Members of the Hilldene Fire Brigade (left from back) Brendan Morley, Marcus Jones, Jake Williamson, James Voogt and (front right) Captain Will Fenech opened the 2025 Art4CFA exhibition with Dawn Hartog from the CFA board.
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With over 53 artworks sold, this year’s Art4CFA was dubbed “a record”.
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“We sold around $20,000 worth of art, and 15 per cent of that will go towards the brigade, as well as money made from other donations,” organiser and artist Lynda Robinson said.
“We also sold out of raffle tickets.”
Art4CFA has been supporting brigades without a township for over 10 years.
Not only does the exhibition, which is always held over the Easter long weekend, raise funds for the hosting brigade, it also raises awareness.
“It gives the brigades the opportunity to get themselves out there, and lets the public come in and have a look inside a fire station,” Hilldene Fire Brigade secretary Sharon Smith said.
“There’s also possible recruiting.
“It’s a ‘we help them, they help us’ sort of thing.”
Art4CFA has been making the rounds around brigades in the District 12 area since its inception.
The exhibition was first brought about by the late Lee Stephenson, who sparked the initiative to fundraise for her own brigade in Trawool.
The Lee Stephenson Award was created in 2024 to honour the Art4CFA pioneer, and is presented each year by Lee’s husband, Roger, to the artist of the work with the most votes.
This year, Kylie Comte took out the award for her CFA-inspired drawings.
Raffle winners were also awarded with their prizes during the event.
The first prize, a pastel painting created by Lynda Robinson, was won by Matt McLaughlin of Seymour.
Art4CFA organisers were blown away by the number of people who walked through the doors of Hilldene Fire Brigade.
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Ms Robinson and Ms Smith agree that the standout of the weekend was the sheer number of people who walked through the doors — with attendees hailing from surrounding areas, as well as from Melbourne and beyond.
“The number of people who came blew us away,” Ms Smith said.
“On the opening night, we had well over a hundred people, and then it was a steady stream across the weekend,” Ms Robinson said.
“This year, there seemed to be many more people and many more sales.”
In attendance were also members of the Arilla Village Art Group, who travelled all the way from South Morang to Seymour on Easter Saturday to see the exhibition.
With significant funds raised over the long weekend and an overwhelming number of visitors, Art4CFA was declared a success yet again.
Ms Smith said the donated money would go towards obtaining equipment and supporting Hilldene Fire Brigade to perform fire hose repairs across District 12.
The event will make a return in 2026, and is set to be held at the Glenaroua Fire Brigade over the Easter weekend.
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