The first Maple Leaf Ball – a social coup for the Canadian community in London – was held in May 1953 at the Savoy Hotel. Organized by the Canadian Women's Club, the funds raised supported Canadian veterans in the UK. In the years since, the ball and organization has changed somewhat, but the cause remains the same and has grown to include the addition of support for young Canadians embarking on higher education in the UK.
The anticipation of the 2017 instalment of the ball, held on May 18, was amplified thanks in part to hype surrounding Canada's 150th anniversary of confederation: The black-tie event was held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, where the grand entry way on Cromwell Road was bathed in red light, and a mix of Canadians and Britons, with ties to each nation, navigated the room.
Dasha Shenkman, a Canadian-born, long-time London-based arts-focused philanthropist, was honorary chair of the ball; her mother Belle, then the president of the Canadian Women's Club, chaired the centennial ball in 1967, which raised the funds that founded the Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund. On co-chair duty was Montreal-born, London-based professional fundraiser Kate Brundage and Jerry Del Missier, former Barclays COO, who was dressed for the occasion by Toronto-born Dean and Dan Caten of the label Dsquared2. The pair were in attendance too, and sat at Del Missier's table.
Before dinner was served in the Raphael Cartoons gallery, Canada's national anthem was sung by Vancouver-born soprano Eve Daniell, and later, under the marvellous Altarpiece of St George, grace was given by the Sansara Choir conducted by Meghan Quinlan. To my right at dinner was Lady Tessa Bull, to my left decorator extraordinaire Nicky Haslam, and nearby was our host, BrandActive partner James Burn. Others at the table included scene regular Mary Symons and her cousin Sir George Bull, former group chief executive of Grand Metropolitan PLC., Montreal-born architect and founding partner at Pilbrow and Partners Keb Garavito Bruhn, and businessman Vincent O'Meara. Cynthia Harris, who heads Sotheby's department of silver and decorative arts, was at the table as well, as was Lord Harry Dalmeny, chairman of Sotheby's United Kingdom, who was enlisted to lead the auction where the lively lots included a dinner for six with Janice Charette, the Canadian High Commissioner to the UK (who was in attendance), a Tony Scherman painting and a stay at Fogo Island Inn. (Silent auction items including Charles Pachter prints and jewels from Myles Mindham received discreet bids throughout dinner.)
Funds raised for the Maple Leaf Trust at the ball totalled north of £230,000, and will support two important causes: the Veterans' Support Committee, which was established in 1949 to assist the 20,000 Canadian veterans of the two World Wars who remained in the UK after discharge, as well as the aforementioned Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund, a fund with a focus on supporting Canadian post-graduate students studying in the UK.
Post-pudding, guests took to the dance floor and Champagne was replaced with Coors Light. Carson Becke, the Ottawa-born pianist who delighted during cocktails (he's a beneficiary the trust and is currently a doctoral student at Oxford), was replaced with DJ Henrietta Tiefenthaler. There, too, celebrating Canada-UK ties at the V&A: Jean Charest, former premier of Quebec, now a partner at McCarthy Tetrault, Gordon Campbell, former B.C. premier and high commissioner to the United Kingdom; National Ballet of Canada artistic director Karen Kain; Nigel Wright, Onex Corp.'s managing director in London and former chief of staff to Prime Minister Stephen Harper; National Arts Centre musical director Alexander Shelley and his wife, Zoe; arts types including Myriam Blundell, director of visual arts at Maestro Arts, and Paul Hobson, director of Modern Art Oxford; and Jill Cannon, chair of the Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund.
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