The Rotary Club of Lacombe is hosting its 31st Annual Lobster Dinner fundraiser this month, featuring live entertainment and auctioneering by Danny Hooper.
The event will take place on June 12th at the Lacombe Memorial Centre. So far, over 200 tickets have been sold but the group is hoping to sell 400. Tickets are $75 per person, or a table of eight for $600. Tickets can be purchased in person from any Rotary member, in-store at Lacombe Signmasters or by calling 403-782-7446.
“We fly in live lobster from Nova Scotia the morning of the event. Early in the morning a plane will land in Calgary and then we will go pick it up and bring it here so it’s very fresh. They are just so much better when they come in live and fresh. We have our dinner, and Danny Hooper is our professional entertainer and fundraiser for the night,” said Rotary member Terry Vandenborn.
“He comes with a vast experience of fundraising and entertaining – he used to sing in a country band, and at Cook County Saloon in Edmonton, so he comes from a background of entertainment and now he’s become kind of a professional fundraiser.
“He is actually a professional auctioneer as well. He’s done a lot of events and knows Alberta well. He’s got a vast repertoire of experience and stories. It’s the first time we’ve hosted him at our event, so we’re excited to add a fresh face to our dinner.”
The event will feature a silent auction with close to 100 items available, a ‘super’ silent auction with high-end items and a live auction emceed by Hooper.
Just a few of the auction items include a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, a golfing trip to the Banff Springs Hotel, an iPad, barbeques and a wine tree completed with hand-selected bottles from numerous local donors.
All of the funds raised go towards supporting local and international Rotary Club initiatives and projects. Two specific programs that will receive funding are the Youth-Unlimited Drop-In Centre and a Rotary-funded and built school in Ludwar, Kenya.
“The community has been very generous to us in the past, and continues to be generous. We’re very blessed to be part of Lacombe and to be supported so well. We’re excited about the event. I think at this point in time, about 200 tickets have been sold and we’d really like to bring that number up to 400 this year,” Vandenborn said.
“We built the school, and we continue to help them out. They are definitely in need, and are in a fairly remote area of Kenya. They are quite impoverished and it’s exciting to see them develop and grow the community out there. We do international and local projects, and with this fundraiser it’s neat that we can kind of combine those.”
kmendonsa@lacombeexpress.com