Items for sale at West Central Abilities Inc. event. The agency provides services to adults in the region living with disabilities. It held an inaugural Art Extravaganza fundraiser on Nov. 3 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Kindersley. Approximately 100 people attended the event.

Kenneth Brown
of The Crossroads

The work of artists and contributors in the area has gone up for auction to help raise money for a much-needed building project for a regional agency.

West Central Abilities Inc., an agency that provides services to adults in the region living with disabilities, held an inaugural Art Extravaganza fundraiser on Nov. 3 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Kindersley. Approximately 100 people attended the event.

It was a night of the arts with a wide range of creative pieces up for auction, and live music throughout the evening by Jacqueline Veysey of Kindersley and Sam Motier of Glidden. The bidding was all done as part of a silent auction and only a handful of items had reserved bids in place.

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Two of the items with reserved bids were paintings donated by Dean Francis of Sagebrush Studios near Empress, Alta. Francis, who has become well known for his prairie landscape visual art, is originally from Mantario, Sask.

One of the artist’s paintings called “Tree Tops” had a reserved bid of $750 and his other painting called “Spirited Sky” had a reserved bid of $800. The other items with reserved bids were not quite as high. A spokesperson says all but one auction item sold at the event and both Francis paintings found a home that evening.

There was a wide range of items in the auction. The items included paintings, photography, prints, crafts, carvings, pottery, cross-stitching and other homemade items. One person even donated a designer cake, and another individual donated homemade wine.

The bidding took place from 7 to 10 p.m., and then the sheets were pulled to signal the end of the auction. The event included a door prize for one lucky person and people also played games to win bottles of homemade wine.

Kim Edmunds, the agency’s executive director, addressed the crowd before the end of the auction. She told people that money raised at the event is for the new day program facility the agency has plans to build on the 100 block of First Ave. West in Kindersley. She spoke of the guests and donors for their support.

“Thank you for coming to our Art Extravaganza,” she said, noting that it was wonderful to see all of the wonderful creations donated by local artists on display at the event. “We have some amazing talent in our community.”

The agency now serves approximately 21 individuals with varying levels of disabilities, according to Edmunds. She said the agency offers its clients work and life skills training, and leisure and recreational opportunities among other services.

She noted that the agency’s current day program facility is located in Kindersley’s industrial area and, if anybody knows what the conditions are like in the spring and fall, it is not an ideal location for the comfort and safety of the clients. She said the agency needs its new centrally-located facility.

Edmunds introduced all of the agency’s board members including Tamara Wiebe, who serves as the board’s chairperson. She also recognized the efforts of the staff, volunteers, and all of the spouses that helped out.

The executive director said the agency has a fundraising committee and a building committee, and both committees are open to new members. The Art Extravaganza event was spearheaded by the fundraising committee, and Edmunds said it is a fun group to work with.

In an interview after the fundraiser, Edmunds said the event raised approximately $7,800 for the building project and organizers are pleased with the result. She said people stayed at the church hall until about 11 p.m., and Veysey and Motier continued to perform until the very end.

She noted that the music was wonderful and the fundraising committee, along with its volunteers, provided a “fabulous” spread of appetizers. Edmunds said most of the food was prepared from scratch, so it was a long day for the volunteers.

Edmunds said the agency is already planning to host another Art Extravaganza for next year and organizers will take what they learned this year to make it even better. She thanked all the donors and everyone who helped out because the event would not be possible without the support.

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