---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The event, always a highlight of the Montreal social scene, generated a record-breaking $1,987,000 this year. One word straight from the get-go: Jennyrella. That's exactly how I felt as, clad in my finest Sex-in-the-City-Manolo-Blahnik finery, I arrived at historic Windsor Station. Nothing could have prepared me for the ball's overwhelming entrance, as I was thrust into a beautiful tangle of thousands of fresh yellow daffodils laid out like a magic carpet topped by an oversized, tilted chandelier. During cocktails, the dreamscape continued to wow. A quartet from the McGill Chamber Orchestra played soothingly in the background while attentive servers offered flutes of celestial Lanson Black Label champagne and plates of the most delicate hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, including foie gras with port jelly presented in tiny liqueur glasses. I floated on to the dining room beyond a colossal wall of silk daffodils and palm leaves. Clusters of tables in this season's springiest palette - turquoise, yellow and apple green - were assembled in groups of five; magnificent monochromatic "petals" surrounding towering 18-foot palm trees made of authentic palm leaves dripping with an explosion of still more vibrant daffodils and ribbons. And in the centre of each table, a softly lit lamp, continuing the colour scheme, bearing a shade enhanced by hundreds of pale petals painstakingly applied with matching straight pins. On dinner plates were an exquisite leather key-ring or fab scarf from Chanel (les boys received Lindt pralines). At last, it was time to feast and did we ever. The meal was prepared by a team of chefs from the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth under the tutelage of Armando Arruda and executive chef Alain Pignard. We began with a melt-in-your-mouth eggplant and broccoli mousseline topped with creme fraiche and Abitibi sturgeon caviar, followed by a perfect veal loin chop bathed in a flavourful Indonesian peanut sauce. Dessert, however, was dreamiest; a tantalizing trio of creme brulees served ever-so-gracefully in delicate egg-shells. While dinner was a gastronomic delight, the entertainment did not stop there. Quebec singer, actress and TV host Mitsou leaped stylishly into the dream and served as charismatic MC, introducing a succession of talented groups, which included the complete McGill Chamber Orchestra, Paul Chacra's guaranteed-to-get-you-out-on-the-dance-floor 1945 Orchestra and special guest, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. After non-stop dancing and several delightful pilgrimages across the room to a Studio 54- style VIP lounge replete with a sinfully delicious chocolate fountain, it was time for a spectacular raffle worth $230,000. Prizes included Delmar's $39,000 classic Australian South Sea pearl necklace and a $96,000 dream trip to Thailand and Bali, courtesy of Swiss International Air Lines and Como Hotels and Resorts. I am so not ready to wake up yet.
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