Hope Bridges Gala sees biggest crowd yet

Melissa Strle
Times Reporter

 

The Hope Bridges Society held its 11th annual Artists Among Us Gala at the Hope Community Covenant Church on Oct. 20 and saw its biggest crowd to date, marked by lineups outside the door.
“We’re very tickled that it’s the biggest crowd we’ve ever had,” said Wanda Reinholdt, coordinator of Hope Bridges Society. “We were so pleased by the lineups outside the door. It was amazing.”
Reinholdt said that between 320 to 370 people attended, and that a combination of factors made the evening a success.
“I think part of it is we’re doing good work and part of it is that our relationships with the community and families are growing,” she said.
Reinholdt also attributed the success of the gala to the fact that it was the 11th annual, and it has built up a reputation over the years.
Attendees congregated and connected in the church lobby and were able to mingle or sit in chairs and listen to the music of Bravo Duo.
The gala brought in over $6,000, and the big crowd enjoyed all the various performances and artistic pictures in the foyer.
Performers included the Rosebud School of the Arts Choir, Rosebud duo Paul and Heather Zacharias as Me & the Mrs., The Amigos, and duo Lisa Jacobs (music therapist) and Rachael Konschuh.
Other performances included a drumming workshop which performed drumming with the audience, and Hope Bridges workshop – Sing Your High Note – sang a couple of interactive songs with the audience.
“There was lots of audience participation which was really great,” said Reinholdt. “Everybody did a great job.”
Reinholdt said the community, “had great conversations afterwards,” and there was “good connecting with people in the community.”
She also said she received great volunteer help with desserts and setting up and also had a great event sponsor – Chinook Credit Union.
“We are so pleased with the support from our community and we really cannot do what we do without our community,” said Reinholdt.
The Hope Bridges Society coordinator said there will be a lot of opportunities during the year for adults to connect around arts as well.