Entering The Michael Lee-Chin crystal on Saturday night felt more like a scene from HBO’s Carnivale (RIP), with eerie calliope circus music and Entry of the Gladiators ushering guests inside, through thick tent-like curtains. Inside, contortionists bent their legs backwards, court jesters juggled balls (don’t be dirty) and fire breathers put the finishing touch on creme caramel. Okay, that last part isn’t true…it would be way too dangerous to have fire breathers inside the ROM with 900 party guests and close to SIX MILLION objects and artifacts. However, if we closed our eyes and licked the fuzzy cotton candy, we could feel circus spirits all around us. Oooooohhh! Are you scared yet? Wait until we blind fold you and stick you in the bat cave with a dozen circus clowns and organ music. AHHH!

As with all theme parties, there are three types of guests: those who commit, those who flirt with a theme and those who ignore theme all together but dress to impress. All ways of responding are perfectly acceptable; we enjoy watching the man who arrives as Bozo the clown just as much as the woman who wears a gorgeous alice + olivia low-back from Holts. But the girl who gets our award for best outfit is surely the pretty blonde who arrived as the bearded lady. Well done. 

Hundreds stood in line to get their fortune told, ladies congregated around the MYNC lash/brow bar and Moroccan Oil hair studio for mini makeovers. We kind of went nuts in the photo booth area with a heavy knotted rope and oversize bowtie.

It was a colourful night with just the right amount of bizarre circus life to make for a freakishly fun bash; a perfect magic-making theme for getting lost in the museum at night. The Young Patrons’ Circle’s ROM PROM proved once again to be the ultimate splashy affair to kick off a spring season full of inspiring culture and exciting city life.

Proceeds raised from ROM PROM go directly to helping public education programs for children and youth.

Did we snap you? Check out our ROM PROM Circus gallery by the one and only, Becca Lemire
(Click to Enlarge)