By S. Casselman/Leader staff
IROQUOIS – It’s time to shake things up.
Terrie Chedore, one of the organizing members behind the Iroquois-Matilda Pastoral Charge’s latest fundraising event, Brushes, Brass, and Chocolate, said the group has been looking into new and better ways of engaging with the community.
Last year, members began researching via phone surveys to find out what types of events residents want to see in their community. The researchers were looking to discover what would bring residents out of their homes to participate, either by attending or volunteering.
The two top event ideas included an art show/coffee house combination and dinner theatre. Both ideas are in the process of being kickstarted with the art show/coffee house making its debut this weekend, Saturday, March 25 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Iroquois United Church.
The group has been having a lot of fun developing these programs, Chedore said. Following the March 25 Brushes, Brass, and Chocolate Art Show and Coffee House event, the Iroquois United Church is hosting a mystery dinner theatre event at Matilda Hall in Dixon’s Corners Saturday, April 22. Dinner-goers will be treated to an adaptation of Michael Druce’s Dinner at Eight, Dead by Nine.
While organizers have spent a lot of time and effort to make these new fundraisers happen, Chedore said it wasn’t a chore.
“We’ve had a ball just putting this together,” she said. “It just kind of flows.”
Also, Chedore said that developing and planning for Brushes, Brass and Chocolate has led participating volunteers to create deeper friendships, as volunteers are meeting new people and spending time with people they may have met, but not engaged with in the past.
“Deeper friendships,” Chedore said, “is the key to a healthy community.”
Brushes, Brass and Chocolate is just what its name implies: painting, music, and chocolatey desserts.
Trumpeter Peter Crouch and pianist Nick Rodgerson will be providing the background melody, while art work by Millie Bennett, Terrie Chedore, Elaine McCurdie, Thecla Kluk, Sharon Stein, and Rolande Theriault will be showcased.
Chedore noted there will also be artists and musicians from the local high school on hand to showcase their talents, as well as other notable citizens, including one local artist in her 90s.
To liven up the afternoon, there will be a celebrity real-time paint challenge, whereby participants will have 30 minutes to paint a masterpiece, each one different from the other. Auctioneer James Cooper is set to auction off the finished products directly following the competition.
Celebrity competitors include MP Guy Lauzon, mayor Evonne Delegarde, Rev. Valerie Vande Wiele, and Seaway District High School student council president Quinn Horne.
Cost to attend the event is $15 per person, $10 for students. The church is located at 2 Elizabeth Drive in Iroquois.
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