Morinville Curling Club brings Oktoberfest to the community once again 

by Stephen Dafoe 

Oktoberfest runs from Saturday, Sept. 21 until Sunday, Oct. 6 this year, at least in Germany, but Morinville and area residents don’t have to head across the ocean for a taste of the celebration. Once again, the Morinville Curling Club is organizing an Oktoberfest event and fundraiser at the Morinville Community Cultural Centre.  

This year’s event will occur on Saturday, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m. and features a cash bar, live music and entertainment, the Dawggonit food truck, a silent auction and a 50/50 draw. Tickets are $25 per person and are available on Eventbrite.  

  Morinville Curling Club’s Community Outreach head and event organizer, Steve Hutching, said last year’s event was a tremendous success for the curling club and the community, so little has changed this year from that inaugural success.   

“We are bringing in point-of-sale systems to help ease some of our problem points last year, rather than just relying on cash or e-transfers for drinks, 50/50s and silent auction wins,” Hutchings explained. ”With that in mind, we are hoping we are going to be able to have another successful event and build on the progress we made last year.” 

Over the past few years, the Morinville Curling Club has struggled financially due to external factors, including COVID-19. Still, the club is rebounding and regaining its financial health to help keep curling affordable. Events like Oktoberfest help with that goal.  

“We will use our funds from this event to help cover any operating deficits that we face while also continuing to do facility and equipment updates that the club requires,” Hutchings said.  

  Although the club’s Oktoberfest coincides with the global launch date of Oktoberfest, Hutchings said the selection of the date had more to do with the venue’s availability last year and after learning one of the available dates was Oktoberfest, they decided to pick that day.  “Due to the success of 2023’s Oktoberfest, we wanted to ensure we were continuing to follow a similar time frame,” he said. ”That this year’s event falls on the beginning of Oktoberfest in Germany is just a very nice coincidence.” 

  Following last year’s successful Oktoberfest, Hutchings and the other organizers of this year’s event are hoping for another incredible evening and success.  

“There are really two great reasons for people to come out to the event.  First, it is a very affordable and entertaining evening that people can enjoy locally in Morinville.  We are going to have a lot of great and unique items for bid at our silent auction along with some great entertainment from the band,” Hutchings said. “Secondly, it is a great way to help support the Morinville Curling Club.  We are a volunteer-based organization that is doing everything we can to try to keep curling as competitively and reasonably priced as we can for members from Morinville and area.” 

The Morinville Curling Club is accepting donations for the silent auction. Those wishing to donate items can contact community.outreach@morinvillecurlingclub.com. 

Tickets are $25 and are available online via Eventbrite at https://tinyurl.com/59wyc5t4. To arrange for in-person ticket purchases, contact the club at info@morinvillecurlingclub.com.