Dixon Gallery and Gardens biggest fundraiser going virtual due to pandemic

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Going to the Dixon Gallery and Gardens is an experience, and this year, their biggest fundraising event won’t take place there because of COVID-19.

For the last 10 years, people have been going to the museum for the Art on Fire event, and like many other events this year, it will also be virtual.

The event is on Saturday, October 24th, and it will look a lot different this year, but the mission of the Dixon Gallery and Gardens 11th annual fundraising event remains the same.

“We really just want people to remember Art on Fire and the Dixon this fall, because we will come back next year. Hopefully to have an in-person event, remember all the fantastic components of the event like the fire dancing, like the musical performances,” Chantal Drake, Director of Development and Communications, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, said.

Drake says the event typically attracts 1,200 attendees and helps support the Dixon’s art and horticultural programs for more than 100,000 people yearly.

“So we have instructors that go into the school, the Shelby County Schools around the area and host and provide art activities for Shelby County School kids, but we also have art therapy programs for seniors who are suffering from Alzheimer’s,” Drake said.

Typically tickets for the event range from 60 to 75 dollars, but this year, they are only $10.

Drake says the event is a “see and be seen” event and admits it’s difficult to interpret that virtually, but hopes people will still support.

“We’ve had a lot of support from sponsors, that’s going to allow us to make a big difference in our education programs,” Drake said.

For more information about the event, click on the website. https://www.dixon.org/artonfire

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