It was an event that had several winners, but the biggest one was the Children’s Wish Foundation.
All Ottawans were invited to the event, held at the Horticultural Building at Lansdowne Park, a venue donated for the evening to the diplomatic community by Mayor Jim Watson and Ottawa 2017.
“The Ottawa Diplomatic Association decided to organize this event,” said Honduran Ambassador Sofia Cerrato, vice-president of the Ottawa Diplomatic Association. “We invited all the diplomatic missions accredited to Ottawa to participate [by providing food from their countries]. The ODA is looking after the expenses and we’re asking people who attend to donate to the Children’s Wish Foundation.”
The ODA advertised through Ottawa 2017’s Ottawa Welcomes the World initiative and through the City of Ottawa. Cerrato was pleased with the turnout.
“We’re always trying to help the Children’s Wish Foundation,” the ambassador said. “It’s one of our favourite charities.”
Ian Smith, who sits on the national board of the Children’s Wish Foundation, said it was a wonderful opportunity for the charitable organization to talk about its mandate.
“Our partnership with the ODA has been great,” Smith said. “At the ODA’s annual ball, we’ve twice been their [charitable] recipient. The ambassador of Honduras is a huge champion of ours.”
Smith said the Lansdowne event, which raised $1,795, was more about awareness.
“Tonight is not about the dollars,” he said. “It’s about the connections we’re trying to make in the community. When you do events like this, the embassies often invite their communities so they can learn more about what we do.”
Several embassies and high commissions participated in the event, including the United Arab Emirates, which provided its world-class dates; Thailand, which offered its crowd-pleasing pad Thai; China, which was dishing out kung pow chicken and dumplings; Indonesia, which provided visitors with exotic sweets; and Honduras, which offered tuna ceviche. Other participants included Afghanistan, Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, Pakistan and Armenia, just to name a few. Kosovar Ambassador Lulzim Hiseni, and his wife, Fiona, did all the cooking for their booth.
Watson, who spoke at the event, thanked the diplomats and also the people of Ottawa who came out to support the Children’s Wish Foundation.
