Eston Riverside Regional Park holds successful online auction
By Joan Janzen
The Eston Riverside Regional Park held a very successful online auction from November 1st to 12th, 2022, raising a total of $56,899.00. “It’s our first one that we’ve done, and we were overwhelmed,” Karen Mullis, chair of the park board, said. “We couldn’t believe the response!”
A total of 139 items were donated by businesses and individuals. The park’s committee of six dedicated individuals started soliciting for prizes, reaching out to the community, business partners and sports teams. Items began coming in from BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
“We did a lot of foot work too, delivering letters to business suppliers in Saskatoon,” Karen said. The end result was overwhelming, with a wide variety of items being donated, everything from cookies to dining experiences.
Although the park holds fundraising raffles, a pancake breakfast and 50/50’s throughout the year, they decided to have a major fundraiser to finance a large project that needed to be done.
“This summer it was a bit of struggle getting a consistent water supply to the golf course and cabins, as the river has been low,” Karen explained. “It was time to kick off something that was going to generate some significant funds. Most of us thought we’d raise $30,000, but we doubled it!”
Karen, along with the other committee members, Kelly Knight, Shannon Beckstrand, Brent Swryda, Karen Holmes, and Tracy Clark, made the decision to relocate the irrigation pump to a new location where the water levels are deeper. Now they’re able to move ahead with that project, which will help get the water from a new location in 2023 when they open the park. The water project is already underway, thanks to help from the maintenance personnel and willing volunteers.
Eston Riverside Regional Park includes 101 cabins, 12 permanent sites, a golf course, licensed club house, swimming pool and concession. “We turn into a little town from the end of June until mid-August,” Karen said. “We’re pretty grateful for everybody who supported the auction. I don’t know how many times we can say thank you.”