Gordon Campbell misses a scheduled appearance in order to pose with Cindy Crawford
This town is so awash in wall-to-wall parties it’s sometimes hard to remember there’s also sports stuff going on as well. The opening of Ontario House on Saturday night saw B.C. business mogel Jimmy Pattison trading torch-carrying war stories with famed local bandleader Dal Richards, who at age 92 was the oldest person to carry the flame. (Pattison joked his run in Whistler was downhill; the youthful Richards boasted his kicked off at Robson Square with a 35-step climb.) Toronto chef Jamie Kennedy was also working the crowd—as were platters of his heritage pork.
A more fashion-minded bunch turned up at Opus Hotel for Mac’s party for the Dsquared2 designers, Dan and Dean Caten, the guys behind the fabulous opening ceremony costumes. The identical twins, dressed in his-and-his red jackets, jeans and black patent shoes, had spent the afternoon signing their limited-edition hoodies (carefully designed not to encroach on any official Olympic branding) for line-up crowds at Holt Renfew. The crush on hand to fete the Willowdale, Ont. natives included former Olympian Nancy Kerrigan, singers K-Os and Measha Brueggergosman and fashion maven Jeanne Beker.
Last night’s hot invite was Omega’s party at the downtown Fairmont Hotel for Cindy Crawford, one of the Swiss watchmakers “ambassadors” along with George Clooney, former astronaut Buzz Aldrin and Michael Phelps (the latter two will also be fronting Omega party/branding platforms later in the Games.) The guest list drew out Vancouver socialites and fashionistas who mingled with Premier Gordon Campbell, restaurateur Umberto Menghi and former Olympic gold medalist Sebastian Coe. David Lauren, son of Ralph, and his model girlfriend Lauren Bush, niece of George W., made a brief appearance, prominently attired in Ralph Lauren, the designer of the US team’s outfits. The crowd, who’d started gathering at 8:15, quaffed champagne while waiting for Crawford who arrived after nine, stayed for 45 minutes, and performed her duties with a professionalism so poised it bordered on the robotic—sort of like watching a long, lithe android wearing a Cindy Crawford mask. The wait meant that Campbell, who posed for a pic with the former supermodel, didn’t make his scheduled nine o’clock appearance at his own bash—the opening of British Columbia House on the fourth floor of the Vancouver Art Gallery, a block away. Further impeding his arrival were security blockades featuring a two-dozen motorcycle motorcade set up for the arrival of hotel guest US vice president Joe Biden.