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Hockey players picking out lacy, fire-red panties, country stars downing energy drinks and autographs destined to help sick children.

The gift lounge at Sunday’s Canadian Country Music Awards was a perfect storm of the good and the famous, a place where celebrity mixed with charity, excitement outranked exhaustion and the boots – well, safe to say there was no shortage.

“I’m having the best day ever,” gushed Vancouver photographer Angela Girard during a rare lull.

Girard lit up as she told of making the members of Doc Walker pose with funny faces and recounted her spontaneous hug from award-winning singer-songwriter Jann Arden.

Arden was one of an endless stream of artists to pop by the gift lounge, a buffet of “swag with swagger” produced by South Surrey’s own Gabrielle Durning, of the Uptown Giftbox Company.

Organized as a thank you to the stars, sponsors and other players involved with the awards, the lounge was where frosted cupcakes, gourmet crackers and decadent chocolates lured; and the likes of hand-tooled leather purses and custom sunglasses caught the attention of such talents as Terri Clark, Martina McBride and Johnny Reid, not to mention a trio of Canucks.

“Martina (McBride) is so beautiful. She doesn’t even have to sing, I can just look at her,” said an awed Carmen Aisenstat, a Peninsula resident who spent the day offering samples of an energy drink to all comers.

She described the stars as “so down to earth, so friendly,” and couldn’t help but call her son, a Vancouver Canucks fan, after posing with her two sisters for photos with NHLers Mason Raymond and Alex Burrows.

South Surrey artist Chris MacClure, set up next to Canadian Idol alum Greg Neufeld, said convincing the celebs to autograph two giclee prints of his work, The Serenade, was an opportunity he jumped at, not to mention an easy sell. The prints will be given to BC Children’s Hospital Foundation to be used in fundraising.

It was no accident local talent, suppliers and products were a strong flavour in the 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. lounge. Durning wanted charity to be front-and-centre, and the stars didn’t disappoint.

“Those huge prints from Chris MacClure are just covered in signatures,” Durning said."

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