky bluegrass country. A true “small batch� bourbon, Woodford Reserve epitomizes luxury. Distilled in traditional copper pot stills and matured in the finest oak barrels.

Enjoy this super premium whiskey neat or in a deluxe Manhattan.

Price: $46.15. Available at the LCBO; lcbo.com.

SOUND SOLUTIONS Elipsa is a new model from Italian designer Sonus Faber.

Chief among the physical design elements is the use of the infinite baffle form. Wider than it is deep, this elliptical cabinet construction couples easily with even difficult room acoustics allowing base to roll effortlessly into the listening space. The overall scale (21.75 x 49 x 18 inches) allows it to be easily integrated into a variety of listening spaces. Price: $22,000. American Sound of Canada, 9108 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill, ON; 905-886-7810; americansound.com

32 | THE BAY STREET BULL | SUMMER 2007

I M A G E + F A S H I O N

Christina McDowell wearing hat designed by KOKIN New York On opposite page Grey Lilliput hat

Hat Tricks DONNING A HAT IS THE PERFECT WAY TO TRANSFORM YOUR IMAGE.

By Sarah Scott | Photography: John Hryniuk

week or so before Ladies’ Day at Royal Ascot, the Oscars of the hat world, I was invited to a ladies’ lunch in Rosedale. It was a warm sunny day, and the hostess was the very beautiful wife of a private investor. The lunch was held in the couple’s garden, an extraordinary swath of greenery that stretches deep into a gentle valley. Here, in other words, was a perfect location for a hat, the kind of hat stacked with ribbons and feathers that one might see the following week at the races in England.

I, unfortunately, did not have one. The concoctions I had purchased in England in the early 1990s had been dispatched to my daughter’s costume box, at the insistence of a friend and fashion critic. So I arrived, hatless, only to find that just about every fashionable woman at the party wore no hat either.

But why? Why don’t smart women in Toronto wear a hat at a garden party, or at a society event? Yes, they wear hats to cover up in the cold, or to protect themselves from sun, especially if they’re lying on a dock. But one rarely sees a woman wearing a hat as a fashion statement. Men don’t wear them either, apart from those who need the physical protection from

A

sun and cold. The only exception is, of course, the ubiquitous baseball cap, which some men even wear with a suit.

To understand this aspect of Toronto fashion, I headed for the fashion emporium that started its corporate life as a hat maker—Holt Renfrew & Co. Ltd. It was founded by an Irish merchant who brought in hats and caps to Quebec City in 1837. But now, at the store’s flagship Bloor Street location, the millinery that once created custom-made hats is gone. The store still sells hats—including summer straw hats that retail for up to $325, and $255 Gucci baseball caps for men—but not the type of stylish creations one sees on the heads of the kind of women who frequent the Royal Enclosure at Ascot.

I took a private elevator up to the cool grey rooms where women seek discreet professional assistance in the choice of just the right style for the occasion and body. Dozens of dresses and shirts were hanging on the walls in the mirrored room where I met Christina McDowell, the store’s image consultant and national spokesperson. She was, of course, exquisitely dressed: black stiletto shoes, slim black pants and a lime green silk top under a thin black cardigan. As part of her job, she helps all kinds of women de-

SUMMER 2007 | THE BAY STREET BULL | 35

Zara Phillips, her brother Peter Phillips and his girlfriend Autumn Kelly attend Ladies’ Day of Royal Ascot Races on June 21, 2007 in Ascot, England.

Photo: Tim Graham/Getty Images

WHEN IT COMES TO HATS, LONDON AND TORONTO, IT TURNS OUT, ARE WORLDS APART cide what to wear and buy. She has even given a talk about image at University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. As McDowell puts it, “how you present yourself directly affects your bottom line, how successful you will be.”

So what happened to hats, I ask. London and Toronto, it turns out, are worlds apart. “I dress clients today who go to London events,” she says. “Whether they’re high-profile weddings or Ascot, they all require hats. They’re elaborate, and the more over the top the better. It’s interesting, because you think of the British as understated and elegant, but they go nuts with their hats.”

