BONNYVILLE – After 34 years of raising money for non-profit organizations, executives and volunteer club representatives of the Bonnyville Bingo Association have decided to close the book on the Bonnyville Stampede Bingo Hall’s three-decade legacy.
During the Stampede Bingo Hall’s last weekend of operation, Sept. 16 to 19, 540 patrons stopped by to dab their cards in hopes of winning one of the final pots.
“We had a really good crowd,” said Serena Critch, president of the Bonnyville Bingo Association.
“Sales over the whole weekend, actually, were amazing. The support that we had with the hall closing was beyond what we expected. Unfortunately, we just haven't had that kind of patronage over the last two to three years to keep the funds coming in for the non-profits.”
On the final night, tasty cupcakes made by Stampede staff were handed out to guests along with service awards for six long-time volunteers.
Bill Baldowski received an award for volunteering at the Stampeded Bingo Hall since the hall’s inception in 1987. “Or at least that’s what Bill tells people since he is the longest serving volunteer and no one has been able to dispute that,” said Critch, with a laugh.
Other volunteers who received an award Sunday night included John Tourangeau for 30 years of service and Archie Collins for his 25 years of service. The three volunteer members who were not in attendance but received honourary awards were Theresa Dallaire, Mary Fehr and Cora Tourangeau.
A long time coming
Although the bingo hall’s final weekend saw a large turnout, the decision to close the doors was a difficult one that had been discussed for a long time, Critch told Lakeland This Week.
For the last three years, Critch has worked for the bingo hall and during that time has joined the association's board as president. Prior to that, she worked as a parent volunteer for six years to raise money for her children's minor baseball and football leagues.
In that time, Critch says the hall has been on a downward trajectory for at least the last five years due to a multitude of compounding factors. The staff at the bingo hall have been faced with a decrease of both volunteers and patrons, an unanticipated location move in 2019, and then the onset of the pandemic last year.
Early in her involvement with the hall, she recalls the association having up to 26 organizations that would regularly provide volunteers as a means to raise money. Before closing, the Bonnyville Bingo Association was down to 13 clubs.
“Many of the clubs (were) having more and more trouble having the volunteers work the bingo. Whether that is a change in society or volunteers and the way it’s viewed now, that is what the clubs have experienced,” said Critch, adding “A lot of people think that bingo is gambling — they don't realize that it's a completely non-profit organization.”
Another factor that gave the Stampede Bingo Hall a costly blow was the arrival of the pandemic.
“The shutdowns that we've had, have made it really difficult. The first one wasn't too bad. The second shutdown, the loss of seven months was really hard. Everything that we had in reserve was basically depleted because we still had about $8,000 worth of bills to pay each month,” she said.
Even after facilities were allowed to fully reopen over the summer months, many bingo regulars had already found new activities to fill their time.
“The difficulty in continuing to have bingo in Bonnyville is the large portion of patronage we have lost to radio and online bingo over the last 18 months. These forms of bingo have had a huge pick-up since the beginning of COVID simply because people can stay at home to play,” explained Critch.
Over the next two months, Bonnyville’s bingo association will carry out the work of fully shutting down the facility. Equipment and leftover cards will be sent back, the association’s assets will be sold off and outstanding bills will be paid. Then, the keys will be returned to the building's landlord. And just like that, a 30-plus year legacy will come to an end.