CCFC 2012 ICE Gala!

[Parsad]

The inaugural Crohn's & Colitis Foundation "ICE Gala" in BC was a complete success!  Led by the CCFC's Alison Obrecht, we raised over $100,000 for the Foundation.  The food was terrific, and the live & silent auctions went very well.  Thank you to everyone who donated, supported or attended the gala!  The video "Lee's Story", which was first shown by Dr. Kevin Glasgow at our dinner this year, was also shown at the Vancouver gala.  Lee's mother, Mimi Greenspoon was in attendance.  She runs the Toronto gala which raised over $900,000 this year...something we aspire to get to at some point! 

 

I was about 15-16 when I first started listening to Canadian rock legends "54-40".  They had just been signed by Warner Bros and had put out their first album.  They were one of the formative bands I listened to during my teenage years and into college.  For some reason, I had never made it to one of their concerts, so it was ironic that I finally saw them live over 25 years later at a CCFC event.  An organization that I have come to strongly support, only after our friend JoAnn Butler passed away...who I only met because of my meeting with Prem Watsa and Francis Chou...who I only met after meeting Buffett!  The chain of events in my life since that first meeting with Buffett constantly leaves me with a sense of gratitude and wonderment.

 

My whole family attended...my Mom, brother, sister-in-law, her mother, Alnesh and a bunch of friends.  "54-50" played for almost two hours!  As the evening progressed, the 200 attendees whittled down to about 30 of us, and we were all going on stage and singing with the band.  At that point, the band started really getting into it, as it was like doing a tiny backyard performance.  They brought their equipment down to the dance floor, playing and singing amongst us, handing the mic off to each of us to finish a chorus!  I've been to large rock concerts and those held in smaller, intimate venues...this was crazy...here I was singing and dancing with friends and family right around Neil Osbourne and the rest of "54-40!" 

 

For those of you in the U.S. who may not be familiar with them, they became pretty big on the college scene, but never took off mainstream in the U.S.  One U.S. band covered one of their songs though and became superstars selling tens of millions of albums over time...Hootie and the Blowfish...go figure!  Alot of people know "The Tragically Hip" as one of Canada's biggest bands, but "54-40" were better and more consistent...just never blew up around the world.  Anyway, it was a terrific night, and I've included some pictures.  Hopefully, more of you will be able to attend the next one!  Cheers!

[Redskin212]

Sanjeev,

 

Congratulations on your involvement with the CCFC ICE Gala and raising over $100,000.  That is fantastic! 

 

I am extremely jealous of the 54-40 performance, I would loved to see them live again after about 25 years, they were quite something but I think your Vancouver bias is shining though a little  :)  The Hip are pretty darn good and have been for a lot of years and albums.  I also really liked the Vancouver-based Sons of Freedom album Gump - they were a little more hard core and alternative at the time but great nonetheless.  The funny thing about Canadian music from the late 80's/early 90's is that the Barenaked Ladies was the one that made it really big in the US.  I remember when I first moved to the US in 1994 everybody was going crazy about them and I just kept thinking to myself there are so many better acts from Canada.  I could never figure it out, the music business is a fickle one.

 

Well done again.

[Kraven]

I was about 15-16 when I first started listening to Canadian rock legends "54-40".  They had just been signed by Warner Bros and had put out their first album.  They were one of the formative bands I listened to during my teenage years and into college. 

 

Are they as good as Canada's favorite son, Aldo Nova?  I bet they can't beat Aldo's leopard skin outfit in the Fantasy video. 

[berkshiremystery]

It must have been a nice gala. Sadly my first Vancouver experience was about over 3 weeks ago running a marathon with my suitcase in 45 minutes through Vancouver Int't Airport to catch my connecting flight to L.A.,.. but people from Air Canada had been very friendly to hold the plane for me and other late-comers that were stuck in U.S. customs. It was somehow a surprise for me to find U.S. border patrol officers on Canadian territory. At least I happily boarded the plane, otherwise I already thought I would have to ask Sanjeev for shelter ;D, - aha just kidding. But I only had to fly accidentally through Vancouver, because hurricane Sandy didn't let me fly over the U.S. east cost, so I had in last minute to reschedule all my flights. Anyway, I would have enjoyed to stay at least 24 hours,... Vancouver from the air looks neat in fine rain, my kind of weather,... in L.A., I had to wear on my last day, my winter jacket  :o 

[twacowfca]

It must have been a nice gala. Sadly my first Vancouver experience was about over 3 weeks ago running a marathon with my suitcase in 45 minutes through Vancouver Int't Airport to catch my connecting flight to L.A.,.. but people from Air Canada had been very friendly to hold the plane for me and other late-comers that were stuck in U.S. customs. It was somehow a surprise for me to find U.S. border patrol officers on Canadian territory. At least I happily boarded the plane, otherwise I already thought I would have to ask Sanjeev for shelter ;D, - aha just kidding. But I only had to fly accidentally through Vancouver, because hurricane Sandy didn't let me fly over the U.S. east cost, so I had in last minute to reschedule all my flights. Anyway, I would have enjoyed to stay at least 24 hours,... Vancouver from the air looks neat in fine rain, my kind of weather,... in L.A., I had to wear on my last day, my winter jacket  :o

 

Don't know about now, but a few years ago Vancouver was a preferred route for terrorists trying to slip into the US to bomb the LAX flights.  The Canadian authorities were wonderful in their cooperation to stop that madness.  Never the less, we've never had any very long delays getting through Vsncouver, going back and forth to Whistler.