An Elegant Night Giving Thanks At The Theatre

All photos courtesy of Maria Vartanova.

Saturday night, August 15, 2026, saw the theatre transformed once again into a truly elegant venue for a a celebratory event – the Second Annual OLT Donor and Volunteer Appreciation Gala coupled with the presentation of this year’s esteemed Cornerstone inductees.

The invitees (about 125 in all) arrived dressed in elegant cocktail or formal attire and in the immortal words of Billy Crystal on SNL “everyone certainly looked marvelous”.  Hors d’oeuvres, sparkling wine and great conversation kicked off the evening.

We all then moved into the auditorium and the evening commenced with a welcome address from our President Albert Lightstone. He thanked all our volunteers, donors, staff and our sponsors. He singled out and recognized in the audience (and those not being able to make it) Amy Friesen-Tea and Toast,  John Laframboise -Kelly Funeral Homes by Arbor Memorial, and our newest sponsor Shawn and Gabrielle Bellefeuille – Retirement by Design. Also, he took the opportunity to personally thank some of our suppliers  and colleagues – Jamie Offrey-CANSPC, Keith Nuthall- DOCA, Rob Johnstone-Kanata Theatre, the team from Rideau Street BIA,  Carolyn Borer-Roll Her Sleeves, Siegfried Schleich our printer, and Angel from Alco Janitorial.

In the welcome speech we also acknowledged the challenges that Centrepointe Theatre is experiencing after being closed out due to the recent flood and we wish them well and look forward to their return in the near future.

We were also privileged to have our City Ward 12 Rideau Vanier Counceller Stephanie Planet give a few words on the importance that the theatre is to our community. Everyone was reminded that Stephanie actually had a walk on roll as the camera person in 5 Alarm a few years back.

Board of Directors member Venetia Lawless gave out special recognition awards to two recipients – Kevin Schneider and Val Bogan  – for their tremendous ongoing work and dedication, most notably the ensuring of an army of volunteers at the ready for each show and the alignment of all the moving parts to get show programs printed for all 9 shows on time.

Volunteer Committee Chair Linda Webster presided over the Cornerstone award recipients’ announcements. The Cornerstone was established as part of our 100thanniversary celebrations to recognize and acknowledge the contribution made by select volunteers who have gone above and beyond to make the OLT the thriving community organization that it is today; they are the human cornerstones of the theatre.

This year’s recipients were:

  • Monica Browness  (presented by Barbara Merriam)
  • Billi Burritt (posthumously presented by Jane Morris)
  • Brian Cano  (presented by Val Bogan)

You can read their bios in the Cornerstone section of our website.

To end the formal presentations, Season Planning Committee Chair Jane Morris unveiled the 2027 season to the oohs, ahhs and applause of the audience. Please remember that this is a shhh reveal for this audience only as that the official launch will only be in a few weeks.

The party continued back in the upper lobby with more delicious food and entertainment by the wonderful local band The Reuben Kincaid Trio until the wee hours of the next morning.

The Reuben Kincaid Trio

We want to give a very special shout-out to Linda Webster, Venetia Lawless and Chelsey Prince for planning and organizing the Gala along with their team of Jane Morris, Katie Thorresan, Olivia Brown, Denise Shannon, Lindsay Laviolette, Sharon Bernbaum, Barbara Meriam, Susanna Doherty, Nancy Hogan, Val Bogan, Josh Sparks, Phil Merriman, Mike Kelly, Maria Vartanova, Jude McCormick and her son Jason.

 Select photos included below. Click here to see the full photo album.