ARCOLA - For nine years, the Arcola Daycare held a successful ladies' night, which usually had a theme for their fundraiser, but this year they decided to change it up for their 10th anniversary to a parents' night.
A total of 105 parents, grandparents and friends gathered at the Prairie Place Hall on March 8 to support the daycare.
Alayna Paige-Bouchard is the chairperson of the board of directors, and she felt everyone was excited to get out for a night and just have fun.
This is the main fundraiser for the daycare, and they count on the funds from this event to help with upgrades and general upkeep of the building. All the money goes directly back to the daycare to assist in renovations as well.
The evening began with a meal prepared and served by Steve and Allison Catering from Lampman. Paige-Bouchard said the meal consisted of baked chicken and hash browns, pickled pasta salad, oriental salad, and veggies, while dessert was chocolate mousse cake.
“I heard many people comment on how good the meal was,” Paige-Bouchard said.
Throughout the evening, Paige-Bouchard and Melissa Slykhuis, the secretary of the board of directors, were the MCs.
They had a large raffle, 50/50 tickets and a silent auction which have been done throughout the 10 years and are the main sources of profit for the fundraiser.
The raffle and silent auction items are donated through local and area businesses and individuals. The silent auction often has friends bidding against friends which in turn raises money for the cause.
For entertainment, they had Jamie from Stage and Consulting Hypnotist from Regina.
“He did a fabulous job of keeping the crowd engaged and involved,” said Paige-Bouchard. “He had people dancing up in front of the stage, being leprechauns collecting donations.”
“He was down interacting with the crowd which was great to see,” she said.
Jamie was also the DJ for the evening and his selection of music kept the crowd on the dance floor and enjoying the tunes.
The bar was run during shifts of the board of directors and volunteers, including employees from the Arcola Co-op gas bar.
Paige-Bouchard said that an event like this is not possible if it was not for the board putting in many hours to make everything run smoothly.
“I cannot thank them enough for all the hours they volunteer,” said Paige-Bouchard. “We are lucky to have families who stepped up and worked shifts throughout the evening as well.”
They want to thank the businesses for their generosity by either purchasing a table for their guests, offering donations or sponsoring the event.
They also want to thank the surrounding communities that came out and supported the daycare fundraiser and the town residents of Arcola for always being so supportive.
“None of this would be possible if it was not for you,” said Paige-Bouchard.
