Morinville groups will enjoy wine, rocks and doggie drag racing thanks to a recent round of community grants.
Morinville town council announced this week it would award about $15,000 to seven community groups through its community grants program. Council distributes about $37,000 a year in grants through the program.
Most of the grants went towards rentals or equipment. The Morinville & District Agriculture Society got $2,500 for its Tearin’ Up the Turf bull-riding competition scheduled for Aug. 14, while the town’s Royal Canadian Legion office got the same to buy a new computer. The town’s curling club also received $2,500 to start a new youth curling program.
About $1,100 was given to the town’s Girl Guides to hold a strawberry tea in October, said community services director Susan MacDonald. The tea celebrates 100 years of Guides in Canada and 48 in Morinville.
The Sturgeon Community Hospital Foundation received $2,500 to host a wine and art fundraiser at the Morinville parish hall in September.
The Celebrating Life & Culture event was the idea of Morinville businesswoman Noreen Ranford, says Doug Campbell, events co-ordinator for the foundation. Ticket holders will be able to sample a variety of wines and appreciate work produced by local artists, some of which will be from the town’s high school. The event will hopefully raise $200,000 for hospital equipment.
About $1,575 was given to the town’s Synergetic Surge Flyball Team to host a two-day international flyball tournament this weekend at the RMD Sports Centre in Morinville.
Flyball is a relay where teams of four dogs race over 31 meters of hurdles while holding a ball, says team spokesperson Diamond Ruman. “They call it drag racing for dogs.” Most of the dogs are border collies, but you see all types entered in competitions — even tiny Yorkies.
This is the biggest tournament the group has hosted yet, Ruman says, and they’ve got teams coming from across the continent. She’s excited to see the group coming from Las Vegas, which holds the world flyball record at 14.86 seconds.
Most fans come for the dogs, she says, and goggle at their speed and skill. “Dogs are barking and people are running and yelling.”
She likes it for the thrill of competition. As for her Yorkie, she’s in it for the tennis ball. “She goes crazy for it.”
Tickets for the hospital foundation fundraiser are $30, and can be found at Morinville stores or the foundation’s St. Albert office. Call 780-418-7366 for details.
The flyball relay starts at 8 a.m. Saturday. Questions should be sent to [email protected].
The deadline for the next round of grants is Aug. 31. Call 780-939-4361 for details.
