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POGO board president Dr. Ronnie Barr.

citylife
Judy and Devon Brooks, both with Blo (Blow Dry Bar), which offered free touch-ups to guests hairstyles.

NATIONAL POST, SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2009

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Parties, Culture & Society

Jonathan Graff, Kaboose Inc., and Hannah Slan Graff.

Gala chair Dimitra Davidson and her husband, Michael, POGO gold sponsors.

Danna and David Horwood.

Hip, hoppin POGO

Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario
zanne was the honorary gala chair); gold sponsors Dimitra Davidson, gala chair, and her husband, Michael Davidson; after-party chair Justine Melman; POGO executive director Dr. Corin Greenberg; POGO medical director Dr. Mark Greenberg; POGO board president Dr. Ronnie Barr, sporting his famous plaid trousers, and board members Dr. Lawrence Jardine, Dr. Maru Barrera, and Patti Bambury. Among the POGO patrons were Anthony and Valerie Melman, Rick and Lynne Waugh, David Kassie and Susan Harris, Chuck and Libby Winograd, and Lynne and Ian Cleghorn. Other special guests included, from Tiffany & Co., Anne Leger Smith and Andrea Hopson, and from Global News, the lovely Anne Marie Mediwake, POGOs spokesperson, and medical reporter Beatrice Politi. We are so pleased with the support from our gala sponsors, attendees and volunteers, said Yakobson. Despite these challenging times, this years event was a huge success, raising approximately $375,000. The families who depend on financial assistance from POGO need our support now more than ever. ... We are so pleased that, with the support of the community, we are able to help reduce this burden, and make things just a little bit easier for these families. Over the past eight years, the POGO gala has raised $1.7-million to fund research and provide cancer care and support for children, survivors and their families.
Weekend Post amoryne@nationalpost.com

Melissa Cardosa and Dylan MacNamara.

AMORYN ENGEL

Cherie and Reid Stekel, president, Rostek Homes.

T
Robert Hiscox and Inge Spindel. Elle Palladini.

he eighth annual POGO gala got off to a rollicking start recently at the Liberty Grand in downtown Toronto. The event is a celebration of the courage of children with cancer and the achievements of the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO). It was A-listers all the way for this fete, overseen by blond bombshells Dimitra Davidson and Vanessa Yakobson. The fashionable set wore frocks plucked from the runways of Paris and Milan I spotted Christian Dior and Oscar de la Renta. Max Gotlieb was the big winner of the raffle, picking up some diamondencrusted bling by Tiffany & Co. The live auction was also a great success, with a Sotto Sotto champagne dinner package for 10 (served at home) going for $8,000 and a two-year lease on a Lincoln MKX fetching $18,000 . Bright lights in the crowd included Suzanne and Edward Rogers (Su-

Bruce Pinn and Debralee Goldberg, IFDS/International Financial Data Services, platinum sponsors.

Anthony and Valerie Melman.

Erin ChoiCormack.

PHOTOS BY GEORGE PIMENTEL

Patrick Rahme and Salvatore Leonetti.

Artist Liz Gallery and Matt Tedford, KPMG.

Carla Favre. Eric and Leah Weisz, Effort Trust. Shanea and David Rakowski.

Richard and Natalie Wachsberg, co-principal, Apollo Health and Beauty Care.

Justine Melman, chair of the After Party.

Lina and Jim DeGasperis, president, Con-Strada Construction.

Dr. Mark Greenberg, POGO medical director, and Dr. Corin Greenberg, POGO executive director.

Stacey and Shawn Kimel, K2 & Assoc.

Paul Pellegrini, Sussex Strategy Group, with his wife, Lisa, and Franco Palladini, president and CEO, Al Palladinis Pine Tree Ford Lincoln. Peter Frederick Bird and Andrea Hopson, VP, both with Tiffany & Co.

Debbie Osiel and Roger Rai, CORE Feature Animation.

POGO spokesperson Anne Marie Mediwake, Global News, and her husband, Darryl Konynenbelt. Lou and Marisa Rocca, owner, Sotto Sotto.

Sam Webster and Ellen McGrath.

Richard Bertrand and Nella DeLuca.

Jessica Fenton and Lexi Mitz.