Got your clubs? If so, the St. Albert 50+ Club wants you to get to the links. The second annual charity event is less than two weeks away but it still hopes to sign up a few more players for the Texas Scramble tournament.
Tom Clarke is one of the directors on the organization's board, but he's also been tasked with being the tournament chair. He said that it's going to be a grand time with lots of good food, good prizes and hopefully some good golf.
"Everybody that was there last year said that it was one of the most fun golf events that they'd ever participated in," he stated, later joking, "Some people may say, 'It's a little bit earlier than I'm used to getting up in the morning,' but it's worth getting up for."
The inaugural event last year saw about 100 people take to the tees. It's a major fundraiser for the club, second only to the RunWild Marathon that is held every spring. The goal is to raise at least $10,000 from this tournament, something that will certainly be easier with more registrants.
"I'd just love to say that we had the whole complement of 144 golfers. I think we're still probably out 10 teams. Even 40 players I could still work in for sure. It's nice to have lots of people out there just for the enthusiasm that it generates."
He was thankful to the sponsorship of numerous local businesses including the newly opened St. Albert location of Famoso Pizza that will serve appetizers at one of the tees. Otherwise, you'll get a breakfast and a steak dinner.
There are golf bags, "state of the art" golf clubs, clothes, golf balls, and gift certificates for area restaurants and other businesses, among other prizes.
"At the rate that we're going right now, I wouldn't be surprised if we had a prize for every golfer," he laughed.
He added that the game would suit every level of player, even those people who aren't "top-notch."
The second annual Dinosaur Golf Classic takes place on Wednesday, Aug. 28. Registration starts at 7 a.m. with a shotgun start at 8 a.m.
The Ranch Golf and Country Club is located at 52516 Range Road 262 in Acheson, 16 minutes southwest of St. Albert.
The registration fee is $150 per player, and golfers can enter as individuals or in teams of four.
Call the club at 780-459-0433 (ext. 0) or tournament chair Tom Clarke at 780-459-7414 for more details or to register.
All funds realized from the event will go to support the 50+ Club.
Singers fill the hat for flood relief
There was almost a two-to-one ratio of audience members to performers at a recent charity concert. A crowd of 140 caught the musical wonder, put on by 75 members of the choirs of the St. Albert Youth Musical Association, the St. Albert Singers Guild and the performers of Acting Out Musical Theatre.
The benefit, held on Sunday, July 28, brought in almost $3,600. All of the proceeds went to Red Cross relief efforts in flood-ravaged southern Alberta.
"This was actually the largest domestic disaster that the Red Cross has ever seen since its incorporation in 1908. They don't typically deal with hugeness like that in our province," explained Criselda Mierau, the artistic director of the singers guild.
Despite the grim reason behind the fundraiser, everything else about the event was fantastic in her opinion.
"It was really cool to do," she confessed, as she reveled at the turnout of both those in the crowd and those on stage. "That's wonderful for a summer performance! That's about half of our choirs altogether."
She added that she's also very proud of the take from the event, and donations are still coming in.
More donations can still be made to the relief through www.redcross.ca. People can also call 1-800-418-1111.
