New York, New York
Andrew Coulson is willing to start spreading the news: the trip to Manhattan for fashion week that he bought at the 2008 Ultimate Jet Set Experience charity auction was worth every penny.
"My wife, Karen, and I had a fabulous time," says Andrew, a director at Microsoft Canada. "What a great trip for couples. Both of us had been to New York on business, but this was wonderful to simply enjoy the city and relax. We walked up and down Fifth Avenue and Broadway, through Battery Park and Central Park; we ate at fabulous restaurants like Adour. It was a few days of sensational September weather when New York is at its best."
Of the many highlights of the trip, being driven to the Ports 1961 fashion runway show in a Rolls-Royce had to be the topper. It was the Plaza Hotel's courtesy car for shuttling guests around Manhattan.
"It was raining that evening and we were dressed up and we rolled up right next to the red carpet in a brand new Rolls-Royce and it felt like pulling up to the Oscars," Andrew said. "When we got in and sat down in third row seats, the Cowboy Junkies were live and the models put on a great runway show of the stunning Spring Collection. It was a terrific evening."
Andrew's winning bid for the fashion week trip at the 2008 Ultimate Jet Set Experience last Spring was $6,200 with all proceeds from the evening going to the Hospital for Sick Children and the Canadian Diabetes Association through T4G's charity wing Future Focus.
The Coulson's trip included: return airfare aboard Porter Airlines from Toronto Island Airport to Newark, New Jersey on the other side of the river from Manhattan; ground transportation in Toronto from Rosedale Livery; three nights at Fairmont's world-famous Plaza Hotel; tickets to the Ports 1961 fashion show in Manhattan; and a $5,000 shopping spree at Ports 1961 back in Toronto. All portions of the trip were generously donated by sponsors of the Ultimate Jet Set Experience.
"When you take into account the $5,000 shopping spree, it means that we got four days and three nights in Manhattan, with a huge room at the Plaza, for only $1,200," Andrew said, adding it was a nice feeling knowing that the full $6,200 he paid also went to charity.