 |
|
|
|
|
  
|
More suds on tap in Rankin? Darrell Greer Northern News Services Published Wednesday, October 19, 2011
The legion did well with its first two efforts, a beer garden in support of the 2010 Calm Air Cup slo-pitch tournament and a community beer dance in support of the hamlet's recreation department. Both events went well, with no bad behaviour on the part of those partaking in the sudsy fun. Local legion president Kyle Sheppard said the success of the two events shows people in the community are quite capable of having a good time while enjoying a few beers in a controlled environment. He said ensuring the events are well-planned and adequately secured are keys to ensuring similar events can be held in the future. "Rec co-ordinator David Clark came up with the idea of a beer dance as a way to raise funds for shipping the artificial turf for our ball diamond to Rankin," said Sheppard. "The legion agreed to run the bar, so we took the idea to council and the liquor commission for approval. "So, although it was a rec department initiative, the legion provided the bar service because we had the experience in getting an event approved and overseeing it. "It was held at the community hall, with live bands performing, and everyone seemed to have a really good time." Beer and soft drinks were served at the event from 8 p.m. until about midnight. The dance was $40 a person to attend, with proceeds from the 150 tickets sold going to the rec department. Profits from beer sales went to the legion branch. Sheppard said everything ran smoothly except for a few people who enjoyed the beer a little too much. "There were two or three people we had to ask to leave, but that was more of a preventative measure than anyone causing a problem and having to be kicked out. "Once someone becomes intoxicated, they can no longer be on the premises, so we provided a taxi home for those few people." Sheppard said there's a possibility of similar events being held in the future, but there are pros and cons to every venture. He said they were very cautious with the first dance, selling about 100 fewer tickets than hall capacity, so a larger event may be attempted next time. "The demand is there when you look at the fact we had a sellout crowd willing to pay $40 a ticket and $6 a beer at the dance. "Only one person told me they were disappointed we held a beer dance, but most people also realize it would only take one negative incident for everything to go south. "From what I hear, that's what happened about 15 or 20 years ago, but we had a great deal of community support for this dance. "We had a great staff of volunteer security and we had no problems, so that shows if an event is run responsibly, it can be managed."
|
