400 guests travel through time at the Civilization Costume Ball
September 20, 2006 |
400 guests travel through time at the Civilization Costume Ball – National campaign raises more than half a million dollars
Gatineau, Quebec, September 20, 2006 — Some of the biggest names in Canadian history were on the guest list tonight as the Canadian Museum of Civilization hosted a unique fundraising ball. In attendance, among many historic celebrities, were Sir John A. Macdonald, Eric the Red, Samuel de Champlain, Cairine Wilson, Alexander Graham Bell, Jacques Cartier, Sir Guy Carleton, Sir Wilfrid Laurier and Nellie McLung. They mingled with whalers, voyageurs, lumberjacks, pioneers, aristocrats, flappers, bush pilots and prospectors.Some 400 museum supporters, and community and corporate leaders donned period costumes to attend the Civilization Costume Ball — A Journey Through Time, a fundraising gala to benefit the Museum’s National Collection Fund. The Fund was launched this year to support the acquisition of important artifacts that might otherwise be lost to our heritage.
The Honorary Chair of the 150th National Collection Fund, former Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson, wore a dress from her personal collection, while Ottawa Citizen publisher Jim Orban and Gatineau City councillor Louise Poirier performed their Masters of Ceremony duties dressed as a Victorian Gentleman and a lady from New France.
Other notable guests included Gail Asper, Managing Director of The Asper Foundation and President of the CanWest Global Foundation; the Honourable Jim Watson, MPP Ottawa West-Nepean and Minister of Health Promotion; Gatineau Mayor Marc Bureau; and Members of Parliament Gary Schellenberger and Ed Fast, as well as other parliamentarians and ambassadors.
“I’m thrilled that the Ball organization is such a success,” said Louise Poirer, Co-Chair of the 150th Anniversary Committee. Co-Chair Jim Orban noted, “This was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our country’s past, offer a toast to its future, and get the 150th Anniversary National Collection Fund off to a great start.”
Dr. Victor Rabinovitch, President and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, appeared as Sir Guy Carleton, the Governor who later became Lord Dorchester. Dr. Rabinovitch expressed warm gratitude “to all the sponsors, partners and their guests who attended the Civilization Costume Ball tonight, because they will help us safeguard our national treasures for generations to come.”
Guests arrived for cocktails in the lobby and were greeted by Sir John A. Macdonald. They then split into groups representing different eras of Canadian history: Each time period was sponsored by a different group: Forest Products Association of Canada – From Time Immemorial; Casino du Lac-Leamy – The New World; Ville de Gatineau – New France; Borden Ladner Gervais LLP – the Ottawa Valley; Accenture – Military and Political Life in Pre- & Post-Confederation; RBC Financial Group – Victorian Ontario; Bell – Social Progress; Asper Endowment of the Winnipeg Foundation – Settling the Golden Prairies; Black & McDonald – The Booming ’40s and ’50s; Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada – Vancouver Airport. CTV/Globe & Mail – Wildcat Café in Yellowknife; Chicken Farmers of Canada – Canada’s Artistic Imagination on Stamps; Telus – Fast-Forward in Time, Canada’s future.
Guests met again in the Museum’s Grand Hall, where Queen Victoria knighted William E. Logan, founder of the Museum in 1856. Everyone sat down to a dinner inspired entirely by Canadian history and antique recipes. Guests were treated t