A Grand Affair

No, not the romantic type (but I can think of a few possibilities . . . .kidding!). This was a huge gala at the National Arts Centre. It was an insane amount of decorating and very little sleep. Friday I worked from 9:30 am until 2:45, went home to get the kids off the bus, then went back from 5:45 until midnight. Beck was at my house as the dogsitter and was surprised I was home so early (Hubby and the kids were camping for the weekend with the Beavers). Saturday morning I was at the NAC for 9, and I left at 4:30 . . . A.M.!!!!!!!! It was a long and crazy day, but I got to be onstage fluffing table decor for the entire dress rehearsal with the NAC Orchestra conducted by Pinchas Zuckerman, with Erin Wall (soprano), Ben Heppner!!! (tenor), and Jann Arden(!!!!!!!!). Yeah, it was awesome. And then to be able to have a little chat backstage with Ben Heppner, who is a lovely man, and help Jann out by getting the person to fix her mic pack . . . too cool! I also managed to be onstage for some of Ben Heppner's performance, and all of Jann's. No surprise that I teared up when she sang "Hanging By A Thread" - I love that song. So . . . here are some shots of the decor. The theme this year was Enchanted Forest. The really wild thing is that after the performance, we have 45 minutes to get the tables moved into place (NAC staff does that), candles lit, etc, because the guests eat on the stage. It's pretty impressive.


Table centrepiece.



The entranceway. I decorated this whole thing.



Close-up of the top of the pillar. Note all the "enchanted" butterflies.



We even had "real" faeries!



VIP centrepiece. There were three VIP tables. These trees are HUGE. And painted purple and green, with glowing mosaic lanterns in them.



Ready for the guests.