A night of Opulence
There was a big buzz going around in Toronto, about the new art gallery Flazzo Opening up on Church Street. The next thing you know, I get an invitation to the grand opening of Flazzo on Friday June 2. The opening presented exhibits from artists all around Canada, dancers, singers complimented with extravagant wine. It was a semi- formal event, with full dress code in effect, I wore my usual black maxi dress, with some old pearls that my mom had given to me. As I anticipated this event, I expected the ticket price to be quite high, as the event was called ???a night of Art and Opulence???, but the tickets went for $20-$40 dollars. As I entered the art gallery, to my surprise it was quite large, it gave me the feel of an old art gallery in Europe. It had a high ceiling, everything was black and white, with a marble floor and sophisticated lighting. I enjoyed walking around, viewing the art and meeting the artists behind the beautiful pieces of work. I found one art piece quite interesting, it reminded me of something that I drew as a child, but a much polished version offcuorse. The art piece was a drawing of the sun, setting along the shore, with a woman sitting on the ground starring at it. As I wandered about, with one hand holding my glass of Shiraz and the other greeting people, I started to notice all the photographers shouting and taking pictures ???Geanie look at the camera!???, as I look over it is none other than Geanie Becker! Famous fashion editor and fashion analyst. She wore a beautiful gold gown, her hair was in a French twist complimented by her large but classy diamond earings. A sworm of photographers made their way after her, asking her to strike a different pose every time the camera clicked. The survers came out with havarti cheease on a stick and shrimp that was absolutely exquisite. I met a man named John Ortner, who was one of the photographers of the night; he was kind enough to take a few shots of me. The music was smoothe jazz and retro the entire night, the feel was very modern/ classy, deffintely not a place for the usual teenager on a Friday night. I kept a close eye on any other celebrities that could possibly be entering the event. As the night went on, a man named Piero Fazzo, walked up on a small stage. The man announced that this art gallery was made in memory of his father Elliot fazzo, a famous artist who recently passed away. I could see the tears in his eyes as he spoke his small, but thoughtful speech. It moved the audience, as he showed everyone his fathers paintings while sharing old memories of himself growing up. After he was done speaking, there was a performance done by a upcoming jazz player Mike Nueurer sung by a woman named Joyce Cullans. The music the two artists had made, took my heart away, as it was a classic Edith Piaf song ???La Vie en Rose???, this song reminded me so much of my life in Quebec. Later on, after the music was done, I could not help but greet the two artists and tell them how much I loved their music. I found out that they too were French Canadian and a lot of their music is inspired by the Quebec culture. The night topped off with a gallery walk, which is when you have a wall full of the description of all the paintings and you must guess what painting fits each
description. It was very amusing to see the different perspectives of everyone, most of my descriptions did not fit the paintings but I did manage to have lots of fun! There was a chocolate fountain with strabberies around it, I found myself wandering over there a lot of the time. The night turned out to be a hit! I ended up getting a free gift, which was a free pass to visit the art gallery once more, plus a C.D, compliments of the performers. As I walked out of the art gallery, I saw fireworks and people lighting sparklers, I felt as though the party was following me!
If you want a full European experience, while glancing at exquisite art, in a big beautiful room in the middle of Church street than the Flazzo gallery is diffinetly for you!
