Barrhead has been chosen as one of the top 10 winners in the 2014 Kraft Celebration Tour (KCT), an announcement made July 1 in celebration of Canada Day.
The KCT, sponsored by Kraft &TSN SportsCentre, is an annual contest that encourages communities across Canada to share their stories of community pride and the love of sport.
Patty Storseth-Wierenga submitted an application on behalf of the Barrhead Curling Club, which has struggled to make ends meet financially for the last several years.
“Our Curling Club is like KD is to our children; it puts smiles on faces, gives substance to our lives and generates an energy that keeps us all young at heart,” said the application. “Please help us keep it alive and vibrant for future generations of curling.”
The club can breathe a sigh of relief, and excitement, as each of the top 10 winners automatically receives $25,000. Not only that, Barrhead is now in the running for an additional $75,000.
It’s up to Canadians countrywide to vote on what community they feel deserves the grand prize, totaling $100,000.
The voting period is a short window of only two days, beginning the morning of July 21 and finishing at the end of the day on July 22. Jenny Bruns, who helped with the application, said Barrhead needs as many people voting as possible.
each of the 10 winning communities to award them with $25,000, and to host a live TSN SportsCentre broadcast featuring anchors Darren Dutchyshen and Kate Beirness. The tour will arrive in Barrhead on Aug. 18, but the live broadcast isn’t the only exciting thing planned.
The tour is also holding a free community barbeque for about 500 people. There will be music, an interactive football quarterback challenge, and autograph booths.
Additionally, the KCT is encouraging Barrhead to promote and showcase their own community through local charity groups and organizations. The event offers an opportunity for those groups to hold small fundraisers.
“The winning community may have a local charity or community group involved to raise funds via donations from people attending the event,” said Wierenga. “So it’s encouraging any service club in our community to get out there and have their booth with their penny throws. It’s a real cotton candy event for the community. “
The festivities are going to require about 80 volunteers from Barrhead, added Bruns.
Although the next few weeks will be a whirlwind of planning, organizing and working to get the word out for voting, Wierenga said Barrhead is already a winner in her eyes.
“We get national coverage for free, and we’re just going to have fun with it,” she said. “If we get another $75,000 that would be great. The thing that makes me happy is it’s the community standing together.”
Wierenga said she and fellow club member Bruns submitted the application because the club is in desperate need of funds, and has been for a while.
“We have been struggling for a long time,” said Wierenga. “We can barely make our utility bills, let alone update equipment and repairs that are needed.”
That being said, Wierenga added it’s thanks to the club’s executive that the Curling Club is still running despite the financial strains.
The $25,000 will go towards many of the club’s much needed upgrades, including replacing the ice plant, upgrading rink boards and carpets, and purchasing new equipment for young curlers.
It wouldn’t be hard for the club to eat up the $100,000 either, said Wierenga, as the ice plant alone is $115,000. However putting community spirit above all else, the club plans to contribute some of the grand prize winnings of $75,000 towards the new aquatics centre if Barrhead wins.
“I think it would be a great spinoff for the pool. I think if we did get to win that additional $75,000 we would work together,” said Wierenga. “All of our recreational facilities are important. They’re important to our children, and all of us.”
The club continues to be a place for people of all ages, whether they’re throwing their first rock at five-years-old, or are a veteran of the ice at 95, something Wierenga and Bruns emphasized in the application.
Last year the Curling Club’s Little Rocks program hosted 75 youngsters, as well as a juniors program. On the other end of the spectrum is 94-year-old Wilf Seal, an avid curler who donates his time and acts as a mentor to youth and club members alike.
“The love of curling in Barrhead engages people of all ages in our community, and the physical and social benefits last a lifetime,” said the application. “In the spirit of continuing this for next generations, we want to keep curling alive, get more youth involved, and let family and seniors stay active together in this facility.”
The nine other communities Barrhead is facing in the voting challenge are Springhill, NS; Nanaimo, BC; St. Andrews, NB; Montebello, QC; Holland, MB; Charlottetown, PEI; Prince Albert, SK; Gander, NL; and Ottawa, ON.
These communities, along with Barrhead, were named the top 10 out of over 519 communities across Canada.
For more information on the KCT, and to cast your vote for Barrhead on July 21 and 22, visit http://kraftcelebrationtour.ca.
