ROCANVILLE — It’s that time of year again, the ever-popular Rocanville Lucky Lottery has officially kicked off the 2024 edition of its famous campaign. Noted as the town’s largest fundraiser, the Lucky Lottery raises money for recreational facilities and groups in Rocanville. With a $100,000 grand prize, it’s a hot ticket to get your hands on.
“Odds are really good in the draw—one in 2,500,” said Kirby Fowler, Chair of the Lucky Lottery board. “There’s 17 prizes this year, so your odds are very good of winning something.”
The early bird draw on Aug. 28 has an e-bike up for grabs, plus four $250 Co-op gift cards. There’s also the big 50/50 draw on Sept. 28, with a maximum cash prize of $60,000. That same night, along with the grand prize draw, additional prizes include free gas or groceries for a year through Co-op ($52,000 value), a $5,000 travel voucher, four $1,000 cash prizes and five $500 cash prizes.
Last year, $35,500 was dispersed to local groups and organizations in Rocanville, spreading much-needed funds to promote getting active.
“The entire community is in need, like every group needs,” Fowler said. “That’s why we’re floating it around and splitting it up.”
The lottery has a long history in Rocanville, first established 30 years ago when a new arena needed to be built. The lottery was resurrected in 2022, raising $86,000 for local projects, and Fowler hopes this year will be a sell-out.
“This is our third year, and last year was rough on us,” Fowler noted. “It took a lot out of the entire volunteer group, we didn’t do as well as we wanted, but we did pretty good in the end. It was a lot of work, it’s still very rewarding anyway.”
One of the challenges faced by the board is the incoming expenses before ticket sales really get moving.
“Definitely a lot of cost involved with the lottery that I never realized until I got into it,” he said.
One trend the board has noticed was the support across Saskatchewan for their local effort.
“We saw support right from U.S. border all the way up north — like far north,” Fowler said.
Tickets are available online at rocanvillelotto.ca or any lottery board member.
“There’s businesses in town (with tickets), but website is the absolute easiest or you can access us through our Facebook page as well,” he added.