麻豆传媒映画

LUCKY EIGHT: AIDS 麻豆传媒映画hosted its annual Celebrity Dim Sum. The eighth edition of the delectable-do saw a lot of firsts: a new venue, a capacity crowd and the largest haul to date for the venerable organization dedicated to serving people living with HIV/AIDS. Yours truly, along with Sophie Lui, hosted the popular affair, presented by JoyTV and sponsored by Glacier Media. A host of local personalities, including Shaw TV鈥檚 Fiona Forbes, Virgin Radio鈥檚 Jonny Staub and Omni TV鈥檚 Bowen Zhang, were put to work serving up eight courses of tasty small plates traditionally served in small steamer baskets to guests. Always a highlight was the much-anticipated Chicken Feet Eating Contest. This year, the Four Season鈥檚 Shingo Kido earned top honours devouring the savoury claws in record time.

NOT A DRY EYE: Led by Cathy Trimble, Emily Lazare, Lindsay Geheran and a 20-member gala committee, the 11th Gift of Time Gala, presented by the Ledcor Group of Companies, saw more than $850,000 raised to support Canuck Place Children鈥檚 Hospice, B.C.鈥檚 pediatric palliative care provider. More than 500 guests gathered at the Westin Bayshore Hotel to support the critical care of BC鈥檚 children with life-threatening illnesses and the families who love them. Always a heart warmer, this year鈥檚 staging was no different. It featured the touching story of Canuck Place parents Amy and Regan Ross and their daughter Gabrielle, born in 2010 with a terminal genetic disorder. With no hope for a cure, they cherished their precious time together and thanked the hospice for the love, support and counselling the family received until Gabrielle died in 2013.

GROWN UP: Dedicated to teaching kids about healthy eating and healthy food systems, the Growing Chefs society recently celebrated its 10th year. Founded by Merri Schwartz, the popular program now sees a host of chefs, growers and local producers go into more than 43 B.C. classrooms educating and getting children excited about growing, cooking and eating healthy food. The non-profit hosted its marquee fundraiser, Farms to Forks 6, at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. Drawing a capacity crowd to the city鈥檚 best kitchen party, the charity event saw a dozen of Vancouver鈥檚 top chefs, including Andrea Carlson, Marc Andre Choquette and Tret Jordan, paired with a local B.C. grower or producer to create delicious plates all washed down with the finest B.C. wines, beers and cocktails. Hosted by yours truly and CBC鈥檚 Margaret Gallagher, the foodie fete generated an impressive $25,000 for the innovative one-of-a-kind program.