ROCANVILLE — There’s still lots of time to get a ticket for the annual Rocanville Lucky Lottery supporting local recreational activities, as the lottery kicks into the summer stretch. Sales have been a little slow to start, and board chair Kirby Fowler says an ideal situation would be selling out before the early bird draw next month.
“At the end of August we do the early bird draw, so if we can get a whole pile of tickets sold before then, it’s to our benefit for sure,” Fowler said. “We were really hoping to get more ticket sales earlier. By the early bird would be the dream, then we can just push that 50/50.”
As Fowler noted, the 50/50 has a bigger take-home this year and is growing by the day.
The early bird draw happens Aug. 28 over at the Nutrien Rocanville Community Hall, with prizes including a new e-bike and four $250 Co-op gift cards. As for the big $100,000 grand prize, that happens on September 28, again at the hall. There’s also a $5,000 travel voucher, four $1,000 cash prizes, and five $500 cash prizes up for grabs. The 50/50 draw also happens on Sept. 28, with a maximum payout of $60,000.
To help bolster ticket sales, a call-out blitz to past supporters will take place shortly.
“We are planning for next week, a call out where we will call previous customers and try and get those sales up before we have to start spending some of the advertising money,” Fowler explained. “But we’re doing really good. We’re just shy of 10 per cent of tickets sold. Our 50/50 take home is sitting at $2,060.”
He said the phone call method was something the board tried in the past, and proved to be quite effective in drumming up support.
“It works very well, especially when you start explaining the earlier we sell out, the better,” Fowler said. “We did [phone calls] last year a little bit. We didn’t have our database very well set up last year, so I know we missed a lot. But we spent a lot of time and effort building that database of all the numbers that have bought tickets and preparing for this year.”
Typically, most people purchase a $100 ticket and three for the 50/50 at $50.
One challenge the summer season poses is the ability to reach people, but you may see folks selling tickets at your favourite beach as well, bringing the Rocanville Lucky Lottery to you.
“We are selling tickets at the lakes, too,” Fowler said. “There’s quite a few of us on the committee that go to Round Lake, so we set up at the Saturday markets and we can sell tickets right there, too. But we’re always pushing people towards the website as well. Anybody can go right to our website or Facebook page and buy tickets through that as well.”
The group is also looking to increase their presence in a previously under-served market. Ticket sales come in from all over Saskatchewan, but this year the southwest corner of the province will be specifically targeted.
“This year with our radio [advertising], we have expanded our area,” Fowler said. “We’ve always kind of missed out on that southwest corner for coverage, and this year, just the way we’re doing our radio advertising, we should get more coverage down there. So we’re hoping for some support, and we get coverage right from north to south, east to west.”
Last year, the lottery was able to distribute $35,500 to local groups and organizations in Rocanville, allowing for many worthwhile recreation activities to continue and prosper. The Rocanville Lucky Lottery has a long history, first established three decades prior when a new arena was needed in the community. After a hiatus, the fundraiser was resurrected in 2022 when $86,000 was gifted to local projects.
Tickets for the Rocanville Lucky Lottery are available online at , from any board member, and some businesses around town.
