The Cariboo Horsey Ladies held their 8th Annual Christmas Banquet and Charity Auction on Nov. 24 at the Spruce Hill Resort.
“It went well. We had 91 ladies attend…It’s just a really nice night to get together to help raise money by doing silent auctions and raffles to raise money on this side of the province because they don’t get a lot of funding,” said Cat Armitage, the organizer of the event. “We did very well with the auction items, I think probably our biggest amount [of money raised] to date.”
The ladies came from 100 Mile House and area, Williams Lake, Kamloops, and other communities in B.C. Someone even came as far as Port Alberni on Vancouver Island.
Proceeds from the auction will go to the Williams Lake SPCA, Crooked Lake Ranch in Quesnel, and the ELS Equine Services & Rescue site in 108 Mile Ranch.
All three of the locations deal with the rescue, rehabilitation and/or sanctuary to animals.
In total, Armitage estimated that the banquet raised close to $5,000.
Some of the items were a load of gravel, a septic cleanout, gift baskets from Pet Valu and Pharmasave, certificates for different restaurants and feed stores, and riding boots.
“I was so impressed with the 100 Mile Community in their generosity from the businesses in donating items for the silent auction. It was fantastic,” said Armitage.
Some local artists donated their work as well, such as two painted bowls and photography prints. One of the photos donated will instead be raffled sometime in March in April, according to Armitage.
The photo is of a loon on a lake and was captured by Melonie Eva, a 108 Mile-based nature photographer.
Armitage and the other organizers will meet this week to review how it went and to see what they can improve for next year’s banquet based on feedback they had asked the attendees.
“Most of the feedback I got was verbal,” said Armitage. “I think from our point of view from the little discussion we have had is we want to work through is having a little more of an agenda…It’s just educating I think.”
Armitage said most of the feedback was very positive.
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