Ever since opening a second location, on Jasper Avenue in 2021, the owners of Continental Treat Fine Bistro have proven beyond a doubt that they love two things: downtown and local live music.
But the Borówka family, which opened the first Continental Treat on Whyte Avenue back in 1982, also likes to throw a classy party, which is why they hired Lavish Lifestyle Concierge and Party Planner Extraordinaire Randall MacDonald for their Phantom of the Opera-themed Halloween event, Music of the Night.
“The biggest thing for me about the downtown location specifically is that the Borówka family just has a huge belief in the revitalization of our downtown,” MacDonald says, “and they decided to be pioneers in the downtown core to try and get people back there.”
The family brings in local musicians four days a week, MacDonald says, and most importantly, “they pay [musicians] up front, not just what they make at the door.” And for special events like this, they pay MacDonald, who lets his Phantom-loving imagination put a classy twist on Halloween, which the professional party planner says is becoming a “second Christmas” in terms of how “all out” some people go.
“I love this story of romance and unrequited love, and then you throw on top of that all the beautiful Andrew Lloyd Webber music, and it just makes for a really nice evening.”
The nice evening’s tone will be set by smoke, candles and a string quartet to provide cocktail hour ambience, with a photo station to capture it all. During dinner’s first couple courses, opera singers will perform songs from the show, with the quartet returning for the entrée and the quartet coming back for dessert.
“What’s different about this event is, generally, when you hear about Halloween, it means a wild party, but that’s not what this is. This is an event. This is an immersive evening of elegance, an evening of great food and music.”
And to complete the immersive experience, you have to dress the part…which is MacDonald’s favourite part.
“I love dress codes,” says MacDonald, who will be there wearing his operatic best. “We’ve said it’s ‘formal cocktail.’ We’d love for people to wear eye masks, but we encourage them to dress in 19th-century attire, from the period of the Phantom. So long dresses, maybe with bustles at the back. And for men, they could wear tails, so quite formal and over the top,”
Go over the top classy October 30 at Continental Treat.
