In a bit of a “catch-all” I have four items to report on this time out, the first of which is about a team of Snow Lake volunteer firefighters that took the second event in the 59th-annual Redman Bonspiel, held the last weekend in February in The Pas.
The team of skip Riley Eastman, third Dan Otto, second Jordan Galloway and lead Brandon Cook came home with mugs, a trophy, and bragging rights for their efforts during the well-attended firefighters’ ’spiel. Two other firefighters were also in attendance at the event: Polina Gapotiy and Curtis Baldwin.
Of note, Baldwin told the curlers that he had been trying for one of the “Redman Mugs” for the past 10 years, so being the stand-up guy he is, Eastman gave him his. Later that evening, Baldwin won a TV in one of the bonspiel’s raffles. Showing that honour and reliability are a common trait among local firefighters, Baldwin promptly gave the TV to Eastman!
The 60th-annual Redman will take place in Flin Flon next year.
Still on curling, however, on a tad smaller scale, 10 teams competed in the annual adult cordwood bonspiel held Friday March 4 at the Wilfred T. Lipton Arena.
Each team had to play four games, often back to back. The winners of each pool had to play off for first prize. In the end it was the Playford team of Don Playford, Cathy Stabback, Sherry Playford and Ted Stabback, who came out on the winning end over the Chrapun rink (second place) of Shelly Chrapun, Derek Chrapun, Shayna Pegg and Rick Leman. Third place went to the Dawson rink of Jordie Dawson, Gerard Lamontagne, Jessica McAuley and Darryl Anaka (Knackers) and fourth to the Young rink of Glen Young, Jenna Wiwcharuk-Roy, Judd Fey and Janelle Grant. A good time was had by all!
Over at the Lawrie Marsh Community Hall, a locally sponsored performance of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Hound of the Baskervilles took place at 7 p.m. on Feb. 23 on the hall’s Centennial Stage.
With only 64 tickets sold, it was a disappointing evening for organizers in the Aurora Borealis Arts Council. “Considering the calibre of talent and the work/expense of bringing this group to town, it was a disappointing number of patrons,” said ABC member Phyllis Verbeek.
Nevertheless, Verbeek advised that those on the arts council and all in attendance enjoyed the play immensely.
Hound of the Baskervilles is a comedy depicting a case in the life of Sherlock Holmes. It was summed up in the words of the Play’s Director Ann Hodges: “These three men struggle against impossible odds to tell a story of three men struggling against impossible odds to solve a mystery!”
In an overview of the performance, Mrs. Verbeek explained that there were three male actors who carried the show and in doing so played the parts of several characters. “There was amazing talent shown by the three characters: Toby Hughes, who played Dr. John Watson; Arne Macpherson who was Sherlock Holmes, and Aaron Pridham whose main character was Sir Henry Baskerville,” she said. “Quick costume changes showed these three in several other roles, one of which portrayed a woman on a mission of her own.”
The play featured an intermission at its mid-point and Mrs. Verbeek said that the highlight of the evening took place when they returned from this break. “The cast fast forwarded the first act,” she said. “It was hilarious!”
Another attendee, Gary Zamzow, also summed up the performance quite succinctly “Amazing!” he exclaimed. “In all aspects of live theatre. Truly lifted your heart rate and left you with a smile! The night’s real winners were those sitting in the seats.”
Finally, Snow Lake residents Clarence and Norma Johnson celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary on March 1. Along with eight guests that included family and friends, the couple were toasted with coffee, dinner, and cake in the Snow Lake Motor Inn’s Rose Room at 5:30 that afternoon. The Motor Inn’s Roxane Lamontagne said she found the fact that Norma and Clarence were celebrating 65 years of marriage was awesome! “Especially since most people don’t stay married longer than five minutes nowadays,” joked the inn co-owner.
No word on who made the celebratory dessert for this “Blue Sapphire” anniversary, but one assumes Snow Lake’s famous “Lady of the Cake” wouldn’t be called upon to craft her own!
