The Rotary Club of Airdrie is inviting residents to their annual Lobster Boil next weekend to support the organization’s important causes and enjoy an evening full of fun entertainment and tasty seafood.
The Lobster Boil will be happening on June 3 at the Airdrie Town and Country Centre. In addition to a lobster dinner, the attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a silent auction, listen to live music from country singer Randi Boulton, and maybe even bust out a few moves on the dance floor.
President of the Airdrie Rotary Club, Scott Bell, said this year’s boil is particularly special, as the local rotarians are celebrating their 40-year anniversary in 2023.
He noted the Lobster Boil is the club’s main fundraiser of the year.
With the event requiring a lot of preparation in the lead-up to it, Bell said the lobster boil is a group effort to get everything ready.
“We kind of all pitch in,” he said. “There's always a lot of work at the beginning, just getting things organized, setting up the tables and the plates and decorating the hall.”
Though they’ve seen a decrease in membership since the COVID-19 pandemic, Bell noted the Rotary Club of Airdrie is still committed to supporting their community.
“We're kind of a smaller group,” he said. “COVID kind of took away a lot of numbers from different service groups, including ours. But we're also trying to do things in the community still and have fun doing it.”
According to Bell, the Rotary Club is full of people who have an interest in business and are passionate about doing good for society. Proceeds from the Lobster Boil will be used to help projects and charities throughout the community and elsewhere that the rotarians help fundraise for.
The Rotary Club of Airdrie does their best to support local initiatives and charities such as the Airdrie Food Bank.
In addition to local causes, the group is committed to helping out on a global scale. Using grants, donations and proceeds from their fundraisers, the club has been able to provide the money to develop water wells in Tanzania and bring computers to Uganda.
“We tend to do a lot of work for local projects in around Airdrie,” Bell said. “Our main focus is to raise funds to take on various projects.”
In addition to raising money for future projects, Bell said the upcoming lobster boil – always held in early June – is a way to celebrate the arrival of summer weather and enjoy a delicious meal from top chefs and caterers.
The silent auction will include items that have been donated from the community and Airdrie-area businesses. Bell said donations range from weeklong stays at condominiums to signed hockey sticks and Calgary Flames jerseys.
He said it is a surprise for the rotary club to see what donations will be offered at the event.
“We have some rotarians that come later [in the afternoon] to cook the lobster up and then we've got a Red Seal Chef that he and a buddy cook up our steaks all the time,” Bell said. “We hire a caterer to come in and do the baked potatoes, fixings, salads, buns and desserts.”
Those looking to attend the event can purchase tickets for $100 each at rotarytickets.ca.
