Evening of Dreams 2025 – Recap

October 8, 2025

On Friday, October 3, over 400 people gathered for our 13th Evening of Dreams Gala in support of the women who are defying all odds to break the cycle of addiction for themselves and their families. From the incredible atmosphere, to hearing a powerful testimony, to celebrating the accomplishments of the past year – Friday was truly a beautiful representation of the power of community.

With your support we raised an astounding $263,899.76! Thank you for believing in the work of Adeara and the women we serve.

Key Highlights   

  • Josh and Ainsley Dwelling, our emcees, were an incredible duo bringing witty entertainment and heart to the night! As invested supporters who understand the work of Adeara, we are thankful they were our guides for the evening.
  • We celebrated the accomplishments of Adeara and More Than a Fad this past year, thanks to your generosity and support. This year was MTAF’s most profitable year yet, bringing in $729,127 in sales!
  • Shauna Yohemas, Adeara’s board chair, shared about the significant progress that has been made on the organization’s strategic priorities over the last year, such as enhancing our programs, strengthening organizational culture, ensuring financial sustainability. We honoured Jayton Sontag who has served on the board since 2019 and Jesse Jervis, who has served multiple terms on Adeara’s board over the past 10 years, as they have concluded their terms on the board. We are deeply grateful to both of them for their significant contributions to Adeara.
  • We introduced the Recovery Support Program, Adeara’s enhanced continued care program, which exists to support clients as they transition into independent living. The Recovery Support Program includes three main areas of focus, 1-to-1 Recovery Support, Foundations of Recovery, and the Transition House Program.
  • Our Recovery Support addictions counsellor, Norma Morrissey, shared about the impact the Labonte Manor—Adeara’s transition house—is having on current clients in the program. With years of experience in the field of addiction, Norma reminded us of the unique and important work Adeara continues to do.
  • Amber, an Adeara Alumni, bravely shared her powerful testimony. She has against all odds, broken free from the cycle of addiction and trauma to raise her children in a new cycle that she is creating – one of love, safety, and healing. Her story is a powerful testament to the generational impact made possible through Adeara. Watch her story on our YouTube page.
  • There were several ways to support Adeara throughout the gala, such as the thrilling Balloon Pop Raffle where guests had a 1 in 100 chance to win a grand prize stay in Mexico! Our Live Auction consisted of six items such as vacations, a radio promotion package, oilers tickets and a team signed jersey. Our Needs List displayed our centre’s immediate tangible needs that guests could donate towards. Our Silent Auction consisted of 21 items that attendees spent the evening out bidding each other on.

Special Thanks

We want to extend a massive thank you to everyone who attended, donated and made our 13th Evening of Dreams a night to remember! The awareness and support raised will help women and children for years to come. We would also like to give a special thanks to:

  • Juli, Lorajoy and the Evening of Dreams team for putting hours of work into the vision, design, planning and execution of this event.  
  • Our dedicated 30 volunteers who made this night run smoothly!
  • O + A Decor for the beautiful decor and blowing up all 100 balloons for the Balloon Pop. Messer Canada for donating helium to the Balloon Pop.
  • Laura Pothoven who painted live during the evening and generously donated her artwork to our live auction.
  • Ben Kellert, our faithful auctioneer who has been deeply invested in Adeara since its inception 27 years ago.
  • Our Board of Directors who see further than we do and continually propel our mission to empower and equip women to live in sustainable recovery.
  • Nudge Creative for their notable work in capturing the stories shown on video this evening as well as capturing photos of the event.

Thank you to our sponsors who generously made this event possible:

Title Sponsor
Diamond Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
Silver Sponsor

Our exceptional vendors:

It’s Not Too Late to Give!  

Become a monthly supporter. Whether it’s $35 or $350, your sustainable support creates sustainable change.

Give a one-time gift and help stop the cycle of addiction not only for one woman but for her children and their future children.

Complete the Survey

We strive to continually improve our events and create spaces you will want to invite your friends and families to. To help us achieve this, we invite you to participate in a brief survey if you attended the gala this year. Your feedback is invaluable and will directly influence our future events.

Fill out the survey here!

Get Involved Next Year

Save the date! Our next Evening of Dreams will be on October 2, 2026. Information will be posted on our website closer to the date. If you wish to be a sponsor for our 2026 gala, please email Juli at juli@adeara.ca.

Donate Today
What is Adeara?

Adeara is a faith-based, accredited addiction recovery centre for women and their children. We provide long-term programming to women in need in a residential setting. We’re here to walk with women through every step of their recovery journey—from addiction to sobriety, and transitioning back into the community.

I’ve come to realize that I was never alone because God was with me. Having a greater understanding of addiction provides me a greater advantage of recovery … I can honestly say I have an abundance of hope in my life.

Vanessa