Erica Wark’s fifth and final Revive Your Style event went out with a bang of big bucks, raising a record $27,000 for the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation’s upcoming Bust A Move For Breast Health.

Erica Wark hosted her fifth and final Revive Your Style at the Sala San Marco on Sunday, January 31, 2016, while her husband, Corey Laurysen, volunteered at her fundraiser for Bust A Move for Breast Health.

The banquet room at the Sala San Marco in Little Italy set the scene Sunday for an easygoing afternoon of primping and pampering, enjoyed with a glass of bubbly, some nibblies, and the company of fashionistas.

Melissa Grelo, co-host of CTV’s The Social talk show, brought energy and excitement to the event, pausing at one point to take a selfie of herself with her audience, or, as she put it, “250 of her closest friends.”

Melissa Grelo, co-host of CTV’s The Social talk show, took a selfie of herself with “250 of her closest friends” during Erica Wark’s Revive Your Style fundraiser for Bust A Move for Breast Health, held at the Sala San Marco banquet hall on Sunday, January 31, 2016.

Regular admission was $40 but the event gave away dozens of raffle prizes worth thousands of dollars in generous gift cards to the hottest stores, beautiful gift baskets and desirable designer accessories. Up for live auction were: an all-expense paid shopping spree, worth $2,500, with Wark in Toronto, a private spa party for four, worth $1,695, at Minerva Spa, a girls’ weekend for four, worth $2,500, to watch a live taping of The Social in T.O. (plus lunching and shopping), and a five-day trip for two, worth $7,500, to the Cabo San Lucas Resort and Spa, with flights from WestJet.

Revive Your Style will be greatly missed on the social scene, investment fund advisor Christina Nesrallah told Around Town. She attended the first fundraiser to support both Wark and the cause, and has returned annually. “It was so much fun that it became something I looked forward to every year,” said Nesrallah. “I think it’s amazing.”

Also showcased was a fashion presentation with Wark, a popular fashion and style expert. She guided the audience through the top trends for spring. The show included creative looks that follow Wark’s think-outside-the-box philosophy: “Life is short and fashion is fun.”

Wark’s new husband, Corey Laurysen from the family-owned Laurysen Kitchens, was volunteering (in his dashing pink bow tie). Also back, to share tips and glamorize the guests were Fiorella DiNardo and her team from Rinaldo Hair Designers and Spa and beauty specialist Melody Iafelice. Those looking for that “take me away” experience could have it — for under three minutes — at the Minerva Spa corner.

From left, Fiorella DiNardo, co-owner of Rinaldo Hair Designer and Spa, with Nadine Hogan, co-owner of Wheelhouse Cycle, at the Revive Your Style fundraiser for Bust A Move for Breast Health, held at the Sala San Marco banquet hall on Sunday, January 31, 2016.

Melody Iafelice shared beauty tips with her audience, using Golda Samra as her volunteer, at the fifth and final Revive Your Style fundraiser held Sunday, January 31, 2016, at the Sala San Marco for Bust A Move for Breast Health.

Carolyn001@sympatico.ca

What a novel experience to see sand in Ottawa during the winter, when it’s not being thrown on slippery sidewalks.

It was part of the decor for On the Rocks: In the Caribbean, an annual Winterlude bash hosted by the Ottawa Art Gallery.

Crowds streamed into Jean Pigott Place, inside city hall, on Friday for a steel drum beach party complete with rum punch and jerk chicken (hands down, best tropical shirt belonged to Canada’s official languages commissioner, Graham Fraser).

Each year, On the Rocks celebrates a different country or region, typically one with a cold winter season. “This year we thought, ‘What they hey, let’s warm it up,’ ” OAG curator of public engagement Stephanie Nadeau told the room.

Suzan Lavertu, from The School of Afro-Caribbean Dance, cajoled a group of guests onto the dance floor, including Downtown Rideau BIA executive director Peggy DuCharme, to attempt the Jamaican Funk. Those looking to chill could play the popular Caribbean game of dominoes, take in a televised cricket match or relax on a shaded beach chair.

Never mind that Winterlude is about embracing these frigid months. The truth is, “People go to the Caribbean during the winter,” Sarah Onyango, a prominent promoter of African and Caribbean culture and activities in Ottawa, informed Around Town. “I’m sorry, but that is Canadian tradition. It’s as Canadian as snowshoeing and the Stanley Cup playoffs.”

Event partners included Winterlude, the Downtown Rideau BIA and the City of Ottawa. The presenting sponsor was ArtHaus condos from Montreal-based developer DevMcGill. It’s the key residential player in the OAG and Arts Court expansion project, to be finished later next year.

Also involved were the Caribbean Union of Canada and the high commissions of Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and St. Kitts and Nevis.

Wark’s Revive Your Style ends on a high

Erica Wark’s fifth and final Revive Your Style event went out with a bang of big bucks, raising a record $27,000 for the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation’s upcoming Bust A Move For Breast Health.

The banquet room at the Sala San Marco in Little Italy set the scene recently for an easygoing afternoon of primping and pampering, enjoyed with a glass of bubbly, some nibblies and the company of fashionistas.

Melissa Grelo, co-host of CTV’s The Social talk show, brought energy and excitement to the event, pausing at one point to take a selfie of herself with her audience, or, as she put it, “250 of her closest friends.”

The event gave away dozens of raffle prizes worth thousands of dollars in generous gift cards to the hottest stores, beautiful gift baskets and desirable designer accessories. Live auction items included a five-day trip for two, worth $7,500, to the Cabo San Lucas Resort and Spa, with flights from WestJet.

As well, there was a fashion presentation with Wark, a popular style expert. She guided the audience through the top trends for spring. The show included creative looks that follow Wark’s think-outside-the-box philosophy: “Life is short and fashion is fun.”

Wark’s new hubby, Corey Laurysen from the family owned Laurysen Kitchens, was back volunteering. Also returning, to share tips and glamorize the guests, were Fiorella DiNardo and her team from Rinaldo Hair Designers and Spa and beauty specialist Melody Iafelice. Those looking for that “take-me-away” experience could have it — for under three minutes — at the Minerva Spa corner.

For more coverage, go online at ottawacitizen.com
carolyn001@sympatico.ca

Of the nine physicians training long, hard and often to compete in the second annual Dancing with the Docs fundraising gala, only one will be taking home the prized Medicine Ball Award on Saturday, April 2nd.

Who it becomes is anyone’s guess but you pretty well know, come this spring, what the hot topic of water cooler chitchat at The Ottawa Hospital will be.

Dr. Phil Wells with his dance partner Kaity Schertzberg from the Arthur Murray Dance Studio at last year’s Dancing with the Docs benefit for the Department of Medicine Transplant Victory Fund, held Saturday, May 30, 2015, at the Shaw Centre.

The daring doctors-turned-dancers are going to cha-cha to raise ching-ching. Cheering and applauding them on will be an audience of about 600 at the Hilton Lac Leamy.

The physicians are performing various ballroom dances, including the waltz, tango and samba, at the $195-a-ticket dinner hosted by The Ottawa Hospital’s Department of Medicine in support of its Patient Urgent Needs Fund and Transplant Victory Fund.

This year’s dancing docs are: Dr. Avi Chatterjee, a gastroenterologist; Dr. Nancy Dudek, a psychiatrist; Dr. Erin Keely, an endocrinologist; Dr. Tiago Mestre, a neurologist; Dr. Mitchell Sabloff, a hematologist; Dr. Yoko S. Schreiber, an infectious disease specialist; Dr. Ed Spilg, a geriatrician; Dr. Amanda Young, an internal medicine resident; and Dr. Jocelyn Zwicker, a neurologist.

Ottawa gastroenterologist Dr. Avi Chatterjee practises his cha-cha-cha with pro dance partner Kaity Schertzberg at the Arthur Murray dance studio on Tuesday, February 9, 2016, for the upcoming Dancing with the Docs fundraising gala in April.

Dr. Amanda Young, an internal medicine resident, learns her samba moves with pro dance partner Vadim Safonov at the Arthur Murray dance studio on Tuesday, February 9, 2016, for the second annual Dancing with the Docs gala happening April 2.

Among the contestants with a love of this physical art form is Zwicker. She used to dream as a kid of becoming a dancer. “I’ve always looked at dancers thinking, ‘With the right training, I bet you I can do that’,” Zwicker told Around Town after completing her most recent dance lesson at the Arthur Murray studio in Little Italy. “Now is the time to prove myself.”

Ottawa neurologist Dr. Jocelyn Zwicker, seen in rehearsal at the Arthur Murray dance studio on Tuesday, February 9, 2016 with her pro dance partner Veycheslav (Slavik) Tudorovsky, is performing a Latin dance number at this year’s Dancing with the Docs gala fundraiser in early April.

Zwicker was inspired to take part after sitting in the audience last year (Dr. Carol Gonsalves took home the coveted trophy while Dr. Kayvan Amjadi won the award for raising the most dough through online voting). She watched her colleague, Dr. Michael Schlossmacher, give it his all in the competition. “I was impressed with his performance,” said Zwicker, who didn’t think of Schlossmacher as the dancing type. “I thought: If he can do it, I can do it.”

Dr. Carol Gonsalves with her dance partner, Veycheslav (Slavik) Tudorovsky, from the Arthur Murray Dance Studio at the 2015 Dancing with the Docs benefit for the Department of Medicine Transplant Victory Fund.

