BY KIM LANGEN

A lively evening is planned – with everything from a free, ‘fun’ casino and vintage photo booth, to live music and dancing – at next month’s Christmas Speakeasy, coming up at the Shamrock Centre.

The fundraising event, scheduled for Saturday, November 19, is being hosted by the Killarney Parent Advisory Council (KPAC), which is continuing energetically with more plans for the Killarney School Playground.

“We have completed Phase One, at a cost of $107,000, which is bought and paid for,” said newly elected chair for the council, Jane Ireland. “This main structure is now complete, and the playground has been a great success. It’s so popular that kids are waiting their turn to go on it, which is why we want to add more stand-alone play structures to it next year.”

The fun-loving crew decided to throw another Christmas fundraiser to help move Phase Two forward, and make sure the adults also have a good time getting there.

“We wanted to do something different, so we are having a speakeasy – which is a sort of throw-back to the prohibition era of the 1920s and ‘30s,” said Ireland. “We will have a vintage photo booth, with costumes, and people can dress up in vintage clothes for the whole event, if they want.”

A buffet dinner, including beef and chicken, sides, and dessert, will be served up for guests, along with a bar run by the KPAC team. Brandon band ‘The 204’ will crank out their live dance tunes (covers and originals), with MC duties going to Brody Harms.

And that’s not all.

“We have ordered tables for a Fun Casino, with Blackjack, Roulette, and the Wheel of Chance,” said Ireland. “But you don’t win money, and you don’t buy chips. It’s just free entertainment for our guests. The chips are free, and the person holding the most chips at the end of the night gets bragging rights. It’s just to make it a fun night, and to harass the Killarney Kinsmen. Amazing Entertainment, from Winnipeg, are supplying the tables, and they will be training up ‘the boys’ to run the casino.”

Killarney Auction Mart owner Allan Munroe has offered to donate his razor-sharp auction skills, and already coming up on the block are a one-year membership to the new Mary Ann Moore Wellness Centre Spa, and a five-course catered dinner for six (in your home) by KPAC members.

“We’ve also got a night for two at the Mere Hotel in Winnipeg, which includes breakfast and tickets for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights,” said Ireland. “Maurice’s has donated a fireplace, and there are other great items promised from other donors.”

But tickets are limited for the Speakeasy.

“We just have 300 tickets, and I have already sold 78, before we started advertising,” said Ireland. “They are going fast, so I hope people will get in there while they can. It should be a great night.”

Tickets for the Christmas Speakeasy are available at Lewis and Jones, Gwen’s Trends, and Community Florist.

Popular play structure officially opens

PLAYGROUND PARTY – Phase one completion of the Killarney School Community Playground project was officially celebrated with a ribbon cutting grand opening on Tuesday, September 20.

Around 250 adults and kids attended the event, with over 200 hot dogs served by the Killarney Parent Advisory Council (KPAC), along with help from the high school and middle school student councils, who barbequed the dogs.

From left to right (foreground) are the KPAC members: Stacey Shackel, Lisa Cuvelier, Jane Ireland, Liana Smith (and son Rayden Hiscock), Carla Thompson, Corinne MacDonald, Tracy Sanders, Debbie McIntyre, and Lindsay Blixhavn. Missing are council members Deanna Mador and Laura Blair.

The playground has been a huge hit with children of all ages, and the KPAC crew isn’t finished yet. They are now gearing up for phase two of the playground, which will add several more components.

To raise funds for the ongoing project, KPAC will be hosting their second annual Christmas Gala on Saturday, November 19 at the Shamrock Centre. For more information on KPAC, to purchase tickets to the Christmas Gala, or to make a donation to the playground project, call Corinne MacDonald at 204-720-9415 or Jane Ireland at 204-215-0117.