Past Events
Years cont.
Textile Art
Artists
d'Esterre Seniors’ Centre welcomes the help of the Grannies in serving and cleaning up at their festive dinners. The Grannies worked at the Thanksgiving Dinner, and were happy to be invited again for the Christmas event.
On Saturday December 9th an enthusiastic group of Granny Elves served a delicious Christmas luncheon to members and guests of d’Esterre.
d’Esterre was beautifully decorated with bright and shiny colours which added to the festive atmosphere.
There were three shifts of Grannies working in the dining room area serving the food, providing coffee & tea, and doing the clean up. A shout out to the Grannies who bought tickets and enjoyed our service.
Thank you to the organizing committee for pulling this together.
The Grannies worked with a flair and in good humour spurred on by the promise of a delicious tourtière and/or frittata luncheon prepared by Chef Roland Saint Pierre, who had cooked the dinner for the guests.
$400 was donated to the Glacier Grannies for each event, in appreciation for their hard work.
The Grannies were busy again this holiday season, creating beautiful festive decorations from fresh greenery and ornaments. In three short weeks, we made, sold and delivered 84 table pots, 43 swags and 9 wreaths! This effort raised approximately $2500 for the Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign.
Special thanks to Jane S and John B , who provided us with a perfect Santa’s Workshop space filled with the scent of evergreens. Thank you also to the entire team of volunteers who made the project such a success: foliage clippers, our ribbon and bow person, the many creative makers, supply runners, sales and marketing helpers, email and website support people and those who ‘delivered the goods’ (even when the rain was blowing sideways).
Linda F, project lead, felt that the best part of the entire project was the community aspect of meeting and working with so many lovely women. On the final day, she noted with some relief:
The pots are all made
The last wreath too
Ornaments sorted to Too Good to Be Threw
The swags are all hung in the doorways with care
In the hopes that St. Nicholas soon will be there...
A big thank you to Linda F. for her hard work and organizational skills.
Click on individual photos to enlarge and close by clicking on the button (top right).
We were lucky enough to have the 6 extralong tables we needed to display all our crafts. Sewers, felters, angelers and other crafters had worked hard since our May event, and produced a huge array of merchandise – both old favorites and new items.
Our tables buzzed with customers, and we made $4,668.00. Particularly popular were denim aprons, jar openers, microwave cozies, AIDS angels and felted items. Jars of cookie mix and gardeners’ scrub were new and popular items.
Shelley M. and Carol C. did a great job of organizing the event, and they thank all the Grannies who worked so hard to make our merchandise and those who helped with selling, setup and takedown.
A special thank you to Dave Talbot who is stepping down from organizing Fiesta for many years. A thank you note was sent to him.
We cheered the 28 riders and their support team as they cycled into the grounds of the Hall. A team of Grannies led by Lisa M. and Marilyn B. had prepared a delicious buffet lunch, and Grannies and riders enjoyed eating and chatting before we gave the group a rousing send-off.
This is the 17th annual ride from Campbell River to Victoria, organized by the Victoria Grandmothers for Africa. Many Grandmother groups along the way provide them with meals, snacks and encouragement, and look forward to greeting the riders each year.
For more details about the different bicycle events organized this year by the Victoria Grandmothers for Africa click on this link.
Riders and local Grannies purchased their lunches, and we were able to make $190 for the Campaign after expenses.
The concert was hosted by John Brown, (Jane S’s partner) who, with Jane Dunnet and Keith Goddard, forms Watershed Band. They performed an eclectic mix of folk, country, rock and blues, featuring a variety of instruments: guitar, harmonica, mandolin, base and lap steel, and shared vocals in 3-part harmony.
Monica Maxwell and Jan Adams formed Duetto Aquillo in 2015 and have performed regularly in the Comox Valley since then. They entertained us on their flutes, treating us to a musical journey through the ages.
Husband and wife, Lyall Steel and Isabelle Durand played and sang songs in French, Spanish and English. Their inspiration was drawn from Isabelle’s French background, Lyall’s prairie roots, and their years spent in Agentina, Costa Rice, Mexico and France.
