Banff Waterkeeper Fundraiser - Robert Kennedy's Banff Celebrity Invitational

The Banff Waterkeeper fundraiser, put on by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on behalf of his Waterkeeper Alliance environmental organization, takes place roughly the third weekend of every January and all the celebrities come out to this Kennedy Banff celebrity sports invitational.

At past Waterkeeper fundraisers, Alec Baldwin, Meg Ryan, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Douglas, Christie Brinkley, Kelsey Grammer, Marcia Gay Harden, Virginia Madsen, Jason Priestley, Leslie Nielsen, Daryl Hannah, Josie Bissett, Peter Fonda, Woody Harrelson, William Shatner, and many many more high-wattage members of the Hollywood Elite have graced the slopes of Sunshine Village Ski Resort for the Fairmont Banff Springs Sports Invitational and then retired to the Banff Springs Hotel for a gala dinner in order to raise funds for this important environmental organization. The star-studded event raises roughly one million dollars for the Waterkeeper Alliance.

The 2009 Banff Waterkeeper Alliance fundraiser took place from January 15 to 18th. Alec Baldwin hosted and some of the celebrities in attendance included Oscar-winner Marcia Gay Harden, Julianna Margulies, Mimi Rogers, and Jonathan Silverman. 2010 had a similar cast of celebs, other luminaries and donor groups. In 2011, however, the annual Waterkeeper fundraising event was cancelled. The 2012 Waterkeepers event hosted, as usual, by the Fairmont Banff Springs and Sunshine Village, is now a confirmed go for January 12 to 15th. The only confirmed guests thus far are Kennedy and Alec Baldwin.

The public is welcome to watch all of the celebrity sports fun on the Friday and Saturday at Sunshine (though you will have to buy a lift pass to get up the gondola from the parking lot to the main lodge and ski area), but the gala dinner will cost you a few dollars - likely in the $500 plus per ticket range - but hey, it is for a good cause and you get to run into your favourite stars! The dates are usually a bit tough to find out exactly in advance (though it is usually mid- to the third week of January) and, given the star power in attendance, it should not be a surprise that the Banff waterkeeper fundraiser plays things close to the chest and keeps it celebrity invitation only.

While the Banff waterkeepers alliance fundraiser is known for bringing out the celebrities to compete in various sports events and attend gala dinners, what exactly is the Waterkeeper Alliance all about? It is an international environmental organization dedicated to preventing pollution to local water systems. Currently, there are 182 local waterkeeper organizations and the Waterkeeper Alliance, as you might gather from its name, helps to coordinate these groups and their efforts. Naturally, the high profile Banff Waterkeeper Alliance Fundraiser (aka The Fairmont Banff Springs Celebrity Sports Invitational; aka Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Banff Fundraiser) raises both the cash and the profile to fund these efforts.

For more information on the Waterkeeper Alliance or to donate to this worthwhile organization, click here to link to the Waterkeeper main page.

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