The recent warm weather could have clashed with the SnowBall and its charitable cause of helping kids stay warm in winter, but last night’s tumbling temperatures quickly proved otherwise.
“It will all make sense soon,” event committee co-chairs Mark Ford, service delivery manager at RHEA Group, and Lise Clément, principal at Lansdowne Technologies, said of the approaching cold front that would serve as a chilly reminder for why partygoers had gathered: to help ensure every child in Ottawa has access to a decent snowsuit.
By the time everyone headed home, it was bone-chillingly freezing outside. The mighty snowman on Queen Elizabeth Drive will stand to see another day, after all.
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Ottawa winters demand appropriate outdoor attire. “We’re a community that likes to embrace winter,” Martin Masse, vice chair of the board for the Snowsuit Fund of Ottawa, told OBJ.social. He’s also an international trade law lawyer and senior partner at Norton Rose Fulbright, among the major sponsors of this year’s SnowBall.
Masse has a lot of respect for the Snowsuit Fund, a non-profit organization that’s been serving low-income families for more than 40 years. As part of his leadership role, he’s volunteered at the depot in Vanier, where he’s seen children delight in the process of selecting and receiving snowsuits.
“There’s something special about directly providing essential items to people, especially kids,” he said.
Despite a milder-than-usual winter, the demand for snowsuits continues to grow, along with the Ottawa population. This season, the organization has distributed more than 16,000 snowsuits. It also gives out gently used jackets to youth older than 15. “We don’t like to turn people away,” said Masse.
Not only does the outerwear keep kids warm but it also promotes youth getting outside, which is important for healthy development. “Giving them a new snowsuit means they can go out and play, like other kids. That’s partly what drew me to the cause,” said the married father of two teenaged boys.
The sold-out SnowBall surpassed last year’s total, raising $95,000 and selling out two weeks in advance. More than 400 people attended the event.
The SnowBall is renowned for being one of the city’s premier fundraisers of the season. This year, it embraced a new venue, the Ottawa Art Gallery.
The evening unfolded across various rooms, with the heart of the action in and around the Alma Duncan Salon, which was renamed Club Sens exclusively for the SnowBall. That’s where partygoers hit the dance floor to familiar tunes played by Ottawa cover band The Start and, later, got swept up in the charity live auction bidding led by Ryan Watson from Raising the Bid.
The night featured two live bands, gourmet bites served by local chefs, a selection of wine, beer and cocktails, a beauty and fragrance bar, an impressive silent auction, and plenty of opportunities for networking. For many attendees, the event was a reunion of sorts, since January and February typically give way to quieter social calendars.
The Ottawa Senators’ new owner Michael Andlauer and his wife, Lucie, were seen chatting away with other guests at what marked their first attendance at an Ottawa charity gala. They were both very approachable and friendly. “I totally feel in my element here,” Andlauer told OBJ.social.
Back in December, Andlauer’s family spent a morning volunteering their time at the Snowsuit Fund depot in Vanier, collecting, sorting through and distributing snowsuits to families in need, and also making a donation of $10,500 on behalf of the Ottawa Senators Foundation.
Also present from the hockey club were Steve Staios, president of hockey operations and general manager, senior vice president of hockey operations Dave Poulin, and the club’s vice president of operations, Chris Phillips, who, with wife Erin held an honorary role with Snowsuit Fund when he played for the Ottawa Senators. The Senators Community Foundation was represented by president Jacqueline Belsito and her colleague Jennifer Cameron. After a lengthy hiatus, the foundation is resurrecting its popular gala, set for Monday, March 25.
Back to emcee the evening was Sandra Plagakis, morning show co-host on KiSS FM. She was seen catching up with one of her former Rogers Sports & Media colleagues, Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, who used to work in radio broadcasting, among other things.
Watson got the crowd pumped and ready to spend money. He sold off a pair of plane tickets to Whitehorse (and back), courtesy of Air North; a getaway to Mexico from Andaz Ottawa and Expedia Cruises in Westboro and Kanata; an Ottawa Bluesfest VIP package for eight; a Royal Caribbean cruise for two worth $8,370, also courtesy of Expedia Cruises; and a dinner for eight with wine prepared in the highest bidder’s home by Restaurant e18hteen’s executive chef, David Godsoe. It sold for $4,000.
There was also a raffle for a diamond ring worth $10,000.
One of the things that struck Deneen Perrin about last night’s SnowBall was what a strong following the annual gala has. “I go to a lot of events,” Perrin, director of public affairs, government relations and stakeholder engagement for the Royal Canadian Mint, told OBJ.social. “This is a crowd that comes back year after year. It’s really a loyal crowd.”