I’ll say. At Ascot this year, there were plenty of women wearing feathered hats that made them look like tropical birds, but the standout was surely that lady in a hat that could best be described as a golden sofa on a bed of purple feathers. Hats are as wild as ever these days, judging from the creations on display at the Hat Museum at Chazelles-sur-Lyon in France.The museum’s collection includes concoctions inspired by Star Trek, the military, and several fairy tales. They’re decorated with shells, fur and jewels, playing cards, tulips, and Patent Leather Hat

by Burberry $450 rolls of film.

Strange as it may seem, these are the kinds of hats that appeal to the most conservative ladies in England. “There’s a great history to that,” says McDowell. “We simply don’t have that here. If you wore a hat like that here, people would just point and snicker. So the status symbol in Britain doesn’t translate to our style sensibility here.”

36 | THE BAY STREET BULL | SUMMER 2007

“We aren’t driven by that sense made of patent leather of drama as Europeans would be,” with a gold chain—“is she says. When Canadian women reminiscent of the ’70s,” go to an event, they don’t think, “I says McDowell. “If she have to create great theatre with put on the patent hat, my wardrobe.” Because that’s that would say to me she what it’s about: “The hat is is very fashion-conscious. It’s about theatre. It’s a different a fashion statement. Very young. sensibility.”

Very street. Very contemporary.”

Eric Javits striped hat $425 In England, your hat reveals a Then Jane tries on the black turlot about you, McDowell continban, the kind that Ava Gardner used ues. “Primarily, what it does is identify a level of to wear. “Pull all your hair into it,” McDowell class. It identifies who you are: your background, tells Jane. If Jane wanted to wear that, she’d have your sense of style, what you do for a living.” to pick the right earrings, makeup and clothes It’s not the same in Toronto, where clothes to go with it, she says. I presume that’s why you are more functional.Yet, according to McDowhire a fashion consultant. “You have to complete ell, “hats are transformative. They transform the look to wear the hat,” says McDowell. your image.”

There is a bonus: the Ava Gardner turban “You put on a baseball cap, and if you’re in solves the drippy hair problem. A smart fur hat a certain look that suits a baseball in the winter does the same—and according to cap, that says something about McDowell, you don’t have to worry about hat your image. If you change what head because it’s acceptable to wear smart hats you’re wearing and you put on a indoors at a ladies’ lunch, as long as it’s before dramatic fedora, it transforms 5 p.m. Hats aren’t worn in a business meeting your image.” either, and one would never, of course, wear a McDowell asks her assisbaseball hat or a toque indoors. tant, a lovely girl called In Toronto, I venture, you see more baseball Jane, to put on a wide caps than any other form of headgear. “It has its brimmed straw hat. “It says place, its history,” says McDowell. “It’s fine with she’s very feminine. I can’t see jeans on the weekend. Does it have a place in a soher under that hat. It says she’s very phisticated formal setting? No.” coy because she’s dipping her hat.”

I somehow doubt McDowell would ever willMcDowell glances at her beeping Blackingly wear a baseball cap. She says she only Berry, and decides to ignore the message for wears hats of any kind once in a while. “I will the moment. “If she puts on the cowboy hat wear a sun hat—a black straw fine Italian, or (straw, with a little bow on the back), it tocowboy-inspired hat. That’s it.” tally changes her image. Look at that. She beBut her reticence to wear a hat shouldn’t deter comes very relaxed. Very street. Very anyone. “People say hats don’t suit them. But youthful. Very hip.” there is a hat for every face and every head—you The new Burberry hat—a $450 riding cap just have to find the right one,” she says.

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P E O P L E + P L A C E

THE PARTY PLANNERS 38 | THE BAY STREET BULL | SUMMER 2007

Sinclair Russell

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BY MARJO JOHNE

fter dinner, the wedding guests made their way outside, to the impeccably groomed grounds just behind the main tent, where they continued drinking, talking, and laughing—until they heard a series of popping sounds that made them instinctively pause and look up. That’s when they saw the sky break out into filaments of colour.

