“Plot twist!” quipped emcee Ben Mulroney after a surprise $1-million contribution was revealed late into the evening at the inaugural Gold Hearts Gala Mayor’s Ball in support of the Ottawa Food Bank.

The special gift was announced by Michael Maidment, ICD.D , president and CEO of the Ottawa Community Foundation, on top of the impressive $255,000 raised Friday at the Fairmont Château Laurier.

When Mayor Mark Sutcliffe asked the room full of business leaders and entrepreneurs to help make the inaugural mayor’s ball “truly unforgettable”, he wasn’t referring to the aerial hoop artist who was pouring drinks from above. He meant it.

“When we come together as a community, we can do anything. When we come together, we can build a stronger, more compassionate city,” said the mayor as he encouraged everyone to “really lean in” and support the cause.

His inspiring call for action was coupled by a stunning speech delivered by Ottawa Food Bank CEO Rachael Wilson, who earned a standing ovation. She shared sobering facts and figures that all pointed to one truth: the need in Ottawa has never been greater, and it’s likely to get even worse. Ottawa is in a food insecurity crisis. Nearly one in four households struggle to afford enough to eat.

She also shared stories of real people facing real struggles, like the single working mom who isn’t just worrying about what to serve for dinner, but whether there’s a dinner at all. Or the young child sent to school with an empty lunch box to disguise their family’s poverty issues.

The hotel’s general manager, Genevieve Dumas, MBA, officially welcomed the sold-out crowd of 300 as it sat down for a gourmet dinner in a ballroom that looked glamorous, glitzy and golden. There was an apple-themed dessert served, along with take-home gifts of candy apples as a nod to the food bank’s red fruit logo.

The hotel had come up with the idea for a mayor’s charity ball but, of course, first needed to get the civic leader on board. As fate would have it, Dumas crossed paths with the mayor very soon after and pitched the idea to Sutcliffe. “He said, ‘I’m in, let’s do this!’ And here we are tonight,” Dumas said from the stage.

The mayor, during his remarks, called the hotel “one of my favourite, favourite buildings in the City of Ottawa”.

He and his wife, Ginny Sutcliffe , looked especially fabulous after local designer Frank Sukhoo (Sukhoo Sukhoo Khooture) dressed them to the nines. It was a who’s who of attendees, with high-tech leader Terry Matthews and such recent Ottawa CEO of the Year award recipients as Andrew W. , Mike McGahan and Kathryn Tremblay (She/Her) in attendance, as well as Rogers Sports & Media president Colette Watson, Invest Ottawa CEO Sonya Shorey, and the Heart Institute’s Dr. Rob Beanlands.

“This does not look like the rubber-chicken room of Ottawa from the 1980s,” Mulroney said at the podium. “This is a well-appointed world-class room.”

The evening, presented by the Fairmont Château Laurier, included such major sponsors as the Ottawa International Airport Authority YOW / Administration de l’aéroport international d’Ottawa YOW, Amazon and the Mrak family’s local Audi dealerships.

Assent, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa, Richcraft Homes, Encore, Trexity , wedecor and Media Plus also partnered with the charity event. Meanwhile, the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association (GOHBA) bought four tables.

Ryan E. Watson from Raising the Bid was at the top of his game as auctioneer, selling off packages donated by the Ottawa Senators, the Fairmont hotels and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. An offer in absentia was made by prominent Ottawa businessman Jeffrey York of Farm Boy and Altea Active fame to match up to $50,000 raised from the auction. In the end, audience hands shot up to close the gap and reach the 50K goal. A $10,000 pledge was made from the Senators Community Foundation.

The mayor returned to the stage after the dinner and auction to share the $255,000 grand total, before calling his friend, Michael Maidment, to join him. Maidment, who previously led the Ottawa Food Bank for seven years, had approached his board last week about supporting the organization and its network of 100-plus agencies, saying: “Right now is when they need us”. The room responded to his big announcement with thunderous applause and cheers while the mayor shared a group hug on stage with Maidment, Dumas and Wilson.