SPIRITS SOAR: Air Transat, Canada’s leisure airline, hosted its 11th annual Search for Santa Flight benefitting the B.C./Yukon chapter of the Children’s Wish Foundation. Foundation director Jennifer Petersen and Air Transat regional manager Rod Ramage joined forces to create a magical trip to the North Pole for 150 special kids living with life-threatening illnesses and their families. With simultaneous flights also taking off from Toronto and Montreal, guests enjoyed an activity-filled day that included a 90-minute flight aboard the fleet’s newest airbus, during which the big man himself, Santa Claus, made a surprise appearance, distributing presents as well as welcomed respite for the wide-eyed children who face daily struggles with the realities of their illness. Air Transat also took the opportunity to hand over more than $143,000 to the charity as part of their Small Change, Big Hearts program, with monies collected from passengers at the conclusion of each flight. This year, the B.C. Yukon division granted a record breaking 100 wishes.
GOING EAST: A culinary fixture in B.C. and Alberta, Cactus Club recently ventured into Ontario to share its creative fine dining concept to Torontonians. Led by executive chef Rob Feenie and founder Richard Jaffray, the firm’s 28th location is an impressive multi-level 500-seat restaurant situated in the city’s financial district. The 15,000-square-foot establishment features three different dining options: a ground floor Kate’s Bar, Rob Feenie Dining Room and lounge and rooftop-retractable deck. The eastern menu boasts dishes unique to the city including the tasty lingcod cocotte, delicious duck confit and Feenie’s Beef Duo, as well as Cactus Club classics such as the Feenie Burger, butternut squash ravioli topped with a jumbo prawn and tuna tataki. Local foodies got a taste at a special chef’s table dinner held at the chain’s convention centre locale.
HUNGER PAINS: CBC staged its 29th annual food drive in support of food banks across the province. A steady line of local personalities, including Bard on the Beach’s Christopher Gaze, B.C. Lions’ Marco Iannuzzi and city councillor Andrea Reimer queued up throughout the day to present cash donations, incentive prizes and challenges to fellow colleagues and companies to support the effort. The single largest campaign of its kind for B.C.’s 97 food banks, the event raised more than $630,000 from the yearly radio-thon and studio open house. That tally is way up from last year’s haul. Sadly, so is the need, as the demand for items of fresh and healthy food is greater than ever, exceeding 100,000 people who depend on the services of the food bank each month — a third of them children.
