“It’s Las Vegas, baby! What happens at AIDSbeat, stays at AIDSbeat…” (well, except the interviews Precedent conducted with some guests about “the biggest gamble they’d ever taken.”)
AIDSbeat, Toronto’s biggest legal community charity bash, a battle of the (lawyer) bands of sorts — presented with all the fanfare and Vegas extravagance that could fit under one roof thanks to presenting sponsor Laurel Hill Advisory Group and others — rocked Koolhaus last week.
Guests were greeted by two rows of feathered showgirls and topless Chippendales; body-painted acrobats poured and served martinis from aloft; and the bow-tied croupiers dealt cards like true Vegas professionals, while the bands got the growing crowd dancing. The room sparkled with the accessory of the evening, brightly lit Las Vegas signpost necklaces, and sequinned dresses. Coloured lights, feather palm trees, Elvis impersonators, a wedding chapel, games table and a rockin’ dance floor combined to make for one heck of an event.
AIDSbeat, now in its 16th year, is the annual benefit concert for CANFAR put on by the Toronto legal community. This extreme party event, which has raised over $2 million to date for AIDS research, attracts more than 1,500 party-going professionals for an evening of fabulous fun. Bringing together lawyers from dozens of different firms, AIDSbeat is a highlight of the autumn party circuit.