Dr. Michael Schlossmacher with his dance partner Marilisa Granzotto from the Arthur Murray Dance Studio at last year’s Dancing with the Docs benefit for the Department of Medicine Transplant Victory Fund, held Saturday, May 30, 2015, at the Shaw Centre.

Ottawa Business Interiors is once again the title sponsor while Olympic figure skater Liz Manley is returning to help judge. As well, well-known personality ‘Stuntman’ Stu Schwartz is back to MC. Sizzle with Decor will again work its magic on transforming the venue into a place of elegance and beauty.

Dr. Anne McCarthy, an infectious disease physician, and Tracy Serafini, a communications and public relations officer with the Department of Medicine, are joined in their event co-chair duties by Dr. Elianna Saidenberg, a hematopathologist.

Dr. Amanda Young, an internal medicine resident, learns her samba moves with pro dance partner Vadim Safonov at the Arthur Murray dance studio on Tuesday, February 9, 2016, for the second annual Dancing with the Docs gala happening April 2.

Ottawa gastroenterologist Dr. Avi Chatterjee makes it look easy with pro dance partner Kaity Schertzberg at the Arthur Murray dance studio on Tuesday, February 9, 2016, for the upcoming Dancing with the Docs fundraising gala in April.

For more information, check out dancingwiththedocsottawa.ca

Carolyn001@sympatico.ca

Nobody knew quite what to expect when they first arrived to the Canadian Museum of Nature on Wednesday for an intimate dinner with Jessica Mulroney, an ambassador for Montreal-based food retailer Metro.

From left, Mary Ng, director of appointments to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with Metro ambassador Jessica Mulroney and Katie Telford, chief of staff to Trudeau, at an intimate Winterlude dinner hosted by Canadian food retailer Metro at the Canadian Museum of Nature on Wednesday, February 10, 2016. 

The evening, which had an air of mystery around it, started with a cocktail reception in a gallery full of lifelike model dinosaurs (the T-Rex had nothing interesting to say, really). There was no shortage of fashionable beauties present, from Meghan Markle, star of the American TV series Suits, to Mulroney. She’s a style expert and the wife of eTalk host Ben Mulroney, eldest son of former prime minister Brian Mulroney.

From left, Meghan Markle, star of the American TV series Suits, with Janet Wilson, editor of the Ottawa Citizen’s Style Magazine, at an intimate Winterlude dinner hosted by Canadian food retailer Metro at the Canadian Museum of Nature on Wednesday, February 10, 2016.

Communications expert Catherine Clark and her husband Chad Schella, director of government affairs at Canada Post, at a private dinner hosted by Canadian food retailer Metro at the Canadian Museum of Nature on Wednesday, February 10, 2016.

Next, everyone ascended one flight of stairs to find themselves in a dreamy and almost magical setting. Awaiting them was an impossibly long and elegantly decorated table with enough room to seat 40-plus guests. The area was lit with hundreds of candles and surrounded by stained-glass windows. Kenton Leier, executive chef of The Westin Ottawa, shared a description of the gourmet meal prepared by him and his team.

Ann Rickenbacker, director of catering for The Westin Ottawa, and its executive chef, Kenton Leier, at an intimate dinner catered by the hotel and hosted by food retailer Metro at the Canadian Museum of Nature on Wednesday, February 10, 2016.

Metro, which is one of the sponsors of Winterlude, hosted the cozy celebration as a way of introducing itself to some of the civic, cultural and business leaders of Ottawa as it looks to invest in community events leading up to Canada’s 150th birthday bash in 2017. In town for the event was the head of Metro’s Ontario division, executive vice president Carmen Fortino.

Metro Ontario division head and executive vice president Carmen Fortino welcomes guests to an intimate Winterlude dinner hosted by the food retailer at the Canadian Museum of Nature on Wednesday, February 10, 2016, as part of the lead-up to Canada’s 150th birthday celebrations.

From Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office were chief of staff Katie Telford and director of appointments Mary Ng. Also seen were Guy Laflamme, head of the Ottawa 2017 Bureau, Shopify executive Brittany Forsyth and mover and shaker Jayne Watson, CEO of the NAC Foundation.

From left, Jayne Watson, CEO of the National Arts Centre Foundation, with Guy Laflamme, executive director of the Ottawa 2017 Bureau, and Sheila O’Gorman were guests of an intimate Winterlude-related dinner held at the Canadian Museum of Nature on Wednesday, February 10, 2016, and hosted by Canadian food retailer Metro as a way of introducing itself to the community in the lead-up to Canada’s 150th birthday celebrations.

Mary Taggart, publisher of Ottawa At Home magazine, with her husband, Chris Taggart, president of Tamarack Developments, at an intimate Winterlude-related dinner hosted by Canadian food retailer Metro for Ottawa’s civic, cultural, and business leaderships at the Canadian Museum of Nature on Wednesday, February 10, 2016.

carolyn001@sympatico.ca

You didn’t need Cupid on the guest list to feel the love at the Bridgehead Roastery on Thursday, when members and supporters of Ottawa’s artistic community came together for the Ottawa Arts Council’s popular lead-up event to Valentine’s Day.

“Basically, your presence here is like a big kiss, a big smooch,” emcee and actor Manon St-Jules told the room as she officially welcomed guests to the event, Sweetheart Cocktail for the Arts, presented by ArtHaus condos.

From left, Sharon Diamond, revenue development officer for the Ottawa Arts Council, with actor and event MC Manon St-Jules at the non-profit organization’s annual Sweetheart Cocktail for the Arts held at the Bridgehead Roastery on Thursday, February 11, 2016.

Ottawa Arts Council executive director Peter Honeywell, National Capital Commission chair Russell Mills, Susan Annis from the Cultural Human Resources Council and Ottawa Art Gallery CEO Alexandra Badzak were just a few of the faces in the friendly crowd.

From left, Peter Honeywell, executive director of the Ottawa Arts Council, with Mayor Jim Watson at the Sweetheart Cocktail for the Arts, held at the Bridgehead Roastery on Thursday, February 11, 2016.

From left, lawyer John Read with Victoria Henry, retired director of the Canada Council Art Bank, and National Capital Commission board chair Russell Mills at the Ottawa Arts Council’s annual Sweetheart Cocktail for the Arts, held at the Bridgehead Roastery on Thursday, February 11, 2016.

From left, Alexandra Badzak, director and CEO of the Ottawa Art Gallery, with her predecessor, Mela Constantinidi, at the Ottawa Arts Council’s annual Sweetheart Cocktail for the Arts, held at the Bridgehead Roastery on Thursday, February 11, 2016.

The arts benefit saw guests mingle over drinks and snacks while bidding on tickets to upcoming concerts, live theatre shows and festivals. The funds raised that night will support the Ottawa Arts Council, an arts organization that advocates for the arts community as well as supports local artists through its awards program.

These are good times for cultural sector as such projects as the expansion of the Ottawa Art Gallery and the redevelopment of Arts Court get underway. Earlier that day, new funding of up to $250,000 was announced for arts, culture and heritage projects relating to Canada’s 150th birthday.

Special guests included Mayor Jim Watson, who congratulated the Ottawa Arts Council for the “tremendous work” that it’s been doing. “They’re a strong, respected and credible voice at City Hall and in this community,” he told the crowd.

carolyn001@sympatico.ca

A well-known and popular couple with long and deep roots to the Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG) has stepped forward and donated $100,000 toward the gallery’s capital campaign, it was announced at a reception Thursday to launch of the gallery’s latest art exhibitions.

The generous gift from Glenn McInnes, who co-founded the municipal gallery and served as its first board chair, and his wife, Barbara, retired president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Ottawa, will go toward the creation of a third-floor gallery to be named after them at the OAG’s expanded new building.

From left, Mayo Graham with Ottawa philanthropists Barbara McInnes and Glenn McInnes, and Tina Sarellas, regional president of RBC, at the Ottawa Art Gallery on Thursday, February 18, 2016, for the announcement of the McInnes’s $100,000 to the OAG’s capital campaign and RBC ‘s gift of $50,000 to support aboriginal exhibitions.

“In a small way, we’re giving this gift to all of the artists who have made this a better community,” McInnes, a passionate contemporary art collector and arts advocate, told the crowd with his wife at his side. “Art enhances where we live. It challenges us. Having art in our lives is like being surrounded constantly by friends. We can share this love of art with our children and our friends and our whole community.”

The McInneses’ donation follows on the heels of $50,000 unveiled last fall from McInnes and the gallery’s inaugural director, Mayo Graham, toward a Founders Lobby. It will be located on the mezzanine level, next to the new Firestone Gallery.

From left, artist Russell Yuristy with his wife, Mayo Graham, the first ever director of the Ottawa Art Gallery, and its current board chair, lawyer Lawson Hunter, at a VIP reception held at the gallery on Thursday, February 18, 2016, to announce another $100,000 gift to the gallery’s capital campaign.

In attendance for the announcement were OAG staff and board members, including its chair, lawyer Lawson Hunter, who’s also head of the capital campaign (he’s already given $100,000 out of his own pocket). Others in the crowd included local artists and city councillors Jean Cloutier, Mathieu Fleury and Tobi Nussbaum.

From left, Ottawa city councillors Jean Cloutier (Alta Vista), Mathieu Fleury (Rideau-Vanier), OAG director and CEO Alexandra Badzak, and Ottawa city councillor Tobi Nussbaum (Rideau-Rockcliffe) at a VIP reception held at the Ottawa Art Gallery on Thursday, February 18, 2016, to announce a $100,000 gift to the gallery’s capital campaign.

Also announced that night was $50,000 from the RBC Emerging Artists Project to support the gallery’s aboriginal exhibitions. From the Royal Bank was its regional president, Tina Sarellas.

