First Annual "Camo Sweetheart Ball"

Trout Creek - Montana Woods N Water hosted the first annual “Camo Sweetheart Ball” Saturday, at the Lakeside Resort and Motel.

The night was a special event to raise money for the Sanders County Search and Rescue.

“Sanders County Search and Rescue, as far as we are concerned, are the unsung heroes. We want to make sure they have the proper equipment and funding,” said Pam Tarr-Viniard, who along with her husband, Raf Viniard of Montana Woods N Water, organized the event.

The night’s theme was camouflage. Women could come dressed as they pleased, but the men were supposed to wear an outfit with some sort of camouflage.

At 6:00pm people began to file into the lounge of the Lakeside. Guests were dressed to impress. Some men arrived with camouflage ties, others were in camouflage shirts. The more expressive arrived in full camouflage fatigues. Even some women arrived adorned with camouflage.

Tables were laid out with decorative camouflage ribbons and green ornamental arrangement. And the dinner was being prepared in the kitchen while the guests arrived. On the menu was beef or pork with potatoes, vegetables, a roll and salad. The entire lounge smelled of food. The Master of Ceremonies, Dave Oliver, played music along with his wife Deb Oliver on the drums and keyboard.

After the attendees talked and mingled, dinner was served. While everyone was finishing up their dinner, the most important business of the night began. When a couple or person paid to enter, they were given a ticket that was later called for door prizes. In addition to funds raised by the entrance fee, there was also a silent auction that lasted from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. Some of the items were baskets of goods, an undisclosed amount of money to Minnie’s Diner, a small gold nugget, pictures that were in handmade frames, and a necklace.

The biggest and most exciting way money was raised was a raffle for the choice of a gun out of four options. In addition to the chance to win a gun, there were other expensive awards people could win with the right raffle tickets: a camouflage fleece with a hat, a camp stove, amore framed photos, and gift cards to bed and breakfasts.

It was clearly evident that everyone enjoyed the night. There were also little contests during the event. One was to see which man had the best tie and another was to see who was married the longest and who was married shortest. “I think it’s nice when there are events that adults can dress up for,” said Terri Burt, who was sitting with her husband, Sam Burt. Burt explained that in Southwest Montana where they are from they had Camo Balls all the time, but it is new in Sanders County.

Tarr-Viniard said, “We started off in January with a project called Five Months of Fun, and we have been trying to do something every other month... this was one of our major functions.” In the works is a big plan for May that will consist of multiple events, explained Tarr-Viniard, but she is still in the early planning stages.