When an event is described as a “hootenanny”, you can be fairly confident that it’s going to be a good night out.
The Rites of Passage Foundation held its inaugural ceilidh barn dance fundraiser last month, with organiser Amy Weber says that the event was wonderful on so many levels – community-building, fundraising, and multi-generational wholesome socialising, to name a few.
“It was not only a great fundraiser for our charitable trust, but a fabulous community-building event,” she says.
“The Lower Moutere Hall was full of folks [who] were grinning ear to ear the entire evening. People from all generations were dancing together and having a wonderful time. One of the participants said it was ‘the joy of being part of something good’.”
The ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee) also gave exposure to the foundation’s programmes, which, as per their social impact report, “promote and further the educational, personal and social development of young people in our community”.
The event raised about $5000 through ticket sales and raffles, and the funding will go towards essential operating costs and for new programme development.
The 100 tickets sold out well in advance, and Amy is keen to assure anyone who missed out that the committee has decided to make the hootenanny an annual event.
