One of Vancouver's annual food and drink fundraising events to benefit care for some of the region's most vulnerable citizens is just around the corner.

Passions 2018 will be held on September 26 at Performance Works (1218 Cartwright Street) on Granville Island, emceed by Global TV anchor Sophie Lui and auctioneer Fred Lee and with music by electronic act Kalibo.

Passions has raised $1.4 million to go towards care at the Dr. Peter Centre, including 80,000 meals served every year and over 300 clients in the Day Health Program. The non-profit Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation runs the Dr. Peter Centre, located in the West End. The centre provides care for clients living with HIV who face numerous challenges ranging from mental illness or addiction to trauma and poverty.

The event was launched in 2002, as a charity cooking class at Barbara-jo's Books to Cooks before moving to the Dr. Peter Centre, with the first event organized by local media personality Nathan Fong who continues to oversee Passions.  

The feature bartenders at this year's event are volunteering their time to serve unique cocktails specifically created for the evening. Uva Wine and Cocktail Bar's Sabrine Dhaliwal created Pearadise City, featuring Belvedere Vodka; L’Abattoir's Katie Ingram created the Canadian Tuxedo, featuring Lot 40 Canadian Whiskey; and H2's Chiara Fung created True Lies, featuring Stoli Premium Vodka.

A selection of wine pairings will be provided by Mission Hill and New Zealand Wines.

This year's lineup of participating restaurants includes:

Araxi Restaurant and Oyster Bar

ARC at the Fairmont Waterfront

Boulevard Kitchen and Oyster Bar

Chicha

CinCin

Forage

H2 Rotisserie

Honey Salt

Joe Fortes Seafood and Chop House

La Glace

Maenam 

Market by Jean-Georges

Minami

Notch8 Restaurant and Bar

Pacific Yacht Charters 

Provence Marinaside

The Observatory

Tojo's

West

Examples of what will be on offer include:

• Fanny Bay Oysters with black pepper, fennel slaw, and apple pearls by Araxi chef Quang Dang; 

• Peruvian chimichurri pork tenderloin, beetroot horseradish causa, lima bean huacatay purée, spicy pickled beets, and rocoto chili yam chips by Chich chef Shelome Bouvette;

• roasted jubilee corn pudding, shiro miso, aonori, and sesame kombu crisp from Market by Jean-Georges chef Ken Nakano;

• house-cured and smoked maple pork belly, confit tomato, charred romaine coulis, and brioche cracker by Provence Marinaside chef Jean-Francis Quaglia;

• 30th anniversary special sushi: smoked sablefish, and halibut and herring roe with kelp by Tojo's chef Hidekazu Tojo;

• cherry stone clam with frozen dashi and seaweed salad by West chef Bobby Milheron;

• Paris-Brest: choux pastry ring with praline mousseline cream by Beaucoup Bakery chef Betty Hung.

Tickets are $225 (VIP tickets are $300), with group rates also available. Full details are available at the Dr. Peter Centre website.