And I'm spent!
This past Sunday, a fatigue (that I haven't felt the likes of since being post-labour) hit me with like a brick wall. With that fatigue came a sense of a giant weight being lifted from my shoulders because after surviving an incredibly busy fall (at work, at home, in ALL spheres of my life)... I now have one more successful event under my belt (and checked off my list!).
Oh... and did I mention that I have now PASSED my initial $8000 fundraising goal for the foundation. I think that requires a big HOURAH... or maybe an evening of red meat and dancing ;-)
My November 6th "Soirée for their Wishes" was great. I got to dress up... I got to eat steak and drink wine... AND I got to dance :-) I really did enjoy the party... and more importantly, all of my wonderful guests who came out to support this fundraising initiative.
Here are some of the details...
the guest list
Attending the soirée was an interesting mix of people from my life (or Brandon's life). Family, friends, co-workers... new and old, french and english... wild and tame (!)
A couple weeks ago, I was seriously considering cancelling because I had just under 30 people confirmed. A week before, we were at about 35. A few days before, we had jumped to 48. I don't know how he did it, but Brandon convinced several more of his colleagues to attend and one colleague in particular (for who the cause is close to home) filled a table of 8.
Although it was about half of the number I was hoping to bring together, it was a really nice group of people and enough "tickets" to make the fundraiser worth while.
the decorations
In the weeks coming up to the party, I tried to think of a simple (and cheap) centrepiece for the tables. At first I wanted to put examples of the types of wishes that the Make-A-Wish foundation realizes for sick children... but by the time I got around to it... I didn't have very much time left (who me? last minute? never!).
I was pretty happy with the final product. I think the glitter I sprinkled all over the tables made some people (dressed in black) a little nervous... hihihi :-P
the food and service
I have nothing but gratitude and appreciate for the management of The Bifthèque Boucherville who treated us to tasty food. I regret a little that I didn't opt for the roast beef - in appearance, it was the least appealing - but the taste - oh my goodness! I had one bite of my father-in-law's and it practically melted in my mouth. So much flavour, such good texture. I have never tasted roast-beef like that!
Since it was a fundraising event and the Bifthèque was trying to help us cut costs, our waitress (the lovely Stephanie) was on her own with a bus boy for the evening. One waitress for 50 people... she worked hard for her money! She did a fantastic job.
The food didn't quite end with the bifthèque dinner menu though. One of my lovely friends, Aimée, worked her magic and helped me bring together a selection of incredible desserts that were served later in the evening.
We brought the desserts out a bit late, so not everyone got to benefit from Aimée's chef/food blogger expertise. I was definitely into the home-made marshmallows, fudge and all the other goodies on the table. It's pretty amazing how I can eat and dance at the same time (not pretty... just amazing!).
the party
I think (I hope) everyone had a good time... and some, maybe even a great time.
It may have looked rigged to some, but the honest to goodness winner of the grand prize for the evening's raffle was none other than... my DAD. I really hope he takes advantage of the $250 VIA RAIL voucher and goes VIA 1 somewhere! He deserves it... and I have no idea if he's actually ever taken the train (he probably has, as an ex-navy guy, he's travelled around the world... but I've only ever heard stories about ships... not trains). The dancing started off a little slow after dinner... but for a good 45-60 minutes, the dance floor was PACKED and people were moving and grooving to the music.
After a few bad picks by the DJ (sorry Pierre!) the dance floor cleared for a while, but it opened again when there were less people remaining... and a bunch of us ladies rocked it for a while.
I kept trying to convince Brandon to come and dance with me...
And he finally did... when the SLOW music came on :-)
Thank goodness for girlfriends who like to dance!
The Fundraising
After expenses, the evening raised just over $1000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. It doesn't sound like a lot for an evening fundraiser, but when the expenses are taken into consideration (food, DJ, etc.), it's not only very good, it brought the total fundraising total up over $8000.00 (8197.69 and counting!).
It means I don't actually HAVE TO keep on fundraising. If I do, it will be for fun because I have one last idea that I might like to try... bottling wine and selling it for the holidays. Let me know if you're interested and it may just help me to make up my mind as to whether it's worth it or not(!)
Just give me a few days to recuperate before I decide ;-)
A huge thank you to all who helped, came out, and support the soirée.
