Friday evening saw a sizable donation made at the Spruce Meadows International Christmas Market.

As part of the Spruce Meadows Leg Up Foundations "Season of Giving," president of foundation Mike Colborne appeared on stage in the Equi-Plex to present a $50,000 cheque to Brent Foster, president of the Millarville Racing & Agriculture Society.

After the Millarville arena was torn down following a roof collapse in March of this year, the Racing & Agriculture Society has been raising funds and seeking donations to build a new one.

Foster says the donation reflects a sense of community.

"I think it's important that we look out for each other. If they need some assistance or if we need some assistance we're there for each other, and we're thankful for that relationship. That's really what it is, it's about relationship and about community."

The new arena is currently under construction and nearing completion. It recently hosted the annual Millarville Christmas Market which saw record attendance numbers.

Foster says the though the Christmas Market was an overall success, there's still major work to be done before the arena can fully open.

"We got an interim occupancy permit from the MD of Foothills to host the Christmas Market which is one of are events to carry us through the winter but we still have some more work to do and obviously funding towards that but at least we got through the event we wanted to get through. There's still some more work to do. Really the only item that's left that's significant is the fire water storage and suppression system. We're in the process of sourcing that out and funding for that. We're not quite there yet so that's what we're gonna need in order to have full occupancy and operation of the building."

Just a week prior, the Spruce Meadows Leg Up Foundation presented a cheque to the Calgary Fiddlers Association and is currently raising money for the Calgary Food Bank through their 50/50 draw.

 

Send us your news tips, story ideas and comments at news@highriveronline.com