[NegPhil]

Ski Press World.Com- 2008-01-16

Resort Roundup: Baldwins in Banff- Waterkeeper Alliance.



<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.skipressworld.com/newsDetail.php?id=24103&languageId=1&regionId=1&section=home&type=news&mode=read&filter=&sort=">http://www.skipressworld.com/newsDetail ... ter=&sort=</a><!-- m -->


Banff, Alberta (Ski Press)-Alec Baldwin will join brother William, while Oscar winner Susan Sarandon will attend with partner Tim Robbins as more than two dozen television, movie, and sports stars from across North America arrive in Banff this week for The Fairmont Banff Springs Sports Invitational in support of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Waterkeeper Alliance.

Organizers announced Tuesday Alec Baldwin, star of the current hit television show 30 Rock, has agreed to be the master of ceremonies Saturday January 19 at the gala dinner and concert at The Fairmont Banff Springs. The top Hollywood stars will also participate in fun-filled events outdoors at Sunshine Village Friday and Saturday where the public can easily watch the action.

The list of Hollywood stars continues to grow. Scheduled to join Mr. Kennedy as co-hosts are Emmy Award winner Kelsey Grammer, supermodel Christie Brinkley, Alicia Silverstone, Daryl Hannah, Dennis Franz and famous Canadians including Jason Priestley, Justin Trudeau, music legend Tom Cochrane, and Gord Downie from The Tragically Hip along with hockey legends Paul Coffey and Mike Richter. Many of the stars have already started to arrive.

[paulster2626]

ahh Banff. Memories....

[NegPhil]

This weekend's top 10 celebrity moments
Calgary Herald
Published: Sunday, January 20, 2008

Whether it's the majesty of the mountains or the beauty of the Banff Springs Hotel, Hollywood types let their guard down for this weekend's fundraiser. Here are a few of our favourite moments.

- Oscar winner Susan Sarandon looked on as her longtime love (and fellow Oscar winner) Tim Robbins played a hockey game on a rink just outside the lounge where dozens of celebs mingled Friday night. Robbins played with Olympic skier Karen Percy-Lowe, Daryl Hannah (Kill Bill), Tom Cochrane, former New York Ranger Mike Richter, Chad Lowe (24), Justin Trudeau,

Jason Priestley (90210), MP Lee Richardson and Calgary's Emmy Award-winning producer Chad Oakes (Broken Trail), who joked: "It was great to see these Americans know how to skate." Clever fans Luke Perry (90210), Corbin Bernsen (LA Law) and Alicia Silverstone (Clueless) cheered on the hockey teams and stayed warm by the outdoor fire pit.

- Midway through Thursday's opening night cocktail party, chefs burst out of the kitchen carrying an enormous chocolate cake that read "Happy Birthday RFK Jr." Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) and Fran Drescher (The Nanny) joined the crowd in a rendition of Happy Birthday as Kennedy blew out the candles.

- Actor William Baldwin (Dirty Sexy Money) and The Tragically Hip's Gord Downie were both spotted playing the role of doting dad. Baldwin, with his son Vance, and Downie, with three of his four kids, spent quality time with the youngsters at the hotel's outdoor pool.

- After getting into a mock fight during Friday night's game of pick-up hockey, Trudeau and Priestley raced one another down Saturday's Dual Giant Slalom course to a photo finish. Alec Baldwin, who is also known to be extremely competitive, caught an edge near the finish line and tumbled into safety fencing.

- Just days away from his 78th birthday, astronaut Buzz Aldrin -- the second man on the moon -- flew down the Dual Giant Slalom race course at Sunshine Village like he was on a rocket into space. While Aldrin caught his breath at the bottom of the hill, Mike Moynihan of Sunshine Village joked: "After flying jets and rocket boosters, going down a race course must be like watching paint dry." Aldrin modestly disagreed.

- After spending the entire day at the spa, Drescher and her entourage of girlfriends had to beat off a steady stream of inquiring bachelors as they sang along to old hits in Banff Springs lounge with piano player Michael Sicoly.

- Newly weds Jennifer Finnigan (Close to Home) and Jonathon Silverman (Weekend at Bernies) arrived early to the opening night cocktail party, enjoyed a glass of wine and scampered off to their room to do what newlyweds do.

- Veteran Banff-goers Ed Begley Jr. (Six Feet Under) and his wife Rachelle Carson joined first-timers Dennis Franz (NYPD Blue) and his wife Joanie Zeck in the mineral bath at the Willow Stream Spa

Saturday. Franz was soaking his muscles after spending each and every day on the ski hill.

- Alyson Hannigan (American Pie/How I Met Your Mother) was seen reading Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love and dishing with fellow actor Jennifer Finnigan (Close to Home) about the writers strike in Hollywood. Someone should get these two to the bargaining table.

- Alicia Silverstone (Clueless) got extra points for best novice skier on the hill Saturday. The actor/activist took to the slopes with husband Christopher Jarecki and was seen all over the mountain with a bright smile on her face.

