Bloor Street Entertains in support of CANFAR, Nov. 30, Toronto
An impressive $1.5-million was raised at the 27th edition of Bloor Street Entertains, the annual event which sees gala guests not in a ballroom but rather spread across posh shops, galleries and hotels across Toronto’s tony Yorkville neighbourhood, all in an effort to raise funds for the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR). The record-setting sum will support CANFAR’s continued work to end the HIV epidemic in Canada via its national awareness programs, testing initiatives and research projects in the realms of prevention, treatment and care. This year’s co-chairs were Candice Sinclair (who was host at the Park Hyatt), Janice Fricker (who held her dinner in a private penthouse residence at the Four Seasons), and Michael Liebrock (whose table was at Four Seasons Toronto), with Sylvia Mantella serving as honorary chair (she presided alongside Bulgari this year over a dinner at the Hazelton Hotel). Yours truly was a guest at the Four Seasons, and to my right at dinner was Catherine Nugent, who founded the event in mid nineties, and to my left was Muluba Habanyama. Following the 23 separate dinner parties, guests reconvened in the ballroom at the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto for the BSE27 After Party where recording artist Mya performed, and later DJ Barbi had people dancing well into the night. Among them out: the Honourable Seamus O’Regan and his husband Steve Doussis; former MP Scott Brison and his husband Maxime Saint-Pierre; Nia and Justice Faith, co-founders of Révolutionnaire; Andrew Pringle, chair of the CANFAR board of directors; author Mark Sakamoto; fashion plate and CANFAR ambassador Myles Sexton; and a number of philanthropic types including Earle and Janice O’Born, Emmanuelle Gattuso and Belinda Stronach.
Amanda Gotlieb and Ivan Mao.George Pimentel/Supplied
Nia and Justice Faith.Ryan Emberley/Supplied
Janice Fricker and Candice Sinclair.Ryan Emberley/Supplied
Michael Liebrock and Alex Filiatrault.Ryan Emberley/Supplied
Nicole Walker, Frank Walker and Belinda Stronach.GEORGE PIMENTEL/Supplied
Sylvia Mantella and Myles Sexton.George Pimentel/Supplied
BC Children’s Hospital Crystal Ball, Nov. 18, Vancouver
A couple of weeks earlier, another medically minded gathering was taking place at the Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver. The 37th edition of the Crystal Ball, which supports the BC Children’s Hospital, was given Nov. 18 and raised by night’s end $4.2-million (the event has raised more than $50-million since its inception). The funds raised this year will directly support the Clinical Trials Super Hub, which Malcolm Berry, president and CEO of the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, said during the event will “lead to new therapies, new treatments and new cures for seriously ill children across B.C. and the Yukon.” Serving as chair of this year’s black-tie ball was Irene DeLucchi, and returning as presenting sponsor was Nicola Wealth, with Claire and John Nicola representing. Also out: BC Children’s Hospital Foundation board chair Julia Kim and fellow board members including Dr. Steven Miller, the hospital’s chief of pediatric medicine, and Darrell Jones, president of Save-On-Foods and the Pattison Food Group; the Stober Foundation’s Keith Brewster; committee members including Nicola Wealth’s Timothy Cuffe, past gala co-chair Arya Eshghi and plastic surgeon Dr. Sheina Macadam.
Breanna McDonald and Keith Brewster.Vision Event Photography/Supplied
BCCHF President and CEO, Malcolm Berry.Vision Event Photography/Supplied
Julia Kim.Vision Event Photography/Supplied
Irene DeLucchi, 37th Annual Crystal Ball Chair, with John and Claire Nicola.Vision Event Photography/Supplied