An enchanting — and financially worthwhile — evening at Anything Goes
The Visual Arts Society’s Anything Goes art show and auction on Saturday raised $4,000 for the ambitious landscaping project it has planned for this year. “It was an awesome night and so much fun,” Jackie Pendergast, executive director of the Visual Arts Centre said Monday, February 9. David F. Rooney photo By David F. Rooney The Visual Arts Society’s Anything Goes art show and auction on Saturday raised $4,000 for the ambitious landscaping project it has planned for this year. “It was an awesome night and so much fun,” Jackie Pendergast, executive director of the Visual Arts Centre said Monday, February 9. “Altogether, with ticket sales, the bar, silent and live auctions we raised just over $4000! Great turnout and wonderful support for the landscape project. The money will certainly buy a lot of the plants.” Well it should do a lot more than that. The society’s plans envision a complete makeover for the wasteland between its location at the end of Wilson Street and Victoria Road. Besides a professionally designed garden, that transformation will include a sculpture and a paved path that intersects with the Victoria Road sidewalk. The Anything Goes exhibition was the fifth of the annual fundraisers held for major society projects. Forty local artists contributed paintings, ceramics, wood- and metal works for the silent auction. But there was also a live auction with Rob Lamont acting as the auctioneer. About 120 people attended the show and many — Like me! — indulged their sweet tooth on the nearly irresistible creations featured in the Dessert Parade created by the talented staff at The Modern Bakery. Here are a few photos from the event that I hope you’ll enjoy: The Visual Arts Society’s annual Anything Goes fundraising art exhibition and auction saw a nearly sell-out crowd on Saturday evening, February 7. This year’s show was intended to help raise money for the Visual Arts Centre’s planned landscaping project. David F. Rooney photo The show always featured a contest to see who can match the names of the artists to the artworks in the silent auction. Occasionally there are really young people competing in the popular contest. David F. Rooney photo Pat Anderson (left) and Margo Goodman take a wee break from the contest for a little chat. David F. Rooney photo Oh, my! There might have been a few calories in the fantastic Parade of Desserts provided by The Modern Bakery for the Anything Goes exhibition but they were worth it! David F. Rooney photo The list of scrumptiously tempting desserts included chocolate, trifle, Baked Alaska and lemon tiramisu and even Chunky Monkey. David F. Rooney photo Rob Lamont did an excellent — and very entertaining — job as a live auctioneer, That’s Visual Arts Centre Executive Director Jackie Pendergast displaying one of the works up for grabs. David F. Rooney photo
