Last Wednesday, I was invited to cover an afternoon tea fundraiser at St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church, located off Jean Talon near the market. I heard there were a number of Townies attending.
As I entered the church basement, I figured pretty well everyone was attending; it was packed! 189 ladies for tea, to be sure. Great organization is in the details, and I was already impressed that a young gentleman greeted the arrivals with information on where to access parking, since that is a difficult task in that area.
Grace Battah, one of the event organizers (along with Barbara Battah and Doreen Assaly), is a long time TMR resident. She had attended a tea in West Virginia on one occasion, and brought the ideas that gave the event its character home. One of the twists is that the guests had to wear hats. The other twist was that for each of the 21 tables, one person was in charge of the decoration, from the dishware and cutlery to the centrepiece and other accessories.
Between the hats and the individually decorated tables, it was a feast of creative expression! Townie Maureen David Mikus chose a fishbowl, complete with live fish towel and sandy beach, as her centrepiece, with pearly seashell dishes, mini bottles of tanning oil as accessories, a clever set-up especially on a rainy day.
Delicious sandwiches and mountains of decadent desserts were relished as guests played audience to some words of acknowledgements, as well as a brief history of the afternoon tea. This was followed by a fashion show and door prizes. As the afternoon came to a close, some of the attendees rose to the occasion by leaving their tables and dancing to ABBA. That’s how you know people had a great time!
On June 6, from 10am-4pm, you are invited to attend the vernissage for TRAM’s latest exhibit at the Royal Lepage in the Town centre. If you can’t make it, the exhibit of painting and photography will be there throughout the summer. Support our local talent!
The Lyric Theatre Singers, well known interpreters of Broadway, jazz and pop choral music, return to the Oscar Peterson Concert Hall (7141 Sherbrooke St. W.) to present four performances of the musical theatre revue Strike up the Band! June 11 to 13 at 8pm and June 13 at 2pm. Tickets are $14 to $28 and can be purchased by calling the Lyric Box Office at 514 363-3382, at www.lyrictheatrecompany.com or admission.com (514 790-1245). More about this show, and the TMR connection to this established troupe, next week!
