PRIDE ANGELS: Five years ago, philanthropist and businessman John Evans reached out and challenged the Lazy Gourmet’s Kevin Mazzone, RE/MAX’s Gary Serra and Vancity’s Ryan McKinley to stage an event that would spark their generation of 20 and 30-somethings to give back to their LGBTQ2+ community. The Pride Kick Off Cocktail party was born. In partnership with the Loden Hotel’s Lilliana De Cotiis, the exclusive party is now a leading date on the Pride social calendar. As usual, this year’s event saw 150 good-looking guests take over the downtown hotel’s Halo Penthouse. Revellers sipped, savoured and celebrated with one another, while raising a reported $40,000 for the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation. To date, the three musketeers and their friends have brought in more than $100,000 for charity.
HORSE SHOES: Luck almost ran out on the Social Concierge’s Tyson Villeneuve, Jordan Kallman and Dax Droski. As the enterprising gents prepared to welcome thousands of pretty young things to their eighth Deighton Cup at Hastings Racecourse, dark clouds loomed above the six-and-half furlong track. It was soon evident Mother Nature was a fan of the event, as the rain stayed away from the always-fashionable affair. An estimated 4,000 partygoers made the parade to the post, taking in the eight heart-pounding races and the always hotly contested Style Stakes. The boys hope their outdoor winning streak will continue when they front their inaugural Babylon bash, benefitting Ballet BC Aug. 6, and their largest endeavour, the fifth annual Diner en Blanc Aug. 18 when a lucky 6,000 invitees look to play outside at a secret location.
LEGACY LUAU: The member-driven LOUD Gay and Lesbian Business Association recently hosted a reception to honour this year’s 2016 Pride Legacy Award winners. Eight local leaders who have made significant contributions in Vancouver’s Queer community were toasted at a social mixer. Making the scene were award recipients Zdrávko Cimbaljevic (volunteer leadership), John Ferrie (arts and culture), Rachel Garrett (youth), Dean Thulner (health), John Boychuk (lifetime achievement), Rohan Hare (sport) and Myriam Dumont (safe spaces). This year’s awards program added a new category to recognize contributions in trans activism. Morgane Oger, a member of the City of Vancouver’s LGBTQ2+ Advisory Committee and chair of the Vancouver-based Trans Alliance Society, was the award’s first recipient.
