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Taste BC Delights Vancouverites, Raises Dollars for BC Children’s Hospital

Published January 26th, 2009 in Success Stories in PR | No Comments »

Vancouver is known for having the best that life has to offer and it makes perfect sense to that its citizens would want to celebrate that fact. No surprise then that Liberty Wine Merchants’ second annual Taste BC event, which raises a glass to local food and drink in support of a worthy cause, was packed with happy sponsors and guests.

Held Thursday at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Taste BC 2009 drew 650 people as the elite in British Columbia’s food and beverage industry gathered to raise money for the BC Children’s Hospital – Oak Tree Clinic. Event goers indulged in tastings from some of the finest restaurants, wineries, breweries and cheese purveyors in BC.

Liberty, which has six locations across the Lower Mainland, launched Taste BC in 2008 after successfully running the BC Wine and Oyster Festival for 13 years. All proceeds from that event were also donated to the Oak Tree Clinic, which specializes in providing care and services to sufferers of HIV/AIDS. The funds raised from the inaugural Taste BC event and its predecessor totaled $159,515.77.

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Air Canada Sucks Joy Out of Holidays

Published January 7th, 2009 in News Hits | No Comments »

Maybe Air Canada thought it was on a holiday, not its passengers. How else can you explain the bizarre actions, and inactions, by Canada’s largest airline during the past two weeks?

In the face of unprecedented extreme weather in Canada’s west coast, Air Canada drowned in incompetence and now faces a crisis-management situation that would seem daunting to any public relations professional.

The Victoria Times-Colonist, the newspaper of record in British Columbia’s capital, called Air Canada’s performance “atrocious” in a scathing editorial published on Monday. Among the violations of good customer relations was a hard-to-fathom episode on an airplane scheduled to depart from Vancouver to Toronto on a flight that usually takes a little less than five hours. But the passengers of that flight were grounded for 12 hours, stuck on a plane while crew members refused to let them get off.

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‘Centigrade’ Thrills the Leo Awards, Wins Best Short Drama and Best Actor

Published May 25th, 2008 in PR News | 3 Comments »

Colin Cunningham arrives at the Leo Awards on Saturday with girlfriend Brianne McQuair while ‘Centigrade’ picture editor Jonathan Tyrell (background) looks on. (Photos by Julia Pelish)

Another awards show, another big night for Team Centigrade.

The thriller snagged two more Leo Awards on Saturday night, including Best Short Drama. Colin Cunningham, who won Best Direction on Friday, took home Best Performance by a Male as “Centigrade” came away with five Leos in the Short Drama category during the two-night showcase at the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver.

Producers Madison Graie and Derrick Garland picked up the top category prize for “Centigrade”, which continued its impressive run of achievements.

The film qualified for Academy Awards consideration in March when it won Best Narrative Short at the Cinequest Film Festival. It’s also been selected for screening at Cannes Short Film Corner, the Toronto Film Festival and the Jackson Hole Film Festival, among other places.

“We never expected this,” said Cunningham, who made his directorial debut with this movie. “We hoped and we prayed that we could make a good film and hoped that people would appreciate it, at the most, really. To go where it’s gone. … You know, here’s a little short film and it’s helped break us out of the box a little bit.”

In their two decades of collaboration, Elevation PR clients Cunningham and Graie have relied on toil, teamwork and talent. Their past efforts contributed heavily to the success of “Centigrade”, Graie noted. “We’re very honest. We have an acting background, both of us, we have a critical eye for each other. That becomes invaluable as a working tool,” said Graie, who also starred in “Centigrade”.

The other statues “Centigrade” picked up at the British Columbia Film and Television Industry Awards were for make-up (Jane Dancose) and overall sound (Real Gauvreau) in short drama.

PHOTOS: Colin Cunningham shows his appreciation for his Leo Award for Best Direction (second from top) and Madison Graie arrives on the red carpet before taking home the Best Short Drama prize.

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