Lacombe’s longest running fundraiser is back for it’s 35th year with the return of the Lacombe Rotary Lobster Dinner.
On June 7th, the Rotary Club’s primary annual fundraiser will return to help support local, national and international service projects.
“This year we are changing it up a little bit and making an announcement at the event where we are making a donation to the Alberta Society for Firefighters Abroad,” Rotary Organizer Ivor Bernantsky said. “It is a group of local firefighters who take refurbished firefighter equipment and send it off to Paraguay.
“We will be making a $4,000 donation to them, which comes from last year’s Lobster Dinner.”
This year, Rotary has partnered with Lacombe FCSS to help fund their Full Fridge program, along with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lacombe and District Raise the Food campaign.
“We are also supporting the other Rotary projects like our four $1,000 high school scholarships we provide, the Youth Training, Leadership and Entrepreneurship programs we are involved with and all of the many other projects we try to support as a service to our community,” Bernantsky said.
The Lobster Dinner, which will be at the Lacombe Memorial Centre from 5:30 p.m. until 11:30 p.m., typically raises around $25,000 through a combination of ticket sales, silent auction and other fundraiser items and the ticket prices this year are remaining this year.
“Even with rising prices, we are keeping the ticket prices the same this year at $75 for steak or lobster and another $20 if you want both,”he said.
“We have substituted our live auction this year for a little bit of fun — we are having a funny money casino after the meal. No cash is transacted, it is simply something for people to do and we will have prizes at the end.”
Ultimately, a full house is what the Rotary Club is hoping for.
“Lacombe is a great community that knows there are needs at a number of different levels,” Bernantsky said. “Whether it is the Food Bank or an accessible playground, they trust that the Rotary Club is one of those groups that is a larger and common portal for their giving.”
Following the event, the Rotary Club slows down throughout the summer before returning in full force in the fall.
“We will be sending an exchange student to Holland for a year and bringing in one from Holland to go to the high school,” Bernantsky said. “We have other youth leadership programs throughout the year — the Lobster Dinner is our biggest fundraiser. After that we have a raffle in December and those two things carry us throughout the year.”
The Club is always looking for new members.
“We are always looking for individuals who want to connect and do things for the community and internationally,” he said. “Rotary is the largest service club in the world and the biggest items are things like trying to eradicate polio globally and then we bring that down to smaller local things like helping Big Brothers Big Sisters refurbish their building.
“Whatever the need, we have service projects at every level.”
He added, “I hope that everyone can come come out and support us.”
Tickets are available by contacting a Rotary member in the community
todd.vaughan@lacombeexpress.com
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