Inside a private dinner party in City Hall’s council chambers, with Ben Mulroney, Sarah Gadon and Director X

One night before art lovers pulled an all-nighter on the streets of downtown Toronto, roughly 90 VIPs got a fancy first look at Nuit Blanche. Labatt hosted an invite-only dinner to give guests a preview of the event, as well as celebrate the brewery’s 170th anniversary. Things got started in City Hall’s council chambers, which were transformed into a dining hall for the evening. Here’s what happened inside.

Real estate big shot Michael Cooper hung out with Your Morning host Ben Mulroney:

While Cooper’s wife, fellow real estate mogul Krystal Koo, chummed it up with Alias Grace star Sarah Gadon:

MLSE boss Michael Friisdahl was deep in thought:

Director X did his best Batman impression:

Musician Serena Ryder got a selfie with broadcaster extraordinaire Denise Donlon:

Kirstine Stewart, exec at entertainment company Diply (and formerly of CBC and Twitter), was there:

As was MP (and Conservative leadership bronze medallist) Erin O’Toole:

LCBO CEO George Soleas was there with his wife, Christine:

Labatt president Marcelo Abud proposed a toast:

Chef Sash Simpson of North 44 provided the dinner:

Which included a poached pear and reduced cherry cider dessert:

After dinner, attendees donned hard hats for a sneak peek of some Nuit Blanche installations. Here’s producer and party pro Kate Alexander Daniels with her husband, developer David Daniels:

The crowd spilled out into Nathan Phillips Square:

Attendees stepped inside some of the 21 shipping containers that made up curator Nato Thompson’s Monument to the Century of Revolutions, a mini village in the square:

Here’s the event’s host, Charlie Angelakos, VP of legal and corporate affairs at Labatt, with his wife, Beth:

And Crow’s Theatre artistic director Chris Abraham gave the camera a fierce stare: