50K for Children’s Aid Foundation, thanks to Google Play Music!

National Post’s Conrad Black Sabbath kicks butt, Toronto Sun’s Screaming Headlines do JJ proud, and a strong endorsement for The Globe and Mail’s Fun With Discipline

 For immediate release: Nov. 9, 2015

TORONTO — With a toss of the bat, National Post’s Conrad Black Sabbath hit a walk-off home run Friday night, taking the Newzapalooza title and the Jonathan Jenkins memorial trophy for the first time in what was the band’s second appearance at The Media Event of The Year ™.

Google Play Music made Newzapalooza XI historic by not only matching the record-breaking $20,000 raised by Friday night’s show for the Children’s Aid Foundation, but by tossing in an extra $10,000, making this year’s haul $50,000. That’s triple the amount of last year and brings to $150,000 the total amount Newzapalooza and its fans and loyal supporters have raised for the foundation.

Thank you to host Piya Chattopadhyay and judges Andrew Cash, Errol Nazareth, Zaib Shaikh and Kirstine Stewart for their time and wit.

At the end of the night, honorary Newzapalooza co-chairs Maizey and Dexter Westaway — daughter and son of the late Jonathan Jenkins, who co-founded the event — presented Sarah Boesveld of Conrad Black Sabbath with the big trophy named after their dad. The Toronto Sun’s Screaming Headlines mightily impressed the judges, capturing second place, while The Globe and Mail’s Fun With Discipline was naughty, firm and deserving of a third place showing.

Special thanks to this year’s supporters: Google Play Music, Home Depot, The Opera House, Long & McQuade Musical Instruments, Ace Awards Inc., Toronto Sun, Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, Rogers, Prohibition Gastrohouse Pub, Banu, The Local and Button Machine.

Big shout outs to the Star, Sun and Globe for wagering $1k each on their house bands in the annual Publisher’s Challenge. We’d also like to thank Athena Ellinas-Towers and the staff at The Opera House and acknowledge volunteers Vjosa Isai, Dan Taekema, May Warren, Stephanie Werner, Joe Hall and Patty Winsa for working the doors, pushing draw tickets. Thanks as well to Michael Robinson for manning the video cameras. Kudos to Brian Hughes for once again designing this year’s ticket.

As for Google Play Music, thank you, thank you, thank you. In particular, we want to acknowledge Aaron Brindle, Jan Gemrich and Alexandra Hunnings for their unbridled support for the show and the cause.

Lastly, all of us on the Newzapalooza planning committee — Sarah Boesveld, Moe Doiron, Robyn Doolittle, Rob & Natasha Granatstein, Jim Rankin, Graeme Roy, Michelle Shephard and Tanya Talaga — thank the 600-plus who turned out for a terrific cause and a rocking good night. See you next November!

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