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The Gazette – May 29, 2005
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Acrobat Marie-Josée Lévesque dangles above |
by Jennifer Campbell The ABC’s of giving The ABC’s of fun : ‘Tis the season to party (clearly!) and what often makes for a great party (or in this case, a great ball for 650) are a series of original surprises. Enter the Montreal Children’s Hospital’s annual ABC Awards Ball that generated a whopping $750 000 for the emergency room. The evening-of-surprises co-chaired by Diane Bussandri and Theresa Firestone commenced with a charming cocktail at Windsor Station, where guests schmingled (FYI : schmoozed and mingled) while perusing 19 exciting raffle packages. Among the schminglers were Alexandra Courtois and Foundation board-chairperson Marc Courtois; Joel Goldberg and elegant foundation president Louise Dery-Goldberg; associate executive hospital director Dr. Linda Christmann and Michael; Sara Provencher; former ambassador to Israel David Berger and his bare-shouldered fashion-goddess Monica; lemony-divine Anna Raimo and Domenic Durante; Siri Genik and MUHC executive director Arthur Porter; dazzling-duo Denise and Tim Price; Mary Karamanos and Nick Tsatsoulis; Michel Lazure and Lyn, stylin’ in Ralph Lauren; Barbara and Justice Michel M.J. Shore and devilish-dynamo Gunther Pungartnik and his luminous-in-lime princess Béa. |
Post-cocktails, patrons made their way to colourful tables brimming with baskets of springy-hued roses for a delish dinner catered by the Fairmount Queen Elizabeth. Gourmands-in-the-know included Pascale Bédard and Jean-François Blais; Marilyn-Monroe loo-alike Jennifer Roman-Brière with her Ben (Take that Hollywood! We have our own Bennifer); Diana Stefanutti; rocking-recruiter Michael Goodman and tantalizing-in-turquoise-temptress Andrée-Lotey-Goodman; Nicole Faure and Georges Paulez; Jasmine Brooks and Roger Déry; Aaron Fish and Wally, swathed in totally-this-season tangerine ‘n’ turquoise; Gabrielle Gosselin and Joseph Iacono; Michael Hart and Ana-Sui-irresistible Malka Labow Hart; Brigitte and Ogilvy Renault’s François Catellier; Anna and Phil Belec and Lucie Tousignant. Sponsors included Aldo, CIBC, CN, Desjardins, Hospira, McKesson Canada, Mead Johnson Nutritionals, Pfizer, RBC Capital Markets and TD Canada Trust.
During the meal, MC’s Rémy Girard and Global News goddess Aphrodite Salas presided over the poignant awards ceremony and then introduced those surprises I’ve been hinting at; jaw-dropping performances by seasoned circus artist Marie-Josée Lévesque, breakout singer-songwriter Kristen Bussandri and talented young hip-hopper-with-a-conscience, Jon E.
And if guests weren’t stimulated enough there was more as Bell announced its astounding $5-million contribution to the capital campaign.
With all that hype, patrons couldn’t help but go into party overdrive, dancing past midnight to the 1945 beat before scooping up a divine Birks surprise. Dontcha just love the alphabet? Pharaoh fantastic : The Alzheimer Groupe recently paid homage to spring and the mysteries of ancient Egypt with their annual cocktail fundraiser, held at the montreal Museum of Fine Arts and co-chaired by a determined quartet-of-goddesses comprised of Beverly Salomon (attending with King Philip); Rosalie Faigan (attending with King Harvey), Etro-fab Miriam Friedman (attending with King Marty) and Carole Arbess (attending with King Bernard).
The It-goddesses invited all 400 guests to supplement their “treasured” super-shmooze (featuring a joyful décor by Ambiance Fleurs and todie-for fare by Bice Catering) with a tour of the enlightening Eternal Egypt exhibit.
Among the party-enthusiasts par-taking in animated chatter and don’t-dare-muss-the-hair-and-make-up-kissing were Julian and Alzheimer Groupe president, bejacketed-beauty Elaine Kotler; Mimi and Merv Kerman (M&M!); Arnold and Bleema Steinberg; Grand Governors Nan and Bill Lassner; suit-sexy Judy Kaback and her winning-Y-Guy Joey; Vivian and Howard Stotland and Rhoda and David Cohen.
Also climbing the party-pyramid were Peggy and Melvin Greenberg; power-couple Esther and André Landsman; sassy-spring-fashion-plate Shirley Goldfarb; Marilyn and Harvey Rosenbloom; adorable-real-estate-guy-about-town Norm Zavalkoff; Dorothy and Cyril Reitman; executive director Ginette Brûlotte and a bevy-of-always-stylish-Brownsteins including Morty and deity of-sleek-Armani-style Bernice, Debi and Bill, Veronica and Stephen, Natalie and Harold and cutting-edge-Cavalli-chic Thérèse and her dapper mate Michael.
Post-exhibit, it was time to bid adieu to fellow deities before picking up a luxor-ious loot bag overflowing with treasures from Juicy Couture and Eileen Fisher, in honour of the mary Katz Claman Foundation. In all, the night was a winner as AGI raised an impressive $200,000 for a disease that desperately needs a cure. PS : The papyruzzi would have loved it!
Mighty Moshe : Movie-buff that I am, I was thrilled to attend the Montreal Jewish Film Festival’s recent screening of Moshe Safdie : The Power of Architecture, a riveting 90-minute documentary produced by Zone 3 and directed by award-winning documentarian Donald Winkler (attending with wife Sheila Fischman).
The screening was preceded by an enjoyable cocktail hosted by the film’s executive producers, Incendo Media and catered with gusto by Harvey Leavitt. Among the minglers were some of Canada’s most cinematically-savvy; Jean and esteemed film director Colin Low; dedicated arts patron Cecil Rabinovitch; Telefilm’s Jean-Claude Mahe; Zone 3 producers Vincent Leduc and Pierre Lawrence; public-relations-guru David Novek; film-maker Alan Handel; Incendo Media partners Jean Bureau and Stephen Greenberg; Incendo Media Marketing director Anna-Sue Greenberg; the MJFF contingent including founder/director Susan Alper and honorary co-chairs Jane Silverstone Segal and Herschel Segal and of course the Safdie family including wife Michal, daughter Yasmine, beaming mom Rachel and the visionary himself, Moshe.
Next, it was screening-time and I urge you not to miss this immersion in a life so fascinating, that it, along with Safdie’s unforgettable landmarks, will surely, as Safdie has accomplished with respect to architecture as a whole, “affect your life in a real and immediate way.”