Surprises aplenty at awards dinner

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/03/2012 (5150 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SIGN OF THE TIMES… Brian Bowman, the 40-year-old chairman of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, shocked Spirit of Winnipeg gala dinner attendees by telling them to take out their smartphones and get busy on Twitter informing the world about the awards being won! “He TOLD us to tweet!” exclaimed the black-tie gang at the Fairmont on Friday night, tentatively bringing out their hidden phones from pockets and purses, and placing them beside their dinner plates.

The second surprise? Young teens from Boss Guitar Works at École Selkirk Junior High, who build guitars for charity auctioning, did not win. But they gave away precious guitars to the other two finalists in the Not-for-Profit category, plus the nominees in the Charity division, to use for their own fundraising. Talk about generosity and heart. Not-for-Profit category winner Margaret Redmond, president and CEO of the Assiniboine Park Conservancy, was clearly bowled over by the sleek white polar bear guitar custom-made for her group. “It was a really generous move, and these kids are very impressive!” she said. What will the conservancy do with it? “We’re going to use it to help the polar bear and his relatives in generations to come — and make sure there are more generations to come!”

Three of this year’s 25 Boss Guitar builders — Alyssa Fey, Sabrina Kendall and Jaden Chamberlain — attended with principal Wayne Davies, guitar art coach Scott Sampson and instrument-building instructor Kris Hancock. At their own Boss Guitar auction last May, the 55 celebrity-signed guitars raised $32,579 for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

Other Spirit of Winnipeg 2012 Winners at the gala included the Neil Bardal Funeral Centre for Small Business; Win-Mar Freight Group for Medium Business; Canad Inns for Large Business; Premiere Executive Suites for Start-up Business, and Siloam Mission for the Charity division.

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GOING AFTER VILLAINS… Winnipeg’s Patti Henderson, head costume designer for Fox-TV and ABC Family’s Home Alone 5 Christmas movie, which starts filming in Winnipeg this month, is jetting off to Los Angeles to see the bad guys in person this week. “I’m going to consult with the three lead-actor villains. I won’t tell you who they are, as contracts may not all be signed,” says the well-known costume guru who works in and out of Winnipeg. How about a hint? She laughs: “Okay, here it is… A Clockwork Orange, Goodfellas and My Name Is Earl!” Henderson’s local costuming team started searching for costume parts locally on Monday. “They’re shopping furiously. We go to camera on the 15th.” Meanwhile, builders are madly working in the Manitoba Production Centre — the giant soundstage on Pacific Avenue — creating a “two-storey” house, with one floor of rooms BESIDE the other, for filming purposes. The director is Pete Hewitt from the U.K. (Garfield, Zoom, The Borrowers). So, look for the big white trucks again. “Film crew will be out and about in the city the first two weeks, then in the soundstage for three weeks,” said Henderson.

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“IN THE MOOD” GALA… At their glitzy gala Saturday night, the Mood Disorders Association of Manitoba (MDAM) acknowledged three men in the front lines of the battle with mental illness with Helping Hands Awards. Dr. Keith Hildahl won the Helping Hands “Health” Award, Jets senior VP and director hockey operations Craig Heisinger won the “Heart” Award, while Taylor Demetrioff and his band Waterfront Drive received the “Hope” Award for their work with youth. CJOB’s Greg Mackling was master of ceremonies and deputy mayor Justin Swandel was their lively auctioneer. Grade 8 girls from St. John’s-Ravenscourt School, dressed to the nines — Micaela Maharaj, Sadie Mctavish and Shelby Sytnyk — joined event chairwoman Charlotte Sytnyk and her committee to put together a stellar event.

Got tips, events, sightings, unusual things going on? Call Maureen’s tip line at 474-1116, email Maureen.Scurfield@Winnipegfreepress.com or send mail to the Insider c/o The Winnipeg Free Press at 1355 Mountain Ave. Winnipeg R2X 3B6