The Dunster Fine Arts School has been back in session now for several weeks, and a fund-raiser is planned for Nov. 26 to help pay for maintenance and the mortgage on the building. 

This will be the first fund-raiser to be held since the seven students went back to class on Nov. 1. The seven students were previously being taught in a tent near the school grounds, while others started school in nearby McBride or Valemount. 

Shara Gustafson, whose daughter attends Grade 3 at the Dunster Fine Arts School, said the first few weeks back in the building have been great. 

“It’s really valuable in our community,” Gustafson said of the school. “It is the heart of our community here, we just couldn’t let it go.”

Right now the students are doing distance learning, but the Dunster Fine Arts School Society, who negotiated with School District 57, hope to work with the district to see teachers return next year. 

Gustafson said having a building with running water and its own gymnasium has been a nice change from the unheated tent the students were previously in. 

“It’s fantastic,” she said.

As the weather gets colder, the students are enjoying the use of the indoor gym, so that physical education is not always outside.

The fund-raiser is being held to generate some money to put towards the maintenance and mortgage of the building. 

“We need to raise funds because we own the building,” Gustafson said. 

The Nov. 26 weekend is a busy one for Robson Valley families, with out-of-town hockey tournaments and other events planned, but Gustafson said she believes the community will come out to support the school.

“I still think we’ll get a pretty good turnout,” she said.

There will be a silent auction from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., followed by musical guests Maria in the Shower, and Seth and Shara, a duo that Gustafson is part of. 

“I’m pretty excited that they’re going to be the act,” Gustafson said of Maria in the Shower. 

Donations of auction items and cash have been pouring in already from local businesses and artisans. 

There will be soup and chili, baked goods and beverages available as well. The event is being held at the school starting at 6:30 p.m.

Click here for more information on Maria in the Shower, who will play Jasper before their stop in Dunster.