Charity began not ‘at home’, but in Holmfirth recently, when the town held its annual ArtWeek event – one of the UK’s largest open art exhibitions – with the aim of raising as much money as possible for Macmillan Cancer Care.
Amassing an impressive £966,500 since the event launched some years ago, ArtWeek features pieces from the very best local artists, alongside a special café made up of delicious supplies from local companies. With £41,000 raised during last year’s event alone, organisers predicted another great year – and they weren’t disappointed, with donations still coming in weeks later and the total expected to pass the one million mark.
Run by volunteers, the event – which ran from July 7 to 13 and is organised by Holmfirth Civic Hall Community Trust – attracts 10,000 visitors to the main exhibition at the hall each year, with the café also proving hugely popular.
Keen to do our bit, the team here at Fairway Foodservice donated 48 portions of quiche, 120 rashers of bacon, 10kg of cheese and 48 litres of ice cream, with 100% of sales going directly to Macmillan.
With many of the artists donating up to 100% of their profits to the event, Lynne Onyskiw, Art Week’s Chair, couldn’t have been happier with how the event panned out. “We were really pleased this year that we had a lot of new artists to ArtWeek apply (around 100), as they help bring a vibrancy and make it exciting for the visitor.” she says.
The event, which has been running annually since 1967, provides the perfect opportunity for people to start their Christmas shopping, says Lynne – even if it is only July.