From left, Claudia Chowaniec and Lilly Koltun, both board members with the Ottawa Art Gallery, were seen at a reception held at the gallery on Thursday, February 18, 2016, to announce the latest gift to the gallery’s capital campaign.

From left, RBC’s Sue-Ellen Holst with the bank’s regional president, Tina Sarellas, and Ottawa city councillor Mathieu Fleury, and Anika Reza, also with RBC, at the Ottawa Art Gallery on Thursday, February 18, 2016, for the announcement of the bank’s $50,000 gift to support aboriginal exhibitions at the gallery.

The gallery is more than half way toward achieving its fundraising campaign’s $3.5-million goal. Its new and improved building is slated to open in 2017 and will have a new address of 50 Mackenzie King Bridge.

carolyn001@sympatico.ca

It might be a grassroots effort but there’s no grass growing under the volunteer group that hosted its 5th Annual Proud to be Bullyfree Gala at the Brookstreet Hotel on Friday.
As the youth-focused cause continues to build momentum across the city, a sold-out crowd of 250 supporters and sponsors enjoyed a fun night of cocktails, dinner, music, raffles prizes and auction bidding. Attendees included veteran Ottawa Senators players Chris Neil and Chris Phillips, and their wives, along with Ottawa Senators alumni players, Mayor Jim Watson and city councillors Eli El-Chantiry, Jody Mitic and Allan Hubley, a champion of youth mental health and anti-bullying initiatives since the suicide death of his teenaged son, Jamie.
Conspicuously missing was ‘Stuntman’ Stu Schwartz, who’s being treated in hospital for leukemia. He was supposed to MC the event with his Majic 100 morning show co-host Angie Poirier (she was there, making her third pregnancy look like a breeze).
The Proud to be Me (PTBM) group recognized Schwartz, as well as Neil and Phillips, for their work in helping youth. Three new bursaries were named after the men.
Schwartz also got a keynote speech dedicated to him, about effectively coping with adversity. It was delivered with infectious energy and humour by retired pro football player Mark Hatfield. The graduate of Gloucester High School shared his story of finally making it to the NFL. “It took 10 years of failure; it took 10 years of people telling me I couldn’t do it,” said Hatfield, who, in a remarkable coincidence, got the dream-come-true phone call from the Miami Dolphins exactly 10 years after the sudden death of his biggest booster and older brother, Bill. “The next time you’re faced with a roadblock, I want you guys to stop, take a minute, take a step back and take another look. That roadblock might just be your stepping stone.”
PTBM was founded by Penny Cutts to help empower youth and give them the tools they need to reach their full potential and be their “best self”. The group organizes an annual free Youth Day with awareness workshops. It also offers grants to assist individuals and groups who are impacting young people in a positive way.
The gala was expected to raise more than $20,000.

carolyn001@sympatico.ca

Veteran Ottawa Senators player Chris Phillips and his wife, Erin, attended the 5th Annual Proud to be Bullyfree Gala, held at the Brookstreet Hotel on Friday, February 19, 2016.

Veteran Ottawa Senators player Chris Neil and his wife, Caitlin, attended the 5th Annual Proud to be Bullyfree Gala, held at the Brookstreet Hotel on Friday, February 19, 2016.

Former Ottawa Senators player Radek Bonk, with his wife, Jill, attended the 5th Annual Proud to be Bullyfree Gala, held at the Brookstreet Hotel on Friday, February 19, 2016.

From left, gala co-organizer Trie Donovan with retired NHL player Brad Brown and his wife, Jan-Mari, at the 5th Annual Proud to be Bullyfree Gala, held at the Brookstreet Hotel in Kanata on Friday, February 19, 2016.

From left, Loft Gala organizers Payton Kennedy with Paul Valletta, Marilou Moles, Ruby Cheng, Bruno Racine and Catriona Fagan were out to support the 5th Annual Proud to be Bullyfree Gala held at the Brookstreet Hotel on Friday, February 19, 2016.

Retired professional football player Mark Hatfield, a graduate of Gloucester High School, spoke at the 5th Annual Proud to be Bullyfree Gala, held at the Brookstreet Resort on Friday, February 19, 2016.

Looking fabulously pregnant with her third child was Majic 100 morning show co-host Angie Poirier, seen with her husband, Adam Cote, at the 5th Annual Proud to be Bullyfree Gala, held at the Brookstreet Hotel in Kanata on Friday, February 19, 2016.

From left, dashing young volunteers Tyler Cutts, 13, and Ben Phillips, 12 (almost 13), helped with the balloon raffle at the 5th Annual Proud to be Bullyfree Gala, held at the Brookstreet Hotel in Kanata on Friday, February 19, 2016.

From left, Proud to be Me executive director Cindy Cutts with one of its sponsors, real estate sales rep Kristine Johnson from Kristine in the City, and Proud to be Me board member Trie Donovan at the 5th annual Proud to be Bullyfree Gala, held at the Brookstreet Hotel on Friday, February 19, 2016.

Proud to be Me board member Trie Donovan with her husband, former Ottawa Senators player Shean Donovan, at the 5th Annual Proud to be Bullyfree Gala, held at the Brookstreet Hotel on Friday, February 19, 2016.

Former Ottawa Senators player Randy Robitaille with his wife, Joanne, at the 5th Annual Proud to be Bullyfree Gala, held at the Brookstreet Hotel on Friday, February 19, 2016.

From left, Ottawa Senators Foundation vice-president Jonathan Bodden was out to support the 5th Annual Proud to be Bullyfree Gala along with his colleagues Shaundra Michener, Brad Weir and Barry Seller, at the Brookstreet Hotel on Friday, February 19, 2016.

A sold-out crowd of 250 attended the Proud to be Bullyfree Gala at the Brookstreet Hotel on Friday, February 19, 2016, in support of Proud to be Me and its effort to empower local youth.

From left, Erin Phillips (wife of Ottawa Senators player Chris Phillips) with co-organizer Cindy Cutts, Caitlin Neil (wife of Ottawa Senators player Chris Neil), and co-organizer Trie Donovan at the 5th Annual Proud to be Bullyfree Gala, held at the Brookstreet Hotel on Friday, February 19, 2016.

Event guest speaker Mark Hatfield poses with his wife, Debbie Stewart, at the 5th Annual Proud to be Bullyfree Gala, held at the Brookstreet Hotel on Friday, February 19, 2016.

From left, Mayor Jim Watson, Councillor Eli El-Chantiry (West Carleton-March) Proud to be Me founder Cindy Cutts, Councillor Allan Hubley (Kanata South) and Councillor Jody Mitic (Innes) at the 5th Annual Proud to be Bullyfree Gala, held at the Brookstreet Hotel in Kanata on Friday, February 19, 2016.

Turns out, the Viennese Winter Ball can just waltz back into town.

Following a one-year break, the popular annual gala returned Saturday. With it, the black-tie event brought charm, elegance and beauty to the ballroom of The Westin hotel for a night of live orchestral music, dancing and operatic singing mixed with champagne, gourmet dining and good company, all in support of youth and the arts.

A group of 12 debutantes and 12 cavaliers presented the quadrille at the Viennese Winter Ball held at The Westin hotel on Saturday, February 20, 2016, with the Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra.

Grant McDonald, regional managing partner of KPMG, co-chaired the 15-person organizing committee for the 19th edition of this Austrian cultural treasure with Liza Mrak, business development manager at the family-owned Mark Motors luxury Audi and Porsche dealership.
The undoubted highlight was the youthful demonstration of the polonaise and quadrille by cavaliers, smartly dressed in tuxedos, with their debutante partners in strapless white ballgowns with matching long gloves, offset by red rose bouquets.
The 24 youth, who attend a mix of local public and private schools, spent weeks rehearsing with Melissa Krulick from Ottawa’s Fred Astaire Dance Studio in anticipation of their big night, dancing to the Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra. They looked radiant and happy performing in a ballroom transformed by Event Design to fit the classy occasion.

A group of 12 debutantes and 12 cavaliers opened up the 19th edition of the Viennese Winter Ball at The Westin hotel on Saturday, February 20, 2016, by performing the polonaise with the Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra.

Afterward, many guests were coaxed onto the floor for a quick but fun group ballroom dance lesson.
The nearly 300 attendees included Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin and her husband, Frank McArdle, Austrian Ambassador Arno Riedel and his wife, Loretta Loria-Riedel, Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger, and Mayor Jim Watson. Missing was Liberal MPP Yasir Naqvi, who was getting better acquainted with his newly born daughter.
Pianist Jean Desmarais played throughout the cocktail reception while Canadian soprano Ellen Wieser gave a gorgeous performance at dinner. Later, guests could cut loose on the spacious dance floor to the Stevens and Kennedy Band.
Rob Clipperton, retired CBC broadcaster, was back as master of ceremonies of the $450-a-ticket event. This year’s beneficiaries were: Music and Beyond’s youth programs, the Junior Thirteen Strings and OrKidstra.
Helping out as charity auctioneer was the mayor. He sold off a cross-country VIA Rail trip for two, as well as a private dinner for 10, with entertainment, to be hosted by the ambassador.
Watson jokingly made an attractive offer, in light of last week’s big dump, to have the winner’s street plowed of snow. A bidding war for the embassy dinner broke out between Michael Mrak, from Mark Motors, and Sanjay Shah, CEO of ExecHealth. Mrak won it for $5,800 on the wishful thinking condition he might get additional plow service.

