Around Town: Singing astronaut, idyllic setting make for perfect Vintage Wings party

Everyone was flying high (aircraft not required) at the big party that Vintage Wings of Canada founder and former high tech executive Mike Potter hosted Tuesday in his private backyard paradise with 275 of his closest friends, Rockcliffe Park neighbours, colleagues and supporters.

Retired astronaut and national hero Chris Hadfield was seen mixing with fans, having spent his day participating in the second annual Hadfield Youth Summit that Vintage Wings hosted at the Gatineau airport, involving more than 600 kids from various organizations.

“It didn’t rain on us; everything went exactly according to plan. I think it was a great success,” a relieved Potter told his guests.

Partygoers heard first-hand from a 13-year-old boy about how the summit was a day of inspiration and hope for youth. The kids watched exciting flying demonstrations and got to meet Lt. Col. (Ret’d) Maryse Carmichael, a female trailblazer from the Snowbirds, former prime minister Jean Chrétien, and Hadfield, the first Canadian to walk in space.

“It was a very joyful day,” Hadfield told the crowd before describing his own positive experience of sharing ideas with the youth about their future.

“To me the most unfair question you can ask a child is: ‘So, what do you want to be when you grow up?’. It’s like saying, ‘What do you want for dinner?’ when no one handed you a menu. They don’t know all the choices yet, and yet there’s this adult expectation and pressure for them to make choices with their lives.

“To have time with that many kids, to talk about some of … the magnificent opportunities that exist for them, choices that they can make, and how they can deliberately turn themselves into something that otherwise they might not have been — to me, that is really my personal measure of a very successful day.”

At the party, Hadfield made a musical appearance on the poolside stage with the folk trio Trent Severn. He sang and played guitar to the classic ballad Somewhere Over the Rainbow and the gospel song I’ll Fly Away. He was joined by his brother, Dave Hadfield, on guitar and vocals, and fellow pilot Joe Cosmano on banjo.

Among the who’s who of guests were our mayor, Jim Watson, and former parliamentary sergeant-at-arms Kevin Vickers, now Canada’s ambassador to Ireland, Carleton University president Roseann O’Reilly Runte, and former high tech CEO Jozef Straus.

Also present were Chris Hadfield’s parents, Roger and Eleanor Hadfield, from Milton, Ont. The mother of five and grandmother of 11 shared with Around Town her secret to parenting: “The only thing I would never put up with is temper tantrums. Ever. They learned very quickly that accomplished nothing, except maybe a sore butt.”

Carolyn001@sympatico.ca