In Photos: Parachute Canada's inaugural Parachute Gala was a star-studded evening

The inaugural Parachute Gala went off with a bang, bringing out plenty of Canadian star power including the one and only Canadian funny man, Martin Short, and even The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, himself on May 20th, 2015 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. More rare Canadian appearances included Jason Priestley, Deborah Cox, Lawrence Gowan (STYX) and new Toronto Police Chief, Mark Saunders.

Singer JRDN put on a performance befitting of the occasion including a special, new song that he premiered.

Martin Short was electric on stage, showing us why he’s a Canadian comedy legend. One memorable line, among many was “It’s better to have loved a ‘short’ than to never have loved a t’all.”

He also sang and danced on a piano, pondering how to act like a man while sitting on the piano while crossing his legs.

Martin Short ponders how to sit on the piano like a man, as he crosses his legs

Classic 90’s favourite, Deborah Cox, was still singing strong as ever. Deborah Cox channeled Whitney Houston and it was quite a performance you must witness. She will be involved in a broadway musical The Bodyguard, named after Houston’s signature classic movie.

The goal of this special fundraising gala evening, the first of it’s kind for Parachute Canada, was to “Stop the Clock” and spread awareness of preventable injuries. The evening celebrated the life’s work of Dr. Charles Tator, who is an advocate of preventable injuries.

Dr. Charles Tator

We heard heartfelt testimonials from parents that lost children to victims that have had their lives changed foreer. Needless to say, that brought guests to sniffles and tears. You could hear a pin drop. It was really touching and the fact that these injuries affected the lives just not of the victims, but also of the victim’s families and loved ones.

Then to channel those stories into actionable hope, guests participated in a live auction to benefit Parachute Canada’s efforts to spreading awareness of preventable injuries, particularly brain injuries and children in sports.