The New and Improved ROM

From a few blocks away, it seems like any other Saturday night in Yorkville: Crowds of nightclubbers and post-pub-crawl sushi-seekers. But as you get closer to the Royal Ontario Museum, it becomes clear that something else entirely is going on.

During his onstage chat with John Rockwell, Leonard Cohen referred to the Lee-Chin Crystal as “that iceberg that has crashed into that museum.” It’s not a bad description. Fierce and angular, the new Daniel Libeskind-designed museum expansion is impossible to ignore. Saturday night, people gathered under its jutting precipices to ooh and ahh before the museum opened its doors.

After the boy-bands and soul singers left the stage (during which time their images were projected on the Crystal’s multiple surfaces), Governor-General Her Excellency the Right Honorable Michaelle Jean officially opened the renovated ROM for business. She may have gotten the most cheers of anyone that evening.

“Comment ca va?” she asked the crowd.

“Ca va bien! they screamed in unison.

After more cheers and a few fireworks (which the Crystal blocked from view if you stood too close to it), the line to get in stretched around the block to Queen’s Park Crescent.

Greg and Liz Wilson waited about a half hour to get in. Liz wanted to see what all the fuss was about; Greg is fascinated by architecture.

“I want to see how they use the space inside to complement what it looks like on the outside,” he said.

The Crystal began accepting onlookers at about 11 PM; it’s not closing until 6 PM Sunday. At least one hot dog vendor was prepared.

“We’re gonna be here all night,” she said, and handed out another dog.

Gala draws celebs, artists & an international crowd

In the midst of it all – the celebrities and pomegranite-flavored martinis, the dancers in giant plastic hamster-balls and shot glasses full of carrot-ginger soup – Sonya Lee is standing in a small crowd, playing the middle section of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” on her electric violin. But she’s doing it acoustically, for the benefit of the three or four people around her who can hear it over the din of people being stylish.

“You plug in a hair dryer to dry your hair. Everyone plugs in their laptops. Why not plug in a violin?”  Lee asks. Earlier, she had been on stage, providing the music for the opening gala of the Luminato Festival, covered by multiple cameras that projected her image, wild and determined, onto giants screens that surrounded the party. She played modern interpretations of classical pieces. She also played “Purple Haze.”

In the midst of it all sit Joe and Marilyn McMullan, lifelong Ontarians, enjoy tiny cups of a sorbet whose flavor nobody can quite place. They love Toronto, especially its diversity – they still frequent Portugal Village, Little Italy and Koreatown. They talk eagerly about their city. The festival is a great way for them to people-watch.

“From a spot right here you can see everything,” says Marilyn. “I hope this brings in folks from outside Toronto, from all over.” Earlier in the evening they’d seen the world premier of “Vida! A Celebration of Life,” the Cuban dance performance that runs nearly every night of the festival. They’re looking forward to taking L’Art Boat from the Harbourfront Centre to the Distillery District.

In the midst of it all, Sass Jordan parties like it’s 2099. The Armani-sponsored VIP room at the back of the lobby of BCE Place is hip beyond belief; one table holds bowls full of scented rocks, and from the ceiling hangs a floor-length banner of red fabric which, someone says, represents touch and texture. In one corner of the room people get makeovers.

But Jordan, one of the judges of “Canadian Idol,” makes the surroundings accessible. She’s warmly charming and self-effacing, with none of the distance or affectations that we associate with celebrity. She relates to her fame with good humor.

“I’m like Paula Abdul, only in Canada,” is how she describes her job. She’s at the gala not to be seen, but to check out the art and mix with good company. She’s not alone.

Opening Night Gala

Originally uploaded by tysonwilliams.com

People were entering BCE Place just to see whether their eyes were deceiving them. Were those giant black bubbles hanging from the ceiling a bath gone terribly wrong?

No, they are a part of the Floating Artworks installations around the city. This one, by Xavier Veilhan, called Le Grand Mobile, is a series of black spheres that must be 20 or 30 feet in diameter, hanging by what appears to be very small strings to a metal pipes.

Opening Night Gala draws onlookers

Preparations for the opening gala were already drawing a crowd.

Aside from Le Grand Mobile, other sights offering enigmas to onlookers were:

• A metal hoop (which later served as a frame for two Cirque Du Soliel-esque acrobats to perform
• A giant red sash hanging floor to ceiling
• Two projection screens
• Several attractive models lounging on black leather couches
• Room dividers simply marked with Georgio Armani’s name