A group of friends walk by one of the VIP lounges at Summer Solstice on Saturday night. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — The Seventh Annual Summer Solstice fundraiser drew a crowd to Linden Spring on Saturday evening.

The fundraiser, hosted by Westvirjeni boutique style floral and event business, was held to raise funds for Breast Cancer Awareness, Inc. (BCA).

“It’s a fun time to celebrate the solstice and to have this charity event,” said Westvirjeni owner Jeni Walker. “It started out as a small backyard event with 25 women, and now we have 250 people that attend each year, along with vendors and local musicians.”

The local musicians performing at the event were Roc-n-Spice, DJ Selah and Lucia Valentine and Jade Tremba. Vendors at the event included Ortega’s Taco Shop, Sol Care, Hannah Jean Metalworks, Whimsly Cotswold Downs Crafts, Even Rose Love hand-fabricated botanical jewelry, Gypsy Soul Catering, Titan BBQ, Elevation Hydration, Canova Aesthetics and Studio M Boutique. Bar service was provided by Barrel View Bar, with the alcoholic beverages donated by Jefferson Distributing. A number of raffles were held later in the evening, ranging from a facial at Canova Aesthetics to an overnight stay at Rock Haven B&B.

For Walker, holding a massive event like this one every summer is something she looks forward to, especially knowing that its proceeds are going to do good throughout the region.

Shepherdstown residents Jade Tremba, left, and Lucia Valentine perform a set of songs at the beginning of Summer Solstice on Saturday night. Tabitha Johnston

“Breast Cancer Awareness is based out of Hagerstown, Maryland, but serve the surrounding area. They offer assistance to those going through cancer treatments, like wigs and rides and a host of other things like that,” Walker said.

The nonprofit organization has always been the one to benefit from the fundraiser’s proceeds, according to Walker.

“I wanted to do a charity event and my cousin was going through cancer at the time,” Walker said, mentioning she and her husband, Kevin, used to attend a now-defunct fundraiser in downtown Shepherdstown that raised funds for BCA. “I thought, ‘Why don’t we do something else to benefit them?’ I knew what great work they did and so many people are affected by it!”

Last year’s fundraiser raised $11,000 for BCA, with a similar amount anticipated to be raised from it again this year. The success of the fundraiser, according to Walker, can largely be attributed to the fact that most people have personal experience with the fight against cancer in some way.

“So many of us know someone who’s been affected by it or have been affected by breast cancer, so I’m not surprised by its growth!” Walker said.

A trio of friends chat and listen to the live music by the pond at Linden Spring on Saturday night. Tabitha Johnston

Even those who had no experience with the disease were more than happy to participate in the event, including one of the designers of the fundraiser’s VIP lounges, P3 Events owner Tracy Phipps.

“It’s a wonderful event!” Phipps, who has donated her time and resources to helping with the event for the past four years, said. “I did two lounges this year. Proceeds from the sales of the VIP lounges go directly to cancer relief efforts.”

Those efforts, according to BCA Development Director Nicole Shinham, are focused on assisting in areas that are often overlooked by other organizations, such as providing free annual mammograms for uninsured individuals, monthly support groups for patients and their families, basic living expense assistance for those in active treatment and free wigs, scarves and hats for anyone going through chemotherapy.

“We service seven counties — Frederick and Washington counties in Maryland; Jefferson, Morgan and Berkeley counties in West Virginia; and Franklin and Fulton counties in Pennsylvania. All the services to our breast cancer patients is free,” Shinham said. “We don’t receive any federal funding — it’s all fundraising and any grants that we receive are from the counties that we serve. That’s why we only service individuals in the tri-state area.”

To learn more about bra, visit https://www.bcacv.org/.

A man makes an order at the Gypsy Soul Catering food stand at Summer Solstice on Saturday. Tabitha Johnston

To see upcoming Westvirjeni events, visit https://www.westvirjeni.com/.

Lights illuminate the landscape around the farm at Summer Solstice on Saturday night. Tabitha Johnston