The Vibe at the 2011 Notable Awards

By Samantha Millar, View the Vibe Correspondant

WHAT: The first annual Notable awards driven by Lexus

WHERE: Andrew Richard Designs,  571 Adelaide Street East

I have to admit, I was pretty excited to bag an invite to this hot-ticket event. Not only to have an excuse to play dress-up but to step out on the town with my partner-in-crime, Nicki from viewthevibe.com. Due to hectic schedules and life nonsense, a glam night out was well overdue!

So, after spending the afternoon getting shined and polished, I pulled on my fav LBD, finished it off with my most uncomfortable shoes and off we went.

Normally fans of the ‘fashionably late’ code, we were under strict instructions to be on time for the 8pm door opening. We dutifully obliged and as a result, missed the lengthy line-up that quickly formed behind us.

Once in, we were welcomed by a tray of ‘The Notable Cocktail’; a blue, vodka based concoction. As tempted as I was by the whole tray, I swiped one before we set off for a quick tour of the space and what a spectacular space it was!

We were pleasantly surprised to run into two of our favourite restaurants and View the Vibe clients; Katherine from Café Du Lac (@cafedulac) was offering delicious duck crepes and sinful pecan tarts while Fishbar (@_fishbar) won huge points for bringing along their trout rillette and white anchovy crostini… always a winner in my book.

We were also treated to some tasty treats from the ever lovely team from William’s Landing (@willslanding) while Le Dolci (@ledolci)

After my cocktail, I went on a beer run to the Molson M stand… a microcarbonated lager that apparently means it’s less ‘gassy’. And indeed, the bubbles are finer giving it more of a champagne fizz which I rather enjoyed. So I had a few more… what?! They were free…

So after a solid 90 minutes of free booze, the awards were underway. We snagged a spot right at the front so we could see all the action. Good thing too, the crowd was rather rambunctious at this point and showed no sign of calming for the all-important presentations… a result of too much drinking time maybe??

The talented Melissa Grelo (@melissagrelo), star of CP24, was the host for the evening along with guest presenters Aliya Jasmine (@aliyajasmine) (in a pair of kick-ass shoes btw) and Keisha Chante. It was a smooth, well-run show. I have to say, hearing about the winners and all they do, really showcased a philanthropic thread throughout. It was very inspiring and a reminder of how deserved each of them really were of this recognition.

The shoes…

Once the pretty awards were all divvied out, the DJ kicked in with a funky, old-school playlist. Being on strict schedules, we headed out after some obligatory air-kissing and last minute schmoozing.

All in all, this event was executed wonderfully. The space was perfect and didn’t feel too crowded. Booze choice was varied and there seemed to be more than enough food to please the expansive crowd!

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners and well done to the amazing crew at Notable.ca. Roll on next year!!

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