The second annual Vampyre Night at Vele, held Oct. 28, gave adults a fun Halloween event to attend while raising funds to provide some holiday cheer to District 186 students.
“We raised over $5,000 to support students within District 186 who need a little extra help around Christmas,” said Grant Hammer, owner of The Crafted Stag and one of the event organizers. “It will help make sure those kids have something under the tree or some warm clothing.”
Hammer said funding will be distributed through Make an Impact, a Springfield-based nonprofit that supports a holiday event for children in Springfield Public Schools District 186. Last year’s beneficiary was Refuge Ranch.
Hammer said the idea for the event was born when he was brainstorming with fellow business owners Nickey Sperry and Liz Eckert. Sperry and her husband, Dan, own Vele and Curate, and Eckert owns Bella Boutique.
“We wanted to do something fun together, and Springfield doesn’t have a ton of (adult) Halloween events outside of haunted houses,” he said. “We came up with an idea for an upscale party. But we wanted to do some good along with this. Liz, Nickey and myself are big believers in giving back, and Springfield has been good to us.”
Guests, who are encouraged to dress in all black, receive $150 in gift cards from the participating local businesses as part of their ticket purchase. Raffle prizes were donated by Giganti & Giganti, Vele, Bella Boutiue, XGolf, Jim Wilson Interiors and The Crafted Stag.
Two years in, Hammer said the event is already a success.
“We had more than a hundred people join us this year,” he said. “We’ve grown it from last year and we’re going to keep rolling and do it again.”
