There is one week left to join the Fountain Hills Community Foundation’s annual fundraiser to support local area non-profit groups! FLUTTER AT THE FOUNTAIN is a month-long celebration designed around 30 metal butterfly sculptures, each created by local area artists during the summer of 2020. The butterflies are now available for public auction by texting “Flutter2020” to 76278
Local residents are also invited to view all the butterflies in a day-long event at the Fountain Hills Community Garden, dubbed GALA IN THE GARDEN. The Gala in the Garden event is being presented in a socially distanced format from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. Guests are encouraged to purchase tickets, priced at $40 each. Kids under 12 may attend for free. Time slots to tour through the garden are sold in 10-minute increments with a maximum of 10 people. Actual tour time through the garden will be approximately 20 minutes. Residents are encouraged to invite their family and friends to select a timeslot to see the butterflies together.
There will also be entertainment during the event provided by various groups including the Fountain Hills Sax Quartet and Stephanie Wildeman of the Kniffen project. Wildeman, a local singer songwriter, will also be presenting her original song, Dodging Butterflies.
During the event, there will also be the dedication of a special 4’x8’ panel with a “flutter” of butterflies that will be back-lit. The Flutter panel will be dedicated to the individuals who served the Fountain Hills Community Foundation during it’s first 25 years. To be known as the SunRidge Founder’s Club, those members in attendance will be able to add their name to the art installation.
At the end of their Gala in the Garden tour, guests will receive a swag bag of gifts, along with tickets to the inaugural PUB FLUTTER, a pub crawl through downtown Fountain Hills eateries and pubs offering patio locations, event specials and freebies. A few of those locations include Arrivederci, Euro Pizza Café, Georgies, Phil’s Filling Station and Sofrita.
One lucky individual will also win a 37” butterfly known as Winged Sky Stone by artist Kathy Snapp, offered in a raffle. Tickets for the raffle are $10 each, 3 for $20, or 10 for $50. The Raffle Drawing will be held during a Facebook Live event Saturday evening from 7:00 – 7:40 pm. Raffle participants need not attend the Gala in the Garden or the Facebook Live event to win.
The public is invited to attend the Saturday evening Facebook Live event where the final moments of the auction for the largest butterflies will be broadcast along with the Raffle Drawing and videos by local artists and sponsors. Go to Fountain Hills Community Foundation on Facebook to watch the Live presentation.
Sami Fine Jewelry is celebrating the Flutter at the Fountain event by offering rare jewelry by Peruvian artist Yolanda Ormachea, made of the wings of butterflies collected after their life cycle. Visit Sami Fine Jewelry prior to the event where you will also see Winged Sky Stone, the raffle butterfly. Then, during Gala in the Garden, Sami Jack, founder of Sami’s will be in attendance at the event with artist Yolanda Ormachea to offer the very beautiful winged jewelry. The earrings and necklaces will make great holiday gifts. And 25% of all proceeds go to the Flutter at the Fountain fundraising efforts.
The Community Foundation is an organization celebrating it’s 25thyear in Fountain Hills, with over $1.2 million in donations given to local non-profit organizations throughout the years. At the outset of COVID-19, the Foundation had the privilege of awarding $26,450 in grants to 22 organizations, each in need during this perilous time in our history. In the 2021 Gifting Season, to begin in January, they hope to at least double those donation amounts. The Foundation relies on gifts from local donors as well as the proceeds of their annual fundraiser.
To learn more about the event visit www.Flutter2020.Givesmart.com or text “Flutter2020” to 76276. To see videos and photos of the butterflies, go to https://www.facebook.com/FHCommunityFoundation. To learn more about the works of the Community Foundation, go to https://fountainhillsgives.com/.
