Dimbola held their most successful Art & Craft Christmas Fair and £2,464 was raised for the Julia Margaret Cameron Trust, the charity that runs Dimbola. The house was crammed with visitors and stallholders on both days, and the tearoom was heaving with customers enjoying the festive menu on offer. Over 25 different stalls were scattered around the museum and galleries, which included paintings, pottery, jewellery, knitted items, cards, stained glass, festive decorations and more. Almost 1000 raffle tickets were sold for the grand draw on Sunday afternoon, which featured fantastic gifts donated from generous local businesses and individuals. Local photographer Christian Beasley set up his festive pet portrait studio in the shop and did a roaring trade in dog photos, taken in a Christmas sleigh with a snowy scene as the backdrop. Dr Brian Hinton, Chair of the Julia Margaret Cameron Trust, has said:
“It was a marvellous weekend, and I loved to see the house alive and buzzing with happy visitors. Huge thanks to Elissa Blizzard for organising it and to the other staff and volunteers for all their help”.
