We asked our supporters to “Bake A Difference” and boy, did they ever!
The Georgian Triangle Humane Society (GTHS) participated in the National Cupcake Day campaign – and final tallies are still pending! What we are sure of is that through is that we are on track to EXCEED funds raised from past GTHS National Cupcake Days!
On Sunday, Feb 24th, after months of preparation, National Cupcake Day kicked off with the Frosted Family Festival event at GTHS. Before the doors opened to the public, we held our 4th Annual Creative Cupcake Challenge (more on that below). Once the clock struck noon, there was a steady stream of hundreds of happy faces looking to satisfy their sweet tooth for a great cause. Early birds were well-rewarded with a wide selection of artistic and colourful cupcakes, including vegan and gluten-free.
New this year, we included fun outdoor winter activities like ball hockey. A gigantic thank you to Healthy Kids Collingwood for providing us with all this wonderful equipment so that our younger attendees could not only enjoy delicious treats, but also have the opportunity to play! Despite the less-than-ideal forecast, children were outside enjoying the activities that were offered.
We could not pull off events like the Frosted Family Festival without help from our sponsors. GTHS National Cupcake Day’s Title Sponsor, Royal LePage Trinity considers the GTHS a partner and they were instrumental in the success of our event – they also generously sponsored the photography and on-site printing so that all our guests could take home a photographic keepsake with a custom National Cupcake Day border!
We are also grateful to our Cupcake Sponsors Barriston Law, Mullin’s Pet Market, Epcor and the Ontario SPCA. The PeakFM’s, one of the event’s media sponsors, John Sandham was on-site covering the entire event. Dave West Photography and Georgian Life Media were also in attendance to capture all the different aspects of the Frosted Family Festival. CollingwoodToday.ca also supported the GTHS’s National Cupcake Day Campaign by providing us with Media Sponsorship.
We would like to give a special shout out to our GTHS Cupcake Day Spokescat, Eddie! With the help of his dad Dave and his mom Chris, Eddie’s notoriety throughout the entire Georgian Triangle certainly added a fun spin to the campaign. From creative social media posts, to creating a special ED-ition cupcake through Grandma’s Beach Treats in Wasaga Beach, we are very thankful to that cute bowtie-wear cat and his parents!
The Creative Cupcake Challenge showcased the best of the best of gourmet cupcakes in the region. And the grand title goes to….drum roll….Tesoro Restaurant with their carrot cake cupcake! A deliciously close call, second and third place kudos go to Get Cake Crazzy and Heavenly Cafe respectively for their mouth-watering works of art. Honourable mentions go to the other participating bakers from Grandma’s Beach Treats, Lakeside Seafood & Grill and The Smoke.
The celebration didn’t end with the Frosted Family Festival. Monday, February 25th marked National Cupcake Day – a day that animal-lovers from across the country participated in. Over 100 individuals and local businesses took part by holding parties of their own, or by supporting the campaign by selling paper cupcakes and making donations throughout the month of February. Many of those who were unable to celebrate due to the weather, held their parties on Tuesday. Our support network included but wasn’t limited to Collingwood, Wasaga Beach, Meaford, Stayner, Creemore and even the GTA!
“It’s been amazing to see the community rally around such a great cause as this. The dedication from everyone in the committee, the willingness from local businesses and individuals to take part and the efforts by the team at GTHS is a testament to the good work that GTHS does in the community. I am proud to have been a part of this and to live in such a caring place!” said Eimear Duggan, Chair of the GTHS Cupcake Day committee.
Eimear Duggan (left), with her mother Colette (right) enjoy some complimentary apple cider by Spy Cider House
Once again, this year’s National Cupcake Day was a sweet success, most notably for the shelter animals who we love so much. We are extremely grateful for the support from our community, always caring, compassionate, and generous.
From the bottom of our paws to the tips of our whiskers, thank you for “baking” a difference!
