MIDDLEBORO— A quick stroll in front of Middleboro Town Hall’s lawn will bring a smile to the face of any passerby, thanks to the abundance of holly, jolly snowmen that have taken up residence there.

The 31” snowmen, all 100 of them, were decorated by Middleboro residents who participated in the second annual Snowperson Soirée fundraiser, which raises money for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul food pantry in Middleboro.

Community members had the chance to see these festive creations at a viewing party on Sunday, Dec. 8. 

The Snowperson Soirée fundraiser is put on by Blue Anchor Studio in Middleboro. Studio owner and event organizer Robyn Iarrobino said this year, the turnout for the event was “excellent.”

“We had more participation, [and] we raised more money,” she said, noting the fundraiser brought in $1600 for the food pantry through individual and corporate donations.

The artistic liberties taken by snowmen creators make the display a sight to see. There are snowmen dressed up with skirts, traditional-looking snowmen, minion-themed snowmen, finger-painted snowmen--- brought to life by people of all ages.

This year was the first time Sharon Dutra participated in the fundraiser, and she painted a snowman wearing a pink breast cancer awareness scarf. Dutra said she has lost many women in her family to breast cancer, something her daughter is battling now.

“It seemed obvious to pick that theme,” she noted.

Six-year-old Brody Young partnered up with his younger brothers Ethan and Colton to create a minion-themed snowman, inspired by the famous subservient characters that star in the “Despicable Me’’ movie franchise. 

Their mother Jessica Young said she and her kids loved seeing the snowmen on display last year.

So, when they found out the event was happening again, “we had to join in.”

Now that her oldest son is in kindergarten, Young noted, “we’re getting into more town events.” 

Young said she also likes the fact that the project is a fundraiser for the food pantry. “It was nice to do that donation,” she noted.

Abby Needle and her younger sister Lucy teamed up with family members to create a snowman inspired by the sisters’ features. The snowman has two different colored eyes just like Lucy, one blue and one green, and braces like Abby.

For Abby, the best part of the art project was getting creative and spending time with family.

Different as they may be the snowmen share one commonality: all have a message of kindness written on the back.

Those messages are Iarrobino’s favorite part.

“The things people come up with… [are] just amazing.” But some messages have a special place in her heart. “I love the messages of kindness from kids. They come up with great stuff. They’re very selfless.’’