<!-- e --><a href="mailto:aburroughs@theherald.canwest.com">aburroughs@theherald.canwest.com</a><!-- e -->


© The Calgary Herald 2008

[grimes]

Damn...I just got back from a week in Banff, I had heard the celebs were going to be at Sunshine Village on Friday, but I didn't know Gord was among those attending. I went to Lake Louise that day instead (the skiing is better there)...

[NegPhil]

Celebrities enjoy antics at Banff charity
Nick Lees, The Edmonton Journal


It was a good bench-emptying hockey brawl and at the centre, gloves flying, was Karen Percy-Lowe.

Jerseys were pulled off and into the fray jumped Oscar winner Tim Robbins (Mystic River); singer-songwriter Tom Cochrane and Daryl Hannah (Kill Bill), and would-be MP Justin Trudeau.

"We were just acting," said Percy-Lowe. "Last year's impromptu hockey game was so much fun that we thought we'd stage a couple of games this year."


The mock "fight" took place on a rink at the Fairmont Banff Springs Celebrity Sports Invitational.

Alec Baldwin (The Departed, The Good Shepherd) emceed the Saturday night gala and former child-evangelist Marjoe Gortner acted as auctioneer.

Some $900,000 was raised to support Robert F. Kennedy's Waterkeeper Alliance, fighting worldwide to clean up rivers and lakes and conserve water.

Few had hockey skates last year, but stars were told there would be games on the Friday and Saturday nights this year.

"It was mainly a Canadian sort of thing," said Percy-Lowe. "We even have red and black team jerseys now."

The Friday game ended about midnight, but it was after the witching hour before the game began Saturday.

The stars had gone to Sunshine Village to compete in a snowshoe-toboggan and cross-country ski races Friday and downhill slalom ski races Saturday.

Most of the money raised, $750,000, came from the live auction at the black-tie, salmon tartar-and-Alberta beef gala.

Gordon Downie, lead singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, raised a cool $100,000 by offering a concert in a private home.

PLENTY OF CELEBRITY GUESTS

"I believe that is the most ever raised by a single item at one of our auctions," said Toronto lawyer Matt Mattson, Canadian representative to the Waterkeeper Alliance board of directors.

"But all our celebrity guests were articulate about the cause they were supporting, particularly the Canadians."

Margaret Trudeau, her right arm in a sling, looked a tad uncomfortable at the dinner.

"I dislocated my arm in the last run of the day Friday," she said. "I should know better than to try and keep up with the Kennedy boys."

Skiing with the same competitive edge as his elder brother Robert, was Matthew Kennedy, a lawyer and Harvard University graduate.

An item that sold twice, for a total of $94,000, was a whitewater trip with Robert Kennedy Jr. on Chile's Futaleufu River. (A real steal: kayak lessons, hot tubs and the services of a masseuse were included.)

Kennedy was also happy when a family was offered a day of falconry with him -- he's a master falconer and former president of the New York State Falconer's Association -- and it sold for $60,000.

Golf with Wayne Gretzky at Ontario's Georgian Bay Club the day before the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic begins on the newest PGA stop, sold for $14,000.

MESSIER'S BEACH HOUSE

Bidding for a week at Mark Messier's brand new beach house at Runaway Hill Inn in the Bahamas was keen. Mark will try to be there. It fetched $18,000.

Lawyer Mattson is off on a one-week trip through Cree wilderness in Ontario's Arctic lowlands offered by author Joseph Boyden. It sold for $18,000.

"Boyden's debut novel, Three Day Road, won international acclaim for its depiction of Canada's First Nations and the contributions to the First World War," said Mattson.

"A trip through remote, fragile ecosystem is a dream."

Lesser mortals wouldn't have been able to lace up their skates after gathering around the stage to encourage former Doobie Brother Michael McDonald and his band. (One gentleman brandishing an open bottle of Patron tequila offered everyone a drink.)

But it was Downie, a minor league hockey goalie who played for an Ontario Championship-winning, bantam-level team in 1979, who lead the stars to the ice. An unpredictable game followed.

(The games are not part of the TV program that will be beamed to a North American audience of some 70 million.)

Oscar-winning Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking) was shooed off the ice for following her long-time partner, six-feet-five-inches-tall Robbins, around the ice with a video camera.

Former New York Rangers goaltender Mike Richter, thrice named to NHL All-Star teams, skated powerfully in his goalie skates.

And Jason Priestly (Beverly Hills 90210) looked like a real hockey player, while Alicia Silverstone (Clueless, Batman and Robin), a model since she was six, looked fantastic.

Tired after some heavy-duty skiing, Percy-Lowe, a double-bronze ski medalist at the 1988 Calgary Olympics, led cheerleading from the bench, along with husband and Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe, and friends, Edmonton lawyer Doug Goss and his wife, Provincial Court Judge Joanne Goss.

The game went until after 3 a.m.

<!-- e --><a href="mailto:nlees@thejournal.canwest.com">nlees@thejournal.canwest.com</a><!-- e -->