The Weyburn Young Fellows Club will be holding their 50th annual TV Auction on Saturday, April 14 at their new location in the Weyburn curling rink.

"The last 10 or 12 years we have been at McKenna Hall, but we just grew out of it so we will be at the curling club," said chairman Scott Paxman.

The auction will be broadcast live on Access 7 from noon to 9 p.m. This will be the very first year that items can be viewed on the Internet at www.youngfellowsclub.ca. Paxman did warn that the items may not be online for the entire auction.

Something new this year will be a display and demonstrations by the Royal Regina Rifles, an infantry army reserve unit of the Canadian Armed Forces. They will be demonstrating their combat survival equipment throughout the day.

As of Wednesday, there were 529 items donated ranging from gift certificates to barbecues to power tools. Some of the more interesting items include a full-sized pump jack and a high-efficiency furnace.

"We have something for everyone," Paxman said.

The YF Wives will be changing things up a bit as well to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the TV Auction. Instead of just serving food, they will be setting up a '50s Cafe and Soda Shop. They will be selling items found in cafes and soda shops during that decade including floats, sundaes, hamburgers, hot dogs, donuts, coffee and pop in the kitchen at the rink.

For the last few years the Young Fellows have raised around $25,000, which always goes back into the community.

"It is our largest fundraiser of the year," said Young Fellow president Darcy McCormick. "We always get a good turnout of people and businesses."

Paxman is expecting to see more donation money come in this year, however, with one large project already in the works.

"Our donations are up this year in value and I think a lot of that is due to the announcement of our water spray park we are building," he said. "I think people have responded well to that and want to support the spray park."

Weyburn's first Young Fellows Auction took place on May 30, 1958 on the radio. It sold about 100 items to raise more than $1,000 going towards furnishing a room at Mount St. Mary's Home. Thirty members were involved in organizing the first radio auction.

The first auction to be televised took place on April 27, 1979 at the Elks Hall, which was located at the corner of Fifth Street N.E. and Souris Avenue. There were 275 items on sale at that auction, with some of the top sellers being a 1979 Chevrolet Chevette Scooter and an 80 cc trail bike.

As at every year's auction there are some special "priceless" items up for bid, and this year, some of the "priceless" items will include a pair of hockey sticks autographed by former NHL great Lanny McDonald, a trip for two on the CPR's Holiday Train at Christmas time, and the opportunity to play "soldier for a day" at CFB Dundurn with the Royal Regina Rifles, and experience a full day of training like a soldier in the Armed Forces.