聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Arcola's third annual Street Dance & Slow Pitch Tournament will take place on Saturday, Aug. 26, rain or shine, says organizer Cheryl Bell.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t's a great event and a great community fundraiser,鈥� says Bell. 鈥淭he past two years, the street dance has been moved to Prairie Place Hall because of rain - but rain or shine, the community and area communities have stepped up to support us and this year is no exception.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Bell brought back the Arcola tradition a few years ago - as both a fundraiser and as a fond reminder of the street dances she enjoyed while growing up in the community.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭hey were always a lot of fun,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd the ball tournament is a big part of that, too. I grew up playing ball in Arcola. My dad coached me and my kids play ball now, too.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Proceeds from this year's event will benefit the Arcola Ball Association, with plans to eventually purchase a mechanical scoreboard for the town's baseball diamond.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淓very year, we've looked at where to contribute depending on the need,鈥� says Bell. 鈥淏ut contributing money to the Arcola Ball Association is something that people of all ages can enjoy - both players and spectators.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淎nd the slow-pitch tournament generates people who come to Arcola for this event and go on to the dance. This year, we've got some people bringing in their campers and setting up here for the weekend. They're either in the town campgrounds and in some cases, local people are offering up their backyards.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Interest in entering this year's slow-pitch tournament exceeded expectations and Bell says organizers limited the competition to eight teams.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e've scaled it back to eight teams, even though we had more. This year, we've got ball teams from Arcola, Carlyle, Pheasant Rump First Nation and White Bear First Nations - as well as a team from Indian Head.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Bell and fellow organizers Jennifer Demuith and Tammy Messenger have added to this year's activities by including a kids' zone.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e've got a bouncy castle and a slip 'n' slide,鈥� says Bell. 鈥淲e're expanding to include all ages.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 As well as the new kids' zone and slow-pitch action, the day's action will begin at 9 a.m. on Main Street, with kids' activities starting at 10 a.m.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 There will be a 50/50 draw, a pie toss, a beer gardens featuring a DJ throughout the day, a dunk tank and the street dance, featuring live music from Regina band, The Milkman's Sons.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e're excited about having The Milkman's Sons for the dance,鈥� says Bell. 鈥淲e've heard good things about them and they also have a light show and a video screen, so it should be a lot of fun -聽 whatever happens with the weather.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e've tried not to ask any of our businesses for money, but instead, we've asked them to lend us something for this fundraiser,鈥� says Bell. 鈥淏usinesses and individuals - and there's too many to list -聽 have been great when it comes to pitching in and we can't thank them enough.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲hether we're able to hold the dance on Main Street or whether it rains and it's in Prairie Place, one thing we can always count on is great support - from Arcola and from surrounding communities.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e're looking forward to welcoming everyone to a great day.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 For more information, contact Cheryl Bell at (289)-259-5432.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽
