Above: On Oct. 18, the 31st annual Germain Street Open, an urban mini-putt tournament throughout uptown Saint John homes and businesses took place in support of L’Arche’s Creative Connections art studio for adults with intellectual disabilities. Pictured above, a team of participants hold up a hotdog painting by one of our artists, Joshua (pictured far right). The fundraiser exceeded its goal, raising over $20,000 to help sustain our art studio.
A hole-in-one of fun – with a huge impact
Who knew fundraising could be so… fun?
On Saturday, Oct. 18, Uptown Saint John was transformed into a playful urban mini‑putt course, coming alive with laughter, creativity, and generosity. The 31st annual Germain Street Open was back in full force, all in support of L’Arche Saint John’s Creative Connections program.
It’s a very fun event, where creativity and silliness is heavily encouraged – all for a good cause. This was the second year L’Arche partnered with the event as the charity beneficiary, and it far exceeded our expectations, leaving us humbled and inspired.
This year marked a record turnout: 38 teams (170 golfers in total) took to the streets, donning imaginative costumes – from Ghostbusters and Minions to Mario Kart and more – for 19 holes cleverly installed in local businesses, residences, and storefronts.
One of those 19 hole destinations was at Creative Connections. Leading up to the event, our artists and volunteers had fun designing an intricate woodland-themed mini-putt hole complete with hand-felted mushrooms, paper-mache animals and more.
A favourite moment from the afternoon was when a participant spotted a painting of a hotdog hanging on the wall at Creative Connections. Recognizing the trademark style from a similar painting hanging in Picaroon’s, a local brewery, the participant bought it on the spot. Joshua, the artist behind these iconic hotdog paintings, happened to be there at Creative Connections at the time and got to meet his newest fan. It was a beautiful moment of connection, recognition and appreciation for hot dogs.
Amazingly, the event exceeded its fundraising goal, bringing in over $20,000 to support Creative Connections this year! These funds help cover about 25% of our fundraising goal this year to sustain our art studio program.
Our sincere gratitude to the Germain Street Open organizing committee, event sponsors, volunteers, and all the participants and donors who helped make this event such a success!
With gratitude,
Rachel Vander Vennen
Community Leader & Executive Director
P.S. In case you missed the CTV coverage, check it out here.