Eighty-eight people puzzled until their hands were sore last week to raise more than $1,700 for an upgrade of École Carman Elementary School’s south side playground.
The school’s parent council Advisory for School Leadership (ACSL) held the puzzling competition last Thursday. Twenty-two teams of four showed up to see who could complete a 500-piece puzzle the fastest.
Though everyone had two hours to do theirs, the team Pawsitively Puzzled finished in 56 minutes and two seconds to clinch the grand prize. Each team member won a basket that included a local Chamber of Commerce gift card, a blanket, chocolates, candy and a hair clip, thanks to donations from R & D Winkler Trucking, Cut of Class and Kozak Plumbing & Heating.
Registration for each team in the competition was $100, which got the team a puzzle to work on, snacks and refreshments during the evening. The teams started puzzling at 7 p.m. in the Carman Golf & Curling Club, going until 9 p.m.
Throughout the night, there were also random draws for a box of chocolates for the team with the best name, for the loudest team and more, courtesy of Bell Electric.
By the end of the night, several participants also won awards for Most Valuable Player, the Helper Award, the Eldest Puzzler and more. Each award came with a poinsettia, thanks to Vanderveens Greenhouse. Four random competitors also got to take home a puzzle from the event.
Event organizer Chelsea Kozak said the evening had a great vibe and all the feedback she received was positive, so the parent council is planning to host another puzzle competition this coming spring.
ACSL bought the puzzles for the event from Evensong, which lowered the costs for them. After all bills for the evening were paid, the École Carman Elementary School parent council had just over $1,700 in funds. The money is going toward enhancements on the school’s south side playground across Highway #3.
Now that the competition is over, ACSL is giving 10 of the puzzles to École Carman Elementary School for its puzzle club, two to Carman Meadowood Estates, two to the Boyne Lodge, two to Visions of Independence and two to Cornerstone.
