SOCIAL EVENTS

The challenge of encapsulating in four nights all Toronto has to offer is a great one indeed! Toronto is a truly multicultural city and you can literally eat and shop your way around the world without leaving the city boundaries. We have an abundance of theatre, concerts, museums, galleries and sporting events. The planned Social Events are within walking distance of the conference hotel, or are a very short cab or transit ride away. The city is a great walking city, but we also have a great transportation system, making it very easy to get around.

Wednesday, Oct. 17 -- Opening Reception

The Opening Reception of NE 2007, sponsored by Thomson Carswell, will be held on the evening of Wednesday, October, 17^th, 2007, in the Legislative Building at Queen’s Park, the home of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario. This elegant building, in close proximity to the conference hotel, is a popular tourist attraction, and will provide a welcoming atmosphere for delegates to meet, mingle and relax before they are immersed in the conference hustle and bustle of the days to come. (FYI, the building was designed in 1893 by an architect from Buffalo, Richard A. Waite.)

Thursday, Oct. 18

Thursday evening starts with the TALL Tower Tours (6:00-7:30 p.m.), followed by Dutch Treat Dinners.

TALL Tower Tours (6:00-7:30 p.m.)

Toronto has a long and fascinating legal history. Almost all of Canada’s large law firms are either headquartered here or have major offices here, and this reality is reflected in the many, significant law libraries located in Toronto’s downtown core.

The TALL Tower Tours are tours of law libraries hosted by members of the Toronto Association of Law Libraries. The purpose of these tours is to allow you to poke around other libraries and maybe borrow some ideas that you can try out in your own libraries. Many of these libraries are situated in the office towers of Bay Street, hence the name ‘TALL Tower Tours’. Included in the tours is a visit to the Great Library of the Law Society of Upper Canada, founded in 1832 and one of the largest law libraries in Canada. Located in a wing of Osgoode Hall built in 1846, the library is remarkable for its grand, Palladian architecture.

Like the organizations they serve, the libraries themselves vary in content and design, and each is unique; so two tours are being offered. Sign up sheets will be located at the Conference Information Desk. Each tour will take you to two libraries and finish in time for you to join a Dutch Treat Dinner the same evening. For more information, please email Mary Saulig, msaulig@goodmans.ca.

Tour 1

The Great Library of the Law Society of Upper Canada: Housed in historic Osgoode Hall, built in 1846 and home to the Law Society of Upper Canada and also to the Court of Appeal of Ontario, the Great Library is one of Canada’s largest law libraries. The combination of leading-edge resources and architectural splendor gives the Great Library its unique charm.

Ogilvy Renault LLP: Headquartered in Montreal, Ogilvy Renault is one of Canada’s oldest law firms. The recently renovated Toronto office features a modern library where form and function meet innovative office design.

Tour 2

Blaney McMurtry LLP: The Moveable Feast – Come see how we get 2000 linear feet of shelving into approximately 600 square feet of space!! Hint: its not magic.

McMillan Binch Mendelsohn LLP: Located on the 44th floor of one of Toronto’s most architecturally beautiful office spaces, McMillan Binch Mendelsohn's library features floor-to-ceiling windows and easily one of the most stunning views in Toronto’s legal community.

Dutch Treat Dinners (7:30 p.m. -- )

Don’t know where to eat dinner Thursday night? Don’t know who to go with? No problem – just sign up for a Dutch treat dinner! Members of TALL (the Toronto Association of Law Libraries) will be hosting groups of delegates for dinner at local restaurants. Toronto has a variety of restaurants that offer prix fixe (set price) options on their menus, so there is bound to be one which suits your taste and your pocketbook, as well as group of colleagues to dine with. Check out the list of restaurants and drop by the Information Desk at the conference for more details and to sign up to join a group.

For more restaurant information, check the reviews in Do NorthEast 2007: Guide to Toronto for Libraries Without Borders.

Friday, Oct. 19 -- Free time

Friday night will be a free night, to allow you to take advantage of the many tours of Toronto, or maybe head over to the historic Distillery District, or perhaps to catch up on some shopping at the Eaton Center, which is attached to the conference hotel.

For information about restaurants, check the reviews in Do NorthEast 2007: Guide to Toronto for Libraries Without Borders.

Saturday, Oct. 20 -- Closing Banquet

Our Closing Banquet will be held in the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott Hotel, our conference hotel. A nice way to round of a very full conference – time to catch up with friends, old and new, and enjoy fine food and great music!