The rain came and went quickly but didn’t put a damper on things at Spy Films’ annual summer bash.

Around 500 industry folks gathered under the big top listening to the tunes from CFNY DJ Chris Pack, while some, but not many, hung inside.

The food and drinks flowed generously and Carlo Trulli and William Cranor pulled off a great night one more time.

Spy comrades including (new father) Pete Henderson, Jeff Eamer (beaming with bride to be Tanya Gowling) and Javier were on hand as were agency luminaries including Peter Holmes, Ammirati’s Stephen Jurisic, Stealing Time editors Alex Eaton and Denis Takacs, Daily Post’s Pete McAuley and Head Gear duo Steve Angel and Julian Gray. Reports from Eamer on one of his side projects: a sitcom concept has been optioned by Epitome Pictures.

Also new at Spy, Henderson will direct his first spot out of Japan, set to be produced in Toronto in the next few weeks. More details to come.

– Rosnick Cannes do music

With Canada winning fistfuls of Lions at the Cannes show recently, Rosnick Mackinnon showed up on the music radar five times for its efforts on the winning spots. Rosnick Mackinnon was responsible for music on the Bronze Lion winning Cantel AT&T ‘Cell Block’ spot, the Special K ‘Designer’ and ‘Resolution’ spots, campaign Silver winner AGF Mutual Funds for ‘Golf’ and ‘Actor’ and the Silver Lion winning Pizza Pops ‘Car’ spot.

– Sigismondi to helm Eaton’s spot

More musical sensibility from Eaton’s. The retailer has come back with a vengeance from the verge of extinction and some cool advertising. Following up on the Hole-scored cinema spot directed by Rave’s Stephen Scott, the next generation of ads out of Roche Macauley & Partners will entail a pool of tv spots directed by commercial and music video maven Partners’ Floria Sigismondi, now in production.

– Live-action Linzi

Red Rover animator extraordinaire Linzi Knight has turned her attention to directing live-action spots. Knight recently directed a Covenant House spot out of Taxi in Toronto.

– Good use of time

With a delay in his scheduled feature film work on Dead Aviators, Blink Pictures director David Wellington is using the opportunity to make himself available in the meantime for commercial work. Wellington’s movie was set to start in June.

– Wehrfritz’ first feature

In other crossover production news: Jolly Roger’s Curtis Wehrfritz begins shooting his first feature in August in Montreal. Four Days is being produced by Cite Amerique and distributed by Behaviour and is being shot by commercial/feature dop Miroslaw Baszak.

– The Candy Men

Michael Zweig, formerly of Outcast Music & Sound along with Steve Hurej and Marc Siversky, of Producers’ Choice, are making noise in new Toronto music house Candy Sound.

The company recently donated their time to a PSA for Toronto health services. They landed a job for Unico Foods through Impact North where the musical team came up with two jingles with an Italian ring, and they had two spots for Adidas from Promanad, one of which features football players taking hits to the tune of O Canada.

– New Y&R director

Chris Heatherington has joined Young & Rubicam Calgary as co-creative director. Heatherington had formerly been creative director and managing partner at Planet Creative.

– Marketel takes tour

Following several months of pitching Montreal advertising agency Marketel landed the biggest piece of the Tourism Quebec pie and will be handling the ‘Summer Pleasure Tourism’ promotional campaign (‘Agrement-Ete Hors Quebec’) aimed at North American and overseas markets.

The $3.4 million contract accounts for 45% of Tourisme Quebec’s total advertising budget and includes a renewal option for four consecutive one-year terms.

The provinces communications portfolio includes three mandates, each of which was awarded to a different Montreal agency. Palm is handling promotions within Quebec, a $1.5 million endeavor, encouraging Quebecers to tour their own province, and the $2.4 million winter leisure campaign was awarded to Bos.

To get the ball rolling and select which agancies would get the accounts, Tourism Quebec held an open invitation to all agencies wishing to participate, each of which pitched all three mandates. The pitches themselves did not involve any creative but an analysis and strategic plan for each area.

A briefing on what shape the campaign will take place will happen in the beginning of September and Marketels portion of the job will roll out next spring.