INNISFAIL – It’s a long-standing tradition involving farmers and local businesses.
The 73rd annual Innisfail Farmers and Farmerettes Bonspiel is set to take place at the Innisfail Curling Club from Jan. 20 to 26.
“It's the coming together of the farming community and the business community with support going both ways,” said Todd Marshall, vice-chair of the bonspiel. “It’s getting everybody together to enjoy a week of fun and fellowship.”
Opening ceremonies take place on Jan. 21 at 3 p.m. and will include a piping-in ceremony that will feature the Farm Family of the Year and the Business of the Year.
Teams for the event will consist of four players, including three from the farming community and one player from the local business community, noted Marshall.
Each year organizers aim to have 32 men's teams and 16 ladies' teams consisting of farmers and farmerettes who team up with local businesses from Innisfail and the surrounding region.
The event is always held the third week of January.
“The first (of January) fell on a Tuesday this year so it got pushed out a week later than it normally would be,” said Marshall. “In order to fit (every team) in throughout the whole week we have to run two draws on the Sunday night and then we run draws Monday through Friday, and Saturday we wrap up the event.”
Registration closed in early January so the committee could finalize teams and confirm other details for the bonspiel, said Marshall, who noted the event features several curling matches throughout the week.
“We have four events on the men's side and three events on the ladies' side,” said Marshall. “The top four teams in each event get prizes at the end of the week and we also have several draws (during the week),” he said, adding prizes for draws are provided by local sponsors.
Curling events finish on Friday (Jan. 25) followed by the bonspiel banquet on Saturday (Jan. 26) at the Innisfail Royal Canadian Legion.
“The ladies' finals usually play Friday afternoon and then the men's finals are Friday night,” Marshall concluded.
For more information visit the Innisfail Farmers and Farmerettes Bonspiel page on Facebook.
