Halloween masquerade, delicious food and drink and the support of a good cause – this year’s Crave event will include new chefs, exciting auction items and entertainment in support of the Squamish Helping Hands Society.
Helping Hands executive director Maureen Mackell said the event grows every year – last year the masquerade theme was so successful, organizers decided to play it up in 2017. Masks aren’t required, but it does add to the festive Halloween theme.
“By no means do people have to dress up, but it was a really fun aspect from last year and we’re keeping it around the Halloween date as well,” she said.
The basic format of Crave doesn’t change from year to year – Mackell said the primary draw is local chefs preparing tasty treats for guests and wine and beer vendors to accompany. The event takes place at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park, and includes live music and other local entertainment.
“We feel like we hit on a great theme for it – it has a bit of an urban vibe with a twist of masquerade. We’ve kept to that same format, and we add different kinds of entertainment,” she said.
Close to 20 local restaurants are participating. Returning chefs include Pepe’s, Locavore, Mags 99 and the Spice Root. New restaurants joining this year include Norman Rudy’s, Sunwolf and Saha Eatery.
Wineries, cideries and breweries from across the province will be on site as well.
This year live music will be performed by Bluesberry Jam Showband and the Sea'T'Sky Big Band.
There will also be live painting taking place – allowing guests to both watch a painting being created and to bid on the art as it takes shape.
This year Darren McPeake from Mountain FM will be hosting. Another new element of this year’s event in a focus on auction items. Mackell said there will be plenty of interesting things to place offers on, but the big prize is still under wraps.
The event isn’t just for fun of course. Each year money raised from the gala goes towards funding programming by Helping Hands, including providing food, shelter and community for vulnerable residents.
“I want to encourage people to come out because, for one, it’s a really lively and entertaining evening, but it’s also an evening to connect with other community members,” said Mackell. “For everyone who purchases a ticket and comes to the event or sponsors an event, it’s a way of marrying these two things: having a great time and being socially responsible and giving back in a way that's local and meaningful.”
The programming offered by the organization varies, but fundraising is now focused on Under One Roof – a new facility that will include affordable housing and space for community partners, including the Squamish Food Bank, Cutting Barriers and Vancouver Coastal Health.
“We have some big funders there, including the District and BC Housing, but we do need to bring more funding to it to make sure we can bring it to fruition the way that we are envisioning it,” said Mackell.
“For the event, you’re going out and having fun, but you also get that feel good knowledge that part of the money you put towards a ticket will go to help people right here in our community.”
Mackell said the event is also reliant on community sponsors. The year’s title sponsor is Squamish Savings. Other sponsors include Vantage, LT Wave Holdings, Sea to Sky Gondola and Peak to Peak Mortgages.
CRAVE takes place on Saturday at 6 p.m. on Oct. 28 at the West Coast Railway Museum. Tickets to the haunted fundraiser are available for purchase at squamishhelpinghands.ca.
