Put on your Sunday best and break that fancy suit out of the closet. They will be needed next month when dozens of sports celebrities roll into town.
That’s right, on February 5th, the 53rd annual Siemens Conn Smythe Celebrities Dinner and Auction for Easter Seals will be held at Toronto’s Sheraton Centre. The Easter Seals Society raises money for children with physical disabilities, and approximately 1200 guests are expected to attend the posh event. Evidently, the soirée is aimed at those with cash to burn-tickets are $250 a pop.
“This is one of Canada’s largest and most successful fundraising events,” said Karen Petcoff, who is working in the media relations department for the event. “It usually raises a quarter of a million dollars each year.”
The money is generated from two sources: the tickets to get into the prestigious dinner, and the eye-catching auction of sports memorabilia donated by individuals and local teams.
“We are auctioning off some of the most enviable sports paraphernalia you are going to find” commented Petcoff.
CBC News anchor Peter Mansbridge will act as master of ceremony for the dinner and auction. Former Maple Leafs fan favourite Doug Gilmour is the honorary chair for the event and will be at the head of the head table. Other celebrity guests who are scheduled to accompany Gilmour at the centre of attention are former Leafs Darryl Sittler, Wendel Clark, Lanny McDonald and Ron Ellis, former Argo coach Leo Cahill, Argo legend Condredge Holloway, Donovan Bailey, jockey Sandy Hawley, and two-time Word Series champion manager Cito Gaston.
These athletes will get a multitude of attention this night, but they will not be the true stars of the evening. Easter Seals Ambassador Amber Pelzer, the 14-year-old representative for the many children who benefit from the Easter Seals foundation every year, will take centre stage in a room full of some of the greatest sports legends this city has ever known.
