The Duncan Curling Club’s massive fundraising effort to replace its broken refrigeration plant is nearing completion, but needs a little more sweeping to hit the button. They hope a golf tournament, dinner and dance later this month will get them there.
The ice plant at the Glen Harper Curling Centre went down in January, putting an abrupt end to the curling season. Initial estimates were that the replacement cost would be around $120,000, but it soon became apparent that because of the facility’s age — it was built in 1967 — the cost would instead be around $207,000.
Thanks to donations from individuals and businesses and a series of fundraising events, the club has collected most of that amount. There have been three beer/burger/music trivia nights, a dinner gala and an online auction and garage sale, and the total was expected to sit around $185,000 after the third music trivia event this past Saturday.
“We are close, but we need the final push to get over the top,” club fundraising chair Susanne Grundison said.
Volunteers from throughout the club have stepped up to use their personal expertise to help raise the money, said Bob Cairns, the chair of the upcoming golf tournament.
“Without these people, it would not be possible,” he stated.
The club is promising a big party on June 18 when the afternoon golf tournament will be followed by a dinner and dance at the curling centre. Registration for the tournament includes tickets for the dinner and dance, but tickets are also available for the dinner and dance alone. The club is hoping to get 300 guests out for the evening.
The nine-hole scramble tournament at the Cowichan Golf & Country Club will include a putting contest and $10,000 hole-in-one prize.
Doors will open at 6 p.m. for the dinner, which will feature ribs, salmon and chicken, followed by the dance, with music by Joint Chiefs, a.k.a Eagle Eyes. There will also be a silent auction, and possibly a live auction, with items like tickets to Sunfest or the 2023 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Kamloops. The club is also continuing to look for more auction items.
There could be more similar events in the future as well.
“We hope it becomes an annual thing,” events committee member Travis Peterson said, noting that the fundraising events have not just brought in money, but have also helped rejuvenate the club.
“Through these events, we are bringing new blood into the club who might stick around and curl next season,” he said.
To register for the golf tournament dinner and dance or purchase tickets for the dinner and dance, head to duncancurling.com or contact Grundison at susanne.grundison@shaw.ca, and watch facebook.com/curlinginduncan for future events.
Meanwhile, the club is excited for the 2022-23 curling season.
“We will be back in operations come this fall,” Grundison said. “Without the community support, it would be a challenge.”