STARS OF VANCOUVER: What was once a series of awards celebrated throughout the year in council chambers with very little fanfare, the City of Vancouver’s Awards of Excellence is now a leading date on the civic social calendar. Seventeen individuals — adults, youth and children — and organizations were feted at the sophomore edition of the awards ceremony staged at the Orpheum Theatre. Paying tribute to those who have excelled in making Vancouver a greener, healthier, more diverse and accessible place to live, work and play, the awards program saw more than 600 guests file into the downtown music hall for the festivities. The Courier’s Allen Garr was among those feted. The journalist and master beekeeper was bestowed the Greenest City Leadership Award. An advocate for bees and a greener city for more than two decades, Garr, concerned about the threats facing honeybees in the city and its declining populations, successfully lobbied city council to amend a 1927 bylaw banning beekeeping in urban areas.
THE BOYS AND GIRLS OF SUMMER: The Vancouver Canadians Baseball Foundation once again welcomed children from the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Coast B.C. to its annual baseball camp, a six-week program led by Vancouver’s most recognizable personalities and community ambassadors. A record 300 children between the ages of 6-11 were given the chance to play organized baseball at Nat Bailey Stadium. Each child received, free of charge courtesy of sponsors, brand new equipment, complimentary meals and transportation to and from the stadium to participate in the one-of-a-kind program. Equipping kids with skills and opportunities that extend far beyond the diamond, the field of play aims to motivate kids to pursue their own field of dreams. The Boys and Girls Club serves 12,000 children, youth and families annually, providing kids a place to belong when they aren’t at home or at school.
HOUSE OF PRIDE: For the past five years, Gary Serra, Kevin Mazzone, Ryan McKinley and Lilliana De Cotiis have hosted the pre-Pride Party in the city. Members of the LGBTTQ community once again flocked to the Loden Hotel for the fundraising gala — another sellout — presented by TD, 1181, Maserati and Body Energy Club and staged high above the city at the property’s Halo Penthouse Suite. Under sunny skies, well-heeled guests got their Pride on exchanging air kisses, kibitzing and enjoying craft cocktails, while supporting the Dr. Peter Aids Foundation. With an open bar, shirtless raffle boys and delicious nibbles by Tableau Bar Bistro, the spirited $135-a-ticket soiree netted $35,000 for the Dr. Peter Centre, British Columbia’s only HIV/AIDS day health program and 24-hour nursing care residence. Vancouver’s Pride festivities officially kick off July 25 culminating in the city’s largest parade Aug. 2.
