Taboo bash hit of the fest

September 10, 2003

By JOE WARMINGTON -- Toronto Sun


GRAVENHURST -- It may be Taboo but I want to let you in on a little secret.

This will go down as the party that a lot of people missed.

Taboo, Taboo.

And it will be the Toronto Film Festival soiree everybody will be trying to attend next year. Take it from Scrawler -- this monster bash was the event of the 2003 festival so far.

As you can tell, I'm doing my best to make my Sun columnist pals Gary Dunford, Mike Strobel, Mark Bonokoski, Michele Mandel, Bruce Kirkland, Jane Stevenson and Liz Braun jealous.

Hey, I don't get to do it often. Don't forget Scrawler's usually the uncredentialled guy with the hat standing outside the front door of these fancy things. This time I found myself having lunch with Playboy playmate Tailor James. Need I say more? All joking aside, I really do believe it doesn't get any better than this one.

Words and even pictures will have a difficult time describing the first annual Toronto Film Festival golf tournament at the five-star Taboo Resort up here in Muskoka.

Set up to help raise money for the Film Festival Group, the golf tournament is really more of a two-day event where guests are flown up from Toronto via Cameron Air and literally land at the dock of this enormous resort, on the beautiful shores of Lake Muskoka. Others came up by helicopter or limo.

"My heart is jumping," said an excited Kim Coates, star of such films as Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down and Open Range. The L.A.-based seven handicap from Saskatoon couldn't believe he was playing the home course of 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir. "Look at this course."

"It is incredible," added Alan Thicke, who admits he's been to some nice places. "But this was special ... This was an incredible 48 hours."

It all started Sunday night with the screening of Canadian director Peter O'Brian's Hollywood North, an hilarious parody on trying to make movies in Canada 25 years ago starring Deborah Kara Unger and Matthew Modine.

This film was given this year's Spirit of Film Award, something that will be handed out to a top Canadian film each year from now on. It was neat to see the people of Gravenhurst outside the beautifully restored historic Opera House hoping for a glimpse of one of the stars. And on the day side of the event there was golf, Seadooing, swimming and poolside entertainment.

We also shouldn't forget the 40-piece steel band which heralded in the golfers, the oyster and sushi bars on the course and, of course, the Cuban cigar roller was a nice touch. The open bar also went over well.

The only thing missing was St. Peter himself. After golf there was a stunning fashion show, produced by Elaine Tennyson and featuring the best of Canadian designers including Alberto Kelly, Arthur Mendonca, Caroline Lim, Colette Harmon, Dannie De la Venta, Eryn Reid, Jane Ip, Joeffer Caoc, Pat McDonagh, Pearl Miller, Sonja Topolovec and Thien Le.

"This show was as good as it gets," said publicist Deborah Knight, president of Toronto's dkpr.

Eat your heart out Sun fashion editor Sylvi Capelaci, who regularly attends the shows in Paris and Milan. Add Gravenhurst to your list of stops next year.

As great as all of that was, the highlight was the closing party with a tremendous eight-course meal prepared by executive chef Michael Pataran followed by memorable entertainment by the band Groove Council.

The place was already rocking, but in the Boathouse, right next to picturesque Lake Muskoka, it got just plain crazy when two special guests took the stage. Among the celebrities in the crowd where Terry Sylvester, lead singer of The Hollies, and guys from The Tragically Hip.

Sylvester got up with Groove Council first and wowed the crowd with hits Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress and He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother. And if that wasn't enough, Paul Langlois and Gord Sinclair got up and played all of The Hip's hits.

It was neat to see celebrities like Thicke, Sara Botsford, Linda Thorson and Valerie Pringle all up on the dance floor bopping to the tunes. "We have already been getting calls from Los Angeles from stars wanting to make sure they can come next year," says co-founder and executive producer Gene Mascardelli.

I'll bet.

"We hope it will become a landmark event that will be one of the highlights each year," added Taboo Resort managing director and co-producer Egon von Foidl.

I'll bet my Sun colleagues will end up there next time. Hope they still let the Scrawler in.

 

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