“It will be fun and exciting to see what they do with them,” Dickinson said.
The hope is that parents and grandparents and local businesses will get involved in the bidding. Proceeds will be split between the assisted living project and Boissevain School. The trees will be showcased before the event at the Co-op grocery store and home centre.
To go with the auction, the Chamber will be hosting a Christmas party at the Legion on the day. Cocktails are at 5:00pm, with a crockpot meal for $5 at 6:00pm. The tree auction gets rolling at 7:30pm.
Wayne Pringle of the Mercantile Committee likes the addition.
“It could be quite a good night,” Pringle stated. “It will be interesting to see how the trees are done. People will be able to look at them before hand. Hopefully, we can get people out to bid on the trees. I hope it works for us and it is a nice night. I’m excited to see it myself.”
He added there would be other raffles and draws at the event as well, including a $500 Chamber Bucks giveaway.
The community will only get a couple of days to rest up before Santa makes his annual appearance. Boissevain is a popular place for St. Nick, as we never have any trouble getting him on the first Saturday of December, this year December 7. The event at the curling club starts bright and early at 9 am with pancake breakfast, free for kids, $3 for adults. Santa will be giving the reindeer a day off, and will arrive in the fire truck at 9:30. He will take note of the Christmas wishes of all of the children, and other activities like crafts, cookie decorating will also be held, and the bowling alley will be open. Instead of superheroes, this year they have the Bubbleman, a unique entertainer, to keep the kids mystified. The matinee at the theatre begins at 2:00pm. This year will be Elf. The model railway and museums will be open to the public and Services for Seniors will be holding a turkey bingo and bake sale at the Community Centre.
Of course, no Christmas season would be complete without the draws for Chamber dollars. This year, there will be one draw for $1,000 and two for $500. The total is a little lower this year, as money is going into the Christmas party. Customers can enter the draw at participating businesses, starting on November 25. The promotion ends on December 18 and the call to winners will be made December 20.
As well, the Kin Clubs will be running their annual Christmas Light Parade on December 9.
Pringle said they are getting good support from Chamber members for the promotion. Some do not participate in the draws, but instead sponsor parts of events like Santa Day. He feels the Christmas promotion is an important part of the season.
“It’s still really worthwhile. How many towns give away that amount of money? People like to take a chance on a draw and it is a win-win situation because it gets spent in town. I think overall it is a good promotion.”
“It gets more people thinking of shopping locally,” Pringle continued. “You need to support businesses to keep them in business.”
by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff