I saw the ad on social media about this grant, and immediately it struck a chord with me. I only had a day to apply, and in the meantime, I chatted with my coffee friends about whether I should apply, with the name of my project being “Let’s Share.” They were very encouraging and saw it as a way they could get involved. The person next to me was a florist and right away said she would be a presenter. I felt so happy to have this opportunity. Then sometime later, I talked to a mural artist in our town while she was up on the scaffolding and asked if she would like to be a presenter. She loved the idea. Then I felt responsible for giving these people a chance to showcase their work.
I talked to another project leader who geared me the right way about my budget and the responsibility to give proper honorarium amounts. Then I was wondering about the place to hold this event. Rents were more than I expected, and some asked for Insurance. I phoned around to various venues and was getting discouraged. Then I went to our Library and asked if they had a room to rent. They asked what I wanted it for, and when they found out it would be at no cost to the attendees, it met their criteria for their Program Room. It met all the criteria I needed. It had tables, chairs, a kitchen counter, its own washroom, coffee urns, a projector and a screen.
February 7th was our event. It started at 10:30 am. The florist then helped us make floral arrangements in donated cups and saucers. The flowers were mini carnations & gypsophila. We also got taught how to incorporate tulle into the arrangements. The cost of the flowers and accessories came to $140, which was more than usual because it was close to Valentines’. Then I had a light lunch with catered corn chowder and fresh sourdough buns. The caterer charged me significantly less than usual. I also had charcuterie-style trays. Then after lunch, the mural artist and her partner, a sculpturist, showed slides of their work that are now at colleges and universities in this Northern area, as well as in our downtown areas. Then with the goodness of their hearts, they set up an art project where it was a mini mural, and people could choose whichever colour they wanted and paint in areas with unique textures. They even had everyone who chose to paint’s name put on a plaque on the back and were going to display it in public spaces. (I’m enclosing a picture of this artist’s mural in Quesnel) The event went so well that I talked to our newspaper editor, and he wrote an article. (I’ve enclosed the article as a picture)
I’m very thankful for this opportunity.
