6th annual Spinal Chord! Gala to raise funds for spinal cord research

Now in its 6th year, the Spinal Chord! Gala is an elegant and fun event bringing together Vancouver’s Arts & Science communities.

This interdisciplinary event celebrates the achievements and supports the objectives of ICORD and the Vancouver Cantata Singers – two internationally recognized organizations doing outstanding work in their respective fields. This annual event gives both organizations an opportunity to come together, identify common ground and shared perspectives in their varied pursuits, and support each other in reaching their goals.

This special evening features superb music, fine wine, magnificently catered hors d’oeuvres, and good company. The award-winning atrium of the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre, the venue for the evening, features a wrap-around ramp that winds above a central open space below, offering one of the most amazing choral acoustics you’re likely to hear in any venue, anywhere.

With the exception of specific cash donations, all funds generated by this event are shared equally by both organizations.

A brief history of the Spinal Chord! Gala

Six years ago, Vancouver Cantata Singers began a broad search for unique, interesting and potentially new performance spaces. This search led them to the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre, a (then) brand new research building on the Vancouver General Hospital campus. The atrium of the Blusson Centre features a wrap-around ramp that winds above a central open space below, offering truly unique performance possibilities and magnificent acoustics.

One of the principal occupants of the Blusson Centre is ICORD (International Collaboration On Repair Discoveries.) ICORD is an interdisciplinary spinal cord injury research centre in the UBC Faculty of Medicine.

After exploring the needs and expectations of a science based research institution and a performing arts organization, the two organizations quickly became equal partners in a ground-breaking, and extremely successful fundraising initiative which they named (of course) Spinal Chord!. This now annual event brings together two entirely different communities: scientists and researchers, and VCS’s supporters and traditional music lovers, in mutual support of their outstanding works.

Each year attendance and the net proceeds for each organization have increased, sometimes dramatically. In 2013, the event welcomed more guests (more than 300) and raised more funds for the two organizations then at any prior event. The organizations’ also saw increased corporate support and more community partners, with many sponsors returning for their 6th year in a row (in addition to adding new ones).

Watch the video from past events:

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Spinal Chord! Gala

When: Saturday, November 1

Time: 7 p.m.

Where: Blusson Spinal Cord Centre – 818 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver

Tickets: $100 – buy online