But this spectacular fireworks display was just a prelude to the real show stopper: a blue Maserati that seemed to materialize right out of the night—the groom’s gift to the bride.

The crowd gasped, then applauded.

Impressed? Give the groom a handshake, but save the big pat on the back for the real mastermind behind the scenes: the elite party planner, also known as the event designer or event specialist.

For today’s host and hostess—we’re talking about folks who would never ever dream of telling anyone to BYOB—parties aren’t just parties. They’re events, in the real sense of the word, where guests come not just to dine and drink in merry company but to be intrigued, amazed, and then sent home with the firm conviction they’ve just been part of the social high mark of the season.

Photo: Ruslan Sarkisian

MEET SINCLAIR RUSSELL AND SEBASTIEN CENTNER — TWO MASTERMINDS WHO ARE HELPING CANADIANS ENTERTAIN IN GRAND STYLE

This is where event designers like Sebastien Centner and Sinclair Russell come in.

“Basically what I do is wave my arms and make sure everything works together,” explains Russell, a Toronto event designer whose client list includes some of Canada’s richest and most powerful. “With a sense of humour, you can make everything come together.”

Well, it’s not exactly that easy. Planning events such as the unforgettable wedding reception often means moving heaven and earth to stage affairs that are, to say the least, stretches of the imagination.Talk to Centner and Russell and they’ll tell you about transforming North American venues into Venetian palazzos, Moroccan casbahs, or ornate and spicy memories of India.

One Centner project, a birthday celebration for Mark Bratty, son of real estate developer Rudy Bratty, honoured the client’s passion for the Toronto Maple Leafs by sticking strictly to a blue-and-white theme—down to the naked girl whose body was spray painted to look like she was wearing a Leafs jersey. Even the invitations were designed to look like tickets to the Leafs game.

“This is a guy who doesn’t miss a Leafs game SUMMER 2007 | THE BAY STREET BULL | 39

PLANNING EVENTS OFTEN MEANS MOVING HEAVEN AND EARTH TO STAGE AFFAIRS THAT ARE A STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION and wears a Toronto Maple Leafs pin all the time,” says Centner, director of Toronto-based Eatertainment Special Events. “Everything had to reflect his love of the Leafs. Everything had to be perfect.”

Both Russell and Centner will tell you, however, that perfection can be an elusive prey.Take that Maserati wedding party, for instance, which was organized by Centner. The client didn’t want just any Maserati; he wanted a particular model in a particular shade of blue. And since the dealership didn’t have such a car on hand, it would have had to be ordered from the factory and would not arrive in time for the wedding.

“So we had to do some research and find out who in Canada had recently bought a blue Maserati,” recalls Centner, who deals with mostly corporate events but has organized private affairs for the likes of Bill Clinton, Ted Rogers, and Richard Reed of Reed Homes.

“We found the guy but it wasn’t like he was looking to get rid of his car, so we had to convince him to sell it to us by arranging to order a new Maserati for him and paying him a little premium on top of that.”

Like Centner, Russell has faced his fair share of event planning challenges. One party, which was being held on top of a mountain in Switzer-

Elaborate table settings must be perfect.

40 | THE BAY STREET BULL | SUMMER 2007

land, was preceded by an avalanche that closed off all roads and rail lines in the area.

Russell and his team had to travel by helicopter—arranged by his client, a mining tycoon—to the mountain top. “There was no other way to get there, so everything we needed to organize this party – the food, the supplies, everything – had to be transported by helicopter as well,” says Russell.

Notwithstanding natural disasters and hardto-get import cars, would Russell and Centner consider party planning a tough occupation?

Centner acknowledges that saying “no” is not always an option when dealing with people who are used to getting what they want. One client, for instance, wanted to serve her roughly 500 guests a meal that included roast veal kidneys.

“My first reaction was if we serve 500 people roast veal kidneys my reputation will be shot and my client said, ‘If you do it right, they’ll eat it,’” says Centner. “So my challenge was to find a way to do it so people wouldn’t even realize what they ate. Less than five per cent of the plates came back with the roast kidneys still on them—the rest were completely empty.”

