The 2009 Ottawa Gala was yesterday and as always it was the place to be. This is a semi-formal charity ball bene­fiting the Fund for a New Generation. This year’s theme was the Golden Age of Glamour.

The evening started out with some live enter­tainment including both ballroom and swing dancing…

…and some jazz in the VIP room.

A little later, a fashion show featuring clothing inspired by the Hollywood classics:

Then the Conference Center was trans­formed into the biggest dance club in Ottawa:

There were tons of candids taken throughout the night; the full set of images is here if you want to find yourself ? See you next year!

I had the honour and priv­ilege to photo­graph the first Diva Foundation awards gala tonight. The mission statement of the foun­dation is to recognize outstanding contri­bu­tions to women’s health and well being. The first award winner was Maureen McTeer, pictured here with her husband Joe Clark.

The list of accom­plish­ments that Ms McTeer has achieved is too long for a simple blog post, but (to put it mildly) she is immi­nently deserving of the recog­nition. The award includes a specially designed pin, and a cheque, donated to create a Chair in Women?s Clinical Health Research at the Shirley E. Greenberg Women?s Health Centre at the Ottawa Hospital. She also received a framed copy of the congrat­u­latory letter from Micha?lle Jean, the Governor General.

She was intro­duced by the Right Honourable Beverly McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada, and (if I may say so) a pretty fun person to be around.

…Mike

Last night was the Ottawa Gala. This is the fifth year I have photographed it and I think this was the best yet!

The Gala is a semi-formal ball, complete with live enter­tainment, prizes, and a great dance club atmos­phere. The VIP lounge is where most people started off the night, enjoying the great food and open bar.

This was one of the prizes: a $7,000 diamond ring donated by Howard Jewelers!

This years theme was “Through the Looking Glass.” There were jugglers dressed up as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum…

…a contor­tionist…

…even an ultra­violet dancer

This was followed of course by the tracks laid down by DJ Select and DJ Magnificent!

If you missed it this year, make you plans now to attend next year! It’s a great way to benefit a great charity

…Mike

The gala was a blast as usual and we were so happy to have the oppor­tunity once again to be the event photog­ra­phers! The James Bond fashion show, texas-hold-em tables in the Daniel Craig Casino, the VIP room with great food and an open bar, a fencing demon­stration and of course the party with DJ Select and DJ Magnificent bringin the house down! I look forward to this event every year, and it never fails to disap­point

I don’t have a number yet on how much money was raised, but when I find out I’ll let you all know!

The photo hilights for this years gala are here. Previous years are available too: 2004 2005 2006.

Enjoy!

…Mike

Evil-doers beware…this year’s Ottawa Gala has the secret agent flava all wrapped up! Check it out and we’ll see you there!

…Mike