Around Town: Brookstreet's Lumière gala passes $1 million mark

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Terry Matthews knows how to throw a great party. The self-made tech icon and all-around fun-loving guy welcomed some 670 guests to his Brookstreet Hotel in Kanata on Wednesday night for the sold-out Lumière Rouge fundraising gala.

Matthews didn’t waste a lot of time at the podium but, with hotel general manager and executive vice president Patrice Basille standing nearby, he urged the crowd “to support the community, get on with it, and have a lot of fun. That’s what I do.”

The sweet sounds of live jazz music filled the red-accented ballroom as attendees sampled 10 different food stations offering very creative cuisine paired with wines. People casually mingled before taking in the grand finale of outdoor fireworks.

Photos: Around Town at Lumière Rouge fundraising gala


Terry Matthews, the self-made tech icon and all-around fun-loving guy welcomed some 670 guests to his Brookstreet Hotel in Kanata on Sept. 16 for the sold-out Lumière Rouge fundraising gala.

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  From left, tech legend Terry Matthews, owner of Brookstreet Hotel and founder of the Wesley Clover Foundation, with Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation president and CEO Linda Eagen and senior cancer research scientist Dr. John Bell at the 13th annual Lumière Rouge Fundraising Gala held at Brookstreet .
  
  
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  From left, CHEO physician Sunita Venkateswaran is outnumbered by doctors from the Queensway Carleton Hospital, including her husband, Dr. Sachin Chitte, Dr. Eric Henry, hospital president and CEO Tom Schonberg (centre) with his wife, Ene, Dr. J.C. Gauthier and Dr. Suzanne Godsoe at the Lumière Rouge Gala held at Brookstreet Hotel in Kanata on Wednesday, September 16, 2015. Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
  
  
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  Well-known Ottawa personality and gala MC and auctioner "Stuntman" Stu Schwartz, seen with his wife Connie Bernardi, at the Lumière Rouge Fundraising Gala . Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
  
  
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  From left, Dr. Jasmeet Chawla and Dr. Raman Chawla, both internal medicine specialists at the Queensway Carleton Hospital, with Doris Ramphos and Steve Ramphos, co-founder and president of District Realty, at the Lumière Rouge fundraising gala. Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
  
  
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  Tech legend Terry Matthews, owner of Brookstreet Hotel, poses with red carpet greeter Emily Taylor at the hotel's 13th annual Lumière Rouge Gala, held Wednesday, September 16, 2015. Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
  
  
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  Heather Linton and husband Bruce Linton, from Martello Technologies and Tweed Inc., had matching attire for the 13th annual Lumière Rouge Gala held at Brookstreet Hotel . Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
  
  
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  From left, Paul Chiarelli, president at Wesley Clover, with organizing committee members Don Smith and Mark Nisbett, director of marketing and sales at Brookstreet Hotel, at the 13th annual Lumière Rouge Gala held Wednesday, September 16, 2015. Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
  
  
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  From left, John Ouellette, vice president of philanthropy at the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation, with Terry Matthews' daughter, Karen Sparks, from the Wesley Clover Foundation, and Brookstreet Hotel executive chef Clifford Lyness at the 13th annual Lumière Rouge Fundraising Gala. Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
  
  
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  Nathan Smith from Cushman & Wakefield and his wife, Cindy, pose with model Emily Taylor, whose long red gown doubled as a red carpet at the 13th annual Lumière Rouge fundraising gala. Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
  
  
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  From left, Brookstreet Hotel executive vice president and general manager Patrice Basille with Advance Business Interiors president Bill Toutant, co-organizer of the Keltic Cup Golf Tournament held at The Marshes Golf Club on Wednesday, September 16, 2015, in association with that evening's Lumière Rouge Gala. Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
  
  
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  Colleen Acharya at the Lumière Rouge Gala held at Brookstreet Hotel on Wednesday, September 16, 2015, with her husband, Dr. Sanjay Acharya, president of the medical staff at the Queensway Carleton Hospital, and Dr. Andrew Falconer, the hospital's chief of medical staff. Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
  
  
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  From left, Ernst & Young partner Jon Dervin, board chair of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation, alongside his competition, Mike Runia, a managing partner of sponsor Deloitte, at the 13th annual Lumière Rouge Fundraising Gala . Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
  
  
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  From left, Rideau Club executive chef Duane Lepine and the National Arts Centre's executive chef, John Morris, in action at the wild sea bass station while lending a hand to the Lumière Rouge fundraising gala . Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
  
  
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  Brookstreet Hotel cook Dave Beggs answered any questions guests had about the creative cuisine served at the 13th annual Lumière Rouge Gala held Wednesday, September 16, 2015 Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
  
  
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  TC & Co. Event Design had model Emily Taylor don a red gown that doubled as a red carpet, covering some six metres of floor, at Brookstreet Hotel's 13th annual Lumière Rouge Gala, held Wednesday, September 16, 2015. Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
  

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On display in the front lobby was a female model dressed in a gown that doubled as a red carpet, so long was the fabric that covered the floor (Matthews later insisted the young woman and her never-ending dress come join the party.)

The hotel’s 13th annual gala, presented in partnership with Matthews’ Wesley Clover Foundation and organized by a hard-working team of folks, was in support of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation (ORCF). It’s sharing part of the proceeds with the west-end Queensway Carleton Hospital.

This year saw Brookstreet bring in $105,000 for the ORCF and pass the $1 million mark in funds raised for local charities since Lumière began.

“We’re very grateful to be the recipient,” Linda Eagen, president and CEO of the ORCF, told Around Town at the $150-a-ticket event. She described the gala as a “unique” evening with “a charm all of its own.”

“There’s a different kind of energy and it fits who we are, because, as a foundation, we’re trying to energize the community into action,” said Eagen. She was referring in part to the successful coaching services the foundation has brought to Ottawa to assist people, without cost, through their cancer journey. “It takes people who are of a different mindset to take the first steps in supporting a new initiative like that, and Terry Matthews has been an innovator and outside-the-box thinker.”

Once again, guests had the chance to buy a luxury golf trip to Matthews’ Celtic Manor in Wales. Ottawa personality and live auctioneer “Stuntman” Stu Schwartz also fetched generous bids for the 100-level Wesley Clover hockey suite at a Senators versus Canadiens game, a stay at the Grand Isle Resort & Spa in Great Exuma, Bahamas, and a six-course chef’s table for 10 at Brookstreet’s Perspective’s Restaurant.

Carolyn001@sympatico.ca

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