For a girl from Brooklyn, who’s been in Los Angeles since I was in my late teens, I’ve spent an awful lot of time in Canada. Mr. X’s family lived there since I first met them, and he’s done several plays and musicals there, as well. And as a college student living in Rhode Island, I made a few trips to Montreal, which was really exotic to us! That we could come back with their famous 222 pills, which I believe was code for \u201ccodeine,\u201d was a miracle to a girl with awful time-of-the-month cramps!<\/p>\n
I even watched the Oscars one year on a tiny black-and-white TV, crowded onto a single bed with about ten pals, at McGill University! And when I lived in Toronto for a summer, a proprietress of a shop in Yorkville even let me buy the dress off her back! So I have only great feelings toward the entire country. Those feelings came to the surface again when I visited this Oh Canada gifting suite, which featured products from only<\/em> Canada!<\/p>\n It was held at the gorgeous Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills. I always feel instantly classy upon entering the premises.<\/p>\n Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n As you can probably figure, we guests of multiple gifting suites often compare notes, and the first thing everyone said when they mentioned the Oh Canada Suite was how lovely the food was. It was truly the nicest spread at a suite EVER!!! Many of the lounges are just about the gifts, with no sustenance offered, but this one fed us royally.<\/p>\n Catered by the venue itself, this beautiful buffet featured one of the best Caesar salads I’ve ever had, generous pasta salad with mushrooms, three kinds of hearty sandwiches, (with the turkey being my favorite,) and several fresh fruits and scrumptious cookies for dessert. There was even a beverage buffet set-up on a separate table, with an accommodating staff member serving us.<\/p>\n This suite featured a smaller scale of actual gifts, as it was a new entry into the genre, so having a buffet of this magnitude got us guests to linger and mingle, which made it one of my new faves. It had a classy, peaceful vibe to it, rather than the usual frantic, get-what-you-can one.<\/p>\n Most Canadians I’ve ever met are pleasant and likable, and these sponsors were no exception. Every single one of them was from that country. They were all in one room, right next to each other, which made it easy for us to visit them all. The suite itself was stunningly decked-out with pink flowers and white couches. An artistic touch was that all the sponsor names were on uniform signs, which lent a communal air that’s not found in other suites. Leave it to our neighbors to the north to look out for each other!<\/p>\n Their charity, REACH<\/strong> (which stands for Research, Education, and Awareness for Children with Hirschsprung’s Disease, which affects the colon in insidious ways) was represented by Dr. Allan Goldstein, a kind pediatric surgeon from Boston, (what was a non-Canadian doing there?,) and his equally nice wife. He operates on a lot of these children, so it was a stroke of genius to have him be the one to talk to us about it. For some reason, (perhaps it was their kind, honest, non-pushy manner,) I paid more attention to what they<\/em> were saying than to reps of other charities at other suites. Celia’s take on it was this: \u201cDr. Allan Goldstein, along with a family whose son was born with the disease, established REACH in 2011. All the people involved \u00a0have the passion to educate the public about this disease. \u00a0I am aware now. \u00a0Thank you for that.\u201d We loved that they were giving out tee-shirts with the slogan \u201cShit Happens.\u201d What a great attitude for these people to have! Celia added, \u201cI will be wearing mine to help educate and direct people to this non-profit.\u201d www.reachhd.org<\/a><\/p>\n In general, this was more a \u201cmaking us aware of products from Canada\u201d suite than a \u201cgifting\u201d one. When I find out more about those companies, I’ll let you know. But the gifts that were<\/em> given on-site were lovely. Here are the highlights:<\/p>\n Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Hartmont Candle Company<\/strong>\u2014We were both impressed with this \u201cbeautiful display and presentation.\u201d Celia said, \u201cThe candles are in lovely containers that would work in any room.\u201d \u00a0We both had the same favorite\u2014it had \u201ca fragrance that reminds me of the ocean.\u201d We were happy that they also had flavored lip balms because ours were a tad chapped from licking our lips over the food there! \u00a0Celia declared they came in \u201cdelicious fragrances\u201d and made her lips \u201cfeel soft and silky.\u201d Mr. X has been sick since then, so I didn’t get to try my new lips out yet! Soon, though, fingers crossed! www.hartmont.com<\/a><\/p>\n Elman’s\u00a0Kosher Pickles<\/strong>\u2014<\/strong>We both loved that \u201cBite Me!\u201d is their catch-phrase! I suggested that they put them out by the buffet for all to enjoy with the other fare, and the results were outstanding. Everyone was munching on them with lunch. Celia not only said the \u201c juicy kosher dill pickles\u201d were \u201cscrumptious,\u201d but she gave the ladies who were repping the company her \u201cBest Dressed Award!\u201d\u00a0elmans.ca<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Bead-A-Bling Jewelry<\/strong>\u2014Celia, an artist herself, was impressed with this \u201cbeautifully beaded\u201d jewelry that’s \u201ccrafted intricately\u201d by Aboriginal Peoples in Canada, with designs from their culture. There were three artisans on-site, and each had a distinct flair. They let VIPs choose his or her own piece, and a pair of hoop earrings, designed by Jessica Meeches, that looked like cotton candy, had my name on them! www.beadabling.com<\/a><\/p>\n Janie Jewels<\/strong>\u2014This \u201cclever jewelry made from pop tops of cans\u201d caught Celia’s eye right away. She found the colorful earrings and \u201cother jewelry made from found objects,\u201d (like popped balloons!,) to be \u201cthoughtful and charming.\u201d I concur! www.janiejewelscanada.com<\/a><\/p>\n Farmery<\/strong>\u2014I agreed with Celia that it was \u201ca bit early in the day for us to taste Manitoba’s own locally grown brew,\u201d \u00a0but she said the \u201cbright orange container made it look inviting.\u201d She loved that this company \u201calso makes Skin Tonic, a handcrafted artisan soap,\u201d and marveled that \u201cbeer and soap could be made from the same ingredients!\u201d She emailed me about the soap, \u201cTried it, loved it.\u201d The beer tasting will come on a week-end! www.farmery.ca<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Photo](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IMG_9054.jpg\")
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