Joey Payeur
The return of the Ducks Unlimited fundraising dinner and auction to Fort Frances looks to be on its way to being a rousing success.
Tickets are available at the Fort Frances Times office for $50 each or two for $90.
“Things are going well and tickets have been selling,” said event co-organizer Charles Fisher about the May 12 event scheduled for the Fort Frances Curling Club.
A total of 250 tickets are available for the dinner and Fisher urged those who want to be in attendance to not dawdle when it comes to purchasing a ticket.
“The event has sold out in the past,” stated Fisher, who is helping resurrect the fundraiser after it was cancelled last year due to a lack of people willing to organize it.
“We’re going to make it bigger and better than before.”
Fisher said he’s not surprised that there has been such a groundswell of support in bringing the fundraiser back.
“It was such a popular event in the past and there were a lot of disappointed people last year when we didn’t have it,” he recalled.
“The commitment to the cause is still there and people are happy to see it back,” added Fisher.
“The business community and the sponsors have been really good to us so far.”
Some of the big ticket items that will be up for grabs in that evening’s raffles are a freezer full of meat donated by Rainy River Meats; an all-day guided fishing trip for two in Nestor Falls from Lake of the Woods Lodge and an aerial sightseeing tour of the Rainy River District from Rusty Myers Flying Service.
There will also be a “High Flyer” raffle with the chance to win $1,000 in cash.
Another well-received part of the evening in the past, the firearms auction and raffle, will be done using a different format this year.
“We’re going to auction off two firearms in the live auction,” detailed Fisher.
“We also have an unlimited number of firearms to raffle off,” he continued.
“For every 60 raffle tickets we sell, we’ll raffle off another firearm and each winner will get to choose the firearm they want that’s showcased on the banner that will be showcasing the different firearms.”
Fisher said the organizing committee is always looking for volunteers or anyone who has items to donate to the fundraiser such as prints, carvings and other such things.
Anyone wanting more information or wishing to help can contact Fisher by e-mail at fortfrancesducksunlimited@gmail.com or call him at 276-5016.
