BONNYVILLE – Heavy wildfire smoke blown into the region did not suppress excitement on the greens at the Bonnyville Golf and Country Club where celebrities and locals came together to raise funds for the Strathcona Performing Arts Centre on Sept. 2.
The fundraising golf tournament brought together 34 teams made up of locals, NHL hockey players, award-winning musicians, local personalities and even a local UFC fighter.
The two-day Celebrity Gala and Golf event raised over $250,000 for the construction of the fine arts theatre. Final numbers are still being crunched but an official grand total should be announced shortly.
“We made our goal but no one else thought we would make that goal,” said Lise Fielding, vice president of the Clayton Bellamy Foundation for the Arts. “[Our] goal was always $250,000.”
The live auction portion of the gala brought in $113,000, which included getaway trip packages, a Ferrari experience, hand carved furniture made from Alberta timber and the auctioning-off of celebrities to golf with at the next day’s tournament.
Another $25,000 was made from the silent auction, with the rest coming from ticket sales, table sponsorships and donations.
Adding to the fundraising total was the Bonnyville Oilmen’s Society with a donation of $10,000 for the theatre, presented by former Bonnyville Oilmen’s president Ray Rivard.
With a packed house of about 550 people in attendance at the gala, Fielding said, “Most everyone who wanted a table got a table this year... Next year we hope to make space for more people to attend.”
An annual event
Fielding confirmed that the Gala and Golf event will become a recurring annual fundraiser for the Strathcona Performing Arts Theatre.
“Everybody loves the format of the event, so we're just going to continue with bringing in bigger acts. We're going to have different opportunities now that our first inaugural year was such a success,” said Fielding, adding that entertainer Danny Hooper has already agreed to emcee next year’s event.
The first three Gala and Golf fundraisers will go towards construction costs of Phase 1 and 2 of the theatre, explained Fielding.
In the years to come, fundraising will go toward expanding the post-secondary bursary program for the Clayton Bellamy Foundation, operation costs for the theatre to ensure that rental fees can remain affordable for community users, and to bring world-class entertainment to the Lakeland.
Making the whole event possible was a phenomenal group of volunteers, added Fielding. “We got the right people on the team backstage, and all the performers said they felt like they were actually playing at the CCMA (Canadian Country Music Association) Awards.”
While an official ground-breaking date has not been set for the theatre’s construction, GenMEC ACL has been announced as the project's contractor. Fielding hopes that work will begin by the end of the month.