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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, February 25, 2010 · 18 Living Oakville Beaver LIVING EDITOR: ANGELA BLACKBURN n By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Phone: 905-337-5560 Fax: 905-337-5571 e-mail: ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.com Bal de Neige takes its lead from Italian tradition group of St. Thomas Aquinas students will bring an Italian tradition to Oakville this month. By bringing Italy's carnevale here, the local students will not only have fun, but remember loved ones no longer with them and raise funds to fight cancer. Bal de Neige: a Carnival for Childhood Cancer in support of the Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation will be held at Le Dome Banquet Hall on Feb. 27. In Italy, carnevale is like Mardi Gras celebrations and boasts masquerade balls like no other. Hosting Bal de Neige here in the same month that the masquerades are held in Italy was the brainchild of Maddie Pace. Fundraising against cancer is near to the 15-year-old Grade 10 student who lost her younger brother, Alex, an avid hockey player and a St. Dominic's School student, to bone cancer last February just before his 12th birthday. While Bal de Neige, which will host about 300 guests, may have been Maddie's brainchild, her friends, as always, rallied around. And they, too, have personal reasons. For Angeline Hawthorne, 15, cancer claimed her cousin while her mom is two years a survivor. "We all knew Alex," said Julie Walden, 15, whose grandmother also A NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER HAVING A BALL: Team Alex -- from left, Rachel Furlan, Nicole Kasslack, Julie Walden, Maddie Pace, and Angeline Hawthorn -- is organizing Bal de Neige, a ball, to be held at Le Dome on Saturday, Feb. 27 as a fundraiser for the Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation. Not pictured are Jessica Malczuk and Laura Medlock. died with cancer. Rachel Furlan, 16, said two of her grandparents died with cancer. Nicole Kasslack's grandmother also died with cancer. The group of friends -- some knowing one another since Kindergarten or Grade 1 at St. Dominic's School -- now all attend St. Thomas Aquinas High School. They are all in Grade 10 and last year took part in the Inside Ride, an indoor, stationary cycling event in support of Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation: In support of Kids and Families with Cancer. Team Alex, as they were called, was the school's top fundraiser, forwarding $2,000 to the foundation. The Coast to Coast Foundation has created a series of high quality, physically challenging, national and regional events to raise needed funding for worthy childhood cancer charities whose programs improve the survival rate and quality of life of children impacted by cancer. Amongst those events are the Inside Ride, Sears National Kids Cancer Ride, Tour for Kids, Strut for Cure and the 24-Hour Spin. For information about the foundation, visit www.coasttocoastagainstcancer.org. Team Alex is well known locally, having formed several years ago and including Alex at the time. It took part in the annual Relay for Life event hosted by the Canadian Cancer Society, Oakville at Appleby College. Team Alex also became Team Axle in participating in the Coast to Coast Foundation's Tour for Kids. This year, the St. Thomas Aquinas Team Alex girls wanted to top their Inside Ride, another event in support of Coast to Coast Foundation. Last summer, as they contemplated heading back to class, Maddie's thoughts were already on February. Besides everything else, the month is the one in which the carnevale is a major tradition in Italy. Tickets to Bal de Neige cost $60/person and already the gala has been moved into Le Dome's main hall. The ball will include cocktails, dinner, dancing, raffles and more. All the girls involved hope to make it a masquerade for themselves, but Walden laughs, "There's no pressure" for others to do the same. A kiosk at the event will be selling masks. Proceeds from those sales will support Team Alex's Inside Ride this coming May 20. "Every member of our team has a close connection to cancer whether it be through a grandparent, parent, sibling, friend or fellow community member. We were all affected, which fueled our desire to make a difference in the lives of others making the journey through cancer," said Kasslack. While the task of organizing an adults-only ball was at once formidable, overwhelming and challenging, Maddie's mom, Frances Pace and former Grade 8 teacher Debbie Hartmann of St. Dominic's School, described as both an "amazing organizer" and one of those teachers you don't forget, have helped immensely. Other student organizers include Laura Medlock and Jessica Malczuk, both 15. Then there have been the personal contacts that came through when the girls were "sourcing" raffle prizes -- tickets to NHL and Toronto Raptors games. For tickets to Bal de Neige, contact Midfordgirl@hotmail.com or 905-