Fusion Self-love! - Best Hosting Plan Ever

SO, WHAT’S A BRIGHT YOUNG THING
DOING IN A PLACE LIKE THIS?
BY P. NUTT-GALLERY
TONGUES WAGGED AND EYELIDS
DROOPED AT THE TRADE CENTRE ATLANTIC
JUNIOR CLUB LOVE-IN, OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS FUSION’S GO AWARDS GALA.
The Nov. 6 awards ceremony was in a tiny
little room in the current, shabby and claustrophobic
World Trade & Convention Centre.
The GO gala had everything a young progressive,
single-minded 20-40-year-old ... new convention
centre new convention centre new
convention centre ... sorry. They got me for a
minute there.
Fusion showcased its downward spiral in
the basement of the good ol’ WTC, promenading
its deterioration from a slightly smarmy, but
slightly smart group of young pro-business,
pro-development club members, to an endless
parade of Teddy Ruxpins repeating and repeating
refrains celebrating the blind genius and
definite perfection of the infallible concept and
inevitable coming of the great NEW CONVEN-
TION CENTRE.
After checking our coats, we all got nametags,
on which words like “progress,” “vision,” “prosper”
and “a million other meaningless
buzzwords” were printed.
We played games with these, matching our
words with other funsters. I won a prize, but
they were out of prizes. Hmm.
Mingling confirmed what I had thought: most
of the non-sponsor or non-nominee people in
attendance, such people as Ivan Nickerson,
from Hamachi House, a young couple from
Calgary who have been in Halifax for less
than a month, and lovely realtor Charlotte
Hansen, really couldn’t say what they’d expected
when they’d bought their $50 tickets, or
what the event was really about.
It might have been about the food, but maybe
not. I made a young boy shed a single fearful
tear when I asked for a second fried Chinese
dumpling. “I can’t give you more than one,” he
said. “I’ll get in *side to side glance* ... trouble!”
Soon, the clinking of host Pardis Parker’s brillo
voice told us it was time to sit down for the
Indianapolis 500 of award ceremonies. He
warmed up the crowds with jokes about expense
accounts, and something about racism.
New Fusion chair Jen Berry began crying
almost immediately as she clutched the green
“GO” flag during her thank you’s to the organizers
of the event. The Fusion Dream Wall had a lot of good ideas on it;
CONTINUED ON PAGE 24
the kind that would fester at HRM council for years and then be dropped.
DECEMBER 7, 2010 ATLANTIC CANADA FRANK 23