Were you at one of the events in southeast Saskatchewan last weekend? If you weren鈥檛, you were likely out of town, or you might be in the minority of people.
There was an abundance of activities for people in the Estevan area from June 3 to 5. For those who like fundraisers, it was a dream weekend. The only challenge was decided which fundraisers to attend. You couldn鈥檛 be at all of them.
We were particularly pleased to see the support shown for former Estevan resident Nolan Haukeness and his wife, Jenine, who lost their home in the recent Fort McMurray wildfire. Regina-based band Library Voices, which has five former Estevan residents, all of whom are friends with Haukeness, performed at two benefit concerts for the family. Another former Estevan resident, Joel Henderson (who performs under the name Poor Nameless Boy) also played both shows.
It鈥檚 great to see such strong support for people going through a tough time. It鈥檚 been more than a decade since Haukeness left Estevan, but he still has a lot of friend here.
Then there was a fundraiser of another kind, the Estevan Oilfield Technical Society鈥檚 Oilmen鈥檚 Golf Tournament. Not only is it the largest tournament of the year in Estevan, but the OTS uses the money from the tournament to support worthy causes.
The first weekend of June has always been the big weekend of the year for the Lampman area, too, thanks to the annual Lampman Sports Weekend. There was the usual assortment of sporting events, coupled with community activities. A parade on June 4 certainly enhanced the weekend. And yes, it鈥檚 a fundraiser, too, as the Lampman Lions Club channels the money into their community projects.
Other fundraisers were for animals, children with diabetes, families, a Bible camp and more.
We admit that every weekend isn鈥檛 going to have so much happening in and around Estevan. And there won鈥檛 always be so many fundraisers. But there will be a number of events happening in the southeast every weekend during the spring and summer months.
If events and crowds aren鈥檛 your thing, then there are lots of recreation and cultural facilities in the Estevan area that can help you relax. 聽
The 2016 Saskatchewan Summer Games are only about six weeks away. It will be the biggest event to be in Estevan in many years, a showcase of our city, its people and its facilities.
And you can be sure there will be lots of other events in conjunction with the Games, as organizations and businesses will want to offer something with so many people in town for the province-wide, multi-sport event.
So for those who say there鈥檚 nothing to do in Estevan, we can only assume you鈥檝e decided to live the life of a hermit, and you鈥檙e not paying attention to what is actually happening.
