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A green weekend in Bienfait for Roughrider Block Party

ROUGHRIDER BLOCK PARTY DRAWS A CROWD

The town of Bienfait was taken over with green jerseys and Saskatchewan Roughriders merchandise at the Rider Block Party presented by Special Blend at the Bienfait Memorial Arena on Aug. 11.

Bienfait was selected, along with five other Saskatchewan communities through an online competition, to host the Riders Block Party, which included outdoor activities for kids and families, a silent auction, dinner, a cabaret, and the attendance of five Roughrider players along with Roughrider cheerleaders and the Riders hype squad.

“Any chance we can get to have celebrities come out to the community, and do something this awesome, is really amazing,” said Amanda Pukas, chairperson for the Bienfait recreational board.

“We’re fortunate enough that Bienfait is a great community, with great people. It takes a lot of hours to set up something like this and we want to thank all the volunteers that helped get everything ready for today.”

Parts of Carbon Avenue were closed to vehicle traffic for the day, allowing guests to enjoy the activities that were set up for the party.

Roughly 300 people were in attendance throughout the day, with many people from the community coming out to show their support for the Riders.

Extreme heat was a concerning factor throughout the day, with temperatures soaring into the high 30s. Organizers weren’t sure whether the heat would help or hinder the event, but people in the community and surrounding areas still came out to show their support.

“We had a really great day with a really great turnout. We were worried that people may want to stay home with how hot it was, but we’re really happy with the amount of people that ended up coming out,” said Pukas.

“There were about 150 people who came out for the dinner, and about 350 people came out to get autographs and talk to the players. We had lots of different people coming and going throughout the day, but we were definitely happy with the turnout we got.”

Naaman Roosevelt, Willie Jefferson, Charleston Hughes, Eddie Steele and Christion Jones were the five Riders who attended the event. The players signed autographs and answered questions for fans while the Rider hype squad gave out Roughrider merchandise to the crowd.

Entry to the event was free and money that was raised from the activities including the silent auction as well as food, drink, and liquor sales will be donated to the groups who helped organize the event.

“A mixture of everyone from the hockey rink, the curling rink, minor baseball and minor hockey, whatever we fundraised will be split up among those groups to help support the community,” said Pukas.

“The Bienfait Fire Department was also very amazing and provided security for the event and they will also be receiving a donation from the funds we raised from the block party.”

Rider players who were in attendance received a very warm welcome from the fans, and were available for several hours for photos and autographs.

“When the Riders walked in we had everyone of all ages, from kids to their parents and grandparents, get up and cheer them on, you could really see how excited everyone was to have them here,” said Pukas.

“After they finished signing autographs and doing questions, the crowd gave them a standing ovation and that was great to see. This event was really exciting to host and we welcome anything like this with open arms.”

Roughly $2,500 was raised from the silent auction held at the block party, with the 50/50 draw bringing in around $350. As well, the Riders players gave away four Rider tickets to a game held in October along with four side line passes to one lucky guest.

“We grossed roughly around $10,000 from the event,” said Pukas.

“We’re not entirely sure yet what we’ve made for profit but it was a great turnout and there were lots of people getting involved so we are definitely very happy. We’ll be looking to see how much profit we made and then split it up among the groups that helped make everything possible.”