Another occasion called for Centner to do something that went beyond the scope of his services.While planning a party at a ranch, he got

Toronto party planner Sebastien Centner

a call from the client, who had forgotten to close one of the gates that morning.Would Centner be kind enough to check on his Texas Longhorn and make sure it hadn’t gotten out?

For Russell, who has been in the business for more than three decades and has built a reputation as one of the city’s top event designers, highmaintenance clients just aren’t worth the aggravation.

“At this point in my life, I only work for people I like,” he says. “If somebody seems to be needy and demanding, then I’ll choose not to work with them.”

Russell is reluctant to talk about how much his clients spend on their parties, while Centner gives a wide range that starts vaguely at “a minimal amount” and goes up to about $5 million. The latter, he recalls, was a wedding that included such splurges as musicians flown in from Europe.

But no matter how wealthy the client happens to be, say both Russell and Centner, there’s no such thing as a money-is-no-object project.

“Money is still an object; even people who have the money and want to spend it are conscious of having a budget and setting limits,” says Russell. “And in Toronto, money is hidden. People who spend a lot of money on their parties don’t want it to look like they spent a lot. They prefer things to be tasteful and understated.”

Of course, sometimes it’s nice to add a touch of bling. Like maybe getting a Maserati to make a dramatic entrance at a wedding party.

“We’re helping Canadians entertain better,” says Centner. “And for us, that means people walking away from an event with something absolutely memorable—something they’ll tell their friends about the next day.”

T H E

A R T S

FESTIVAL FEVER

BY CHRIS POWELL

Whether it’s watching a string quartet in the heart of the Canadian Rockies or a rock legend in a intimate setting in Montreal, there’s a summer festival for virtually every taste.

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r how about the annual Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling Contest in Gloucester, England, where participants chase a wheel of Double Gloucester cheese down an impossibly steep–and concave–hill.This unique festival, which dates back hundreds of years, has

Manu Chao

Photos courtesy of Montreal Jazz Festival (left and top)

Festival of San Fermin in Pamplona (facing page). Photo: Stone/GettyImages

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ach July, the highlight of the nine-day Festival of San Fermin in Pamplona, Spain, is the famed Running of the Bulls.

The event sees mostly young, foolhardy men— and it’s invariably men—dash 800 metres down narrow cobblestone streets pursued by a herd of bulls weighing up to 1,500 pounds each. (It’s something akin to running ahead of a fleet of economy cars with bad brakes and zero cornering ability.)

Owing to some 15 deaths and more than 200 serious injuries in the past century, the Pamplona Town Council has drawn up a set of rules for participating in the annual event. Rule No. 6, for example, states that it is “expressly forbidden to enter into the route in a state of drunkenness.”

Yeah, right! It seems the decision to run alongside several tons of angry bull could only be the result of a drunken conversation, one that begins, “Hey guys, you know what would be really cool…?”

Turns out, though, the Running of the Bulls has a fair bit of company in the unofficial competition for the world’s most dangerous festival.

Take the annual Beehive Rockets Festival (also known as the Yanshuei Fireworks Festival) in Taiwan. It culminates with a celebration in which literally tens of thousands of fireworks are fired directly into a crowd of up to 50,000 people. Although those on the frontlines are advised to wear helmets and heavy, non-flammable clothing (no polyester suits, please), burns and other more serious injuries are commonplace.

been summarized thusly: “Twenty young men chase a cheese off a cliff and tumble 200 yards to the bottom, where they are scraped up by paramedics and packed off to hospital.”

If you’re seeking a festival-going experience unlikely to result in a trip to the emergency room, however, you can find literally hundreds of events that don’t charge admission by donation of life and limb.

T

here’s a Salsa Festival in El Paso, Texas, a Cereal Festival in Battle Creek, Michigan (birthplace of the Kellogg Company) that features the world’s largest breakfast table, and the Issaquah Salmon Days Festival in Washington State, which also plays host to the Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival.

