Events

   

Blacktie Beanfest

 

Always a sell-out, always blue suede shoes, poodle skirts and retired prom dresses galore, October’s annual Blacktie Beanfest is ESS’s major fund raiser. Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 27, 2012. It will be our 21st version of this incredible evening.

Held at Lakeside Gardens (Ron Kolbus Lakeside Centre), the evening begins with a great silent auction that offers a wide range of goodies up for bid: jewellery, dinners, spa treatments, fashions etc. The Procession of the Beans heralds the dinner with beans in abundance and other incomparable taste treats. The dress code mixes 1950s fashion statements along with tuxedo jackets, jeans and sneakers. The King would approve.

The house gets rocking with a few of Elvis’ greatest hits. Of course, there is dancing to a rock and roll band, "The Verdict", comprised mostly of hard-working lawyers by day and musicians by night. A nine-piece band, The Verdict plays a limited number of fundraisers every year and The Beanfest is fortunate to have one of their gigs. And did we mention the hula-hoop contest?

Looking for a chance to wear your saddle shoes again? To order tickets ($95 per person), call Randi Hansen at 613-440-3882 or email at randi.gcg@rogers.com

 

 

 

Now to the bottom line...many fine organizations have been the recipients of ESS donations. They include:

  •  Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary

  •  Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Support Ctr.

  •  Harmony House Inc. Ottawa-Carleton

  •  Parkdale Food Centre

  •  Children's Village of Ottawa-Carleton

  •  Children at Risk

  •  Kosher Food Bank

  •  Mothercraft Ottawa

  •  Amethyst Women’s Addiction Centre

  •  Christie Lake Community Centre

  •  YM/YWCA of Ottawa-Carletion

  •  University of Ottawa Heart Institute

  •  Ontario Special Olympics

  •  Somerset Community Health Centre

  •  SCO Health Service Foundation (Elisabeth Bruyere)

  •  Union Mission for men

  •  The Christmas Exchange

  •  Algonquin College (financial aid for students)

  •  Centre Youville Centre

For 2012, the event’s proceeds will go to Citizen Advocacy.  Right now in our community, there are people with disabilities who feel alone and isolated. There are people with disabilities who, quite simply, want to feel included. Citizen Advocacy matches a volunteer (“advocate”), one-on-one to a person with a disability (“protégé”). These matches, based on mutual compatibility are life-changing for both participants. Since 1974 more than 2,000 matches have been supported by Citizen Advocacy with a current waiting list of 2.5 years. The average match length is five years with the longest at 33 years!

  www.citizenadvocacy.org

 

 Looking forward to you joining us on October 27th, 2012!!

 

 

Christmas Day Dinner

 

 

The centre piece of the ESS events is the Christmas Day Dinner which has had a long history at the world-famous Newport Restaurant. It has fed thousands of people on December 25th over the years. Through the generosity of Moe Atallah and the ESS logistical geniuses who arrange for the turkeys and all the fixins’, the Christmas Day at the Newport radiates the warmth of the season, along with turkey, music and conversation. Over 1,200 dinners are served and distributed. That’s a lot of mashed potatoes and stuffing! While hundreds of volunteers donated their time to chop, serve, wash dishes, act as hosts and bake cookies, the generosity of the Westboro neighbourhood helps to offset the financial costs.

http://www.yourottawaregion.com/news/news/article/914092