HAPPY MEALS: A year ago, the new, much bigger and spiffier Ronald McDonald House B.C. opened to families. Since then, the Michael Green-designed state of the art facility located at Heather Street and 33rd has provided accommodation to 2,500 families who have made the 73-room facility their home-away-from-home in Vancouver while seeking medical attention for their children. To mark the first anniversary, 300 guests — donors, sponsors, volunteers, families and dignitaries — filed into the residences for the house’s first birthday bash. Celebrity chefs Angus An, Robert Belcham, Ned Bell and Jonathan Chovancek headlined the party. Paired with media hosts, they vied for the votes of attendees in a friendly celebrity chef challenge. Yours truly was matched with Chovancek from Café Medina. While our Summer Vegetable Carpaccio with chevre fondant, hazelnut romesco sauce and grand fir vinaigrette was clearly the obvious choice, the plate was narrowly bested by An’s grilled tuna salad, fried shallots and chili jam. The true winners are the visiting children and families, who are able to stay together (on average a reported 54 days reported CEO Richard Pass) in times of medical crisis.
SMOOTH SAILING:Easter Seals House in Vancouver is another house of love providing families a caring place. The house at Oak and 23rd, which opened in 1985, offers 49 self-contained units for out-of-town families to stay with their children receiving medical treatment or surgery, or are facing life threatening illness or trauma. Easter Seals was the beneficiary once again of the 24th National Bank Easter Seals Charity Regatta, the primary fundraiser for the house. At the helm for the third consecutive term was chair Matt Saunders who welcomed 28 crews who took to the waters from the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club for the largest charity regatta on the West Coast. Under sunny skies and favourable winds, spinnakers flew and a reported $173,000 was raised from a great day of fun on and off the waters. Following the race, crews celebrated at Hasting Mills Park, where trophies were awarded to the top finishers.
GETTING THE DIRT: The 68th United Nations General Assembly declared 2015 the International Year of Soils, aiming to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of soil for food security and essential ecosystem functions. UBC Botanical Gardens, a hidden gem in the city, took the opportunity to present Taste of Terroir, the garden’s first alfresco dinner to showcase Canada's oldest university garden, which is about to celebrate its centennial next year. Led by the garden’s Tara Moreau, associate director of sustainability and community programs, and chefs Alvin Pillay and Sarah Stewart of Edible Canada, 125 guests made the scene touring the lush gardens — which span 89 acres and filled with some 8,000 different types of temperate plants — before indulging in an exquisite evening of fine music, wine and food featuring locally grown ingredients. Organizers aimed to produce a larger dinner to mark their 100th birthday in 2016. Proceeds from the event will contribute to UBC Botanical Garden’s research, conservation, education and public outreach efforts.
Hear Fred Mondays 8:20am on CBC Radio’s The Early Edition AM690 and 88.1FM;Email: [email protected]; Twitter: @FredAboutTown
