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Ucluelet firefighters team up with local artists for Red Carpet Gala

Ucluelet’s firefighters have linked up with local artists to bring a night of red hot, creative revelry to town.
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The Pacific Rim Arts Society and Ucluelet Fire Rescue are excited to host their second annual Red Carpet Gala on May 31.

Ucluelet’s firefighters have linked up with local artists to bring a night of red hot, creative revelry to town. 

The Pacific Rim Arts Society and Ucluelet Fire Rescue are geared up to host their second annual Red Carpet Gala fundraiser at the Ucluelet Community Centre on May 31. 

PRAS’ executive director Kelly Deakin told the Westerly News last year’s event was a smoking success with over 120 tickets sold and she’s hoping to see an even bigger turnout to this year’s event with a goal of boosting the turnout to 200. 

“We’re looking forward to this one because we had so much fun at the first one and we want to bring more people in to realize how much fun it is. Everybody had a really good time. It was just a really great, fun evening. It’s a great opportunity to get dressed up and go out on the town and have a night out,” she said. 

“In Ukee, there’s not a lot of opportunities to just get dressed up to the nines and go out and have a good time…We get a really great mix of people there and you get to mix and mingle and meet other people and just have a lot of fun.” 

Tickets are $100 and can be purchased online at www.pacificrimarts.ca or in person at PRAS’ Orange Door Gallery, 250 Main Street in Ucluelet. 

A photographer will be onsite to capture the memories created at the event, which will include live music, dancing, food from Ucluelet’s esteemed Heartwood Kitchen as well as both a live and silent auction. 

Proceeds from the Gala will be split between PRAS and Ukee Fire Rescue. 

“I love working with the fire department,” Deakin said. “They totally support the arts and we support what they do in our community…It just works out to be a really good mix.” 

She added it’s vital for local organizations to join forces to fundraise together rather than compete for local dollars. 

“It’s really important to find other entities to work with, especially non profits. There are so many non-profits on the West Coast between Ucluelet and Tofino. We’re all working towards the same thing and, when we fundraise, we’re all fundraising to keep our non profits going,” she said. “The more that we can work together with each other, the less we’re going up against each other looking for the same funding…It’s really great to find people that we can work with that we collaborate with really well together. It just makes the fundraising part of it more fun.” 

Fundraising has been thrust into particular prominence in PRAS’ futurescape as the organization has seen grant pools dry up with more and more groups applying for funding. 

“Since COVID, there are so many more non profits, not just here on the West Coast but across B.C. and Canada. So, now, instead of having 10 non profits applying for one grant, we have like 50 non-profits applying for one grant,” she said. “All those funders are trying to spread the money out so everybody gets a little bit of something…We really have to do a lot of fundraising for the arts society in order to keep us going.” 

She suggested PRAS’ grant funding has been cut by more than half, noting the society used to receive about $25,000 a year to cover operating costs and has watched that dwindle down to about $12,000. 

Funding for specific events has seen similar plummets, with Deakin pointing to PRAS’ popular annual Pacific Rim Summer Festival that had traditionally been boosted by about $20,000 in grant support and now sees closer to $6,000 coming in.

Ucluelet Fire Rescue chief Rick Geddes told the Westerly that his crew’s share of the proceeds will go into the Fire Fighters Association, which aims to boost firefighters social activities and health benefits as well as community initiatives, pointing to a $1,500 scholarship awarded to a Ucluelet Secondary School grad each year as an example. 

He echoed Deakin’s stoke on last year’s event. 

“It turned out to be a great fundraiser and a great time for all involved, so we’ve continued on the partnership and hopefully it will be here for years to come,” he said. “The mood was great in the room. A good time was had by all.” 

He also shared Deakin’s enthusiasm for this year’s Gala and the expectation it will be an even bigger success. 

“It’s a great time and it’s also a great way to give back to the community and support the firefighters who put their lives on the line and put their lives on call daily to keep everybody safe,” Geddes said. “I hope to see everybody out. Last year was a good turnout and this year we hope to make it even better, so come on out, support your firefighters and support PRAS, which is a great organization to be involved with.” 

Geddes said he has been consistently heartened by the town’s willingness to support fundraising efforts and buoy local groups. 

“It’s so important. This town, for a place so small, is just so generous. They’re constantly getting hit up for donations and it just amazes me year after year the generosity of the businesses and people,” he said.

 



Andrew Bailey

About the Author: Andrew Bailey

I arrived at the Westerly News as a reporter and photographer in January 2012.
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