Gala
Date: April 17, 2021
Time: 6:30 pm -
The Gala went VIRTUAL!
For the first time ever, the annual gala for Hearth Place was held virtually. Over 160 guests were in attendance online the evening of Saturday, April 17th, to have some fun and support Hearth Place Cancer Support Centre. As people enjoyed their delicious dinner, host Tom Hayes led them on a cross country tour of Canada and Sommelier, Jay Whiteley, shared his knowledge of the wonderful wines made in our great nation. Fun was had with some Canadian trivia and a game of BINGO. Throughout the day and night guests were able to bid on fantastic silent auction items and purchase raffle tickets for the necklace below.
Thank you to our amazing sponsors, are great donors, and all who participated in the gala. All in all, it was a great evening and over $27,300 was raised for Hearth Place!
This beautiful 14kt Yellow Gold 20" Diamond Necklace valued at $2,180 and donated by Graziella Fine Jewellery was raffled off during the gala.
Tom Hayes - Emcee
| We are excited to have Tom Hayes, anchor/reporter/award-winning journalist, back for a second year as the emcee for the evening!
Tom is an international award-winning news journalist. He has been an anchor, reporter, producer, and managing editor with CTV, CityTV, and Global News in Toronto. Tom and his wife, Lynne, are proud residents of the Durham Region. With more than 30 years of experience in news, Tom has won many accolades from his peers and awards from prestigious organizations. Tom is the recipient of the Edward R. Murrow International Award for storytelling and was instrumental in changing Ontario’s liquor laws through his investigative series on date rape. The provincial government declared the changes to the provincial liquor laws as “The Hayes Amendment”. |
 |
Jay Whiteley
 |
Jay is a sommelier/assistant winemaker currently based in Prince Edward County. His love of wine started when he moved to Whistler and began working at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler. He took his passion of wine and moved to the UK where he worked with the Gordon Ramsay group in a One and Two Michelin Star Restaurant, The Savoy Grill and Petrus respectively.
Jay later moved to Vancouver and was part of the opening team at Hawksworth restaurant. There he helped to create a multiple award winning wine program that drew from his years of experience in London and Whistler. Later he moved to Toronto to be closer to family and take on new challenges in a larger market. There, he has been instrumental in building wine programs for different restaurant openings; Colette Grand Cafe, the reestablished Peter Pan Bistro as well as BlueBlood Steakhouse in Case Loma are among them. But his love of production has found Jay back in the cellar in Prince Edward County, a small wine region on the north shore of Lake Ontario. He has worked two vintages at Trail Estate and one with The Grange of Prince Edward County. Yet he still spends evenings in hospitality at Flame + Smith restaurant in Bloomfield. Recently, his love of native Italian Grapes has led Jay to study under Ian D’Agata and is currently one of four educators in Canada of Ian’s 3iC school. He has written in publications such as Eat Magazine and Good Food Revolution. |
Saturday Night Superstars
| We are excited to show a special guest performance from the Saturday Night Superstars. The Saturday Night Superstars have performed at our annual gala for five years and always get everyone up and dancing and having a good time!
Saturday Night Superstars is a 5-piece band from Toronto, Ontario playing songs from the 1960s to today’s best hits. While their members are varied in background, they have collectively over 100 years of experience on stage entertaining thousands. |
 |
Gold Sponsors
Karen Robertson, FMA, CIWM, CIM, FCSI – Investment & Wealth Advisor, Financial Planner
Bocking & Grieve Ltd.
