40th Anniversary Gala Newsletter - CCAR

4 0 T H A N N I V E R S A RY G A L A
C E L E B R AT I N G T H E PA RT N E R S H I P O F N AT I O N S A N D C U LT U R A L A C H I E V E M E N T
J A C Q U E L I N E D E S M A R A I S A N D F R A N K O . G E H RY H O N O R E D
On April 30, 2014, the Council for Canadian American Relations
(CCAR) celebrated 40 years of achievement at a private club in
New York City. More than 300 guests attended from across Canada
and the United States. The event was held under the High Patronage
of the Ambassador of Canada to the United States, The Honourable
Gary Doer, and the Ambassador of the United States to Canada, The
Honourable Bruce A. Heyman, and in the presence of the Consul General
of Canada in New York, John F. Prato.
The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney spoke at length of the friendship between Canada and the U.S. who share what he called, “the longest
and most peaceful border in the world.” CCAR’s Co-Chairs Ellen Kratzer
and Gail O’Brien added: “The Council is committed to strengthening the
dynamic bonds between Canadians and Americans, and to providing
future support to arts organizations in both countries.”
Peter Gelb, General Manager, Metropolitan Opera; The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney;
Honoree Jacqueline Desmarais; Gary Doer, Ambassador of Canada to the
United States
The evening’s ceremonies included the presentation of the inaugural Award for Distinguished
Contributions to the Arts in Canada and the United States to Jacqueline Desmarais, patron of the
arts and benefactor of young musicians, and to Frank Gehry, iconoclastic architect and design
visionary. Portions of the funds raised from the evening were directed to the Jacqueline Desmarais
Foundation, and to the Turnaround Arts initiative (an affiliate of the President’s Committee on the
Arts and the Humanities) on behalf of Frank Gehry.
Frank O. Gehry, Honoree; Bruce A. Heyman,
Ambassador of the United States to Canada
John F. Prato commented on the Consulate’s partnership in co-presenting the Awards: “For four
decades, the Council for Canadian American Relations has powerfully underscored the extraordinary
and multi-faceted Canada-U.S. relationship by supporting cultural institutions on both sides of the
border and providing a forum for ongoing dialogue that has continued to strengthen the already
powerful bonds between our two countries. We are very proud to be partnering with the Council
on this new initiative.”
The Awards help fulfill CCAR’s mission in honoring the cultural
achievement and the leadership of those who have made a
significant impact in Canada and in the United States. In addition
to the Awards, CCAR’s special programs provide forums to engage
in broader dialogue, with a view to strengthening the bonds
between the two nations.
In presenting the Award to Frank O. Gehry, recently appointed
Ambassador of the United States to Canada, Bruce A. Heyman,
remarked: “To get to honor a great Canadian-American, with
roots in two of the most impressive cities the world has to offer,
Toronto and Los Angeles - this is a great moment to consider
the friendship we have as two nations. We talk a lot about our
differences, but sometimes it is what we share that matters
more. Our countries are both lands of immigrants, grown out
of diversity and strengthened by a belief that we all should be
given the chance to express ourselves.”
Top row left to right: John F. Prato, Consul General of Canada, New York; John J. Veronis;
Galen W. Weston; Mila Mulroney; The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney; Ambassador Bruce A. Heyman;
Middle row: Ambassador Gary Doer; Lauren Veronis; The Hon. Hilary M. Weston; Ellen
Kratzer; Front row: Gail O’Brien; Jacqueline Desmarais; Frank O. Gehry; Jessica London;
Audrey and David Mirvish
Mr. Mulroney also spoke of Jacqueline Desmarais’s remarkable accomplishments as an “Ambassador” of music to both countries, a sentiment
echoed by Peter Gelb, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera, who
recounted Mrs. Desmarais’s significant contributions to the Met, and of the
many Canadians represented as both featured artists or employed with
the company. The Ambassador of Canada to the United States, Gary Doer,
formally presented her with the Award.
The evening’s Gala Co-Chairmen were Audrey and David Mirvish and
Lauren and John J. Veronis, and Honorary Gala Co-Chairmen were former
Prime Minister of Canada, The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney and
Mrs. Mila Mulroney, and The Honourable Hilary M. Weston and W. Galen
Weston. Among the guests were diplomats, artists, cultural and business
leaders, and society figures, including Michael Audain, Ashleigh Banfield,
Aszure Barton, Geoff Beattie and Amanda Lang, The Honourable Lucien
Robert Lepage; Julie Jacobson; L. Jacques Ménard
Bouchard, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bronfman, Zita Cobb,
Mr. and Mrs. Rupert Duchesne, Dee Dee Eustace,
James D. Fleck, Peter Gelb, Ambassador and Mrs. David
Jacobson, Phyllis Lambert, Robert Lepage, Mr. and Mrs.
Gordon Nixon, Laura Rapp and Jay Smith, Mr. and Mrs.
John Rae, Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Schwarzman, Ambassador and Mrs. Kenneth Taylor, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Stella,
Mr. Matthew Teitelbaum and Ms. Susan Cohen.
The evening included musical performances by young
Canadian singers and musicians, including virtuoso cellist
Stéphane Tétreault, all of whose careers have been furthered by the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation. Singers
dressed as Royal Canadian Mounties performed a medley
of Canadian and American popular songs. The menu featured
culinary specialties from Canada and the United States.
CNN’s Ashleigh Banfield
The Hon. Hilary M. Weston, Honorary Gala
Co-Chairman; Peter Herrndorf, President
and CEO, National Arts Centre
Since its creation in 1972 (originally as American Friends of
Canada) by David Rockefeller and the late Prime Minister
of Canada, The Right Honourable Pierre Elliott Trudeau,
brought together by the late Bluma Appel, CCAR has
served as an ‘open door’ for dialogue and understanding
between Canada and the United States though its support
of the arts. CCAR represents a consortium of donors and
more than 100 cultural beneficiary institutions ranging in
size and scope. Grantees have included the Art Gallery
of Ontario, MoMA, the Canadian Opera Company, the
Metropolitan Opera, and many more. Beginning in 2013,
CCAR launched a new series of events celebrating CanadianAmerican collaborations through the arts to provide even
greater support for cultural organizations in the two countries.
Madeleine Desmarais; Stephen Schwarzman; Nannette and Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien;
Christine Schwarzman
For further information: www.ccar-nyc.org
Photos courtesy of Patrick McMullan Company
40th Anniversary Gala Mounties