FASHION BOOST FOR PACIFIC AUTISM FAMILY NETWORK

FROCKS POPULI: Over lunch at the Century-Plaza hotel recently, nine women, many of them familiar on local television, modelled multi-coloured Italian ensembles to benefit the Pacific Autism Network. More accustomed to being draped in gold, one was B.C. Liberal MLA for Parksville-Qualicum Michelle Stilwell. She won 16 gold medals in wheelchair racing and wheelchair basketball at the Paralympics and other international meets. She still goes by the pre-disability teenage nickname Mikey, bestowed by the coach of her otherwise-all-boy team. Among five men modelling, Stillwell’s autistic son Kai, 16, recently received a bronze medallion for life-saving. Women and men were dressed by Rachel Kapsalis and husband Franco Nigro’s Vetrina/Quorum stores. Not modelling but togged out in red serge jacket, riding breeches and boots was RCMP Staff Sergeant Major Stephen Blair Hurst. He is “champion” for the Richmond detachment’s autism first-responder awareness training program that has qualified close to 700 personnel, and recently expanded to northern B.C. Welcome news for hotel owners Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia and Sergio Cocchia who, having founded, continued to lead and spurred over $35 million in fundraising for the Pacific Autism Network, are bona fide champions themselves.

HOME AGAIN: The South Granville shopping district sees private art galleries come and go. Fewer go and come back, though. Petley Jones has done that, and into the space he occupied from 1988 to 2011. Not that he went far away. One block, in fact. So, strolling around the corner and up Granville Street to hang 15 Group of Seven paintings, two Jean-Paul Riopelle’s and one Emily Carr, he’s at home again, seemingly to stay.

GAINING TEMPO: Eighteen years after music director Ken Hsieh founded it, the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra held its first full-dress gala recently. A chic affair, too, with 350 guests paying $250 each. Many had family connections to the orchestra that Hsieh, now 37, dedicated “to the artistic, personal and professional development of outstanding young musicians.” The professional part was endorsed by flutist Paul Hung having a Vancouver Symphony Orchestra gig on gala night. Younger careerist Ryan Wang, 10, entertained guests by playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat. No personal breakthrough there as Ryan was five when he wowed host Elene DeGeneres and viewers with Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu in C sharp minor. Back at the gala, 22-year-old Jessica Zraly sang Adele’s eloquent if rather downlifting Water Under The Bridge accompanied by pianist and VMO composer in residence Trevor Hoffmann. While he and Hsieh have international careers. their at-home efforts greatly benefit many young musicians, the orchestra and the entire community.

PARRYNOIA: Don’t get lost on World Labyrinth Day, May 5.

HERE’S CHEERS: It’s somewhat counter-intuitive to see lots of wine drunk and auctioned where high-speed cars are sold. But the Grape Juice gala did that in the Aston Martin-Bentley facility, and reportedly raised $108,000 for Big Sisters of B.C. Lower Mainland. That organization served 819 at-risk girls in 2017, and has 155 wait-listed. The event’s 2008 founders, Cheryl Nakamoto, Sarah McNeill and husband Cam, chaired again. Now sole principle of the recruitment firm she and McNeill founded, Nakamoto recalled early says when they acted like their own wiser big sisters. They insisted on office-free Fridays and on taking all school holidays, including five weeks in the summer. “When we saw all the entrepreneurs that have failed marriages and no balance in their lives, we made a commitment to grow our company and achieve balance with our children,” she said.

HE’S LOVIN’ IT: After staging many top-rank singers at private concerts benefiting the Vancouver Song Institute and others, property developer Peter Wall has written a love song himself. Rather than decades-younger personal partner Aliaksandra Varslavan, its subject is Vancouver. Chicago, L.A., London, New York and Paris all have love songs. Canada seems bereft, although Stompin’ Tom Connors veered that way with Sudbury Saturday Night. Wall said Canadian tenor Richard Margison is scoring the lyrics and may perform them publicly, possibly with k.d. lang. An Albertan rhapsodizing Vancouver sounds hardly diplomatic, though. That said, former French consul general and charted singer-songwriter Jean-Yves Defay frequently performed, in French, a love song titled Vancouver. Its witty lyrics included such tongue twisters as vancouvertiginous, vancouvernal, vancouverdant and, most fittingly, vancouvercast. Maybe Wall and Margison will review the libretto.

IT IS UNUSUAL: There may be a cake with 78 candles when Jacqui Cohen hosts the 28thannual Face The World gala at her Point Grey waterfront home June 4. Not for Cohen but for Sir Tom Jones, who sang at the debut event and (with David Aisenstat and Umberto Menghi) remains an honorary patron. His actual birthday party will be May 7, possibly in his hometown of Pontypridd, Wales.

DOWN PARRYSCOPE: Let’s bet Attorney General David Eby wouldn’t dream of holding a public meeting on his coy electoral-reform plans that concerned voters almost certainly would gatecrash.

Television news presenters Sophie Lui, Sonia Sunger and Sonia Beeksma backed Rachel Kapsalis, front, to benefit Pacific Autism Family Network wearing Piccione Piccione, except Beeksma, who wore a Beatrice top and Aviu skirt.

Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra music director Ken Hsieh conducted Ryan Wang, 10, playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2.

Sir Tom Jones, who attended Jacqui Cohen’s debut Face The World gala in 1991, will return for the $2,500-per-ticket event running June 4.

Trevor Hoffmann accompanied Jessica Zraly, who sang Adele’s Water Under The Bridge, at the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra’s gala.

Peter Wall, left, has written a love song now being scored by Richard Margison, not about Aliaksandra Varslavan, right, but our town, Vancouver.

Back in his South Granville gallery locale after seven years, Petley Jones toted Tom Thompson’s 1914 Fall Woods, Algonquin Park, worth $1.5 million.

Sarah McNeill and Cheryl Nakamoto founded the Grape Juice gala that raised $108,000 for Big Sisters recently.

Parksville-Qualicum MLA and multi-gold Paralympian Michelle Stilwell, left, and son Kai modelled at the autism benefit of Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia, right.