WAS IT A JENNYRELLA DREAM?! Or did I really get all dolled up – circa 2019 (it still takes a village lol) to attend a “live” gala fundraiser at a fairytale worthy venue (Jardin de Royalmount Theatre) replete with oodles of glam guests turned out in their cocktail dinaotoire finest, all as enthusiastic as I was to spend a decidedly social soiree wining and chomping and schmoozing for a noble cause?
I did! It was no dream (just ask my derriere currently enjoying a little extra padding thanks to quintuple helpings of that decadent eggplant parm.)
After 20 months of all incarnations of pandemic life (which truth be told, hit me especially hard), this longtime Social Gal turned Sofa Gal was once again “back in the social saddle, “ as they say in these here parts, photographer in tow, beaming proud to be covering the return of the much-anticipated Neuro’s A Brilliant Night presented by BMO in collaboration with Banque National and CIBC in support of lifesaving brain cancer research.
Was it exactly like pre-pandemic-life?
Nope. How could it be? Sold out attendance respected regulation maximums; masks were donned at appropriate times; vaccine passports were a must for admission, dancing was a no-no, and the stunning event landscape awash in twinkling Tivoli lights also boasted sleek sanitizer stations.
Still, you couldn’t suppress the enthusiasm in the air, the palpable joy to be live once again, together, united, after such a surreal and devastating pause on life – and social life.
I have to say, wiping a tear as I write (sentimental gal is showing), it was pretty magical stuff and I take my fictitious hat (ahem tiara) off to the indefatigable organizing crew who brought the night to life, restoring its former glory in the face of considerable challenges, topping it all off with a tally reminiscent of the good ol days so hard to duplicate digitally: Close to a million raised for trajectory changing brain cancer research by Dr. Kevin Petrecca and his team.
For more on the evening, the Neuro and to donate, head to abrilliantnight.com.
