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Event to benefit playground

Sipping on some smooth bourbon, sampling a craft brew and noshing on some succulent pork barbecue sounds like a great way to spend an evening. Throw in a bunch of raffles, and top it off with live music, and you will have “Bourbon, Brew and BBQ.”

The Adventure Playground Task Force is sponsoring the event from 6-10:30 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Martin County Fairgrounds. All proceeds will go to cover the cost of the all-inclusive playground planned for next spring at Gomsrud Park.

Advance tickets for $45 are available at the Hy-Vee service desk or from any task force member. Members are listed on the playground’s website, www.exploreadventureplayground.com. Advance tickets must be purchased by 8 p.m. Friday. Tickets at the door are $50. Participants must be at least 21 years of age to attend.

Task force members Sara Pierce and Jodie Whitmore offered more details about the event, which will be held in the sheep building at the fairgrounds.

“It’s exactly the atmosphere we’re looking for,” Whitmore said of the rustic sheep building. “It provides the right stage for the event.”

Pierce said she had attended a similar event that combined bourbon, beer and barbecue that was successful.

“They just go well together,” she said. “You’ll get a pint glass and a shot glass. There will be tastings of brews from Lost Sanity Brewing of Madelia and different bourbons. Those same bourbons will be available at the full cash bar.”

Samples are free until gone. Flights, or several samplings, of bourbon and beer will be available for purchase. The bar also will feature four signature drinks for the evening: Kentucky Mule, Kentucky Buck, Bourbon Smash and the Teetotaler.

Food is included in the ticket price. Shredded pork, which can be used in sandwiches or nachos, as well as side dishes will be available through the entirety of the evening. Ice cream will be for sale, courtesy of O’Scoops Ice Cream of Truman.

Those who like to sip on bourbon while puffing on a cigar can visit the cigar room, with tobacco products furnished by Center for Specialty Care.

“There’s 50 to 60 drawings and raffles with some big prizes like tickets to a Minnesota Wild game and half a hog,” Whitmore said.

“Several local people have put together some great gift baskets too,” Pierce said.

“Bourbon, Brew and BBQ” could be the last major fundraiser sponsored by the task force as it nears its $500,000 goal for Adventure Playground, although the Knights of Columbus are planning a pork loin dinner in October to benefit the project.

Fundraisers, grants and donations from individuals and businesses over almost a two-year period propelled the project toward its anticipated construction in the spring of 2019.

A large portion of the funding came from the city of Fairmont, which gifted $150,000 from liquor store profits in this year’s budget and pledged a matching amount for 2019.

Even after receiving the city’s pledge from the 2019 budget, which put the project near its goal, the task force maintained its fundraising and grant-writing efforts.

“We don’t want to be presumptuous about the gift from the city,” Whitmore said.

“The more money we raise, the more money the city can put into park accessibility,” Pierce said.

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