There are festivals celebrating practically every

type of fruit and vegetable (including a kumquat festival), more jazz and blues festivals than you can shake a drumstick at (not to mention other genres like rock, classical, country and electronic), plus celebrations of the visual arts, theatre and dance.

Whether it’s watching a string quartet competition in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, hotly tipped indie rockers in New York’s financial district, or a rock legend in an intimate theatre setting in Montreal, there’s something for virtually every taste.

D

espite celebrating its 74th anniversary this year, the Banff Summer Arts Festival could well be one of Canada’s best-kept secrets on the festival circuit.The summer-long event typically averages between 30,000 and 35,000 attendees.

Presented by the Banff Centre–a post-secondary institution dedicated to the arts–the festival runs from May 1 to September 2 and comprises about 100 events featuring more than 1,000 students from disciplines including music, visual arts, and dance.

All performances take place within the Banff Centre’s 43-acre campus in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. “The greatest thing that still SUMMER 2007 | THE BAY STREET BULL | 43

“IT’S A SUBLIME SETTING FOR THE ARTS. I THINK THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING HERE IN THE MOUNTAINS IS THE SINGLE MOST AMAZING THING ABOUT IT.”

I

strikes me is that it’s a world-class arts festival in the Rocky Mountains,” says BSAF marketing manager Lachlan Mackintosh. “At an intermission, you can step outside one of the venues onto one of the patios and see the sun setting on top of Cascade Mountain.

“It’s a sublime setting for the arts. I think the experience of being here in the mountains is the single most amazing thing about it.”

Highlights of this year’s BSAF include the Banff International String Quartet Competition (an event held every three years that has featured string quartets from as far away as Israel and the Czech Republic), a concert by noted Canadian songwriter Bruce Cockburn, and a performance of “Frobisher,” an opera exploring the life of Martin Frobisher, the British explorer who attempted three times to find the Northwest Passage.

dominantly outdoor event, with venues in the city’s financial district including the World Financial Center, South Street Seaport, Battery Park, and Rockefeller Park.

This year’s festival is expected to draw more than one million attendees, who will take in free concerts by classical performers such as the Brooklyn Philharmonic and The Martha Graham Dance Company as well as contemporary artists like Spoon and soul legends Booker T. and the MGs. “While there’s something that my mother would like to go to, there’s also something for my nephew as well as my friends [and me] ,” says Changar.

B

illing itself as America’s “largest, free, summer-long arts festival,” the River to River Festival has been credited with revitalizing lower Manhattan in the wake of the devastating September 11 terrorist attacks.

“We wanted to find something that gave New Yorkers a reason to come back to Lower Manhattan,” says Suzy Changar, the festival’s senior director of marketing. “We’ve still continued to be an economic development tool for the area, but we’ve grown into something more.”

The festival is the result of an alliance between six former NewYork City arts councils. It’s a pre-

Photo: Lisa Fletcher

Photos courtesy of the Banff Summer Arts Festival

Lingling Hsu and Offertorium (below) at the Banff Summer Arts Festival

f your taste for “opera” is better served by something like, say, the Drive-By Truckers’ “Southern Rock Opera”—a song cycle loosely based on the story of ill-fated southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd—then New York’s 6th annual River to River Festival might be more to your liking.

The Truckers (who specialize in heart-onyour-sleeve songwriting and no-frills rock and roll) are among the bands scheduled to appear at the festival, which kicked off in May and runs through September 14.

Tower Bridge in London decorated with festival lights

N

ew York’s major cultural rival, London, is marking the 10th anniversary of the Mayor’s Thames Festival–which celebrates both the river and the city itself. More than 665,000 attended last year’s extravaganza on the south bank of the Thames River between the Tower Bridge and Westminster Bridge. Events include street theatre and workshops, a riverside bazaar, and a night carnival.

Festival crowd at Seaport and Eels at WFC (below)

Photos courtesy of the River to River Festival

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44 | THE BAY STREET BULL | SUMMER 2007

ome festivals have become inextricably linked with their host city. The Montreal Jazz Festival recently capped off its 28th year, and was expected to draw more than two million attendees, according to vice-president of programming Laurent Saulnier.

