ESTEVAN - The Estevan Humane Society is inviting the public to join them for their first live event of 2022.
The fifth annual Whiskers and Wine Gala will take place on March 19 at the Estevan Exhibition Hall.
Usually, the fine supper was held around St. Valentine's Day. This winter they hosted a Boxing Day Cabaret and didn't want to have the events too close together.
And while their to-go virtual Whiskers and Wine last year was a success, this time the shelter decided to push their fundraiser back a bit in hopes that the pandemic restrictions will be lifted and they will be able to host the big event in a more traditional format. Their expectations were met.
"We're glad that we waited and held out and are able to welcome everybody at our function with the restrictions coming to an end. So we're excited that that's finally going to be allowing us to go back to normal and just back to the events that people are used to," said shelter president Tayja Lakusta. "In-person is always a lot more fun, seeing people, seeing your supporters, getting to have a fun night out with everybody."
The humane society is still working on some details for the gala, but things are moving fast.
"We're still working on who will be catering for the food. We've got a couple of businesses in town that we're talking with, but we just haven't made our final decision yet. But our entertainment is booked," Lakusta said.
Spencer Lafrentz, who is a former Estevan resident now living in Edmonton, will open the night. The main entertainment will be by local band Crossroads.
"We're super excited to have a different group of entertainment this year. Usually, we go a different route, but I think people are going to be ready for a night out and for just an uplifting and fun kind of interaction. So, Crossroads will be shutting us down. They'll be playing for the majority of the evening and throughout the night," Lakusta said.
They will also have silent and live auctions. For that, they will be approaching local businesses looking for support and donations.
"We're just starting to go to businesses. We're looking for sponsorship for a few of our larger ticket items like our bar sponsor, entertainment sponsor and those kinds of things. So we'll be approaching businesses in the next week or two, looking for sponsorships or even auction items," Lakusta said.
Tickets are scheduled to go on sale this week. The early bird tickets will be on sale up until March 12 for $75 per person and $550 for a table, with up to 300 tickets available.
The funds raised through the gala will help the shelter with renovating their dog compartments.
"We're starting to look at renovating our dog room. The kennels are getting tight and are showing years of wear. We're looking at updating them and getting them better as well as redoing our yard. We want to add some bigger, more broken-down fencing areas for more dogs to be out in the yard at a time. So we're just slowly starting to try to piece together what we need for that and how much everything's going to cost and then slowly work our way up, hopefully being able to do that in 2023," Lakusta said.
Besides, the fundraiser will help the shelter to cover their ongoing needs. They were able to cut their cat numbers almost in half with the January promo with 54 adoptions, but with many other animals in their care, they still have a lot of medical, food, cleaning and other bills.
"We're excited to see that many cats find their forever home and that many people and families willing to open their homes to a new family member. That was really exciting. It's weird walking through the shelter now and you'll see a couple of open kennels and it feels so empty now, but it's a good thing to see," Lakusta said.
More details about the Whiskers and Wine Gala will be posted on the Estevan Humane Society Facebook page as they become available.
