Many of the 2017 Search for Miss World Canada’s Regional Delegates had never visited downtown Toronto before, and almost all had yet to experience a scenic cruise in the city’s busy harbour. The biggest city in Canada also has the most recognizable skyline, and there is simply no place better to admire that feature than six hundred meters offshore.
To share that spectacle with our delegates, Mariposa Cruises offered up their most Canadian vessel, the Oriole for lunchtime cruise into the history books. On Wednesday the 19th of July at twelve thirty pm, the cozy green boat became a floating shareable moment center as every nook and cranny of the vessel was captured on Instagram.
The Oriole, a Victorian era steamship replica was built in Port Dover in the nineteen sixties and was the perfect choice for the happy excursion that day. This very Canadian vessel has a distinct old-world charm that has made her a favourite Toronto charter and very recognizable out on the lake; all the other ships’ crews waved and blew their air horns when they encountered our marine expedition.
Mariposa Cruises’ Lunchtime Feast Served Up Fresh Perspectives
In the middle dining section of the ship there was a delicious lunch served up almost immediately upon departure. There were thin crust rye bread sandwiches and pita bread wraps of every description, and large bowls filled with different types of salads; there was a cabbage salad, a bean salad and a huge leafy green salad with fresh cut tomatoes and cheese garnishes.
Mariposa Cruises’ staff worked hard to make everything perfect, and it was their passion for their craft that made every moment on-board ship pleasant and picturesque; every minute of this marine experience was memorable for all passengers for all the right reasons.
Sailing about the busy harbour opposite the biggest city in Canada is thrilling at any age, and watching the shoreline grow more distant while being ensconced in the excitement aboard ship certainly impacted our congregation. They sat together and laughed at all their inside jokes before the dancing began upstairs on the top deck.
Much to our surprise and delight, Cognition Video Production Company in Toronto volunteered to come along and document our cruise in a ninety second sizzler that works well to capture the mood and majesty of fifty seven ladies afloat on the lake.
The video showcases over a hundred moments and nicely encapsulates the entire expedition from boarding to disembarkation at 2:30 pm. Thanks Warren!.
At first glance, the lunchtime cruise attraction activity seemed very straightforward. Delegates were promised a one-hour cruise about the harbour with a light meal and lemonade. But up the top deck of the Oriole, our people soon encountered some interactive attractions and the possibility or earning virtual fame, pageant distinction and real world prizes.
Velago Patio Furniture’s #SofaSelfie Attraction
Up top at the stern of the ship, a natural place for passengers to take selfies (and with the Canadian flag flying at the perfect height), the passengers discovered an ornate outdoor sofa with a placard taped to the rail behind the installation that read #VelagoSofaSelfie Challenge on Instagram. Sponsored by Velago Patio Furniture, this real-life meets online challenge asked participants to try their hand at taking their own pictures in the sofa with the City of Toronto in the background.
This very same lightweight designer sofa, listed in their online catalog as Outdoor Sofa Set – Lugano, was both the centerpiece prop and the prize reward. This specimen was unique however, as it was dressed with specially decorated seat cushions bearing the blue and white fabric logos of Velago Patio Furniture and Miss World Canada.
#VelagoSofaSelfie Instagram challenge was won by 2017 Miss South Western Ontario!
The winner of the challenge had the best Velago Sofa Selfie as judged by the patio furniture company CEO on Friday the 21st of July. He sent a $600 voucher ahead to be presented on Saturday night.
Also present that day were exclusive sunglasses from Spectacle t&k designer sunglasses collection – designed in Toronto and produced in Italy, this company provided a pair to the delegate that took the best selfie wearing the stylish lenses.
Everyone tried on the pair they believed best suited their face and apparel.
Having designer sunglasses as props for self styled selfies was a brilliant sponsorship idea. This attraction was won by Miss Cape Breton World 2017 for the image on Instagram you see below,
As a reward, the 2017 Miss Cape Breton World received the gorgeous t&k designer sunglasses in which she posed! This prize is worth about three hundred bucks.
Below are some other sponsors who made the trip. Beside photographer McGlick is Captain David Yetman and then beside him is a very pregnant Dahlia DeSouza, the CEO of UptotheTime Watches. Next is Lily Liao from Street Chic fashion lifestyle magazine and Harvey DeGroote the First Mate of the Oriole that day. These entrepreneurs, sponsors, and their staff are so important to our organization and we treasure them so much; but all the same we cant help wondering about the sitcom that could happen if these people were shipwrecked together! LOL!
Also present was Raymi Toronto who now also represents KPDI Digital Solutions in Toronto, and Zach Bussy from Guy Maven magazine.
Raymi Lauren and Zach Bussy are both great writers and both were early adopters of all things social media; they quickly evolved their own blog styles and have influenced many other media-makers over the years. Their own personal friendship goes back a decade or longer and together with Valeria Stachurski of Charming Media, a top PR agency in Toronto they had a great talk about the future of their favorite digital tools in the dining area of the ship.
Upstairs at the bow of the ship there were even more influencers and media mavens from the health, beauty and fashion world. Here are the ladies from Beyond Fashion magazine.
The photo-taking frenzy died down a little bit after lunch, and there was a gentle calm when the expedition cruised through some of the smaller channels of the Toronto Island. This was the ‘scenic’ portion of the scenic tour.
After we passed through the most populated points of the channel, we emerged from our self-imposed passivity and headed back out to open water to pump up the volume!
Justin Bieber tracks started blaring through the cabin and suddenly a whole lot of dancing happened on deck. As cliche as it sounds, it was Bieber’s pop songs that got the party started! Delegates danced with abandon on the top deck of the ship as the DJ’s groovy tunes kept the assembly ambulating in gorgeous style. It was indeed beauty in motion for many minutes as the ship made its way back to port. The most passionate passengers sang aloud their favourite pop songs as passing ships admired the sight (and sound) of our afternoon cruise.
Want to know more? There are even more pictures and links and funny anecdotes chronicled on the Mariposa Cruises Captain’s Blog account of the 2017 Miss World Canada Toronto Harbour cruise.