It was a very hot afternoon, and wildfire smoke drifted over the Marina. Despite this, a good crowd attended, sheltering in the trees and under sun umbrellas. Between our donation boxes, Joanne C.’s roaming collection “hat,” and a table selling our crafts, we made $1,368 for the Campaign.
Many grateful thanks to our entertainers: Watershed Band, Duetto Aquillo, and Lyall Steel and Isabelle Durand. Thank you also to Lydia R. and Jane C. for their great organizing and Brenda for the beautiful poster.
Also thanks to the other Grannies who helped in many ways: Joanne C., Joanne W., Pat P., Shelley M. Dianne W. Gail E. and Virginia P.
The Grannies were so pleased that they were able to help celebrate the wedding of the son and daughter-in-law of one of our long-time members.
The Axani family would like to send a huge thank you out to the Glacier Grannies that helped make our son and daughter-in-law's wedding a beautiful and tasty event. The perogies, cabbage rolls and charcuterie boards were a massive hit with the wedding guests and a few people took advantage of the designated driving service. Thank you Silvia A, Marilyn B, Kathy N, Kate R, Joanne C, Joanne W and Howard R.
The Grannies will hold a sale whatever the weather! In 2017, we huddled under umbrellas. This year, we were grateful for sunshades. Luckily, we have discovered that customers will come and buy, rain or shine..
By 7:00 many Grannies were busy setting up tables, or opening their trunks and displaying their wares, and at 8:00, crowds began to drift in to admire and buy our amazing and varied offerings.
In addition to traditional gently-used treasures, we also sold:
Our own beautiful crafts
An amazing array of starter plants, lovingly nurtured by Carol K and Kate R, as well as donations of trees and perennials from other Grannies
Baked goods, either to munch with coffee while browsing, or to take home
Beautiful jewelry of all kinds, valued and sold by Kathy N.
Bowls and mugs created by a group of talented potters working at d’Esterre House.
Shoppers were very enthusiastic about all our merchandise, and we made a total of $4,856.13.
Many Grannies were involved in setting up, selling, and generally helping out. They enjoyed their morning, but the heat was intense. When everything was over, many of them found it necessary to have a long afternoon nap.
We thank Comox United Church for allowing us to use their car park, as well as their tables and coffee urn.
Many thanks to Jane S. and Lydia R. for their wonderful organizing, and to all the Grannies who helped in so many different ways: advertising and putting up posters, creating sandwich boards, baking, raising and selling plants, selling larger items in our facebook “pre-sale”, bringing car loads of treasures to sell (and taking away what was left), setting up and selling tables of crafts and baking, making and selling coffee and selling jewelry and pottery.
On Saturday, May 6, about 10 Glacier Grannies attended a Gathering of Island Grandmothers, hosted by the Oceanside Grandmothers to Grandmothers.
We enjoyed a wonderful, activity-packed day. After greetings and introductions, a fascinating presentation was given by Alinda Ware whose organization, Kenya Education Endowment Fund, provides secondary school scholarships for students in Kakamega County, Kenya. Everyone was then invited to join craft workshops – each of us could chose three, varying in complexity from tote bags to “snowman poop.”
Table Talks gave everyone a chance to choose a couple of workshops in which to discuss pressing issues such as recruiting and retaining new members, or new ideas for fundraising. Barb T. and Joanne R. both hosted Talks.
Throughout the day we had plenty of opportunities to meet and share ideas with other Grandmothers, as we enjoyed a delicious breakfast and lunch, and breaks for coffee and snacks.
The grand finale was a concert by the Spirit Drummers – the audience was invited to join in, and their session finished with a conga line round the room. It was a terrific end to a day, filled with learning, laughter and companionship.
We also participated in the Marketplace, selling crafts and a donation of crafting beads, brought by Joanne C., making $305 for the Campaign.
A big thank you to the Oceanside Grandmothers to Grandmothers for giving us such a memorable day.
Help relieve the suffering from HIV and AIDS today and donate to the Stephen Lewis Foundation.
Individually hand-crafted by a group of Glacier Grannies, these beautiful Angels are a wonderful keepsake or gift.
Each Angel comes with a personalized name card which explains the work of the Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign.
