Darryl Benson used the opportunity to tell fellow Rotary Club of Lloydminster members about the club’s upcoming Lobsterfest funder at the Monday lunch when the scheduled guest speaker cancelled. Geoff Lee Meridian Source
Lobsters saved the day at Monday’s lunch meeting of the Rotary Club of Lloydminster.
The sudden cancellation of the guest speaker led Rotarian Darryl Benson to step up and update attendees on Rotary’s upcoming Lobsterfest fundraising dinner on May 25 at the WLS Convention Centre.
“We’ve changed the date,” said Benson to grab everyone’s attention.
“We’ve been the first week in May for as long as I can remember.”
Benson says the main reason for the rescheduling is the Lloydminster Health Region Foundation moved its funder from the fall to early May to avoid competition from the Rescue Squad’s Sirens and Sapphires Gala.
Benson is optimistic the new May 25 date will work out just fine and may attract some newbies.
“The one good thing about it is, Cenovus is no longer doing their Lobsterfest, so we’re hoping there’s a few folks there we can entice to come out to this event,” said Benson.
“We’re going to try it for a year or two. There’s starting to be a lot of events out there, so trying to handpick when is tough.”
The later date is also looking more favourable for lobster prices that have shot through the roof earlier this spring, but are expected to drop in May.
“We get them fresh off the wharf in Halifax. They were pretty high last year, double what they were and this year they were triple what they were in the past,” said Benson.
“So they’re telling us it should be stabilized and there should be a bit of a price drop in May when we need them.”
Club members are selling 500 tickets at $100 a person or $800 for a corporate table of eight in person, as well as online.
There will also be door prizes and 50/50 draw ticket sales, a draw for a wheelbarrow of booze, and tickets for a smoker draw.
Sponsor packages are also available in $500, $1,000 and $2,000 amounts with CanSafe onboard as the title sponsor.
Benson told newcomers Lobsterfest used to attract up to 800 people, but he noted “it was borderline claustrophobic.
“Now, we’ve got it down to a science where we’ve got round tables and a few rectangle tables for groups that want to have that,” he said.
This year’s band is Dahlia and the Villains and a big screen will update any Oilers’ playoff game taking place that night.
Benson says the key to making Lobsterfest work is volunteers, with Charlene Rowein heading that up.
She’s looking for Rotary volunteer leads for decorating, door greeters, seating guide, liquor ticket sales and bartending, steak and lobster servers and clean-up crews
“There’s a lot to do but with many hands, it makes light work as they say,” said Benson.
