MPI Ottawa Festive Dinner Travels to Narnia

It was a cold winter’s day on Tuesday, December 10, 2019 as MPI Ottawa Chapter members and guests came together at the newly renovated Sheraton Ottawa Hotel to celebrate the festive season. This year’s theme was inspired by the children’s classic book series, The Chronicles of Narnia. Upon arrival, guests were directed to the 17^th floor of the hotel where they were greeted at the registration desk. Up a final set of stairs, the cocktail reception took place in the ceiling-to-floor windowed penthouse where the theme was evident with white, icy decor and lighting. Surrounding the perimeter of the room was an array of delectable appetizers that attendees could sample at their leisure. From a roasted suckling pig action station and seafood selections to a vodka garden featuring unique cocktails, guests were able to mingle and nibble before being swept down to the main ballroom for dinner in a winter wonderland setting. Invited to enter the room through a “wardrobe”, attendees were enveloped inside the forest of
Narnia.

Emcees for the evening, Brent Beatty and Jennifer Beatty, took their roles seriously and were costumed as characters from the series: Professor Digory Kirke and Jadis the White Witch, respectively—foreign accents and all! Before dinner, Chapter President Allison Collins addressed the room, followed by the event co-chairs Heather Lockwood, CMP and Carolyn Leslie, CMP. The Sheraton described the delicious four course meal as inspired by passages in the novels and provided a copy of the menu inside a miniature wardrobe at each place setting.

A special thank you to the event sponsors for the evening:

Motivator Partner: Discover Halifax

Registration Partner: D.E Systems

Host Venue: Sheraton Ottawa Hotel

In-Kind Enhancer Partner: Freeman Audio Visual

In-Kind Décor Partner: Mastermind Event Rentals

In-Kind Entertainment Partner: Ottawa Special Events

Throughout dinner, guests were surprised by a variety of musical performances. Given some song suggestions at their tables, guests were invited to carol using the karaoke machine. Participants delivered some clever industry-specific versions of holiday classics such as Santa Claus is Coming to Town rewritten as MPI is Coming to Town. Every attendee was given a pine tree sapling to be planted in 2020 to symbolize healthy growth within our communities and collaboration to bloom together in the new year.

And finally, a BIG THANK YOU goes to the members of the organizing committee for all their hard work and dedication to this evening. The goal was to create an atmosphere that encouraged celebration of 2019, and they certainly delivered!

Heather Lockwood, CMP – Co-Chair (HPL Meetings & Events)
Carolyn Leslie, CMP – Co-Chair (Community Foundation of Canada)
Katherine Craig (CHEO Foundation)
Andrew Horsfield (Lord Elgin Hotel)
Amanda Lewicki (Sheraton Ottawa Hotel)
David Manias (The Metcalfe Hotel)
Alice Parnis (AV-Canada)
Anthony Vasconcelos (Les Suites Hotel)

Article written by Katherine Craig, CHEO Foundation

Article edited by Melanie Hudson, National Association of Federal Retirees