WSA to host German-style fundraiser for sports complex
<p>Football player Chayton Lulack helps roll out the sod at the Wildhorse Sports Association's sports complex.</p>
PLAINS – The Wildhorse Sports Association will be hosting a German Oktoberfest-style celebration fundraiser this Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Sanders County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Plains. The event will raise money for the WSA sports complex currently under construction west of Plains near the airport.
Featuring an all-you-can-eat German bratwurst dinner, micro-brew tasting, games and music, the fundraiser is seeking to support a project two years in the making. The WSA with assistance from volunteers in the community has already seeded and laid sod on two baseball fields and proposes to build a third in addition to a soccer field, a walking and bike trail, concession stands and restrooms.
WSA Secretary Kim Bergstrom said the event was a huge success last year and was inspired by a desire to provide entertainment while raising money for a project that will benefit the community.
“We wanted to do something fun that would also benefit the complex,” said Bergstrom. “We started this last year and had a great turnout. There will be a bratwurst-style dinner, games and prizes. It’s family friendly so we want people to bring the kids.”
Bergstrom said the event was a way for people in the community to invest in a project that the WSA hopes will benefit a large portion of the local population.
“Conceptually people have really supported this project. They think this is a great idea and it needs to get done,” said Bergstrom. “But not everyone can get involved at every step of the process so having an event like this helps.”
Work continued at the WSA sports complex over the weekend as members of the community and the Plains Horsemen football team arrived early Saturday to lay sod on one of the fields. Burly gridiron veterans hauled rolls of sod to be unfurled on the infield under the direction of Bergstrom and WSA Board Member Randy Garrison among others.
Volunteers and WSA members have been prepping the two fields for the past few weeks. The fencing for the perimeter of the fields as well as the dugouts and bullpens was completed earlier in the summer. The next stage will involve allowing the sod on one field and the grass seed on the other to take hold before winter arrives.
The Oktoberfest community event and fundraiser is this Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. at the county fairgrounds pavilion in Plains.