Innisfail's Big Brothers and Big Sisters is celebrating and everyone is invited.
The Golden Evening gala will commemorate the charity's centennial history of serving children in Canada, with cocktails and dinner on Friday, Oct. 25 at the Canadian Legion Branch #104.
“The organization has been around for a century now, which speaks to the contributions being made to the community and I think the fact that we've been around in Innisfail for 27 years doing the same thing says we're here for the long haul,” said Innisfail's Big Brothers and Big Sisters executive director Tim Howard. “We've got kids now, that were kids, and now they're adults, and now they're coming back to us as mentors. We've got a complete generation of children that have come through the program full cycle and I think that speaks really well for how Big Brothers and Big Sisters has been received in the community.”
Cocktails begin at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and will be followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. with entertainment by the Calgary-based a cappella group the Heebee Jeebees and singer Gabriel Manuel.
“We're getting down the short strokes,” said Howard. “We have 240 seats available and right now we're forecasting 250 — that's the number that we called in today, but that's over and we're still selling the tickets.”
On Friday, there will be a silent auction with an opportunity to bid on a pair of Red Deer Rebels season tickets as well as a raffle draw for two WestJet tickets and a Princess Cruise.
In addition, highlights that night include a presentation from former little sister Dr. Carrie Esopenko, who will be attending the gala as a special guest speaker.
“We also have a few other surprises included in the evening, however, (I) don't want to spoil the fun just yet on those,” Howard added. “We still have some tickets left, so give us a call before they're all gone and support the community's only preventative child service agency in the process.”
For more information about Innisfail's Big Brothers and Big Sisters or to purchase a $30 ticket to the event, call 403-227-6766 or visit www.bigbrothersbigsisters.ca/innisfail.
