Hot Springs Artists Society holds annual gala

HOT SPRINGS- The Hot Springs Artists Society held their annual Silent Auction, Wine, Cheese, and Chocolate Gala. The event is used to fund the Artists Society’s activities during the year and to keep the arts alive in the area.

“We use the event to raise money for programs for children as well as adults,” Artists Society President Marla Robbins said. “We try to keep the arts in here as much as possible.”

The event is the organization’s main fundraiser for the year, and featured a wine, cheese and chocolate bar for attendees to taste, and a silent auction, consisting of several works of art from local artists, as well as arts and craft items from area businesses.

The fundraiser supports many of the children’s programs that the Artists Society works to organize, such as bringing the Missoula Children’s Theater to Hot Springs.

The auction packed the room of the Symes Hotel to near capacity as the guests bid on items such as paintings and crafts. The room was split into two sections with different end times for the auction. Bidders and patrons alike were in the room to look at the items and eat cheese and chocolate.

“Ticket sales were up 56 percent from a year ago,” Board of Directors Secretary Bonnie Jean Triplett said. “We collected almost $900 from ticket sales alone.”

For Robbins, funding for their programs is about much more than dollars, it’s about keeping something cherished going.

“We want to keep the arts alive,” Robbins said. “”Children who are exposed to the arts have such a deeper understanding of the world around them and see things differently.”

The arts are something Robbins holds near and dear to her heart. She has been involved with the arts for over 45 years. Her experience has led her to meet a lot of people in the art world and bring artists to Hot Springs.

The Artists Society tries to bring a featured artist each year to the event. This year they brought in Polson photographer Jay Cross.

Cross is a native Ohioan who made his way to Montana after he retired from his northeastern Ohio town.

“I got Glacier Fever, or whatever you want to call it,” Cross said. “My wife and I were taking one trip a year, then two, then three and it got really expensive. So, we decided to pack up and move out here and never plan on leaving.”

Cross had juried a photography show in Hot Springs in March and was asked by Robbins to be the featured artist at the Gala.

He is much more than just a photographer, he makes his own prints of his nature photographs. The scenic views are what brought him to Montana in the first place.

“I don’t know if I take pictures as an excuse to see these places, or I want to see these places because I’m a photographer,” Cross said.

Cross said it was an honor to be the featured artist and hoped to come back in the future.

This is the Artist Society’s sole fundraiser for the year and all those who participated were thanked by the organization.

“We call it the best party of the year in Hot Springs,” Triplett said. “I think we lived up to expectation.”