STYLE SETTERS: Proving Vancouverites are more than fleece, flannel and yoga wear, 55 designers from 21 countries showcased their fall collections at this season’s Vancouver Fashion Week, presented by CoverGirl, Pantene and Olay. A reported 20,000 fashionistas — buyers, media, and industry leaders — sashayed into the Chinese Cultural Centre for the six-days of runway romps dedicated to showcasing emerging to established designers, and ready-to-wear to haute couture apparel. Opening night saw guests treated to cocktails and hair and makeup touch‐ups before taking their seats for the parade of nation designer preview.
HUGGY BEARS: On the occasion of the first day of spring, cute, furry and gregarious animals woke up from hibernation and handed out hugs to Vancouverites. Local firm Spring Advertising unleashed the mascots at various locations across the city as part of Hugs for Hunger, a fundraiser to aid the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. For every hug, Spring donated $1 to the food bank. Hugs on the Celebrity Hug Hit List generated greater donations. The warm and fuzzy event realized $3,000 to help the city’s most vulnerable citizens.
LITERARY LUAU: Four hundred alumni, students, faculty and staff packed the Renaissance Vancouver Harbourside Hotel to commemorate 50 years of Creative Writing at UBC. The impressive literary luau, sponsored by Scotiabank, drew some of Canada’s finest talents. Joseph Boyden, Nancie Lee and Steven Galloway were a few of the luminaries that reminisced about the last half century and the written word. Yours truly played auctioneer hawking the world’s greatest book club with Boyden, Lee and Galloway hosting. The package realized $4,000 for the programs New Shoots program, matching UBC writing grads with high school students.
