On Saturday, November 23, we hosted our annual celebration to honour, serve, and indulge in Canada’s impressive bounty. Attendees donned plaid and dined on a uniquely Canadian meal prepared by renowned chefs, including members of the Canoe family and special guests. It was a memorable night of conversation and camaraderie in support of first responders.

A Unique Feast

To create the menu, our own Chefs Ron McKinlay, Raffaele Stea, Roderick Tomiczek, and John Horne were joined by Chefs Massimo Piedimonte of Cabaret l’Enfer and Rafael Covarrubias of Hexagon. The meal was thoughtfully composed using wild-caught Canadian game and fish from our own backyard. Dishes included elk heart tartare with salted currants, mushrooms, and sourdough; New Brunswick wild striped bass served with mole verde, hoja santa, and dill weed; and rabbit à la royale with barbequed turnips and red wine.

Supporting First Responders

Proceeds from this year’s Canoe Wild event were donated to Runnymede Health Centre’s First Responders Post-Traumatic Stress Injury Rehabilitation Treatment and Assessment Centre. Working to provide rehabilitative care and empowerment for first responders and their families, the centre significantly improves the lives of police, firefighters, paramedics, and nurses with Post-Traumatic Stress Injuries (PTSI) and Occupational Stress Injuries (OSI).

Canadian Art for a Cause

We were honoured to auction six pieces of art at the event. Three of them, titled Gunas and the Halibut, Killer Whale, and Story Teller, were original pieces by Norman Tait, a gifted carver of the Nisg̱a’a Nation. They were donated by the family of Lucinda Turner (1958–2002), a vocal advocate against fraudulent Indigenous art who apprenticed under and collaborated with Tait for over 26 years. After attending Canoe Wild in 2023, Turner’s daughter offered to donate rare pieces from her mother’s private collection, hoping the works would find new homes where their rich ties to Indigenous history would be appreciated.

The other three pieces, titled Locus; Charging, Radiation, Another Night Out; and A Late Lunch on the Grass, were created by Canoe’s own tenured server Alex J. Marks. He is a contemporary Canadian/American painter who graduated from OCAD University’s Drawing and Painting program. Marks believes art has the power to heal, inspire, and bring comfort. He was incredibly inspired by this year’s charity of choice wanted to make a small but meaningful contribution to the healing of those on the front lines.

Thanks to our generous donors and patrons, we raised another $5,150 for the Rehabilitation Treatment and Assessment Centre. We are also incredibly grateful for our sponsors, Closson Chase Vineyards and Dillon’s Distillery, and would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all those who joined us.

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