Carolyn001@sympatico.ca

What a coincidence that I’d be late for an important date like the Wonderland Tea Party for Youth Mental Health, held Sunday afternoon at the Hellenic Meeting and Reception Centre.

The stress of being tardy melted away as soon as I stepped into the Mad Hatter world of bright balloons, dainty tea cups, sweet desserts and friendly women in fancy hats at the inaugural event led by Wendy Hubley, wife of Kanata South Councillor Allan Hubley.

Councillor Allan Hubley with his daughter, Christine Leigh Hubley, and wife, Wendy Hubley, host of the Wonderland Tea Party for Youth Mental Health, held at the Hellenic Meeting and Reception Centre on Sunday, February 21, 2016.

It was DavidsTea tea for two, times 60.

The $40-a-ticket benefit was emceed by well-known journalist Carol Anne Meehan and raised funds for youth mental health at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. The cause couldn’t hit any closer to home for Hubley, who lost her son, Jamie, 15, to suicide in 2011.

Veteran journalist Carol Anne Meehan prepares herself a cup of tea from DavidsTea while hosting the inaugural Wonderland Tea Party in support of youth mental health at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), held at the Hellenic Meeting and Reception Centre on Sunday, February 21, 2016.

Hubley has been working with the hospital and its foundation to improve its mental health ward, which is facing an unprecedented demand for its services. She was involved with the renovation of the patient lounge and would like to continue making the ward a warmer and brighter environment for its young patients. “This journey has been a very healing one for me,” said Hubley, who received a standing ovation when she was done speaking.

Dr. Kathleen Pajer, chief of psychiatry at CHEO, held the room’s undivided attention during her time at the mic. She discussed with Meehan some of the reasons why mental health professionals are seeing “younger and younger kids showing up with greater and great problems”, from eating disorders to self-harm to extreme aggression.

From left, Karen Tataryn, director of mental health patient services at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, and the hospital’s chief of psychiatry, Dr. Kathleen Pajer, chat together on the giant chair at the Wonderland Tea Party for Youth Mental Health, held Sunday, February 21, 2016, at the Hellenic Meeting and Reception Centre.

She spoke about the “totally different environment” kids are exposed to these days. Families are under more stress and strain. There’s an overdiagnosis of ADHD. Too many children are being medicated. The world of social media, computers and smart phones is replacing more meaningful ways of interacting.

“At the same time that kids are connected to others more than any of us ever were, they’re also more distant from others, because we were wired to have physical or face-to-face contact,” said Pajer. “Now, they’re having a different kind of contact.”

Attendees included Mayor Jim Watson and Councillors Marianne Wilkinson and Tim Tierney. He was no shrinking violet in his all-orange tux, with matching top hat and shoes. Also seen were Sandy McDonald on behalf of Bell’s Let’s Talk mental health initiative and Sharon Bosley House from decor sponsor Avant-Garde.

From left, Ottawa city councillor Marianne Wilkinson (Kanata North) and Maha El-Chantiry, wife of city councillor Eli El-Chantiry, attended the inaugural Wonderland Tea Party in support of youth mental health at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), held at the Hellenic Meeting and Reception Centre on Sunday, February 21, 2016.

From left, organizer Wendy Hubley with Sandy McDonald, regional director of community affairs with sponsor Bell, at the inaugural Wonderland Tea Party in support of youth mental health at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), held at the Hellenic Meeting and Reception Centre on Sunday, February 21, 2016.

From left, attendee Catherine Clark with Sharon Bosley House, president of sponsor Avant-Garde Designs, at the Wonderland Tea Party for Youth Mental Health, held at the Hellenic Meeting and Reception Centre on Sunday, February 21, 2016. 

A crowd of about 120 attended the inaugural Wonderland Tea Party for Youth Mental Health, held at the Hellenic Meeting and Reception Centre on Sunday, February 21, 2016.

The banquet room at the Hellenic Meeting and Reception Centre was creatively decorated for the Wonderland Tea Party for Youth Mental Health, held Sunday, February 21, 2016.

Carolyn001@sympatico.ca

To opera from opera-ting room, is there nothing Dr. Fraser Rubens can’t do? The local cardiac surgeon and trained tenor was part of a Music for the Heart evening held Monday for the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, at the National Arts Centre.

He sang, along with Dr. Stephanie Brill, an ER physician and soprano from North Bay, at a cocktail reception held prior to that evening’s Ottawa Symphony Orchestra concert. Accompanying them on piano was Jean Desmarais.

Dr. Stephanie Brill, an ER physician and soprano came down from North Bay to perform with Dr. Fraser Rubens, a heart surgeon at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and trained tenor, at a new Music For the Heart benefit, for the Heart Institute, held at the National Arts Centre on Monday, February 22, 2016 prior to that evening’s Ottawa Symphony Orchestra concert.

It’s true, Rubens did perform surgery that day and remained on-call that night, but it had less to do with his ability to do anything and everything and more to do with an overscheduling error on his part.

The first-time event was chaired by Bill Sioulas, director of real estate at Golpro Holdings. It was hosted by Leaders at Heart, a group of business people and philanthropists who raise money and community awareness for the Heart Institute. They’ve raised more than $1 million since forming 11 years ago and are best known for the successful Heart of Glass benefit they hosted for many years with the Firestone family.

From left, event chair Bill Sioulas with co-organizer Cathy Pantieras and Leaders at Heart chair Nick Pantieras at a new Music for the Heart benefit for the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, held at the National Arts Centre on Monday, February 22, 2016.

Organizers presented the Heart Institute Foundation with a ceremonial cheque of $30,000 from Music for the Heart, which was backed by a slew of sponsors. The money will go toward the Heart Institute’s new state-of-the-art hybrid operating room.

From the foundation were its president and CEO, Jim Orban, and board chair, Jacques Emond, from employment and labour law firm Emond Harnden.

Jacques Emond, chair of the board for the University of Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation, with its president and CEO, Jim Orban, at the inaugural Music for the Heart benefit held at the National Arts Centre on Monday, February 22, 2016, prior to that evening’s Ottawa Symphony Orchestra concert.

The sold-out room of 160 heard from Nick Pantieras, a founding partner at Primecorp Commercial Realty, as well as a founding member and current chair of Leaders at Heart. “I think this is the first event run by Greeks that started on time,” he joked at the opening of his remarks.

On a more personal note, Pantieras expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the “world-class facility” located “right in our backyard”. Almost 12 years ago, he found himself at the Heart Institute after suffering a heart attack while playing hockey. He underwent bypass surgery and rehabilitation.

“I’m indebted personally to the Institute for the care I received in a moment of crisis,” said Pantieras, who’s also on the Heart Institute Foundation board. “My family is truly grateful and I’m truly grateful.”

From left, pianist Jean Desmarais accompanied Dr. Stephanie Brill and Dr. Fraser Rubens for their operatic performance at a cocktail reception held at the National Arts Centre on Monday, February 22, 2016, in support of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.

From left, Arlie Koyman with Camilla Tannis Malouf and Laila Saikaley at a cocktail reception for the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, held at the National Arts Centre on Monday, February 22, 2016, prior to that evening’s Ottawa Symphony Orchestra concert.

From left, Goldy Singh, principal of Golpro Holdings, with Aik Aliferis, a founding partner of Primecorp Commercial Realty, and Gary Zed, managing partner of Ernst & Young in Ottawa, at a cocktail reception for the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, held at the National Arts Centre on Monday, February 22, 2016, prior to that evening’s Ottawa Symphony Orchestra concert.

Dr. Fraser Rubens, a cardiac surgeon at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and trained tenor, performed at a new Music For the Heart benefit, for the Heart Institute, held at the National Arts Centre on Monday, February 22, 2016.

Dr. Stephanie Brill, an ER physician and soprano came down from North Bay to perform with Dr. Fraser Rubens, a heart surgeon at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and trained tenor, at a new Music For the Heart benefit, for the Heart Institute, held at the National Arts Centre on Monday, February 22, 2016 prior to that evening’s Ottawa Symphony Orchestra concert.

Dr. Fraser Rubens, a heart surgeon and tenor, performed at a cocktail reception, with Jean Desmarais on piano, for the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, held at the National Arts Centre on Monday, February 22, 2016, prior to that evening’s Ottawa Symphony Orchestra concert.

Carolyn001@sympatico.ca

The Macdonald-Laurier Institute wasn’t about to let the milestone birthday of one of Canada’s most successful prime ministers slip by without a little cake, a little celebration, a little panel discussion.

The Ottawa-based national public-policy think tank brought a crowd of 200 together to the Canadian Museum of History on Wednesday to honour Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who came into this world 175 years ago, on Nov. 20, 1841.

The dinner featured a discussion with former politician Bob Rae, award-winning author and historian Charlotte Gray, Michel Kelly-Gagnon from the Montreal Economic Institute and Ryerson University prof Patrice Dutil.

Former Canadian politician Bob Rae and award-winning author and historian Charlotte Gray were part of a distinguished panel discussion held at the Canadian Museum of History on Wednesday, February 24, 2016, at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s 175th Celebration Sir Wilfrid Laurier dinner.

Beyond Laurier’s enduring presence on the five dollar bill, the famous francophone served the longest unbroken term in office, from 1896 to 1911. He played an important role in the development and expansion of Canada. He encouraged immigration and the settlement of the West, and was big on national unity. He famously predicted that the 20th century would be “filled by Canada”.

“But greatness doesn’t just happen,” Brian Lee Crowley, managing director of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, told seated dinner guests as he welcomed them to the museum’s Grand Hall.

