Brooks: Banff Centre Midsummer Ball Weekend nets more than $1 million

Your faithful social scribe has had the distinct pleasure of attending and covering hundreds upon hundreds of events in my 25-plus years on the circuit. Some are great. Some, meh. But my absolute favourite event of all time is the annual Banff Centre Midsummer Ball weekend. Not only is the weekend a feast for the senses, but philanthropic as well with funds raised supporting artists and programs at the world-class centre.

And this year’s ball, the 39th annual held July 20-22, netted a staggering $1.1 million.

“I am so grateful to the donors, sponsors, artists and staff who made this incredible Midsummer Ball Weekend such a stellar success! The over $1 million raised this weekend will go directly to supporting artist scholarships to allow talented individuals from all artistic disciplines to participate in Banff Centre’s programs based on their artistic ability, not their ability to pay,” said Janice Price, president and CEO of Banff Centre. “That is the message that resonates so strongly with the Ball attendees this weekend, and I am so very grateful to everyone for their contributions to this incredible result.”

The weekend featured fabulous cuisine, unforgettable performances, amazing auction items, the always popular Rolex draw -courtesy of J. Vair Anderson Jewellers, and behind the scenes access to the centre’s creative spaces. Banff Centre alumni taking to the stage included: trumpet virtuoso Jens Lindemann, who did double duty as the weekend emcee as well; Laird Mackintosh, Phantom of the Opera’s André on Broadway; Sean McCann, former member of folk group Great Big Sea; Juno Award-winning band Quantum Tangle; and participants in the Opera in the 21st Century program.

Centre supporters having a marvelous time included: Alberta Minister of Infrastructure Sandra Jansen; Alberta Minister of Culture and Tourism Ricardo Miranda; Sen. Doug Black and his wife Linda; Banff Mayor Karen Sorensen; David Weyant, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity board chair, and his wife Justice Charlene Anderson; Rob Symonds, COO of Husky Energy, and his wife Jill Symonds; Trevor Gardner, managing director, RBC Capital Markets and his wife Cindy Gardner; Parkland Fuel president and CEO Robert Espey and his wife Mary Jane Espey; Brenda Mackie, former centre board chair, and her husband Jamie Mackie; WestJet president and CEO Ed Sims and his wife Claire McKay; RBC’s Jeff Boyd and his wife Michele Boyd; National Arts Centre board chair Adrian Burns; centre board vice-chair Larry Fichtner and his wife Jan Fichtner; incoming centre foundation board chair Tim Kitchen and his wife Alana Kitchen; J. Vair Anderson’s Annette Toro and her husband Harold Huber; Mawer Investment Management vice-chairman Craig Senyk and his wife Cara Senyk; Justices Kristine Eidsvik, Glenda Campbell and Karen Horner; Imperial Oil chairman, president and CEO Rich Kruger and his wife Jennifer Carter-Kruger; Ravinder Minhas and his wife Jyoti Auluk; Hanif and Behnaz Manji; Beth Reimer-Heck, former Banff Centre Foundation chair, with her husband WinSport CEO Barry Heck; Enbridge’s Matthew Akman and his wife Stela Akman; Andrea Brussa with Alberta Ballet’s Jean Grand-Maitre; McCarthy Tetrault’s Greg Turnbull and his wife Shirley; Stephen and Mary Lougheed; Jenny Belzberg; RBC regional director Jerilynn Daniels and her husband Mike Weinert; Matt and Brock Evans; Larry and Sandy Martin; Eric Harvie and his wife Marian Johnston-Harvie; Shergill Homes president Harvey Shergill and his wife Manjit Minhas; philanthropist and community leader Ann McCaig; Brent McLean and his wife Sheila Wappel-McLean, Midsummer Ball committee members Melanie Busby, Mary Fong, Glenda Hess, Debra Law, Pat Moore, Kim van Steenbergen and Nancy Wiswell; and others pictured on these two pages.

Pictured at Friday Night Live!, the kick-off to the Banff Centre Mid Summer Ball Weekend are, from left, Banff Centre’s Hannah Ordway with incoming Banff Centre Foundation board chair Tim Kitchen and his wife Alana. Friday Night Live!, sponsored by Parkland Fuel Corporation, featured fabulous food and amazing performances.

From left: Jyoti Auluk, Behnaz Manji and Jennifer Carter-Kruger

From left: Minhas Micro Brewery’s Ravinder Minhas, WestJet’s Hanif Manji, Imperial Oil’s Rich Krueger and Shergill Homes’ Harvey Shergill

RBC regional director Jerilynn Daniels and Mike Weinert

June Award-winning band Quantum Tangle were one of the fabulous acts taking to the stage at Friday Night Live! — the kickoff to the 39th Banff Centre Midsummer Ball Weekend July 20-22. From left are band members Tiffany Ayalik, Greyson Gritt and Kayley MacKay.

Jenny Belzberg (left) and Banff Centre’s Rosemary Thompson

From left: Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity supporters Andrea Brussa, Sydney Pieschel, Sheilagh Langille and Sheila Wappel-McLean. Courtesy, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity

Linda Black and her husband Sen. Doug Black

Rob Symonds, COO, Husky Energy Inc. and Jill Symonds Courtesy Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity

Ann McCaig (left) and Adrian Burns

From left: WinSport CEO Barry Heck and his wife Beth Reimer-Heck, the past chair of Banff Centre Foundation; with Stela Akman and her husband, Matthew Akman, senior vice-president, Enbridge.

Alberta Minister of Culture and Tourism Ricardo Miranda and press secretary Marion Nader

Justice Charlene Anderson and her husband David Weyant, chair of the Banff Centre board of governors

From left: Justices Kristine Eidsvik, Glenda Campbell and Karen Horner

From left: WestJet president and CEO Ed Sims and his wife Claire McKay; with Michele Boyd and her husband Jeff Boyd, RBC regional president, Alberta and the Territories

From left: Mawer’s Craig Senyk and his wife Cara; with Margo and Brant Randles

Banff Cycle’s Tom Couture with Jan Fichtner

Sandy and Larry Martin

The Iceberg String Quartet were one of the groups that performed during the 39th Banff Centre Mid Summer Ball Weekend. From left are: Russell Iceberg, Chris Stork, Chung-Han Hsiao and Jacob Efthimiou.