The stage of the Cugnet Centre in the Weyburn Comprehensive School will be the focus for 15 hours on Friday, Oct. 19, for the 37th annual Communithon fundraiser for the Weyburn and District United Way, which has a target goal of $140,000.
The funds raised will go to support the United Way’s 13 member agencies, and to that end, there is a full slate of entertainment throughout the day, with school groups occupying the stage from about 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The day will open at 8 a.m. with the opening ceremonies, and the Comp’s senior concert band and senior jazz band will be the first two groups up to perform.
“We have continued to evolve to meet the needs of our volunteers and entertainers, so there will be one day with entertainment,” said Sabrina Kraft, chair of the Communithon committee and president of the Weyburn United Way.
All of the schools will have choirs and bands who will perform, followed by a number of local singers, dancers and groups who will fill the stage for the balance of the day with entertainment, with the first-ever “Minute To Win It” challenge from 6 to 7 p.m.
“This will be a fun, action-packed challenge,” said Kraft, noting the winners will get their names on a trophy, with prizes inside the trophy for the team to share. There is no cost to enter a team, and Kraft is hoping more teams will sign up, with a deadline of Thursday, Oct. 18 to let her know.
Some of the challenges will include such games as “face the cookie”, where a cookie is placed on a forehead, and the person has to try and eat it without using hands; “stack attack”; “junk in the trunk”; “defy gravity”; “scoop it up”; “unstack it”; and “penny hose”, where contestants have to retrieve pennies from pantyhose.
Throughout the day, entertainers and visitors to the Communithon will see three Superheroes, who will be assisting in many ways with the event and with the entertainers. They include Stephanie Butz from Grade 12, and Jayda Cameron and Dalton Chicoine, both in Grade 10.
For anyone who comes out to watch the entertainers or the fun challenge, there will be a canteen on site, featuring such snacks as taco-in-a-bag, muffins, cinnamon buns, puffed wheat squares, coffee-tea, water and juice.
“Communithon is a community-driven event. We see hundreds of people come through the doors to watch the entertainers,” said Kraft, who noted this will be her fourth year as the Communithon chair.
In addition, the Prairie Sky Co-op and the Knights of Columbus will once again put on their perogy, sausage and cabbage roll dinner at McKenna Hall, with all proceeds going to Communithon, and this will run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with a cost of $12 for adults and $5 for children.
The entire day’s events will be aired live on Access Communication’s community channel, No. 7, and it will also be live-streamed online.
Throughout the day, each of the 13 member agencies will have an on-air interview on Access to talk about their programs and services, plus they will all have displays up in the Cugnet Centre with information for anyone wanting to find out more about their work.
The member agencies includes Big Brothers Big Sisters of Weyburn, the Weyburn branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Canadian Red Cross, Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), Community Low Income Centre, Envision Counselling and Support Centre, Saskatchewan Abilities Council, Spinal Cord Injury Saskatchewan Inc., Sun Country Kids Club, Weyburn Inclusion (formerly the Saskatchewan Association of Community Living), Weyburn Care-A-Van Society, Weyburn Special Care Home Auxiliary and the Weyburn Youth Center.
For those wanting to come and watch the entertainment, the Comp and Southeast College are cooperating to allow public parking in the lot nearest the Cugnet Centre entrance. Kraft said they are just asking that the public respect the dropoff and pickup times for the school buses at Queen Elizabeth School next door, plus the dropoff point in front of the Cugnet Centre doors are to be left open to allow for buses and other vehicles dropping off people for entertaining at the event.
Friday will be the last day for the United Way’s raffle for a Westjet “Gift of Flight” tickets, which will be available for sale throughout the day until about 9 p.m. The draw for the flight will be made after and announced on-stage.
“I just hope everybody comes out to enjoy the day at Communithon,” said Kraft, who added the wish that the goal of $140,000 will be met on-air this year, something that hasn’t happened for a few years now.
Tables will be set up at the Cugnet Centre for taking donations, plus they can be phoned in at 306-504-GOAL (4625), or online by using Paypal.
