Chestermere saw its first gala for women by women on March 24 with the Butterfly Gala.
About 75 women turned out for the gala, a result that organizers said they were delighted and thrilled to have.
Megan Matthies, one of the event organizers, said there were three reasons to plan the event.
“We wanted to raise awareness and money for women in crisis situations in Chestermere, the second was that we wanted to provide an opportunity for women in our community to connect with each other, the last one was we just really wanted to provide a chance for ladies to dress up, feel special, and have a formal event just for no other reason than that they are worth celebrating,” she said.
The event had an auction to help raise money for a special sector of Christmas With Dignity to help women in crisis situations.
Matthies said that Christmas with Dignity raises money all year round to give to people who need it, and the money raised by the gala will go specifically to women in crisis.
“Sometimes these things aren’t always seen in a community like Chestermere, but if women are facing difficult circumstances whether it’s family, health, or just life changes, what the program offers is gap funding,” she said.
The auction raised $2300 for Christmas With Dignity.
The event had a variety of activities for attendees including a harpist who played for the first hour.
After that they had dance instruction including line dancing, as well there was a stylist who provided accessorizing tips, and a live musical performance by Mel Porter.
The gala also took time to honour local Chestermerian Elaine Peake, a former councilor and Mayor of Chestermere.
They wanted to acknowledge her and her inspiration to the community.
Everything in the gala was for women and by women from the performers, to the organizers, to the attendees.
The whole event was basically a celebration of women for the entire night.
Although it has not been decided yet if this will become an annual event, according to Matthies, there has been a lot of positive feedback for the butterfly gala to become an annual event in Chestermere.
She wanted to thank all the people involved with the event.
“I’d just like to say thank you to everyone who embraced this event,” said Matthies.
She said that they had so many people who believed in the event and got on board with it from the entrepreneurs and the sponsors, and all the women.
She said thank you to all those who supported it and of course, the people who attended it.