This year’s festival featured more than 500 concerts (including 350 free shows) by major artists from the worlds of jazz, folk, and blues. Among the highlights were sold-out shows by rock aristocracy Bob Dylan and Van Morrison at the intimate 3,000-seat Wilfrid Pelletier Theatre.

The festival is for people to let their hair down, says Saulnier. “We’re stuck inside our houses for six months,” he says. “Come summertime, everybody wants to go outside.”

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T H E

S H E L F

P I C K

O N

LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA Warner Bros. Entertainment $39.98 Director Clint Eastwood earned an Oscar nomination for the Japanese view of the famed WWII battle showing us that war discriminates against no man, heroes and cowards can be of any nationality, and the notion of making a last stand with honour is universal.

B O O K S

E D I T O R ʼ S

CONFESSIONS OF A WALL STREET SHOESHINE BOY,

BY DONALD STUMPF HarperCollins $32.95 A fictional, first-person account of an unassuming shoeshine boy privy to the greed, corruption, and sexual infidelities of high-powered execs at a Wall Street brokerage firm where he works shining shoes.

Warner Bros. has recently bought the rights and will adapt the book for the big screen.

23 WAYS TO GET TO FIRST BASE: THE ESPN UNCYCLOPEDIA, BY GARY BELSKY AND NEIL FINE H. B. Fenn: $24.95 From the classic Who’s on First? to Bill Murray’s Cinderella Story speech from Caddy Shack, this collection of comprehensive sports knowledge is a must-have for the fan who needs to know it all. And yes, there are 23 ways to safely reach first base.

JOURNEY TO THE DARKSIDE: SUPERMOM GOES HOME,

BY KATHY BUCKWORTH HarperCollins $21.95 A wry, honest take on what it’s like when Supermom chooses to give up life in the corporate fast lane. For humorist and parenting writer Kathy Buckworth, the stayat-home life isn’t as easy as it looks.

MICHAEL TOLLIVER LIVES,

BY ARMISTEAD MAUPIN HarperCollins $32.95 For fans of the Tales of the City series this a must-read, but new Armistead Maupin readers will find it equally accessible. Michael Tolliver, the southern protagonist of the Tales series, now in his fifties and HIV positive, reflects on the defining moments of his life.

TRAILER PARK BOYS: SEASON 6 Alliance Atlantis $49.95 The boys of Sunnyvale are back. Bubbles (Mike Smith) opens “Kittyland Love Center,” his version of a feline theme park, while Ricky (Rob Wells) and Julian (John Paul Tremblay) get on Mr. Lahey’s (John Dunsworth) bad side.

VENUS Alliance Atlantis $29.95 Peter O’Toole was Oscarnominated for his turn as a septuagenarian romantically infatuated with the much younger, provincial grandniece of his closest friend (Leslie Phillips). And while he channels the sadness of unrequited eros, he takes his objet d’amour—and the viewer—on a wonderful sightseeing tour of London.

MISS POTTER Alliance Atlantis $28.95 The beloved children’s author Beatrix Potter, played by Renée Zellweger, is the subject of this bio-pic, which explores the author’s life under the thumb of her overbearing mother. The viewer is treated to a look at Potter’s imaginative and colourful characters, including Peter Rabbit.

Bonus feature: director’s commentary.

M-G-M MOVIE LEGENDS: PETER SELLERS COLLECTION 20th Century Fox/MGM Home Entertainment $39.98 Peter Sellers lives on in this boxed set that features some of his most memorable characters: the clumsy Inspector Clouseau from Pink Panther, card-sharp Evelyn Tremble in the James Bond satire Casino Royale, and the dazzlingly demented Dr. Fassbender from What’s New Pussycat?

D V D S

ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE: A YEAR OF FOOD LIFE,

BY BARBARA KINGSOLVER HarperCollins $33.95 Hot on the heels of the Slow Food movement, this nonfiction narrative with an ecotheme follows bestselling author Barbara Kingsolver’s year-long experience of eating only locally grown food.

46 | THE BAY STREET BULL | SUMMER 2007

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