THUNDER BAY – At the dawn of COVID-19 restrictions in Northwestern Ontario, Community HAGI Bingo became a wildly popular, stay-at-home activity throughout the region.
Then the season came to a halt.
Next weekend, it returns to Thunder Bay Television, bigger and better than ever.
Long-time host Gary Cooper says the show's new season is set to begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12 and because of the demand that left distributors quickly sold out of cards this past spring, they’ve added more to each of their games.
“Last March, when everything shut down, we hadn’t seen it before, where every one of our distributors by noon on the Monday before the game were calling for more cards. And we didn’t have them. We couldn’t access them in time,” Cooper said.
“So what we’ve done is we’ve increased our lot so that for the $3,000 bingo we’re putting 5,000 cards out into the community. For the $5,000 (game), we’re putting 6,000 cards out.”
Cards are distributed throughout Northwestern Ontario, so Cooper said keep that in mind when planning to buy them each week.
Thunder Bay has a limited allotment, he said.
Cooper said it was fascinating to watch how wildly popular the game, proceeds from which benefit the Wilderness Discovery Camping Program and the Thunder Bay Therapeutic Riding Association, became with everything on hold.
He hopes that popularity remains.
“COVID is still with us, so people are looking for something to do on Saturday nights. I have been with the program since the beginning and I have never been stopped as many times as I have on the grocery store or on the street, people wanting to know when we start,” Cooper said.
He said he heard tales of families hosting potlucks prior to the restrictions being put in place, and hosting Zoom sessions afterward so they could keep playing together.
Thaddeus Weiss, president of the Handicapped Action Group Inc., said the money is put to great use.
“From last year’s Bingo, we sponsored 120 individuals this year for the Wilderness Discovery program at Shebadowan,” Weiss said, adding they also support a local food bank with donations.
“I believe the HAGI Bingo is a community affair, and with the community supporting HAGI Bingo, in turn it comes back into the community ... The more HAGI generates, the more support we can get throughout the community.”
HAGI TV Bingo airs weekly from September to May on CTV Thunder Bay.
Cards are nine for $6 and are sold at several locations in the city and throughout the region. The initial cards go on sale on Monday.
