The second Beat Goes On Gala took place recently in Calgary where some 450 heart-health enthusiasts skipped to the Palomino room inside the BMO
Centre for a music-filled gala evening in support of Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta. Steered by returning co-chairs Tony Dilawri, partner at Dilawri Group of Companies – this country’s largest automotive group – and Ken King, president and CEO of Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corp. – he’s behind CalgaryNEXT, the proposed $890-million multi-purpose arena complex on the west end of the downtown core – the event welcomed friends from the fields of health, finance and sport in support of cardiovascular research, education and care delivery. The Libin institute, which is an entity of Alberta Health Service and University of Calgary, is comprised of an impressive 175 researchers and clinicians who, through 1,500 staff, serve a population of two million in southern Alberta, Saskatchewan and eastern British Columbia.
In keeping with the theme, guests were treated to a pair of performances, one by Juno Award-winning guitarist Jesse Cook, who had guests on their feet, and the other by Kevin Chen, a 10-year-old piano prodigy who performed classics by Bach and original compositions, stealing hearts and inspiring ovations along the way. In attendance were philanthropic types, including Beverly and J.L. “Sam”
Mozell (who have a Heart Rhythm Treatment Research and Education Laboratory named for them at the institute); Ann McCaig; and Bissett Investment Management founder and philanthropist David Bissett and his wife Leslie; capital types, including Tokay Capital Corp. president and CEO Antonie Vanden Brink and his wife Kathleen; Sarine Mustapha, senior vice-president and associate portfolio manager with BMO Nesbitt Burns; energy types, including Birchcliff president and CEO Jeffery Tonken; and Plains Midstream Canada president W. David Duckett. Also on hand was real estate developer and Trico Group founder Wayne Chiu and his wife Eleanor; Alberta Children’s’ Hospital Foundation president and CEO Saifa Koonar; Calgary Health Trust COO Jill Olynyk; University of Calgary president Elizabeth Cannon; and last but certainly not least, Alvin Libin, who in 2003 presented the largest onetime donation to the Alberta Health Services, a $15-million gift that set into motion the creation of The Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta. Proceeds from this year’s gala, which exceeded $500,000, will support efforts in congenital heart disease research and care delivery, health promotion and disease prevention.
Over to Toronto for the third TIFF Birks Diamond Tribute to the
Year’s Women in Film organized by Telefilm Canada and Birks to honour a
flock of talented Canadian directors and actors. The event, staged in
the swish third-floor ballroom and terrace of the Shangri-La Hotel
welcomed some 400 film fans (a handful of them swathed in Birks’ latest
collections) for TIFF-time cocktails in celebration and recognition of
homegrown talent.
Eva Hartling, vice-president of marketing and
communications at Birks Group Inc., and Carolle
Brabant, executive director of Telefilm Canada, were on hand
to award this year’s crop of recipients who came to the event from
across Canada to accept their blue-boxed awards. The list included
directors Sophie Deraspe, Anne Émond,
Patricia Rozema, Kari Skogland and
Ingrid Veninger, as well as actors Katie
Boland, Suzanne Clément,
Catherine O’Hara and Karine
Vanasse.
The nine recipients were selected by a jury whose members included Bernadette Morra, FASHION Magazine’s editor in chief and Noreen Flanagan, ELLE Canada's editor in chief. Also out and about on the sunny September evening: TIFF’s artistic director Cameron Bailey, director Deepa Mehta, actor Lauren Holly and OCAD president Sara Diamond among others. Also out and about on a sunny September evening: stylists George Antonopoulos and Jenna Bitove (who attended with fellow Bitove family members Sasho Bitove and Gabriel Naumovich); socialites Ainsley Kerr and Catriona Smart; etalk host Chloe Wilde; designer Kirk Pickersgill of label Greta Constantine (who dressed recipient Karine Vanasse in a burgundy-hued number); Sotheby’s Christian Vermast; documentary film producer Robin Turack; fundraising pro Michelle Levy; model Stacey McKenzie; L’Oréal Canada’s Hugo Thibault; culture enthusiast Helen Burstyn; television journalist Glen Baxter; and TIFF’s vice-president of advancement Maxine Bailey.
