OWEN HART FOUNDATION

McLachlan serenades fundraiser

An Intimate Evening with Sarah McLachlan was the perfect way to spend a chilly winter’s eve at the Jube — all the while raising funds for the Owen Hart Foundation.

The Grammy and Juno Awardwinning Canadian icon headlined the 18th annual foundation fundraiser — much to the delight of hundreds of guests in attendance. No surprise that the concert was sold out weeks in advance.

The captivated audience had a chance to reminisce with McLachlan as she perfectly executed some of her most emotional ballads that served well to display her fine-tuned mezzosoprano vocal range.

There’s no doubt that McLachlan’s hits have had a tremendous impact on many of our lives, including her rendition of the song When She Loved Me. McLachlan dedicated the song to artist Oje Hart and his sister Athena — the son and daughter of the late Owen Hart and his wife Martha Hart — founder of the Owen Hart Foundation.

Oje had sketched a special pastel drawing of the Toy Story 2 character Jesse, whom the melody was written for, and presented it to McLachlan in appreciation for a song that was so important to him growing up.

McLachlan joins the impressive list of performers who have been featured at past Owen Hart Foundation events including Robin Williams, Elvis Costello, Jerry Seinfeld, Ringo Starr and Steve Martin, to name but a few.

Guests in attendance having a marvellous time this evening included: auction sponsors Trapped Escape Room Experience’s Darcy Anderson and Kelly Patterson; Owen Hart Foundation’s Virginia Xavier; WestJet Airlines’ Jereme and Karli Kincaid; Cinnamon Girl Clinic’s Virgillia Chichoine with Mitch Chichoine; Evolve Sponsorship and Engagement’s Valerie Pek; Canadian Western Bank’s Dustin Jones and Jeff Bowling; Brookfield Residential’s Careen Church; Dentrix Dental Care’s Dr. Brian Killick; LAR Business Concepts’ Linna Morgan and Mary Ann Steen; Stantec Oil & Gas vice-president Dean Mullin; Postmedia columnist and Sportsnet analyst Eric Francis; University of Calgary’s Dr. Nicole Letourneau; journalist and Owen Hart Foundation committee member Tammi Christopher-Buchanan; For the Love of Children Society’s Kavita and Ashid Bahl; Century 21 Rockies Realty’s Colleen Standen; Shoe Muse’s Dani Izzo; Air Canada’s Lisa Jarvis; Sue Miller; Barb Simic of The Calgary Educational Partnership Foundation; WestJet’s Pino Mancuso and his wife Atonietta; University of Calgary’s Dr. Paul Wellings and his wife Magdi; Romana Kraft of Collectors Gallery; and event producer David Howard of The Event Group.

PHOTOS, OWEN HART FOUNDATION From left, Oje Hart, Canadian music icon Sarah McLachlan, Athena Hart and Owen Hart Foundation founder Dr. Martha Hart pose for the camera at An Intimate Evening With Sarah McLachlan, held recently at the Jube in support of the Owen Hart Foundation.

Journalist and Owen Hart Foundation committee member Tammi Christopher-Buchanan, left, For the Love of Children’s Society Kavita and Ashid Bahl and Century 21 Rockies Realty’s Colleen Standen.

Stantec Oil & Gas vice-president Dean Mullin, left, Postmedia columnist and Sportsnet analyst Eric Francis and Dr. Nicole Letourneau of the University of Calgary.

Valerie Pek of Evolve Sponsorship and Engagement, left, with event sponsors Dustin Jones of Canadian Western Bank, Careen Church of Brookfield Residential and Jeff Bowling of Canadian Western Bank.

Mitch Chichoine, left, Cinnamon Girl Clinic’s Virgillia Chichoine and WestJet’s Jereme and Karli Kincaid.

Owen Hart Foundation’s Virginia Xavier, left, with auction sponsors Trapped Escape Room Experience’s Darcy Anderson and Kelly Patterson.

Event sponsors including Shoe Muse’s Dani Izzo and Air Canada’s Lisa Jarvis and Owen Hart Foundation supporter Sue Miller.

Event Sponsors Dr. Brian Killick of Dentrix Dental Care with Linna Morgan and Mary Ann Steen of LAR Business Concepts.

Oje Hart presented Sarah McLachlan with his drawing of Jesse, a character from Toy Story 2 to commemorate her song When She Loved Me from the movie’s soundtrack.