Brian Lee Crowley, managing director of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, delivered opening remarks on the legacy of Wilfrid Laurier at the Canadian Museum of History on Wednesday, February 24, 2016, as part of the Ottawa-based public policy think tank’s 175th Celebration Sir Wilfrid Laurier dinner.

“It requires courage and vision. And just as Wayne Gretzy was justly called hockey’s Great One because he saw the whole game unfolding in his mind and knew what each player would do before he did it, Laurier was the one who saw and understood what had to happen for Canada to become a great nation.

“The whole plan was sketched out in his mind, and for almost 16 years he patiently coached all the players in Canada and slowly, methodically shaped our institutions, our landscape and our relations with Britain and America to the end of making Canada the most prosperous, dynamic and attractive country on earth.”

Attendees included the head of the museum, Mark O’Neill; retired politician Peter Milliken, former Speaker of the House of Commons; Gatineau Liberal MP Steve MacKinnon, and even Sir Wilfrid Laurier himself.

From left, Mark O’Neill, president and CEO of the Canadian Museum of History Corporation, cuts the ceremonial cake with Alayne Crawford, director of corporate affairs at Shaw, and Brian Lee Crowley, managing director of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, an Ottawa-based public policy think tank and host of the 175th Celebration Sir Wilfrid Laurier dinner held at the Museum of History on Wednesday, February 24, 2016.

From left, retired politician Peter Milliken,who was the longest-serving Speaker of the House of Commons, with Brian Lee Crowley, managing director of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute at the Ottawa-based public policy think tank’s 175th Celebration Sir Wilfrid Laurier Dinner, held at the Canadian Museum of History on Wednesday, February 24, 2016.

He was to be forgiven if he came off as two-dimensional; his presence was limited to life-size cardboard cutout form.

Carolyn001@sympatico.ca

From left, Scott Anderson, executive director of communications, marketing and external relations at Algonquin College with its president, Cheryl Jensen, along with Warren Everson, Linda Wilson and her husband, Rod Wilson, senior director of external research programs at Ciena, at the Canadian Museum of History on Wednesday, February 24, 2016, for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s 175th Celebration Sir Wilfrid Laurier dinner. 

From left, author, university professor and Ottawa Citizen columnist Andrew Cohen with Jeffrey Simpson, national affairs columnist for the Globe and Mail, and his wife, Wendy Bryans, at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s 175th Celebration Sir Wilfrid Laurier Dinner, held at the Canadian Museum of History on Wednesday, February 24, 2016. 

From left, Frank Bilodeau, district vice president of Scotiabank, with the bank’s senior vice president, Carole Chapdelaine, and their guest, Adam Smith, vice-president of marketing and communications with United Way Ottawa, at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s 175th Celebration Sir Wilfrid Laurier dinner, held at the Canadian Museum of History on Wednesday, February 24, 2016. 

From left, Scott Bradley with Gatineau Liberal MP Steve MacKinnon at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s 175th Celebration Sir Wilfrid Laurier Dinner, held at the Canadian Museum of History on Wednesday, February 24, 2016. 

From left, Bill Reid and Andrew Caddell, a senior policy advisor with Global Affairs Canada, got into the spirit of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s 175th Celebration Sir Wilfrid Laurier Dinner, held at the Canadian Museum of History on Wednesday, February 24, 2016.

From left, Michel Kelly-Gagnon, president and CEO of the Montreal Economic Institute, and Patrice Dutil, a professor in the department of politics and public administration at Ryerson University, were part of a panel discussion at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s 175th Celebration Sir Wilfrid Laurier dinner, held at the Canadian Museum of History on Wednesday, February 24, 2016. 

From left, Denise Carpenter, president and CEO of the Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada, with Heidi Bonnell, vice president of federal government affairs at Rogers, and Michele Stanners, from Calgary, at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s 175th Celebration Sir Wilfrid Laurier dinner, held at the Canadian Museum of History on Wednesday, February 24, 2016.

From left, Katherine Winchester, director of operations with the CWTA (Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association) with guest Scott Bradley and Kaitlin O’Neill, also with CWTA, at the Canadian Museum of History on Wednesday, February 24, 2016, for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s 175th Celebration Sir Wilfrid Laurier dinner. 

David Watson, managing editor and communications director at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, with his wife, Sarah Burns, and Catherine Christie-Luff, a producer at CPAC, at the Ottawa-based public policy think tank’s 175th Celebration Sir Wilfrid Laurier dinner, held at the Canadian Museum of History on Wednesday, February 24, 2016. 

From left, Jacques Fauteux, director of government and community relations with VIA Rail Canada, with Alayne Crawford, director of corporate affairs for Shaw, and Rob Mendoza, an economist and policy advisor with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s 175th Celebration Sir Wilfrid Laurier dinner, held at the Canadian Museum of History on Wednesday, February 24, 2016.

Elizabeth Gray-Smith, left, senior content strategist at Bluesky Strategy Group, and Jennifer Irwin-Jackson, executive director of advancement and community relations at Elmwood School, at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s 175th Celebration Sir Wilfrid Laurier Dinner, held at the Canadian Museum of History on Wednesday, February 24, 2016.

Guests such as Canadian author and historian Charlotte Gray, right, and her daughter-in-law, Frances Middleton, posed with this cardboard cutout of Sir Wilfrid Laurier at the Canadian Museum of History on Wednesday, February 24, 2016, as part of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s 175th Celebration Sir Wilfrid Laurier dinner.

Weather, schmeather. The looming snow storm didn’t keep dozens of women away from Shepherd’s fashion and accessories store on Tuesday as it played host venue to a private shopping night and fashion show for supporters of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation’s Bust A Move for Breast Health.

The $40-a-ticket benefit was organized by Team BFF. The 14-member group of friends, captained by Krista Kealey and Melissa Shabinsky, is participating in the all-day, large-scale fitness fundraiser happening this Saturday at Shabinsky’s family-owned Ottawa Athletic Club on Lancaster Road. It will feature former NFL player-turned-Bachelor star-turned sports commentator Jesse Palmer, who grew up in Nepean.

From left, Team BFF co-captains Krista Kealey and Melissa Shabinsky at a fashion event held at Shepherd’s store in the Ottawa Train Yards shopping district, on Tuesday, March 1, 2016.

Kealey and Shabinsky are co-chairing this year’s Bust A Move with lawyer Trina Fraser of team Legally Pink.

The money raised is going toward a new program to help breast cancer survivors adjust back to normal life. The initiative is called After the Bell, referring to that “hurray” moment when a cancer survivor rings a bell to mark the end of treatment.

“One of the things that became very obvious through dealing with some of the women who’ve gone through breast cancer treatment is that once they’ve rung that bell, after dedicating so much of their life to getting healthy and getting through the treatment, they have a hard time transitioning back to every-day working life or family life,” Kealey told the crowd.

From left, Shepherd’s body shape and style consultant Elaine Charron with Team BFF members and volunteer models Andrea Gaunt, Melissa Shabinsky, Susan Margles, Nadine Sabine and Paula Thebarge.

Shabinsky took to the runway with fellow Team BFFs Andrea Gaunt, Susan Margles, Nadine Sabine and Paula Thebarge, who coordinated the event at Shepherd’s location in the Ottawa Train Yards shopping district. The women showed off the hottest spring styles from Joseph Ribkoff, JS Collections, Theia, Nic + Zoe and Sandwich Clothing. Curating the show was Shepherd’s general manager, Samantha Poole.

Sue McGarvie shares a laugh with stylist Krissy Julien while getting her hair done by Eli Saikaley and Caroline Fatica at a benefit held at Shepherd’s store on Tuesday, March 1, 2016.

Anyone there with a bad case of winter hat head could seek help from Eli Saikaley and his team from Water Salon and Spa. Likewise, professional makeup artist Leslie-Anne Barrett was there turning guests from drab to fab. The evening also included silent auction items to bid on and drinks and nibblies to enjoy. Ten per cent of total sales that night were donated to the cause.

Makeup artist Leslie-Anne Barrett was giving free touch-ups at a fashion fundraiser held at the Shepherd’s store in the Ottawa Train Yards Shopping District, on Tuesday, March 1, 2016.

Carolyn001@sympatico.ca

That’s my boy! It’s the kind of proud declaration that sums up how Ottawa-based actor John Koensgen was feeling at the opening night party for Butcher, a Canadian thriller by playwright Nicolas Billon that’s got enough meat on it to keep things very interesting.

Koensgen shares the Great Canadian Theatre Company stage with his son, fellow actor Jonathan Koensgen, as well as Sean Devine and Samantha Madely (also the subject of parental pride, but we’ll revisit her in a moment).

From left, director Eric Coates with actors Sean Devine, Samantha Madely, John Koensgen and his son Jonathan Koensgen.

“I’ve experienced watching my son, in a very difficult part, grow over the process,” Koensgen told Around Town. The veteran actor said he tried to keep their relationship professional at work “but, tonight, I really felt proud to be his dad.”

Feeling that same emotion was retired broadcaster Steve Madely. He watched his daughter, Samantha, a former student of Canterbury High School, tackle her tough role. “I know how draining it has been for her, but she knows it’s an important piece of theatre,” said Madely. “I think she knows that theatre has a power to make people think about issues that sometimes we may want to turn away from.”

Actor Samantha Madely, one of the stars of the GCTC’s production of the Canadian play Butcher, seen at the opening night party on Thursday, March 3, 2016, with her dad, retired broadcaster Steve Madely, and her brother, Zachary.

