Tickets now on sale for this year’s Passions at the Dr. Peter Centre

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This year’s Passions is the biggest yet, with 24 of Vancouver’s top restaurants, a caterer and a food cart all coming together for one unforgettable event!

Over the past eight years, Passions, the annual fundraising gala at the Dr. Peter Centre, has rightfully earned a reputation as one of Vancouver’s top events for lovers of great food and wine, as the city’s top chefs come together to support a worthy cause.

This year, Passions will be bigger and better than ever, with more restaurants (just when you thought they couldn’t squeeze in any more), a cocktail and canapé pairing station, a food cart and a caterer!

24 restaurants will betaking part in this year’s event. Returning restaurants include Cibo, Cin Cin, Chambar, Coast, Crave on Main, Diva at the Met, El Barrio, Fraiche, the Kambolis Group, LeGavroche, La Terrazza, Market at the Shangri La, MIX the Bakery, O’Doul’s, The Observatory, Oru at the Pacific Rim, Provence and Tojo’s. Newcomers to the event include The Apron at the Wall Centre Westin, Ensemble, Hapa Umi, Hawksworth, Maenam and West. To reflect the changing landscape of Vancouver’s culinary scene, a street-side food cart will be greeting guests as they arrive, courtesy of Fresh Local Wild.

The event will once again feature wines courtesy of New Zealand Winegrowers and a new additionthis year will be a cocktail and canapé pairing station courtesy of Kale & Nori and The Keefer Bar.

Another first for thisyear will be a pre-event champagne reception where guests can sip bubbly asthey preview auction items, mix and mingle with event hosts and Dr. Peter’s friends and family, and enjoy scrumptious canapés from The Lazy Gourmet. Only 50 tickets will be available for the reception.

This year’s event will be hosted by Global TV’s Sophie Lui and Jay Janower, and CBC Radio’s fabulous Fred Lee will return as auctioneer. Music for the evening will be provided by Sangre Moreno and Passions’ guests will once again be wowed by the high-flying acrobatics of Circus Aerials.

Passions – A Benefit for the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation

Date: Sunday, September 11th, 2011

Time: Champagne Reception, 5 pm to 6 pm

Main Event, 6 pm to 9 pm

Where: Dr. Peter Centre

Address: 1110 Comox Street, Vancouver BC

Tickets: $300 – general admission & champagne reception (only 50 available)

$200 – general admission

Available at www.drpeter.org or by calling 604-331-5086.

About the Dr. PeterAIDS Foundation

Since 1992, the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation has continued the legacy of Dr. Peter Jepson-Young. The Dr.Peter Centre opened its doors in 1997 and cares for people living with HIV/AIDS. Operating a day health program and a 24-hour residence with palliative care and respite care services, it is the only program of its kind in Canada and is recognized as a leader in HIV/AIDS care. For more information on the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation, the Dr. Peter Centre, and Passions, please visit www.drpeter.org.

About Passions

The history of Passions traces back to 2003, to a small charity cooking class at Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks. A year later in 2004, the event was moved to the Dr. Peter Centre and christened “Passions.” Organized by Nathan Fong, the inaugural event featured nine chefs, 100 attendees and raised $7000. Under Nathan’s continued stewardship, Passions has since tripled in size and has become one of Vancouver’s most popular food and wine events. The 2010 event featured 21 chefs, 300 attendees and raised over $100,000. In total, Passions has raised over $600,000 since 2004.