CORNWALL, Ontario – It was a sold out night for the Cornwall Community Hospital Foundation (CCHF) gala at the Nav Centre on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019.
There were 400 tickets sold for the Jules Verne inspired event. Titled Wanderlust, the event took a page or two out of Verne’s nineteenth century classic Around the World in 80 Days.
Guests were encouraged to dress in their best steampunk attire in honour of one of the forefather’s of the genre, Verne.
CCHF Executive Director Amy Gillespie said that many hands were involved in helping make the night happen, including Richard Dancause, who helped design the creative steampunk themed flying fish centre piece.
“They asked me to make something cool and I’m a big fan of steampunk,” Dancause said.
Dancause said that the centre piece took around nine months to create and was made of wood, cardboard and foam.
Gillespie explained that last year’s event brought in $75,000 for the CCHF and that she hoped that the event would generate at least that much money this year.
Money was raised not just through ticket sales, but also through a silent auction, and a raffle which saw winners given the chance to win such prizes as his and hers Michael’s watches provided by Pommier Jewellers, and a chance to win a trip to anywhere in North America that Air Canada travels to.
The money raised will go towards buying a new $400,000 mammography machine and other urgently needed equipment at the hospital.
