LAST DANCE: After 18 years, maestro Bramwell Tovey presided over his final Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Symphony Ball. The celebrated orchestra leader has seen the company’s signature soiree evolve in size, scale and name. This year’s staging saw 650 VSO fans dressed to the nines for a night of dancing and fundraisingat the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Convention Centre. Karin Smith, Alexandra Mauler-Steinman and Lauren Armstrong handled chair duties while a champagne reception and music by Sinfonietta — VSO School of Music students — greeted partygoers. Following a royal repast, and after a memorable piece featuring Tovey’s talented daughter Jessica on the violin, attendees would strike up some noise of their own, raising $790,000 through various fundraising games for the symphony’s education initiatives. After the impressive haul, guests kicked up their heels, including Tovey, leaving conductor William Rowson to carry on for the rest of the evening. Dutch conductor Otto Tausk will replace Tovey starting July 1.
CHILD CARE:In 2015, Colton Hasebe of Delta was suffering from an asthma attack when his family decided to bring him to BC Children's Hospital. When he arrived at the emergency room, he collapsed and went into cardiac arrest. The young boy’s heart stopped for a full 15 minutes and he suffered a permanent brain injury from lack of oxygen. Colton lost his vision and was unable to eat or walk. Ten days after his heart attack, he was moved to Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children — BC Children’s Hospital’s rehabilitation facility in East Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»â€” for treatment, where he learned to walk and talk again. After just a month at Sunny Hill, Colton regained his autonomy and was able to return home with his family. Colton’s recovery was nothing short of a miracle. Colton’s story and his mom’s tearful words opened hearts, as well as purse strings, at BC Children’s Hospital Foundation’s annual For Children We Care Gala. Led by Jane Young and Stella Chan, this year’s East Meets West Chinese community event raised a record-smashing $3.37 million towards building a new Sunny Hill Health Centre on the Oak Street hospital campus.
BIG TIME: VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation’s fourht annual Time to Shine Gala exceeded all expectations posting a jaw-dropping $4.3 million for the foundation’s Future of Surgery Campaign. This year’s tally exceeded last year’s tally by $1.5 million. That difference could be chalked up to the $1.5 million gift made by Westbank founder and CEO Ian Gillespie. Westbank’s chief operating officer and Time to Shine Gala chair Judy Leung made the surprise announcement bolstering fundraising efforts and establishing a new standard for the relatively newcomer to the social scene. VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation head Barbara Grantham, along with board chair Noordin Nanji, thanked the capacity crowd, including the always benevolent Jason and Emily Ko, whose Viva Pharmaceutical firm presented the lavish affair at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel. Since its inception, the posh party has generated more than $10 million for state-of-the-art health care at UBC and VGH Hospital.
Hear Fred Mondays 8:20 a.m. on CBC Radio’s The Early Edition AM690 and 88.1FM; Email: [email protected]; Twitter: .