The play is called Butcher but the reception afterward was served with a side of vegan; it was catered by Westboro vegetarian restaurant Pure Kitchen. The GCTC’s artistic director, Eric Coates, who directed the play, was seen mingling. So were the cast, crew, GCTC board members and well-known faces from Ottawa’s theatre community.

While the play was very well-received by the full-house audience, the most dramatic reaction was from arts enthusiast Jessica Ruano. Let’s just say that she got so “hooked” into the violent plot twists that she briefly fainted.

Carolyn001@sympatico.ca

Honourary patron Margaret Trudeau was like a breath of fresh air as she swept in with warm smiles and laughter to the Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health’s 13th annual Inspiration Awards Gala, held Friday night at the Delta Ottawa City Centre.

Standing before a sold-out, black-tie crowd of more than 500 people, the 67-year-old mother of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau showed remarkable candidness and humour as she shared her story of living with bipolar disorder.
She spoke about the highs: “You are the life of the party. It’s so much fun. Oh, and how you shop, how you shop. And the sex! All bad judgment, all fueled by [chemical] imbalances in your brain.”
And the lows: “I didn’t know why I would get dressed. I didn’t know why I would comb my hair. I didn’t know why I would open a can of beans. It seemed [like] too much work.”
Trudeau finally got the treatment she needed after being checked into the Royal Ottawa in 2000. Although she’s since become an author, public speaker and mental health advocate to reduce the social stigma, there was a time when she wanted to end her life. “I would have missed all of this,” Trudeau told her audience. “I would have missed my seven grandchildren. I would have missed Justin becoming the prime minister.”
This spring, a garden located on the grounds of the Royal Ottawa will be unveiled and named the Margaret Trudeau Butterfly Garden, it was announced at the dinner by George Weber, president and CEO of the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group. The butterfly is the Royal Ottawa’s flagship symbol of transformation.
“You have become a wonderful beacon of hope for our clients and for all those suffering from mental illness, demonstrating that recovery is possible,” Weber told Trudeau on stage.
The garden dedication, he added, is “to celebrate your generosity of spirit and strength and your compassion for all those who have travelled the road that you yourself have travelled.”
The gala dinner, chaired by Jason Bellaire from StyleHaus interior design firm, raised funds for the Royal Ottawa Foundation. It was hosted by popular Redblacks quarterback Henry Burris and CBC Radio morning host Robyn Bresnahan and featured the Imani Gospel Singers from Montreal. They got the audience clapping along to Pharell Williams’s hit pop song Happy.
Sighted at the gala were former Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson, a long-time and loyal supporter of the Royal Ottawa; well-known philanthropist and mental health advocate Barbara Crook and husband Dan Greenberg; and Canada’s chief of defence staff, Gen. Jonathan Vance.
Also glimpsed were Liberal MPPs Bob Chiarelli and John Fraser, Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau, German Ambassador Werner Wnendt and the Royal Ottawa’s board of trustees chair, lawyer Scott McLean.
The evening handed out awards to Jayson Pham (Youth Inspiration Award), Dr. Abigail Ortiz (Young Researcher Inspiration Award), Jean-François Claude and Tyrone Gamble (Personal Inspiration Award), Ruth Maxwell (Community Inspiration Award) and Gayle Grass (Leader for Mental Health Award).

Carolyn001@sympatico.ca

From left, General Jonathan Vance, chief of the defence staff, with his spouse, Kerry Vance, and Linda Fraser and her husband, John Fraser, Liberal MPP for Ottawa South, at the Royal Ottawa Foundation’s Inspiration Awards Gala, held at the Delta Ottawa City Centre on Friday, March 4, 2016.

Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau with his dinner host, Jane Duchscher, a senior vice president at TD, which was the presenting sponsor of the Royal Ottawa’s Inspiration Awards Gala, held at the Delta Ottawa City Centre on Friday, March 4, 2016.

Lawyer Scott McLean, chair of the board of trustees for the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, with his wife, Sara Piracha, at the Royal Ottawa Foundation’s Inspiration Awards Gala, held at the Delta Ottawa City Centre on Friday, March 4, 2016.

From left, the Royal Ottawa Foundation’s Inspiration Awards Gala committee chair, Jason Bellaire of StyleHAUS Interiors, with his partner, Ramzi Saad, at the Delta Ottawa City Centre on Friday, March 4, 2016.

From left, Royal Ottawa Health Care Group president and CEO George Weber with long-time supporter Daniel Alfredsson, Kerry Vance and Canada’s chief of defence staff, Gen. Jonathan Vance, at the Royal Ottawa Foundation’s Inspiration Awards Gala, held at the Delta Ottawa City Centre on Friday, March 4, 2016.

Royal Ottawa supporters Dan Greenberg and his wife, Barbara Crook, attended the Royal Ottawa Foundation’s Inspiration Awards Gala, held at the Delta Ottawa City Centre on Friday, March 4, 2016.

Nancy Stanton, acting president and CEO of the Royal Ottawa Foundation, with the gala’s committee chair, Jason Bellaire, at the Delta Ottawa City Centre on Friday, March 4, 2016 for this year’s sold-out Inspiration Awards Gala.

Redblacks quarterback Henry Burris co-hosted the Royal Ottawa Foundation’s Inspiration Awards Gala with CBC Radio morning host Robyn Bresnahan at the Delta Ottawa City Centre on Friday, March 4, 2016.

Tony Cook, construction manager at PCL, seen with his wife, Andrea Martin-Cook, was among the dozen of corporate sponsors that supported the Royal Ottawa Foundation’s Inspiration Awards Gala, held at the Delta Ottawa City Centre on Friday, March 4, 2016.

Attendees of the Royal Ottawa’s Inspiration Awards Gala, held at the Delta Ottawa City Centre on Friday, March 4, 2016, were entertained by the IMANI gospel singers from Montreal.

From left, Rev. Anthony Bailey with Eleonore Wnendt-Juber and her husband, German Ambassador Werner Wnendt, at the Royal Ottawa Foundation’s Inspiration Awards Gala, held at the Delta Ottawa City Centre on Friday, March 4, 2016.

George Weber, president and CEO of the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, and its honorary patron, Margaret Trudeau, hug on stage during the Royal Ottawa’s Inspiration Awards Gala held at the Delta Ottawa City Centre on Friday, March 4, 2016.

From left, Dr. Zul Merali and George Weber, CEO of the Royal Ottawa, with its honourary patron, Margaret Trudeau, and Kerry Vance and Gen. Jonathan Vance, at the Royal Ottawa Foundation’s Inspiration Awards Gala, held at the Delta Ottawa City Centre on Friday, March 4, 2016.

Former award recipient and long-time supporter Daniel Alfredsson with Ruth Maxwell, who was honoured for her community work with Project Upstream, at the Royal Ottawa Foundation’s Inspiration Awards Gala held at the Delta Ottawa City Centre on Friday, March 4, 2016.

CBC Radio morning host Robyn Bresnahan and Ottawa Redblacks quarterback Henry Burris teamed up to host the Royal Ottawa Foundation’s Inspiration Awards Gala, held at the Delta Ottawa City Centre on Friday, March 4, 2016.

From left, Laura Frangione, Terri Hoddinott and Enza Baiamonte were part of the 14-member gala committee that organized the Royal Ottawa Foundation’s Inspiration Awards Gala, held at the Delta Ottawa City Centre on Friday, March 4, 2016.

Dr. Abigail Ortiz, recipient of the Young Researcher Award, seen with Ottawa West-Nepean Liberal MPP Bob Chiarelli, at the Royal Ottawa Foundation’s Inspiration Awards Gala, held at the Delta Ottawa City Centre on Friday, March 4, 2016.

Raylene Lang-Dion and her husband, Patrick Dion, board vice chair of the Mental Health Commission of Canada, at the Royal Ottawa Foundation’s Inspiration Awards Gala, held at the Ottawa Delta City Centre on Friday, March 4, 2016.

Dr. Zul Merali, president and CEO of The Royal’s Institute of Mental Health Research, with Nicole Loreto, vice president of communications for the Royal Ottawa, at the Inspiration Awards Gala held at the Delta Ottawa City Centre on Friday, March 4, 2016.

An crowd of early-morning risers gathered in a space that bears the name of prominent female trailblazer Jean Pigott for an International Women’s Day celebration hosted for more than 200 women and men by Mayor Jim Watson.

Tuesday’s breakfast reception at Ottawa City Hall featured Status of Women Minister Patty Hajdu as well as Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna and included such guests as former Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion, 95. As one of Canada’s best-known and longest-serving mayors, McCallion was on the receiving end of a hearty standing ovation.

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• Ministers discuss work-life balance to crowd of young women at International Women's Day breakfast

From left, Status of Women Minister Patty Hajdu with former Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion, 95, and Mayor Jim Watson at an International Women’s Day breakfast reception the mayor hosted at Jean Pigott Place, inside Ottawa City Hall, on Tuesday, March 8, 2016. 

Status of Women Minister Patty Hajdu spoke at an International Women’s Day breakfast reception hosted by Mayor Jim Watson at Jean Pigott Place inside City Hall on Tuesday, March 8, 2016.

More than 200 guests were invited to Jean Pigott Place at Ottawa City Hall on Tuesday, March 8, 2016, for an International Women’s Day breakfast reception, hosted by Mayor Jim Watson.

From left, Kanata North Councillor Marianne Wilkinson with Carleton University president and vice-chancellor Roseann O’Reilly Runte and Jean Teron at an International Women’s Day breakfast reception hosted by Mayor Jim Watson at Ottawa City Hall on Tuesday, March 8, 2016.

