From the entertainment to the ambience to the generosity of the guests, it was a festive evening on Saturday at Affinity Place.
The St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation held its second annual Festival of Trees, a fundraising dinner that raises money for vital equipment at the hospital.
The evening featured Canadian country music star George Canyon and renowned speed painter Dan Dunn.
"We've had nothing but support from southeast Saskatchewan. Last night, we had 76 tables of eight and over 50 volunteers help out with the dinner, and the whole event went absolutely fantastic. We made $73,000 just from the live auction alone, and it really shows the commitment of the people from southeast Saskatchewan wanting to be passionate about health care here at the St. Joseph's Hospital," said foundation executive director Becky Conly.
During two separate sets, Canyon performed hits from his extensive library, as well as Christmas carols.
Dunn, who is known for creating paintings in less than 10 minutes, entertained the large crowd with his antics. His works included a John Lennon portrait and a Saskatchewan Roughriders painting.
"It was a perfect combination, going back and forth between George Canyon and Dan Dunn. Dan brought in a lot of money with his art pieces. It was unique. I don't think anyone around here had ever seen anything like that. George Canyon is absolutely one of the most talented live performing artists I've ever seen. His voice is unbelievable and I think it really put some Christmas spirit into everybody's hearts," Conly said.
On Sunday morning, the foundation hosted Santa's Breakfast with the Bruins, an event that saw the Estevan Bruins run various activities for kids. The early comers also got a free pancake breakfast.
More than 600 people came through the doors for the event.
"The Estevan Bruins came and ran all the stations. Without their partnership, we wouldn't have been able to do this, so we really want to thank them for that. It was just a really awesome event," Conly said.
Aside from the $73,000 raised during the live auction, the foundation won't know for a couple of weeks how much money was raised in total.