~ Anna Agresta, Fundraising Coordinator
Cupcake Organizing Committee
Eimear Duggan (Chair) | Danielle Brown | Janet Tipold | Lisa Bugler | Melodee Matthews | Michelle Kingsbury | Pam Odam | Sue LaJambe (Treasure Tails Manager) | Anna Agresta (GTHS Fundraising Coordinator)
Bakers
Alanna Patterson | Amy’s Espresso Bar & Cakery | Beverly Thomas | Carolyn Williamson | Cheryl Wild | Claire Johnson | Collingwood Home Finishing |Collingwood Youth Centre | Elsa Schulz | Jenn Watt | Karen Marsh | Kellie Casey |Loblaws | Megan Taylor | Metro | Royal LePage Trinity Team | Sobeys | Wendy Mitchell | Willa Black
The Chef Creative Cupcake: Winner and Challengers
Tesoro Restaurant (1st place) | Get Cake Crazzy (2nd place) | Heavenly Café (3rd place)
Grandma’s Beach Treats | Lakeside Seafood & Grill | The Smoke
The Chef Creative Cupcake: Judges – THANK YOU!
Dave West Photography | Karen Fawcett (GTHS Volunteer) |Lisa Bugler (Royal LePage Trinity Realty, Brokerage) | Pam Major (CCI)
Thank You To Our Sponsors! We are so grateful for your support and generosity
TITLE SPONSOR
CUPCAKE SPONSORS
MEDIA SPONSORS
Cupcakes, pics courtesy of Dave West Photography
Party Pics, Courtesy of Dave West Photography
In-Kind Donations
Starbucks | Metro | Sobey’s | Loblaws | Crave Chocolatier | Royal Canin | Cutting Edge |Collingwood Youth Centre | Theatre Collingwood | Spy Cider House and Distillery | U-Pick Parties
Supporters
Agnora | Alyssa Rowbotham |Altered Native | Amy’s Espresso Bar & Cakery |Ann Clayton-Gorton | Anna Pine |Appeal Boutique | Audrey Hopkins |Baker Tilly | Barriston Law | Beachside Massage Therapy | Beth Jensen |Blue Shores Club | Boston Pizza |Brianna Ellis |Brown’s Moving & Storage | Caithkin Foster Homes | Canadian Pet Connection | Canadian Tire Wasaga Beach | Century 21 Millenium | CIBC Collingwood | Coffee Culture Stayner | Collingwood Dental Centre | Collingwood Sweet Shoppe | Crave The Chocolatier | Crozier and Associates |Eddie (Dave) Kergan |Engel & Volkers | Epcor | Espresso Post | Evolution Him & Her | Foodland Wasaga Beach | Georgian Christmas | Get Cake Crazzy |Gibson and Company | Glow Hair Studio | Good Energy Studio | Good Health Mart | Grandma’s Beach Treats | Grapevine Cottage | Heavenly Café | Home Hardware Wasaga Beach | Hughes | IDA Meaford | Investor’s Group | Isabel Bailey |JEnniFER’s Grooming | Jennifer MacMurchy |Jennifer McFarlane |Jennifer Watt | Jessica Frampton |Katie Gunning | Katie Taylor |Knight’s Home Building Centre | Lakeside Seafood & Grill |Laura Murray | Linda West | Lisa Bugler |Loblaws Collingwood | Maximum Physiotherapy | Meaford Long Term Care Centre | Meg Anderson |Meridian Collingwood | Metro Collingwood| Michelle Kingsbury |Mountain Vista Veterinary Hospital | Mullin’s Pet Market | Noble Insurance | Ontario SPCA | Pam Odam |Par-Med |Paula’s Pantry | The Peak FM | Pet Valu Collingwood | Pet Valu Wasaga Beach| Potato Factory | Press Juice Co. | Riverside Retirement Residence | Royal LePage Trinity Realty | Scotiabank Meaford | Sobey’s Collingwood | Starbucks Collingwood | Stayner Pet Centre | Steeler’s Restaurant & Pub | Stephanie Weaver |TD Wasaga Beach | Tesoro Restaurant |The Kitchen Catering & Cafe | The Paint Bar |Town of Collingwood | Town of Wasaga Beach | Van Dolder’s Custom Exteriors | Victoria Kenyon |Walmart
Thank you to all those individuals and businesses who made this event a success. Our work is im-PAW-ssible without you!
