HUNDREDS of local residents and visitors headed to Liskeard’s Public Hall last week to support the 55th Cancer Research UK art exhibition and sale hosted by the Liskeard branch committee.

It was a busy night for the launch evening as Cllr Simon Cassidy, Liskeard mayor, took to the stage to officially open the event.

John Reed, chairman of the Liskeard Committee of Cancer Research UK also said a few words - thanking all those who had been involved including the committee members, artists and gave thanks to Liskeard Town Council for the grant they had given the committee to hire the hall.

Sophie Barber, the local relationships manager for Cancer Research, discussed the work that the Liskeard Committee have done over the years including reaching their £1-million milestone back in 2022. 

Shortly after, Sophie presented John with Cancer Research UK’s most prestigious award the ‘Flame of Hope’ for the Liskeard branch’s work with fundraising in the community. 

It was an exciting event for all as attendees were treated to cheese, wine and plenty of local arts and crafts to look at and potentially buy. 

There was art, photography and craft from people including; Penny Porter, Gerry Hillman, Alison Middleton, Camilla Truman and lots more.

Reflecting on the open evening, Cllr Cassidy commented: “It was great to see the amazing work that the volunteers at Cancer Research Liskeard do and I was especially proud to see them being presented with a national award for their service. The arts and crafts on display were truly amazing and it’s great to see the creativity is alive and well in South East Cornwall.”

Frances Foulkes, honorary secretary for the Liskeard Local Committee added: “We were absolutely delighted with the how the exhibition went. The opening evening was very well attended and the following days were busy as well. We were very pleased with the number of sales and had plenty of comments about the high quality of the art and craft sales. The raffle and refreshments were very well supported.”

John Reed, chairman of the Liskeard Committee, continued: “This years 55th exhibition has been a great success.

“We had an amazing turnout on the open evening and were delighted to have our Mayor Simon Cassidy to officially open it. I would like to personally thank everyone who has supported the event whether it be advertising in the catalogue, giving raffle prizes, supplying food or just giving their time. We again had a very high quality exhibition thanks to the artists and crafters. We are very grateful to our local community who supported us during the event and helped us raise much needed funds for Cancer Research UK.”

To round off the five day long event, members of the committee worked in partnership with the Liskeard and Looe Ladies’ Circle to host a big breakfast on the Saturday (March 9) where everyone was invited to indulge in hot food in support of the charity.