Over 300 people attended the St. George Firefighters’ inaugural St. Paddy’s Bash at the Gaukel Memorial Community Centre on Saturday, March 16, 2024.
During the sold-out event, guests were sporting their finest St. Patrick’s Day themed gear such as shamrock necklaces, headbands and hair bows, green tutus, and comically large top hats.
The volunteer firefighters of Station #7 had several activities set up for guests including games like the hose hold (a competition to see who could hold a fire hose in front of them at 90 degree angle the longest) and guess how many jellybeans in the jar, as well as a toonie toss later in the night.
Attendees could also partake in a draw for a variety of prizes including gift baskets, gift certificates, festival tickets for both Crew Fest and the River Roots Music Festival, Brantford Bulldogs tickets and swag, and four VIP Tickets to see Noah Kahan at the Scotiabank Arena.
On top of the event’s activities, the firefighters were also selling St. Patrick’s Day themed t-shirts for $20, which many of the guests purchased both ahead of time and during the event.
The hometown band, the Village Joke, which is made up of four childhood friends, played several classic rock hits.
From the Tragically Hip to Cheap Trick, Stevie Wonder, Rick Springfield and more, there were plenty of fun tunes that got guests up and dancing.
D.J Hussey, one of the organizers for the bash, said that they decided to throw the event so that they could help give back to the community of St. George.
“We run the annual pancake breakfast and fireworks every Canada Day but since COVID, funds for the community have been running tight and everything’s gotten a bit more expensive,” he said. “We just wanted to have a bit more wiggle room and then provide any other proceeds to the community so we can do other fun stuff for them too.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
