Niverville Gold Rush Bingo launched on Tuesday, November 15 to a full house at the Golden Friendship Centre. The fun and games are a way of giving back to a centre that has contributed a lot to the community over the years.
“We are fundraising to help the Golden Friendship Centre with a commercial kitchen,” says bingo chairperson Monique Lasko. “The Golden Friendship Centre supports so many community events, including our bingo night.”
Organizers invite bingo enthusiasts to join them weekly on Tuesday nights. Doors open at 6:00 p.m., games begin at 7:00 p.m. and there is no cover charge. The event is licensed and participants have a chance to win a cash prize that grows weekly until it is won.
“We have an accumulating jackpot blackout game,” says Lasko. “If the jackpot isn’t won, then one number is added weekly and $200 is added weekly until it’s won. We have door prizes donated from our very generous local businesses as well.”
Though it is a lottery, the group says that the focus is on presenting an evening of fun and entertainment for everyone to enjoy together. They hope the whole community will be able to come together for a good time while supporting a good cause.
Especially through the winter months, they feel it’s great timing to start an event like this.
“We will run this weekly bingo until May 2023, stopping for the summer and starting again in October,” says Lasko.
Bingo social media and volunteer coordinator Jolene Pauls says that all ages are welcome—and for anyone new to the game, the format is fairly simple.
“You get a book of 10 pages,” explains Pauls. “Each page is one game—some have six squares on each sheet, some have nine, and some have fifteen, which gives you more chances to get a bingo. The squares are where your patterns go. They are your playing space. Each game has a certain pattern you have to make. Two pages include two games in one; two patterns can potentially be made in one square. Each game is a little more difficult than the last one. The last is a blackout where the goal is to cover every number in a square.”
Bingo card prices are $10 (six squares), $15 (nine squares), and $20 (fifteen squares). Bingo dabbers will be available for $2 and a canteen with refreshments will be available as well. All transactions are cash-only.
It takes a team to make an event like this happen and the organizers are thankful to everyone who has helped out. Committee members include Lasko and Pauls, as well as LeeAnn Giesbrecht, Jeannette Fast, Rachelle Baker, Louise Hiebert, Erin Reimer, and Shirley Hoult.
