Overflow crowd for Grand Coteau’s street bingo

Posted on July 31, 2026 by Ryan Dahlman

Shaunavon Standard

Shaunavon’s annual Boomtown Days celebration kicked off in record-setting fashion in mid-July with a huge turnout for the Grand Coteau Centre’s Street Bingo gathering.

While estimating the exact number of attendees is difficult, the gathering easily appeared to draw another record-breaking crowd.

Organizers sold 316 bingo books this year, shattering last year’s record of 229 books.

The weather also co-operated, although it was a little on the warm side as temperatures touched near the 30 degree mark.

“It was a terrific night,” said Joanne Gregoire, director of the Grand Coteau Centre. “We had a huge crowd. We’ve never had that many people on the lawn before, and every space seemed to be full. We were pretty much parked to capacity on the street, even though we added an extra parking lane this year.”

The crowd also spilled over into the Co-op food store parking lot, and there were players who set up spots between parked cars with chairs and umbrellas.

Surrounding the Centre, participants played from picnic tables, park benches, and lawn chairs. Others spread out blankets or claimed spots on the concrete pad of the outdoor musical playground.

The night featured big wins for local participants. Dekkar Horn took home the $100 prize for the blackout round, while Harvey Gardner won

$510 in the 50/50 draw.

“Overall, it just turned out to be an excellent evening,” Gregoire said.

“We had a few more tie-breakers this time, and that’s probably because of the number of players we had this year.”

She added that the Centre made popcorn available for attendees, which proved to be a highly popular addition to the festivities.

All proceeds from the street bingo will go directly toward supporting the Grand Coteau Centre’s community programming.

Gregoire said the event enjoyed great support and thanked participants and a dedicated team of volunteers who helped make the evening a success. Fred Farnworth once again served as caller.