A Black Tie Bingo event will take place June 22 at the Memorial Hall in Westlock, Alta.
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
An Alberta ag museum is holding a fundraiser to help keep local history alive for future generations.
The Canadian Tractor Museum in Westlock, Alta. will host a Black Tie Bingo event on June 22 at the Memorial Hall.
The upscale evening will feature a prime rib dinner, drinks, an auction, bingo games and entertainment. All proceeds raised from the event will go to the museum.
Aside from a few paid staff and access to government grants, the museum is supported by volunteers.
“We’ve been trying to find ways to survive,” Annette Schwab, the secretary and treasurer with the museum, told Farms.com. “We need to be financially sustainable, so this fundraiser will help us be able to put the museum front and centre for everyone to enjoy.”
The community has stepped up in a major way to help get the fundraiser off the ground.
Rocky Mountain Equipment is donating $50,000 to the museum over five years, plus an additional $5,000 annually for three years to help the museum host fundraising events.
Keeping the Canadian Tractor Museum open is important to show younger farmers how the previous generations produced food, said Jim Wood, chief sales and operating officer with Rocky Mountain Equipment.
“Agricultural methods are changing at such a rapid pace, it’s more important than ever for us to preserve the history of how we got to where we are today,” he said in a statement.
Rocky Mountain Equipment is also donating a Traeger barbecue as a bingo prize and Wood will serve as the MC for the evening.
Other local business donated prizes too.
Fountain Tire is gifting an ag tire package valued at $2,000. Martin Deerline is donating a lawn care package valued at $1,560 and Brown’s Chrysler is donating a WestJet voucher worth $1,500.
The community support has been outstanding, Schwab said.
“The support from everyone reinforces our belief that the museum is an integral part of the community,” she said. “We’re offering more programs and attendance been increasing.”
Tickets for the event are $60 each or people can reserve a table of 10 for $600.
Schwab encourages anyone interested to get tickets while they can.
“We’re finding that most people are just buying whole tables,” she said. “We’re definitely over half sold and we are really looking forward to seeing everyone on June 22.”