PRETTY IN PINK: Pink Shirt Day is celebrated on various dates around the world, originating in Canada as a protest against a bullying incident at Central Kings Rural High School in Nova Scotia when a grade nine student, Charles McNeill, was bullied after arriving to school wearing a pink shirt. David Shepherd and Travis Price came to their friend’s side distributing 50 pink shirts to classmates in solidarity. Some of the city’s most prominent business women gathered at the annual Pink Shirt Luncheon — hosted by Blue Water Café and presented by CKNW Orphans Fund and Coast Capital Savings — to raise money for local anti-bullying programs.
PODIUM PRETTY: Against the backdrop of the lit Olympics cauldron in honour of our Golden Girls, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra played at the 24th annual Lovers’ Ball. Led by maestro Bramwell Tovey, the Juno and Grammy award-winning band fronted the organization’s signature soiree chaired by Mary Ann Clark and Laura Hansen. Nearly 500 guests filed into the Vancouver Convention Centre for the royal repast and auction. The Shelley Johnson/Colin Upright-produced affair generated a reported $640,000 for the venerable arts institution’s education and community programs.
PERFECT PAIRINGS: The Bacchanalia Gala Dinner and Auction is the centerpiece event of the Vancouver International Wine Festival, and the largest fundraiser of the year for the Christopher Gaze’s Bard on the Beach. Set to net another $300,000 for the arts organization, the charity dinner and auction welcome more than 500 oenophiles to the ultimate showcase in wine and food pairings — a Champagne reception and nine wines married with a decadent five-course dinner prepared by executive chef Cameron Ballendine.
