March 22, 2014
Blackbutt’s Friends Of Cultcha arts group bowed out with a bang on Friday night when it held its 14th – and final – annual Gala Charity Night at the Blackbutt Community Hall.
As usual, the walls of the hall were lined with a large selection of artworks from artists who had exhibited during the past 12 months at the group’s monthly exhibitions at the Archie Muir Centre.
Artists with works on show included Dell Stevenson, Rosemarie Matthews-Frederick, Cary and Carol McAulay, Prudence Cumes, Sue McInnes, Nadine Martin, Karol Oakley, Sue Beyer, Bessie Smith, Val Bowman, Carol Olsen-Bull and the Timbertowns Woodworking Group.
Lively musical entertainment for the evening was provided by Fred Troughton, from Hervey Bay.
Guests indulged in trays of fresh finger foods, took refreshments at the bar, chatted with friends, and occasionally broke off for dancing in front of the stage throughout the night.
Friends Of Cultcha president Laraine Aniftos made the surprise announcement earlier this month that the group intended to wind up after 14 years of successful operations.
At the time, she said Friends Of Cultcha had achieved its original aim of raising the profile of the arts in Blackbutt, so it was now time to move on and let another group take its place.
“We now have three art galleries in the town, a fourth gallery at Nukku, and a very busy digital art / photographic club,” Laraine said.
On Friday night Laraine said she was excited to see “such a happy crowd”.
“We have a great exhibition for them and great entertainment. It’s a really nice way to wind things up,” she said.
There was also one major difference between Friday night’s get-together and all previous Gala Charity Nights.
In previous years, the Gala Charity Night was where the group gave the proceeds of each year’s operations to other Blackbutt not-for-profit groups or, in recent years, as scholarships to promising local students.
This year, Laraine said, the group had passed its surplus funds to other Blackbutt not-for-profits during the course of the year.
These included Bloomin’ Beautiful Blackbutt Festival (as a sponsorship); the Blackbutt-Benarkin Community Council (to assist with overheads); and the Blackbutt Show Society (through sponsorship of an art prize).
“After tonight we’ll be giving our books to the auditors so the group can be wound up in an orderly way,” Laraine said.
“When they’ve done their work, we’ll be looking at whatever funds we have left and holding a morning tea to distribute them to other Blackbutt non-profits who could do with a hand.”
The evening did, however, see one special presentation.
It went to Bill Turner, the man who has diligently opened up the Archie Muir Centre for exhibitions and then closed it afterwards – all in his own time – for the past 14 years.
“Bill made an extraordinary contribution to Friends Of Cultcha that’s never been recognised. So we’d like to do it before we go,” Laraine said.
Laraine also expressed her thanks to everyone who had supported Friends Of Cultcha over the years; all the committee members; all the helpers who provided food and drinks at Cultcha functions; and the group’s “benefactresses” Dr Carol Portman and Margaretha Portman for their generosity over many years.
And while the group is being wound up, fans of the group can still enjoy monthly art exhibitions at the Archie Muir Centre until the end of the year.
The next exhibition will open on Monday evening, April 7. It will feature works crafted by the Timbertowns Woodworking Group.
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