Around Town: Wabano Centre gala dazzles and delights through dance

The applause was no less than thunderous following the cultural dance performance that charmed and captivated everyone at the annual Igniting the Spirit Gala, held Tuesday at the Ottawa Conference and Event Centre.

This year’s Power of Transformation theme was symbolized by the legendary thunderbird.

It was a quick sellout this year and the biggest gala yet for the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health. It also saw its largest number of artists performing together on stage, blending contemporary music, ballet and traditional dance beneath suspended lightning bolts of neon colour. The show featured world-champion dancer Lisa Odjig and was choreographed by Christine Friday.

Organizers were hoping to raise $150,000 for Wabano at the gala, held on National Aboriginal Day.

Back to co-chair the $200-a-ticket event were Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau and Barbara Farber, president of Leikin Group.

Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau with Allison Fisher, executive director of the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health, and his gala co-chair, Barbara Farber, president of Leikin Group, at the sold-out Igniting the Spirit Gala: The Power of Transformation, held at the Ottawa Conference and Event Centre on Tuesday, June 21, 2016.

It took a long time before Farber first heard about the Wabano Centre on Montreal Road. She credits Sue O’Sullivan, a former deputy police chief-turned-federal ombudsman for Victims of Crime, for convincing her years ago to drop in and check it out. “I had no idea what it was all about. No idea,” she told Around Town.

Farber originally planned to go for a quickie visit but fell in love with the place and staff once she arrived. So, she called her office to let it know she wouldn’t be returning that day. “I was blown away by what they were able to accomplish,” Farber told Around Town, singling out the programs for elders and children, in particular.

The Wabano Centre, led by executive director Allison Fisher, provides a range of health, cultural and social support services to more than 10,000 aboriginal and non-aboriginal people each year.

“The work of Wabano has been critical for this city,” said returning host Shelagh Rogers of CBC fame, speaking against a stunning stage backdrop of a native art bird, painted courtesy of Dorothy Shaw.

Rogers shared a sweet and funny story about how she came to receive her own indigenous name through her work as an honorary witness for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. “I treasured it and I treasured it, and I found out what it meant,” said Rogers. “It means ‘white woman’.

Canadian comedian Mary Walsh was back as the gala’s honorary chair. She and fellow actor Susan Kent, co-host of This Hour has 22 Minutes, were seen in the crowd, peddling raffle tickets to fans, during the cocktail reception.

From left, Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal MPs Gudie Hutchings (Long Range Mountains) and Seamus O’Regan (St. John’s South-Mount Pearl) with fellow Newfoundlander Mary Walsh, honorary chair of the Igniting the Spirit Gala, held at the Ottawa Conference and Event Centre on Tuesday, June 21, 2016.

Guest speaker Sophie Grégoire Trudeau thanked the Wabano Centre for making her feel like part of its family since the moment they met. She was the lady in red that night in her dress from the Luxx collection, created by an Edmonton-based aboriginal fashion designer.

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, wife of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, was the guest speaker of the Wabano Centre’s Igniting the Spirit Gala, held at the Ottawa Conference and Event Centre on Tuesday, June 21, 2016.

The 620 attendees also included Olympic athletes Caroline Calvé (snowboarding) and Mary Spencer (boxing), Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and members of city council, and Green Party leader Elizabeth May.

During the live auction, May successfully bid on a thunderbird-inspired traditional shawl in her favourite colour — green.

Carolyn001@sympatico.ca