100 Mile House bid farewell to the annual Big Country Shriners’ King Crab and Prime Rib Buffet and Auction on Saturday, April 4.
The popular event was sold out once again and saw hundreds of attendees pack the 100 Mile House Community Hall for a dinner and auction to raise money for the Shriners Children Hospitals. As in previous years, the highlight was the all-you-can-eat prime rib and Alaskan King Crab buffet catered by the Red Rock Grill.
According to Noble Glen Clancy, the President of Big Country Shrine Club #50, Shriners Hospitals "specialize in neuromuscular, skeletal, and orthopaedic conditions (ie: scoliosis, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease), cleft lip, and palate and burn injuries)." The Shriner's dinner and auction are held to raise money to pay for children with these conditions to travel to these specialist hospitals and receive the treatment they need. One of the nearest Canadian locations is located in Montreal, Quebec though there are several affiliated hospitals in Washington State and Oregon in the United States.
While they are still totalling up how much they raised this year, Clancy said he predicts it will be around last year's total of $40,000. Over the years since Big Country Shrine Club first began the fundraiser, they've raised $325,000 for children in need.
During the night a local who benefitted from the Shriners' hospital program as a child shared his story. Brett Alexander, from Williams Lake, was born with club feet.
"It's when you're born with a crooked bone in your foot. So both of my feet were turned inwards when I was born," Alexander explained.
The Shriners stepped in to help his family, paying for his trip to one of their partner hospitals in Portland, Oregon so he could receive treatment.
"They performed all the surgeries and paid for the hotels and meals and everything while we were there - which was a huge support to us," Alexander recalled.
Thanks to these surgeries, Alexander's feet were corrected and it allowed him to have a normal childhood and an otherwise regular everyday life. Alexander said it was nice to see all the people coming out for the dinner.
"It's sad to hear that it's the last one, but it's nice to see that it's such a success tonight," Alexander said. "I'm honoured to be here."
One of the people in attendance was former Red Rock Grill employee Ashley Everett, who helped serve at the event in the past. Over the eight years she's been involved she said it took a lot of hard work to put on.
"So not only did I cater it, but I did help set everything up. So we would come in and set up the tables. We'd set up the chairs, we'd lay out the whole facility and all the tables for the auction," Everett said. The crabs, she also explained, were not cheap - going for around $1,200 a box in recent years.
Everett said that she always had a lot of fun when she did the event, saying that "everybody's just so happy" donating to a great cause. She called the food 10 out of 10 this year, praising the Alaskan crab specifically, which she says was cooked perfectly.
She also said that Alexander's story moved her to tears.
"I was sitting here - I was like, oh my gosh, like to have this - I think, the first year since I have been coming to and catering them, the first they had a spokesperson that was here that actually had the Shrine help him," Everett said.
Everett lastly said it was sad to see the event go, calling it the end of a beautiful era.
When asked why the banquet was coming to an end, Clancy said it was simply due to a lack of manpower. Over the last few years, the local club members have been growing older and organizing such a large event is too much work.
"We just don't have enough people to carry on," Clancy said. "Sad it's the last time, but we appreciate all the support that we've gotten from the community."
