For more than four decades, the Dartmouth General Hospital Foundation’s Annual Lobster Dinner & Auction has helped to kick off the summer season with an evening of great food, fun and friendship. It’s the Foundation’s largest signature event and has become a vital fundraiser for technology and equipment needs at Dartmouth General.
2025 Lobster Dinner and Auction Guests
“We look forward to this event every year, it’s truly a celebration of community,” says Foundation President and CEO Stephen Harding. “It’s grown so much over its 41 years and has gone on to raise over $4 million to support innovation and exceptional care at Dartmouth General, which is remarkable.”
The 41st Annual Lobster Dinner & Auction Presented by the Ocean Conrad Group is coming up on Saturday, June 6th, once again at scenic Fisherman’s Cove. For the sixth year the J&W Murphy Foundation is generously lending support, this year matching all proceeds raised up to $150,000.
The funds raised will again be directed towards equipment that will greatly improve health care delivery at Dartmouth General Hospital, including lymphatic mapping probes which are designed to help patients in the diagnosis of melanoma.
Dr. Emily Burke
“We are seeing a higher incidence of patients with melanoma, unfortunately,” says plastic surgeon Dr. Emily Burke. “It’s a disease that I’ve seen more frequently, even just within my first year of practicing. We’ve come a long way in terms of how we treat these patients and it’s not the same diagnosis that it would have been 10 or 20 years ago. Where we once had limited options, we are seeing more advances in targeted and immunotherapies, resulting in a disease that is much more survivable.”
Dr. Burke says it’s important that these patients get diagnosed and treated in a timely manner. The probes are used when patients have a deeper melanoma where the treatment guidelines suggest they would benefit from a sentinel lymph node biopsy. This is available in Halifax, but not in Dartmouth. Yet.
“It creates barriers for my patients at getting access to timely care,” says Dr. Burke. “Being able to offer this in Dartmouth would allow me to serve more patients and offer the full service of care for patients who have been diagnosed with melanoma.”
The fundraising efforts will also help patients dealing with large or complex kidney stones. DGH urologist Dr. Jonathan Moore says most kidney stones are two centimeters or less, but sometimes patients come in with stones more than twice that size. These require a minimally invasive procedure and specialized equipment, including scopes and a device called a lithotripter.
“The one we requested uses a combination of ultrasound as well as a pneumatic, which is like a jackhammer to break up the kidney stone,” says Dr. Moore. “As you’re doing it, the stone breaks up into small pieces and simultaneously gets removed from the kidney all at once.”
Dr. Jon Moore
Dr. Moore says having this procedure available in Dartmouth will make a positive difference for patients.
“Right now, patients may opt for less effective options just because they want to be close to their families, close to the hospital they know,” says Dr. Moore. “It’s something that should be available on this side of the harbour.”
The Lobster Dinner & Auction will also support equipment for dealing with bone fractures, along with instruments used by general and gynecological surgeons in minimally invasive surgeries, and tools for the groundbreaking work being done in the Fred Smithers Centre for Orthopedic Care.
“We are constantly in motion at Dartmouth General,” says Stephen Harding. “The support of our donors is continuously helping with advancements in care, and the Lobster Dinner is a huge part of that. And it’s a great time!”
Tickets to the 41st Annual Lobster Dinner & Auction Presented by the Ocean Conrad Group are available now. It takes place in a luxury tent by the seaside, featuring a delicious meal, live entertainment, a live auction, and the traditional Balloon Blitz. Attendees can also enjoy the “Harbour Experience Ticket,” a VIP boat ride aboard the Kawartha Spirit from the Halifax Waterfront, docking at Fisherman’s Cove. And for those who can’t attend in person, a drive-thru takeout option is there once again.
We hope you can be part of the fun on June 6TH!
You can get your tickets here!
