On Friday, September 6, 2019, the Spruce Meadows Leg Up Foundation held its inaugural fundraising event, the Masterpieces at the ‘Masters’ live auction which raised over $100,000.
The event centered around paintings which were created by eight talented local artists including: Madison Canyon, Steve R. Coffey, Kindrie Grove, Andrew Kiss, Gena LaCoste, Kim Penner, Jody Skinner and Paul van Ginkel. These gifted artists created stunning works of art which were displayed at the Masterpieces evening. Guests voted for the painting they liked the most. Later in the evening, all of the paintings went up for live auction, with half of the proceeds from the paintings donated to the Spruce Meadows Leg Up Foundation. Jody Skinner’s stunning masterpiece, “Larger Than Life,” was the winning painting of the evening and will be featured on the 45th Anniversary poster for Spruce Meadows next year.
“Spruce Meadows and the Leg Up Foundation are committed to the community. It was terrific to bring everyone together tonight – the arts community, the corporate community and the community from the ‘Masters’ Tournament – to support the work that we do,” saidLori Fyke, Spruce Meadows Leg Up Foundation Director & Co-Chair of the Masterpieces at the ‘Masters’ Committee.
The auction for these Masterpieces created an exciting atmosphere with bidders from throughout North America and Europe. The art is now hanging prominently in homes, offices and stables across Canada and in Europe.
The money raised at the event will be distributed to various charities, including: Calgary Reads, the Calgary Food Bank, Opening Gaits Therapeutic Riding Association, the Priddis Outdoor Hockey Rink Refurbishment Project and the Pacific Assistance Dogs Society.
The Masterpieces at the ‘Masters’ evening could not have been possible without the incredible effort put forth by all of the talented artists, the winning bidders of the beautiful artwork and other auction items, those who donated to the Spruce Meadows Leg Up Foundation, those who so generously volunteered their time for the event and those who came to support the Foundation’s inaugural fundraising event.
The Spruce Meadows Leg Up Foundation is also honoured to have such wonderful corporate partners who contributed to the event including PwC, Red Arrow Motorcoach, RBC Dominion Securities – Wares Wealth Advisory Group, Cardel Homes, Valentine Volvo and Willow Park Wines & Spirits.
If you would like to learn more about the Spruce Meadows Leg Up Foundation, please visit the Foundation’s website at www.sprucemeadows.com/legupfoundation or email the foundation legupfoundation@sprucemeadows.com.