Penny Collenette, who was head of appointments for former prime minister Jean Chrètien, with Mary Ng, director of appointments to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, at an International Women’s Day breakfast reception hosted by the mayor at Jean Pigott Place, inside Ottawa City Hall, on Tuesday, March 8, 2016.

Traditional drummer Theland Kicknosway, 12, with his mother, Elaine, performed an honour song at an International Women’s Day breakfast celebration held at Ottawa City Hall on Tuesday, March 8, 2016.

International Women’s Day is held worldwide and celebrates the economic, political, cultural and social achievements of women. “We now have a cabinet that’s 50 – 50 [gender balance]. The best news about that is that there’s no going back,” said McKenna, followed by audience applause.

Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, was the guest speaker at an International Women’s Day breakfast reception that Mayor Jim Watson hosted at Ottawa City Hall, inside Jean Pigott Place, on Tuesday, March 8, 2016. 

Always a hot topic is the greater need for work-life balance, a concept that McKenna, a married mom of three elementary school-aged children, began openly talking about after she won her Ottawa Centre seat last fall. She’s been trying to set aside cell-phone-free time around the dinner hour to be home with her family.

The public reaction has been positive, she said, as people have shared with her their stories of trying to juggle jobs with caring for young children, sick family members or aging parents. “So many people came to me – men and women – and said, ‘Thank you for … being real about the challenges we face’,” said McKenna.

“It made me realize that it’s really important for all of us in the room to be role models, but to also be honest role models. It is tough. It is tough when you have a job, when you have a family, when you have outside obligations, but the more we talk about it … it actually changes the [work-life balance] conversation.”

Negative feedback has consisted of postings by Internet trolls, questioning whether McKenna does any work. “I do work,” said McKenna, assuredly.

Carolyn001@sympatico.ca

Nobody is suggesting the amateur performers at this year’s Don’t Quit Your Day Job prepare the resignation letters on their regular jobs, but perhaps a few of them might consider a little artistic moonlighting on the side.

A sold-out crowd packed the Fourth Stage at the National Arts Centre on Wednesday night to watch folks from the fields of business, politics, law and journalism take to the stage to release their inner rock star or thespian. Popular caterer Thyme & Again was a returning sponsor while The Clocktower Brew Pub was also back, to keep the crowd from getting thirsty.

The evening raised nearly $15,000 in both ticket sales and silent and live auction bidding for the Magnetic North Theatre Festival, a national theatre festival that’s heading to Whitehorse this June. Pierre Brault brought his considerable acting and comedic talents with him to once again host the memorable evening.

Ottawa actor, writer and comedian Pierre Brault was back to host and serve as live auctioneer for the Don’t Quit Your Day Job fundraiser on Wednesday, March 9, 2016, for the Magnetic North Theatre Festival, held at the National Arts Centre’s Fourth Stage.

Eric Coates, artistic director of the Great Canadian Theatre Company, found his perfect judging partner with CBC journalist Sandra Abma. The two-person panel was funny, irreverent, generous and kind-hearted as it dished out feedback throughout the talent show.

CBC journalist Sandra Abma and Eric Coates, artistic director of the Great Canadian Theatre Company, paired up to judge this year’s amateur artists in the Don’t Quit Your Day Job cabaret-style arts benefit for the Magnetic North Theatre Festival, held at the National Arts Centre’s Fourth Stage on Wednesday, March 9, 2016.

The judges’ roles were not to be taken seriously, however. Coates professed his long-held crush on Canadian author and historian Charlotte Gray, after she did a superb job on stage reciting the comic monologue Albert and the Lion. Coates even interrupted his critique to get Gray to sign his copy of one of her books.

Ted Mann, partner at Mann Lawyers LPP and a self-professed “incurable romantic”, won hearts over and set the bar impossibly high with his mashup of a German art song and a Kermit the Frog classic, Rainbow Connection.

Lawyer Ted Mann, a self-professed romantic, won the crowd over with his unique mashup of a German art song and Kermit the Frog’s Rainbow Connection.

Who knew Marco Pagani, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Ottawa, could play accordion? Or that CBC journalist Omar Dabaghi-Pacheco can sing, play guitar and compose music?

Andi Marcus, president of Mistura Beauty Solutions, flew in from Florida to give a sexy singing performance with a dose of sass. Hugh Neilson, managing director of the GCTC, brought extra levity to the show with his ukelele-turned-electric guitar tribute to the late David Bowie. Around Town also tickled the ivories by playing classical music.

Andi Marcus, president of Mistura Beauty Solutions, sang her heart out to the Edwin McCain song, I’ll be, at the Don’t Quit Your Day cabaret fundraiser for the Magnetic North Theatre Festival.

It was too bad for Councillors Mathieu Fleury, Scott Moffatt and Michael Qaqish that technical glitches served to cane hook the end of their comedy sketch off the stage. But, in keeping with the general fun mood, Brault thanked the men “for showing us the importance of professional theatre in this town”.

Back by popular demand was beloved community builder Joseph Cull, who, being the showstopper that he is, was the final performance of the night. Dressed as the Queen of England, Cull performed his own rap with racy lyrics and dance moves. It was so unbecoming of a monarch, really. But, the crowd loved it.

Joseph Cull was back by popular demand to perform his version of a rapping Queen of England at the fourth annual Don’t Quit Your Day Job.

In the end, as is tradition, all the performers were declared worthy of the fake gold plastic trophy, bestowed upon no one in particular.

carolyn001@sympatico.ca

It seems St. Patrick’s Day is no longer confined to one day of the year, judging by the festivities that were underway at the Heart and Crown Irish Pub in the ByWard Market on Friday afternoon.

Prominent names in the local Irish-Canadian community turned out to the $175-a-ticket Saint Patrick’s Week Luncheon, which was expected to bring in roughly $10,000 for Bruyère. Event organizers will continue to raise money for the next several years for Bruyère, a complex continuing care, rehabilitation and palliative health care centre that’s one of the largest of its kind in Canada.

“Our roots with the Irish community go way back,” said Bruyère Foundation president Peggy Taillon, referring to a connection that began in the 1800s. The saintly Élisabeth Bruyère, who came to snowy Ottawa from Montreal in 1845 by horse and buggy, created the first hospital, orphanage and school in the region. She and her fellow nuns also provided treatment to hundreds of Irish immigrants hit by the typhus outbreak in 1847.

On board as a major sponsor is Ottawa-based real estate holding and investment firm Sakto Corporation, whose president, Sean Murray, and his cousin, director Brian Murray, are first generation Irish Canadians.

Seen in the crowd of 175 were Bobby Kerr, who took the lead in chairing the community event, and Heart and Crown co-owner Larry Bradley. Other supporters included lawyers Frank Tierney and Larry Kelly, funeral home businessman Patrick McGarry, and football star-turned-investment advisor Whit Tucker. From Bruyère were its new president and CEO, Daniel Levac, and the CEO and scientific director of its research institute, Dr. Peter Walker.

Carolyn001@sympatico.ca

The main concern at the Irish Embassy was that it had sent out 1,000 invitations to its annual St. Patrick’s Day Reception but only 2,000 people turned out.

Or, so went the joke made by Irish Ambassador Ray Bassett as he and his wife, Patricia, welcomed a packed house of guests to their official residence in Rockcliffe Park on Friday evening. It was the last time that Bassett, who took up his post here in September 2010, was to host the quintessential Irish holiday in his role of foreign diplomat.
The couple has become known for opening up their beautifully renovated and spacious home as a venue for charitable causes, allowing a wide range of local groups to collectively raise more than $2 million over the years. The only rule set by the ambassador is that guests enjoy themselves.
As an ambassador, he’s gone “above and beyond,” Irish-born businessman Pat Kelly, co-owner of the Heart and Crown group of pubs and of Bradley-Kelly Construction, told Around Town. “We’ve had a lot of good ambassadors and good people but we’ve never had anyone like this.”
Bassett is widely described as down-to-earth and humble (for example, he’d be slow to tell you he has a PhD in biochemistry). He’s as comfortable talking with a homeless person as he is to a head of state, said Kelly. “He’s been a class act, all the way.”
In what was Bassett’s 15th speech of the St. Paddy’s Day season, the ambassador had many supporters, staff and sponsors to thank at the reception, as well as good Ottawa friends to remember, like the late Charlie Logue, Dave Guilfoyle and Cecilia Kavanagh. As well, he took a moment to praise his wife, whom he credited for being “at the forefront of opening up this place for charity events”.
The ambassador returns to the Emerald Isle in August. What he will miss most about Canada is its people. “Think where man’s glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was I had such friends,” said Bassett, quoting famous Irish poet William Butler Yeats.

Carolyn001@sympatico.ca

Irish Ambassador Ray Bassett and his wife, Patricia, greet Pipe Major Bethany Bisaillion from the Sons of Scotland Pipe Band as she arrives with the gift of fresh flowers to the St. Patrick’s Day Reception hosted by the Bassetts at their official residence in Rockcliffe Park on Friday, March 18, 2016.

Irish Ambassador Ray Bassett gives a special shout-out to his supportive wife, Patricia Bassett, during his welcome remarks at a St. Patrick’s Day Reception hosted by the couple at their official residence in Rockcliffe Park on Friday, March 18, 2016.

Irish Ambassador Ray Bassett, right, and his wife, Patricia, are seen greeting arriving guests to the St. Patrick’s Day Reception hosted by the Bassetts at their official residence in Rockcliffe Park on Friday, March 18, 2016.

