麻豆视频

People who were looking forward to Robbie Burns Night were sorely disappointed on Sunday, Jan. 26.

The popular Scottish event which honours the life and poetry of Scot author Robert Burns was scheduled to be held at the Alameda Legion Hall but was canceled due to inclement weather. Heavy snowfall contributed to bad driving conditions and many of the roads were shut down for public safety. This prevented the entertainers from travelling, which is big feature of Robbie Burns Night. The event is organized by the Oxbow Masonic Lodge and the proceeds go towards their lodge.

Dale Ching, the mayor of Oxbow and a member of the lodge said membership is becoming costly for many members. He explained that hosting such an event aids with alleviating some of the pressure off its members. Ching also said they chose to hold the event at Alameda because their legion hall can seat many more than Oxbows.

"It's a money-making event for the Masonic Lodge, the masons are being forced into having high dues, so they put on this Robbie Burns night," he said.

Like many organizations the Oxbow Masonic Lodge pays fees to a central organization or the head of their lodge and Ching said Oxbow's membership is dwindling, which is problematic.

"Rent is going up and the dues that we pay to the organization are going up and the memberships are going down a little bit so it means that our dues go up. So we're trying to avoid that as much as we can, every time you raise the dues, somebody else quits and it's a losing situation," Ching said.

This highlights one of the issues that southeast Saskatchewan faces, as many clubs and organizations that are rooted within many communities are dying. With many members getting older and unable to attend meetings, clubs across the southeast are losing membership. And often young people in the area have no interest in such clubs. Many of these organizations however helped to craft the southeast and build communities that many times cannot rely on the government for aid.

Burns Night had about 70 ticket holders and was listed to have traditional Scottish meals like haggis, neeps and tatties. Ching said he hopes membership increases but highlighted that there are only a few lodges left.

Carlyle is one of the locations that no longer with a lodge and currently, only Estevan, Oxbow, Weyburn and Gainsborough are in operation. Ching said lodge members have not finalized a date for Burns Night as yet, but hopes the weather improves.