About Last Night with Fred Lee: Night of a Thousand Stars and Chinatown Foundation Gala

Patrons came out in spades to preserve Chinatown and support the future of surgery.

Night of a Thousand Stars

The EventVancouver General Hospital and UBC Hospital Foundation’s Night of a Thousand Stars, presented by Telus, is an opportunity to raise a glass to visionaries and health-care professionals working to improve the health and well-being of British Columbians. The gala-do was Vanhattan’s biggest party of 2017.

The CauseThe 22nd staging saw more than 900 business, community and health-care leaders convene at the Vancouver Convention Centre to raise over $5.95 million—a record-breaking haul—to support cancer care and innovation, bringing the next generation of surgical robotics to VGH.

The ChampionPhilanthropist Darlene Poole led the way, sparkplugging the extraordinary night with a $1.97 million gift to realize the technical upgrade needed by VGH. Poole and her late husband, Jack, who succumbed to pancreatic cancer, were instrumental in bringing the first robot, named Jack, to the city.

Chinatown Gala

The PartyFast becoming a leading date on the social circuit, the Chinatown Foundation Gala packed 750 guests into the Hotel Vancouver ballroom for its sophomore running of an event created to help preserve the district’s cultural heritage.

The RingleaderCarol Lee, daughter of developer and philanthropist Bob Lee, is the force behind Chinatown’s revitalization. In addition to purchasing key buildings and businesses in the historic part of town, the UBC and Harvard grad created the Chinatown Foundation to revitalize the once-bustling area.

The PlayersLee, the CEO of Linacare, enlisted powerhouses Carole Taylor and Leslie Diamond to lead the charge, and Wallace Chung, Jacqui Cohen, Sam Feldman, Robert Ho, Paul Lee, Phil Lind, Brandt Louie, Joy MacPhail and Paul Wong to support the cause. The red-hot night raised $1 million.