REALIZING DREAMS: Established in 2002, the Motion Picture Production Industry Association of British Columbia (MPPIA) is a member-based non-profit organization dedicated to a strong and sustainable future for B.C.’s film sector. Understanding the value of B.C’s motion picture industry and its importance to the province’s creative economy, television writer Stephen J. Cannell (The A-Team, 21 Jump Street) developed the North Shore Studios in 1989, at the time the largest film studio in Canada. He also had a love of golf and giving back. Each year MPPIA pays tribute to Cannell , who passed away in 2010, by fronting a golf tournament that bares his name. More than 150 players from B.C.’s creative industries hit the links at the Point Grey Country Club for the annual golf gala. Yours truly hosted the post-tourney dinner in support of Dream Big Productions, Templeton secondary’s acclaimed film program, which provides at-youth risk life skills and technical training to build careers in the industry.
DINNER WITH ALTITUDE: Whistler party animals Andre Saint-Jacques and Marc Des Rosiers’ latest social offering was packed with altitude. The masterminds of the resort’s infamous Masquerave celebrations served a six-course meal from their Bearfoot Bistro in a private cabin on Whistler Blackcomb’s iconic PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola. Lucky guests embarked on one of 28 gondolas for the Skyhigh event last Saturday night; a wine-paired Melissa Craig designed-dinner in motion that spanned the world’s longest continuous lift-system. Priced at $7,500 per gondola, net proceeds supported the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation dedicated to providing financial support to registered non-profit organizations whose activities provide benefit to residents of the Sea to Sky Corridor.
BOWLED OVER: A Loving Spoonful (ALS) has been providing good nutrition, love and hope to men, women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in the Lower Mainland for more than 23 years. Project Empty Bowl has become an annual signature fundraising event for the local charity based on Powell Street in East Vancouver. Several hundred supporters once again filed into the Coast Coal Harbour Hotel ballroom for the evening of food, fun and philanthropy, presented by Coast Capital Savings. Each guest received a handcrafted bowl courtesy of local potters, which was filled with tasty fare prepared by hotel chefs. The Beat’s Jonny Staub emceed. Reported proceeds of $100,000 will help ALS continue to provide 100,000 meals annually to its clients.
