The spirit of Christmas was at an all time high on Wednesday, December 24th at ANDARA Gallery in Bloomfield.

As part of their ‘Ode to Joy’ Art Show and Sale, Tara Wilkinson and Andrew Csafordi, artist-owners of the gallery decorated their century-old barn with a stunning 15-foot Christmas tree from Denmar Farms and welcomed guests to visit the barn for a COVID-safe, socially distanced holiday photo. Guests brought their own camera and the staff took the photo while wearing PPE in exchange for a donation to the PECMH Foundation’s “Back the Build” campaign. The fundraiser ran from November 12 until December 23, 2020.

Hundreds of individuals, couples, families and groups of friends came to the barn for a photo - raising $5,000 for the campaign to build a new hospital in Prince Edward County.

A highlight of the event was when Dr. Nadia Knarr and Paul Bastiaanssen from Noble Beast Farms brought four of their lovely alpacas to ANDARA Gallery to participate in the photo shoots on December 5^th and 6th. On that weekend, $2,000 of the total raised was brought in.

“We were happy to provide a joyful experience for our community that brought people together safely to create happy memories while raising money for the new hospital campaign,” said Wilkinson. “Our original thought was maybe we would be able to raise $1,000 as this was our first year doing this. We blew well past our original goal thanks to the hundreds of people who came to have a safe, festive photo taken in our beautiful century old barn. Many happy holiday memories were made here this season.”

“Thank you to Tara and Andrew of ANDARA Gallery and everyone who supported this event. Every donation, no matter the size, makes a difference in the care you and your family will receive in our new hospital,” said Nancy Parks, Back the Build campaign co-chair. “We are blessed to live in this generous community which is ensuring our new hospital will be built and equipped with the best medical equipment possible for years to come.”

ANDARA Gallery is a fine art gallery showcasing works in photography and encaustic paintings year-round in the heart of Prince Edward County. ANDARA Gallery plans to continue this holiday tradition next year and thanks everyone for sharing in this joyful experience.

The Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation is a charitable organization whose mission is to raise money to advance health care for the patients of the hospital and the people of Prince Edward County.

Photo: Pictured at ANDARA Gallery with artist-owners Tara Wilkinson and Andrew Csafordi are Briar Boyce, senior development officer with the PECMH Foundation; Nancy Parks, Back the Build campaign co-chair and Dennis Darby, Back the Build campaign co-chair.

Photo credit: Brendan Kane