Foothills artists and foodies are supporting a High River emergency shelter with two fundraising events this weekend.
Foothills artists and foodies are supporting a High River emergency shelter with two fundraising events this weekend.
Rylie’s Cattle Barn is partnering with Colours N’ Corks on March 24 to host a paint night fundraiser for the Rowan House Emergency Shelter from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Two days later on March 26, the Millarville Soup Sisters is cooking up soup to support the shelter.
The Rowan House provides crisis intervention, long-term support and education for those affected by family violence in rural communities.
For Chris Bohning and his wife Tracy, supporting the Rowan House with the paint night is personal.
The couple teaches paint night classes and are friends with Pam Baudistel, who runs the arts and crafts program for the families at the Rowan House. They wanted to support Baudistel’s work at the shelter.
They wanted to support Baudistel's work at the shelter.
“We realize there is a need to help with programs in our community,” said Chris. “Pam is typically on a budget to find creative projects for the families while at the Rowan House.”
He said he and his wife wanted to help with costs and give Baudistel extra money for her program.
Chris said they have great respect for the people in the community who work with others and would love to help whenever possible.
“My wife has herself been through tough times with relationships and violence in her past and feels strongly on supporting where she can,” he said.
Tracy will lead the creation of gratitude trees during the fundraiser. The trees will be painted on a wood panel and people can add on reminders and memories to express gratitude.
She was inspired to do the project after Baudistel wanted to create a tree for Rowan House clients to use to express what they are grateful for.
Twenty dollars from each ticket goes to the Rowan House arts and crafts program.
The Millarville Soup Sisters will host a second fundraiser at Millarville Racing and Agriculture Society March 26 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Soup Sisters is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing comfort and soup for women, children and youth.
The concept is simple. Each participant pays $55 to take part in a soup making event with the guidance of a chef.
Each event produces around 150-200 servings of soup that will be delivered to the Rowan House. The events are a social evening that concludes in an effortless sit-down dinner of soup, salad, bread and wine. The event will run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
