Photos by Quana Parker

Last night, some of the best body art you could imagine was on display at the Italian Cultural Centre in Vancouver.

Dominelli International College of Esthetics presented its 14th annual body art competition at a banquet to benefit the British Columbia Professional Fire Fighters' Burn Fund.

Models spent many hours beforehand being painted by the artists. Each artist chose a country, and tried to highlight its culture, language, and even wildlife and geographic components.

The winner was Samantha Rae, who made model Regina Bair look like a Kenyan warrior, complete with a spear and traditional head gear. It was stunning to say the least.

Rae, a professional body painter since 2002, has worked in film and television, and won the Dominelli competition last year.

The second-place finisher was Lucie Brouillard, who painted Spain on model Nicole Pilich. Brouillard, who won the national body-art championship in Calgary on May 2, featured a spectacular Spanish guitar across Pilich's chest and stomach.

The third-place contestant was Jennifer Little, who painted Canada on the body of model Sky Foletto. Little's design included an impressive Inukshuk on Foletto's back. So far there haven't been any lawsuits filed by Vanoc for violating any Olympic trademarks.

Live entertainment included performances by baila vancouver, Harbour Dance jazz dancers, opera singer Christina Barbosa, Group Capoeira Males, and Drum Cafe, which got the crowd roaring with its interactive performance.

The judges were Virginia Leeming, Monica Reyes, Michael Nault, Catherine Barr, and Matthew Toren, and the panel was chaired by renowned hair designer Richard Jeha.

For more on this event, pick up this week's Georgia Straight newspaper, which will be distributed across Metro Vancouver on Thursday.