I decided to give a report on the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra's Lover's Ball, since it is rare in Vancouver to see such a swanky event, and even rarer that yours truly would be in attendance at something like this. I'm more at ease when they fill BC Place with mud and bring in the monster trucks.
Judie and I arrived in gown and black tie (Judie wore the gown, just to clarify) at the Hotel Vancouver and walked the red carpet to the entry hall. Waiters were soon thrusting champagne glasses in our faces, a young lady was pinning a white flower on my jacket and flash bulbs blinded us as we made our way inside (mock paparazzi for effect, to make you feel important).
A six foot something Amazon lady wearing a Tiffany blue dress moved toward me and I was secretly racking my brain wondering how I knew this woman and how I would explain it to my wife. I breathed a sigh of relief when I realzied she was the model wearing the $18,000 Tiffany pearl and diamond earrings and bracelet that was the raffle prize for the evening. Susan, the wife of our host John, ended up winning!!!
We entered the lavish ballroom (where we had our wedding dinner in 1996) and listened to the VSO play while we found our ornately decorated table, with a massive centerpiece of white callolilies. The entertaiment consisted of a lively VSO set, 13 year old violinist Ester Wong doing a magnificent solo from Carmen, and a Korean drumming troop, resplendent in their Valentine pink and red hanboks. The VSO is actually very talented, and in their 90th year, they won both a Juno and a Grammy for the CD they recently released.
A live auction of rare prizes and opportunities preceded dinner, but most of the items quickly fetched in excess of $10,000, out of my league. Are we really in a recession? You'd never know it with this crowd! Dinner was a beet salad followed by steak and lobster and some sort of chocolatey thing for dessert.
Dancing followed, but Judie had a 5 AM wake up call for boot camp, so we left early. Perfect timing for me, as today is my rest day! I slept in until 7 AM! Whoohoo!
All in all, I do have to say the event was very well orchestrated (no pun intended) and I'm sure a huge success for the VSO.
Judie and I arrived in gown and black tie (Judie wore the gown, just to clarify) at the Hotel Vancouver and walked the red carpet to the entry hall. Waiters were soon thrusting champagne glasses in our faces, a young lady was pinning a white flower on my jacket and flash bulbs blinded us as we made our way inside (mock paparazzi for effect, to make you feel important).
A six foot something Amazon lady wearing a Tiffany blue dress moved toward me and I was secretly racking my brain wondering how I knew this woman and how I would explain it to my wife. I breathed a sigh of relief when I realzied she was the model wearing the $18,000 Tiffany pearl and diamond earrings and bracelet that was the raffle prize for the evening. Susan, the wife of our host John, ended up winning!!!
We entered the lavish ballroom (where we had our wedding dinner in 1996) and listened to the VSO play while we found our ornately decorated table, with a massive centerpiece of white callolilies. The entertaiment consisted of a lively VSO set, 13 year old violinist Ester Wong doing a magnificent solo from Carmen, and a Korean drumming troop, resplendent in their Valentine pink and red hanboks. The VSO is actually very talented, and in their 90th year, they won both a Juno and a Grammy for the CD they recently released.
A live auction of rare prizes and opportunities preceded dinner, but most of the items quickly fetched in excess of $10,000, out of my league. Are we really in a recession? You'd never know it with this crowd! Dinner was a beet salad followed by steak and lobster and some sort of chocolatey thing for dessert.
Dancing followed, but Judie had a 5 AM wake up call for boot camp, so we left early. Perfect timing for me, as today is my rest day! I slept in until 7 AM! Whoohoo!
All in all, I do have to say the event was very well orchestrated (no pun intended) and I'm sure a huge success for the VSO.