Irish Ambassador Ray Bassett and his wife, Patricia, are seen greeting arriving guests to the St. Patrick’s Day Reception hosted by the Bassetts at their official residence in Rockcliffe Park on Friday, March 18, 2016.

From left, Shaun Logue and his brother Kevin Logue were among the four children of the late Charlie Logue at a St. Patrick’s Day Reception hosted by a close friend of their father’s, Irish Ambassador Ray Bassett, in Rockcliffe Park on Friday, March 18, 2016.

From left, Anne-Marie Bergeron with her husband, veteran CTV journalist Craig Oliver, and Laura Peck and her Irish-born husband, Barry McLoughlin, who together run a media training and consulting firm, at the St. Patrick’s Day Reception hosted by the Irish ambassador in Rockcliffe Park on Friday, March 18, 2016.

Retired Canadian general and diplomat John de Chastelain, who was involved in Northern Ireland’s peace process, is a regular attendee, along with his wife, MaryAnn, of the annual St. Patrick’s Day Reception hosted by the Irish ambassador to Canada in Rockcliffe Park on Friday, March 18, 2016.

St. Patrick’s Day doubles as a wedding anniversary for Brent Conley, a realtor with Royal LePage, and his wife, Carleton University chief advancement officer Jennifer Conley, seen together at the Irish ambassador’s St. Patrick’s Day Reception held in Rockcliffe Park on Friday, March 18, 2016.

Sheila O’Gorman, with Telefilm Canada’s Talent Fund, seen with Wilder Brisbin (his dad is well-known Ottawa architect Ritchard Brisbin), at a St. Patrick’s Day Reception hosted by Irish Ambassador Ray Bassett and his wife, Patricia, at their official residence in Rockcliffe Park on Friday, March 18, 2016.

Anne Keeley with Irish Ambassador Ray Bassett and her husband, Ottawa Police Deputy Chief Ed Keeley, at a St. Patrick’s Day Reception hosted by the ambassador and his wife at their official residence in Rockcliffe Park on Friday, March 18, 2016.

John Mierins, president of Jaguar and Land Rover Ottawa, with diplomat wife Maria de la Rica Aranguren (Spanish Embassy) and his wife, Keltie Mierins, at the St. Patrick’s Day Reception hosted by the Irish ambassador and his wife at their official residence in Rockcliffe Park on Friday, March 18, 2016.

Pat Kelly, co-owner of the Heart and Crown group of pubs, with his wife, Laurie Kelly, and friend Betty Kennedy, at a St. Patrick’s Day Reception hosted by the Irish ambassador and his wife at their official residence in Rockcliffe Park on Friday, March 18, 2016.

If anyone can be trusted with the key to the city it’s Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin.

Mayor Jim Watson presented the City of Ottawa’s highest honour to Canada’s top judge Wednesday at a ceremony attended by Gov. Gen. David Johnston and his wife, Sharon, Supreme Court judges, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz, federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna, and McLachlin’s charming and lovable husband, Frank McArdle.

From left, Supreme Court of Canada Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella with Sharon Johnston following the presentation of the Key to the City to Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin.

Also seated in council chambers were Italian Ambassador Gian Lorenzo Cornado and Israeli Ambassador Rafael Barak, a group of Ottawa city councillors, Gerda Hnatyshyn, whose late husband was former governor general Ray Hnatyshyn, and retired broadcaster Don Newman. He regaled invited guests with stories, like when McLachlin and McArdle’s engagement was announced over the Atlantic Ocean on a flight from Ottawa to Heathrow Airport in July 1991, causing an eruption of applause from passengers.

The ceremony was simple and intimate with a splash of pageantry from the Governor General’s Foot Guards and Ottawa Police Chorus, and a burst of inspiration for our country’s longest-serving chief justice and the first woman to hold her senior post.

McLachlin, a native of Pincher Creek, Alberta, moved to Ottawa nearly 27 years ago from Vancouver after quickly climbing British Columbia’s judicial system, from county court to Canada’s highest bench in the space of nine years. She arrived to the nation’s capital as a recently widowed mother of a 13-year-old son.

Historian and author Charlotte Gray with Don Newman at Ottawa City Hall on Tuesday, March 22, 2016, for the presentation of the Key to the City to Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin.

“And I knew – and this is true – literally no one,” said McLachlin in her remarks.

Despite Ottawa’s reputation for being aloof, the judge found it anything but. Neighbours welcomed her by planting plastic flamingos on her front lawn. Strangers, including community leader Grete Hale, invited her and her son over for dinner.

McLachlin spoke admiringly of Ottawa and its “sheer beauty”, from the treed streets and bucolic atmosphere of her Rockcliffe Park neighbourhood to the elegance of the parliamentary precinct to the museums, galleries, orchestras and theatres (although sadly, not for the moment, an opera company, she added).

From left, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin with lawyer Gerald R. Tremblay and his wife, Supreme Court Justice Suzanne Côté , at Ottawa City Hall on Tuesday, March 22, 2016, following the presentation of the Key to the City to McLachlin, the longest serving chief justice in Canadian history and first woman to hold her position.

“Some say this is a government town; a city of bureaucrats and bland functionaries mired in the torpor of the past, but this has not been my experience,” said McLachlin. “Ottawa is a city that cherishes its past, to be sure, but it fights and it fights zealously to honour its heritage.

“But, it is also a city that looks forward; a city whose citizens possess a honed vision of what the city is and what it can become in the future, and are prepared to fight passionately for that future.”

McLachlin joked that she’ll now have to figure what she can break into, using her new key. Even though it’s only a ceremonial key, and doesn’t actually open anything, leave it to her to prove otherwise.

carolyn001@sympatico.ca

So far from the ocean yet so close to good seafood. Organizers and supporters of the upcoming Evening in the Maritimes came together on Parliament Hill to chow down on chowder while promoting the signature gala for Citizen Advocacy of Ottawa and its program that connects people with disabilities to volunteers ready to offer them a lifeline of support and friendship.

The 22nd annual benefit, taking place Thursday, May 19, at the Hilton Lac Leamy, is expected to bring close to 700 people together for the largest and most legendary kitchen party around, complete with a four-course lobster dinner.

From left, Ottawa Senators Foundation vice-president Jonathan Bodden with manager Shaunda Michener and Senator Vern White at the Chow Down for Charity luncheon held on Parliament Hill on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, to raise support and awareness for Citizen Advocacy of Ottawa and its upcoming Evening in the Maritimes gala.

The $175-a-ticket dinner will offer live East Coast music, raffle prizes, silent auction items and the chance to bid on a small-ship expedition cruise to Antarctica, worth $25,000, from One Ocean Expeditions and Worldwide Quest.

The event, presented by the pharmaceutical company Lundbeck, has over the years raised more than $1.5 million for Citizen Advocacy.

From left, Frank Bilodeau, district vice president of Scotiabank, with Senator Jim Munson at the Chow Down for Charity luncheon held on Parliament Hill on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, to raise support and awareness for Citizen Advocacy of Ottawa and its upcoming Evening in the Maritimes gala.

Out for Wednesday’s kickoff were Cape Breton-born Senator Vern White and his honourary co-chair, David Cork, from Scotia Wealth Management, as well as Frank Bilodeau, district vice president of Scotiabank. It also got backing from Speaker of the House of Commons Geoff Regan, whose riding is in Halifax, Cheryl Hardcastle, the NDP MP for Windsor-Tecumseh, and Senator Jim Munson, who originally hails from Woodstock, N.B.

From left, Michelle Boudreau, president at the Fisheries Council of Canada, with Windsor-Tecumseh NDP MP Cheryl Hardcastle and Brian Tardif, executive director of Citizen Advocacy of Ottawa, at the Chow Down for Charity luncheon held on Parliament Hill on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, to raise support and awareness for Citizen Advocacy and its Evening in the Maritimes gala taking place in May.

To help everyone better-appreciate the life-changing impact of the Everyday Champions program, the crowd heard about the successful pairing of Jenna Swan with Katie Perry (introduced as THE Katie Perry by emcee and Ottawa broadcaster Jeff Hopper).

Jeff Hopper from Majic 100 emceed the kick off for Evening in the Maritimes at Parliament Hill on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, to raise support and awareness for the upcoming annual gala for Citizen Advocacy of Ottawa.

The women were first matched 10 years ago through Citizen Advocacy. Swan was a cash-strapped student at Carleton University who found she had a lot in common with Perry. Back then, their outings consisted mostly of visiting the pet store to see the animals and then going for tea together.

Over time, the pair has gotten to know each other’s inner circle of friends and family and have developed a lasting bond that involves shopping, sleepovers and, in the summer, finding a patio for a pint of beer.

“What Katie needed from Citizen Advocacy was a girlfriend,” said Swan “What I didn’t count on was how much I would get from my relationship with Katie. I have gained a true friend, a sister, and someone who supports me in all of life’s ups and downs.”

For more information about Evening in the Maritimes, check out eveninginthemaritimes.com

From left, Speaker of the House of Commons Geoff Regan with David Cork with Scotia Wealth Management at the Chow Down for Charity luncheon held on Parliament Hill on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, to raise support and awareness for Citizen Advocacy of Ottawa and its upcoming Evening in the Maritimes gala.

From left, Nova Scotia Senator Terry Mercer with Patrick Dion from Greenbridge Consulting Group at the Chow Down for Charity luncheon held on Parliament Hill on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, to raise support and awareness for Citizen Advocacy of Ottawa and its upcoming Evening in the Maritimes gala.

carolyn001@sympatico.ca