BioWare at the Snowflake Gala 2002

By Tom Ohle Jan 7, 2003

For the sixth straight year, the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation held its Snowflake Gala. This year's event was held at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, and in total, it raised $275,000 to help sick and injured children. The black-tie family event featured a silent auction, which raised over $67,000, a gourmet dinner, and a dance. BioWare acted as a Program Sponsor for the event, sponsoring the BioWare KidZone and BioWare Xtreme Game Zone.

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In sponsoring these two areas, we were responsible for providing the entertainment in the Xtreme GameZone-the area intended for older children and teenagers. To aid us in this task, Xbox Canada sent down an events team-3 staffers, 7 Xbox stations, and numerous green-colored lights.

The guest list was a virtual who's who of Edmonton nobility, with several Edmonton Oilers (local professional hockey team) in attendance-with their children, where applicable. While their parents were off enjoying the evening's entertainment, the children could partake in arts & crafts in the BioWare KidZone, or they could spend their time with some Xbox titles in the BioWare Xtreme Game Zone. In the Xtreme Game Zone, children could also participate in a game of foosball or air hockey-tables were provided by other Gala-goers.

In all, over 900 people attended the gala, and over 100 children made their way through the tents. They seemed to be thoroughly entertained-everyone who volunteered certainly had a great time… and a surprisingly good spaghetti dinner! BioWare's mandate to support children's health was a driving factor in deciding to increase the amount of funding offered to the Snowflake Gala-the company was a Gold Sponsor in 2001. In June 2002, BioWare auctioned off a signed air hockey table and two autographed copies of Neverwinter Nights on eBay-matching the winning bids-and donating the proceeds to the BioWare Kids Fund. That auction raised over $10,000 for the fund. BioWare is also donating funds to help renovate the children's mental health wing at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton. We look forward to being part of the event in future years, and continuing to support children's health through the BioWare Kids Fund and other reputable children's charities.