Grand Opening of Pepsi Center - Amherst, NY

In November of 1998, Brian skated at the opening ceremonies of a local sports center in Amherst NY, just outside of Buffalo. He was definitely the headliner of the show, skating against many unknowns-- but he was gracious as ever amongst the star-struck skaters. He skated to "I get a Kick" and to my thrill, "Story of my Life". It was a nice event, very personal. Afterwards, he participated in an autograph session, where I met Brian for the first time. Click here for my review and pics of the show and meeting.

Celebration on Ice, Mississauga, ON Sept. 1998

This event was held in celebration of the grand opening of the Hershey Centre. Many great skaters attended and skated in the event. Barb Underhill and Paul Martini, who had recently retired, MCeed the event. The arena was crowded, but for some reason it was quite simple to sneak down to on-ice seats, oh darn!! Brian skated to "Five Months, Two Weeks, Two Days", one of my favorite programs. I always enjoy his comical programs. He also skated to "Story of My Life", a program I never tire of seeing and miss it dearly already. I'm hoping it resurfaces somewhere, someday :-) He skated well, and even had a little laugh with Barb and Paul. When they introduced Brian onto the ice, Paul and Barb placed chairs on the ice to get back at Brian for the joke he and Kurt Browning had placed on them at their retirement show. "How does it feel?" Paul asked. Brian just laughed. Another funny moment of the evening is that Barb Underhill kept messing up the skaters she was introducing. She would introduce men as women, etc. I think her mind was elsewhere that evening . It was rather funny! Unfortunately, this great show wasn't televised and I don't have any pictures of the event.

A Legendary Night of Figure Skating - Toronto, Ontario

This event, I must say, was the absolute best skating show of my life. It was a tribute to all the Canadian Skaters over the past century. Just about all the skaters showed up, some to skate, some to participate. I had on-ice center seats, to add to the thrill. Brian had an integral part in the show, which was exciting. Brian skated in several programs, including an interesting piece where one dance, pair, men and ladie's single skater all skated on the ice imitating great skaters of the past and present, playing on a video screen overhead. He helped in the introduction of one of the skaters, and portrayed the Father of Figure Skating in the beginning of the show. He also skated to the most emotional "Dear Father" I have ever seen him skate. The audience was spellbound by his obvious deep love of his sport. It was simply breathtaking. Afterwards, we attended the reception for the show. Here, we got to meet several Canadian legends and had a wonderful time. Click here for photos of the reception.