Planner brings back warehouse party

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/11/2011 (5307 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EVENT BY EMMA FOR EMMA — What does an event planner with 20 years’ experience do when she throws her own party? Last Friday night, Emma Singh of Events By Emma threw a “warehouse party” in her1,000-square-foot space off Dugald Road in a snowstorm. Two hundred curious people came out.

“These parties were an early cousin to the rave, originally held in abandoned warehouses in industrial parks,” she explained. Singh liberated half of her warehouse, which is stacked to the ceiling with faux trees and one-metre centerpieces and satin tablecloths, exotic tents and crazy lights. She created a magical bar and disco with diaphanous 7.6-metre white curtains floor-to-ceiling, and lit the interior space with hot pink origami lamps and disco lights. The room featured different food and drink stations — the crunch bar, veggie bar, ice cream bar — and the blackout bar for cocktails. The DJ stood on an elevated stage, high enough that guests had to look up.

Spotted: Teaching chef Larry MacFarlane, The Fairmont’s Elfie Siemens and Eric Schon; Tourism Winnipeg’s Tara-Lee Andreas and Rachelle Normand, and city councillor Devi Sharma. Also making the scene were Rey Lozano, owner of Aldo Formal Wear, marriage commissioner Cherrlyn Thompson, Trevor Ahluwalia of Clay Oven and Douglas Krahn from Chocolate Zen bakery. Chef Peter Karamchand from Buffalo Stone Café provided the delicious food for the event. Emma’s husband, Danny Singh, was everywhere in the room. “I’m the sole proprietor but we do everything together, he’s my permanent volunteer!” says a beaming Emma, who wore a zingy purple mini-dress to host her event.

— — —

FIRED UP — In his law-school days, well-known Winnipeg lawyer Bob Sokalski — now a partner at Hill Vincent Sokalski Walsh Trippier — used to live beside the river in an apartment block on Brandon Avenue near the Redboine Boating Club. One day, big fire alarms started going off — and firemen rushed with their nets to catch people who might need to jump from upper floors. “I’m on the third floor and I’m feeling paranoid. It’s exam time and I’m a first year rookie with seven final exams worth 100 per cent. I need my books!” says Sokalski. Instead of jumping, Sokalski yelled down to the guys with the net, “Here, catch these,” and he dropped his precious law books and notes out the window. “As (wife) Barb and I were opening the door to get out, the fire department were just carrying a flaming mattress out of the building. One of the tenants had been smoking in bed.”

— — —

AWARD NIGHT — Dr. Frank Dimant, CEO of B’nai Brith, flew in to give Sandy and Robert Shindleman, of Shindico fame, the 2011 Award of Merit at a gala Monday night at The Fairmont. Ida Albo from Fort Garry Hotel talked about the brothers Sandy and Robert, and Greenberg’s Groceteria, the family grocery store in Portage la Prairie. Don Amero sang and strummed an acoustic guitar, John McGoey did a tribute to the brothers and their integrity in the community. Sandy Shindleman’s talent as a speaker and comedian are legendary to people who know him. “That man’s so good he should be on a comedy circuit,” noted a media type afterwards.

Spotted: Owner of Western Glove Works and Free Press co-owner Bob Silver, brother Michael Silver president of Silver Jeans, jeweller Brent Trepel, lawyer Brenlee Carrington, Salisbury House’s Earl Barish and Transcona Country Club’s Al Golden. A lot of folks came in from hometown Portage and points across Canada, and brother Danny Shindleman flew in from Switzerland. Mayor Sam Katz, who’s an old buddy of Sandy Shindleman’s since they were in their 20s, attended with his wife Leah.

— — —

DADDY’S GIRL — Accessories maven Mea Adam, famous for her Mea stores, and now her Daddy’s Girl fashion shop in Piazza de Nardi strip mall on Taylor Avenue, says her first name “Mea” came from a daddy with a great sense of humour. He called her Mea from the Latin expression “mea culpa” which means “my fault.”

— — —

STEEL PAN FUN — What’s going on? The sounds of a nightly steel pan orchestra emanating from a Polo Park-area warehouse, with snow drifting by, are quite amusing to passerby. Turns out Ruthven Nimblett, enthusiastic director of the Winnipeg Steel Orchestra, is holding daily practices for the next 10 days because of a big winter concert. The 70-year-old Trinidadian-Canadian has been leading the Winnipeg Steel orchestra since 1974. The big show is Dec. 4 at 2 p.m. at St. Boniface University (formerly “College”) 200 Ave. de la Cathedrale. Call 952-6172 for more.

 

Got tips, events, sightings, unusual things going on? Call Maureen’s tip line at 474-1116, email Maureen.Scurfield@Winnipegfreepress.com or send mail to The Insider c/o the Winnipeg Free Press at 1355 Mountain Ave. Winnipeg R2X 3B6