The Gentlemen’s Expo with the men in my life

We had a busy weekend but I made a point of spending a couple hours at The Gentlemen’s Expo with some of the guys in my life. Who are these guys? Well obviously the hubs but also the bro, dad and a good friend who was celebrating a birthday. The Gentlemen’s Expo welcomed the women in the men’s life but was a 19+ event so we left the Little Monkey and baby boy at home with my mom as we explored a modern man’s world. I can’t think of anything better than kicking off a Sunday with a delicious cocktail – can you?

This was the launch of The Gentlemen’s Expo and I definitely see them returning bigger and better next year. The show was fairly small but that worked out perfectly for us as we were able to sample our drinks, roam around, buy some tickets to see the Raptors and get up to some shenanigans in the two hours we were there. Given the many large and overcrowded shows we’ve been to lately, this was actually refreshing. I totally loved the concept of the Eat,Drink and be Manly passport but truth be told I found no “Eat”” included in it but there was plenty to drink. 6 drinks samples were included in the price of the ticket ($30 with various upgrades) and $5 from each ticket was donated to Movember Canada. Their goal was to raise over $100,000.00 to support Prostate Cancer and men’s mental health initiatives. Noble cause indeed!

Highlights for me were the amazing Old Fashion cocktails from the Jim Beam crew (did I tell you that it’s going to be all about Bourbon for me in 2014.. can’t wait to learn all about the delicious spirit!), the Mahi Mahi tacos from Gourmet Gringos, the Anchor Man photo opp from Cineplex and ofcourse grabbing some discounted tickets to see the Raptors in the new year. That said there was definitely more to the show as they covered the sporting man, the working, the man on the move, the stylish man, the cultured man, the tech man and the well-kept man. We spotted some vintage cars, auctions in benefit of charity, some fabulous threads from various retailers including Gotstyle and Garrison Bespoke (you know you want bullet proof suits!) and ofcourse Damon Synder’s awesome mantuary/mancastle.

The Gentlemen’s Expo attempted to set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ record for having the Largest Gathering of People with a Moustache but unfortunately they were unable to win the title this year. The current record is 1,131 participants, held by KARE-11 TV at a Minnesota Wild hockey game  and they hold the title since November 26, 2010. There’s always next year!

As the first show if its kind to focus on the modern man I think this show has a lot of promise in future years and I look forward to attending next year and interacting with other cool brands out there. Hey we ladies need tips on what to buy for the guys in our life after all!