The Crowsnest Museum was able to hold a successful Harvest of Memories fundraiser virtually this year.

The annual fall fundraiser looked different this year due to Covid-19 but ended up being one of the most successful years in recent memory.

“We raised a ton of money through the event. It was one of our most successful Harvest of Memories. After expenses, it was the most successful event in recent memory,” said Executive Director Chris Matthews.

“It was great. We had a great time. I had a lot of positive feedback from everyone who watched and participated. It was lovely and a fun evening for us to put on.”

Matthews says there were some challenges to figure out but he was pleased with the outcome and help that was provided.

“We had to figure everything out. We didn't really have a blueprint to follow. It was very much like a telethon in the traditional way. We had to figure out how to keep expenses low and pull it off. That was the biggest challenge. We decided early that we couldn't hold an in person event so we had to figure out how we could do it virtually. The hunt was on for the right people and right help. Luckily we found great people and detailed event coordination from our coordinator who helped us out. We had Kelly Brothers Production for our AV helping us out with the actual broadcast. Those things together really helped us figure out what we didn't know. We're all pretty good at putting on a dinner gala fundraiser, we've done those for a little while but doing it virtually we needed to bring in some help.”

There were a couple of small changes to the event this year with the event being held virtually.

“It was a shift this year from one entertainment act to multiple entertainment acts. I have to give a shout out to everybody who helped us out entertainment wise. All those artists donated their time to pre-record items for our broadcast. That was fantastic. We didn't get to see everybody. It's a great time that we get the face-to-face time with our members and stakeholders and we missed that. Overall we got to do pretty much everything else that we would do. We even got to deliver some desserts so there was still a food aspect of this. It was really great.”

The target goal was also reached after the event.

“We had one donor come up at the end and if we hit our target they were going to give us a large donation. The thermometer on the night of was just over $32,000 and our goal was $30,000. Because we met our goal we got another donation plus the matching from Scotiabank so we raised close to $40,000 total.”

Matthews says he is grateful to everyone for all their support.

“I can't thank everybody who supported. The historical society and my board and my volunteers, we didn't go door to door to businesses in the Pass and ask for auction items or donations like we have in the past. This year we didn't know who was hurting and who was doing well during Covid so we didn't want to over tax anybody. We did reach out to a few for sponsorship and a lot of businesses came to us and said they had their donations for Harvest of Memories. They voluntarily gave us items and donations. It was just fantastic. We had such great support from individuals and businesses leading up the event and then the night of as well. I can't thank the community enough. We didn't know what to expect. We didn't expect this high of a success rate. It just goes to show how awesome this community is.”

Matthews says the funds raised will go toward keeping the history of the area alive throughout the winter months.

“We will work hard now with this. This will help us get through the winter and keep our projects going. We look forward to doing that for the next few months.”

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