The West Liberty Community Center was hopping on Saturday night, April 6. More than 70 people showed up with snacks and smiles to attend Music Bingo.
If you’ve never played Music Bingo, the idea is pretty simple. Instead of calling numbers, they play songs.
The Bingo card has the titles of popular songs, when you hear a song that’s on your card, you plunk down a chip.
If you’re not sure what song you’re hearing, the Bingo announcer will make sure that the title is played. Of course, there are prizes.
The event was a fundraiser for the West Liberty Child Care Center. The Community Center Board organized the evening with some lofty goals in mind.
Board Members Melody Russell and Lynne Sasmazer greeted guests at the door, where $20 would get you two Bingo cards.
“We’ll be putting money towards safety,” Russell said, indicating the playground needs modernization. “New playground equipment, new materials for the ground, cameras, things like that.”
“It has not been renovated for many years, for decades really,” Sasmazer said, “So some of the structures are just shot. And, it has wood mulch chips, we’re going to replace those with more sustainable rubber mulch chips.”
There will be rubber tiles where infants and crawlers play, as well as improvements to the fencing. New cameras will be installed near doors.
The Child Care Center is hoping to simply update all of their safety measures and modernize where possible. Sasmazer wanted to emphasize that safety concerns haven’t yet arisen, and these measures will make sure they do not.
“Not because there’s been a problem, but because it’s time for an update,” Sasmazer said.
The crowd included every kind of Comet, from bankers to teachers to firefighters and everyone in between.
They came to play, to win, to have fun, and to support the safety of our littlest locals. The music covered a variety of popular genres, so there was something for everyone.
Bingo winners walked away with Chamber Bucks, gift certificates that can be used at participating local businesses. In addition to the Bingo prizes, there were several raffles going on.
“They’re a dollar a ticket,” said Susan Deahr, Community Center Board President, “It’s for half a hog and the processing is included.”
Mike and Susan Deahr donated one of their own hogs for this raffle.
When it was time to select a winner, the crowd was delighted to remember that hogs have two halves, so the raffle had two winners.
Other raffle items included a gift basket from area businesses. The basket held a variety of big goodies, like Kernels tickets and Peach Crown Royal to name a few.
Charles Brooke donated a beautiful floral arrangement and both MidWestOne Bank and West Nutrition donated goodie baskets.
The Music Bingo was hosted and DJ’d by Kimberly from Think and Drink Entertainment, a Davenport company known for pub trivia and other games. She led four rounds of Music Bingo, with four or five winners each round.
The first winner of the evening was Sloane Heath, second grade student at West Liberty Elementary and heiress of Parks and Rec. It seemed like a good omen that the first winner was only eight years old.
Players were treated to well-known songs like “Ice, Ice Baby” and “Great Balls of Fire,” not to mention selections by The Beastie Boys, Prince and Toby Keith.
It seemed like everyone knew all the words to “Baby Got Back” and “Summer Nights.” Many styles and decades of music were included, and the singalongs got a little rowdy when the crowd demanded to hear “Jenny / 876-5309.”
Players were also encouraged to get a little silly for the chance to win extra Chamber Bucks.
Music Bingo wouldn’t be complete without some dancing, and players earned prizes by showing off their moonwalk skills or leading the macarena.
Tom (Dog) Christensen demonstrated serious air guitar skills during a tribute to Kiss. Hilarity ensued and prizes flowed.
By the end of the evening, everyone was feeling relaxed and jolly, and the Child Care Center was closer to getting its necessary updates.
All in all, it was a good time for a good cause. Nice job, everyone!