A popular pastime is primed to make its long-awaited return to Meadow Lake. Tomorrow night (Oct. 24) marks the first Lions Bingo – hosted by the Meadow Lake Lions Club – in close to five years. This major fundraiser for the club has not happened since the former Meadow Lake and District Arena was lost to fire in June 2021, but has been resurrected with this year’s opening of the new Meadow Lake Co-op Centre. “The bingo takes place Friday night, Oct. 24, the doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the ‘three cards for a loonie’ bingos start at 6 p.m.,” explained Bob Steeg of the Meadow Lake Lions Club. “They run from 6 to 8 p.m. Then, the big bingo – the master card – starts at 8 p.m. You can buy extra cards as well.”
The bingo is open to anyone 18 years or older, while major prizes will be awarded throughout the evening. “There’s a blackout for $12,000 and another blackout for $5,000, as well as eight regular games for $1,000 each,” Steeg added. “The bingo itself will take place on the ice surface at the new arena. The city has been very accommodating to us. They have put a new surface down over the ice, and have really done well.” Steeg went on to say the Lions Bingo needs a venue of such immense size in order to seat the large number of participants expected to be on hand. “We’re typically about 1,000 to 1,100 people,” he noted. “They come from Meadow Lake, as well as the surrounding area. A number of people from the north support us as well.” Steeg also shared how excited he is for the bingo to return, adding how challenging it has been for the Lions to raise funds for the causes it supports since the 2021 fire.
“The Lions Club in Meadow Lake, any money we receive, is funnelled through the community to support community initiatives such as Lions park and the hospital,” he said. “Over the years, I don’t know what the dollar figure is, but it has to be well in excess of a half-million-dollars if not more than $1 million. We’ve really been hurting to provide funds for the community because the chuckwagons (the Canadian Professional Chuckwagon Association races in Meadow Lake which served as a fundraiser for the Lions) and the bingo were both gone. Those were two major revenue sources.” In recent years, the Lions did introduce an annual bunnock tournament at Lions Park which has proven successful, but Steeg said the bingo has always been the big one for his organization.
“We’re really grateful to have the new facility, and very grateful to Barry Gibson who chaired this bingo for many years,” Steeg said. “He’s since stepped down, but he always did an outstanding job. We’re hoping this will help replace some of the lost revenue. Our bunnock tournament has done better than expected, but the bingo is always good and there will be more to come.” Future bingos are tentatively scheduled for Feb. 27 and May 1 with more dates to follow. Steeg believes the fundraiser is as popular as it is primarily because of the large prizes available.
“I would suggest it’s the amounts involved, but it’s also a very well-run event,” he said. “We are blessed with volunteers in our community, and, when we put out the word we would be running our first bingo in a number of years, we had people phoning us saying they wanted to come and help. The whole community is very supportive.” Steeg also encourages new members to join the local Lions Club. “The Lions are always looking for members,” he said. “We meet the second and fourth Mondays of the month, and everyone is welcome to come out and see what we’re all about.”