Mom always said not to play with your food, but she never said anything about playing for your food.
On Saturday evenings, the Jasper Legion invites the community to spend happy hour gambling for meat.
The weekly meat draw is an age old tradition that sees lucky ticket holders take home their dinner, whether it’s a few steaks, a side of salmon, a pack of sausages or a whole chicken.
“It dates way back to English pubs,” said Ken Kuzminski, president of the Jasper Legion. “Then during the wars, and during rationing, meat was very difficult to come by, so to have a roast or something like that was such a special treat.”
Kuzminski said he isn’t sure of the exact date when the draws started at the Jasper Legion, but he said they were definitely taking place after the Second World War, when Bing Crosby came to town.
He said for much of their history, meat draws have been used to raise money for worthy causes. That’s still the case in Jasper. The money raised through ticket sales goes toward local clubs and organizations.
“Those funds go toward minor sports, seniors, gymnastics, girls scouts, the museum—all that money that’s raised goes back into the community.
“So the more money that the meat draw makes, the more money we give back to the community.”
In an effort to raise more funds and bring in some new faces on Saturday evenings, the Legion board is giving the weekly event a revamp.
Beginning April 30 it will not only be a meat draw but a games night, with local entertainment, and a special draw each week for something unique. On April 30, the special draw is for a dozen gourmet cupcakes made by Lynn Wannop, a member of the legion board and owner of Coco’s Cafe.
In the future, those special draws will include everything from vegetarian packages to camping kits complete with hotdogs, buns and condiments, as well as bacon and eggs.
Tickets for the meat draw are a dollar each and each week there are eight draws, each for $15 to $20 worth of meat.
“So you buy $10 worth of tickets and you have a chance to win some cheap groceries,” said Wannop.
As well as the draw, the legion also offers free pool, darts and shuffleboard, and an ongoing game of Chase the Queen.
Local bands interested in performing on Saturday evenings are encouraged to contact the Legion.
The meat draw starts at 6:30 p.m.
Nicole Veerman
[email protected]
