Northback’s Australia Day fundraiser sells out again
Tickets for Northback’s annual Australia Day party did what they always do in this town. They sold out. The company advertised the event and the community moved, filling every seat in less than a week. That kind of rapid support does not happen by chance. It happens when a company shows up year after year, raises real money for real causes, and then doubles the result with its own matching funds.
Started in 2015, this is the 10th year Northback has held its Australia Day fundraiser in the Crowsnest Pass. Over that decade, a single night of music, auctions, food, and community generosity has raised a total of $378,549 for a wide range of local charities and initiatives. Each year the event grows in impact, in profile, and in the number of people who circle the date on the calendar as a chance to give back to the place they call home.
Last year’s event brought in $81,168, which was split evenly between Hillcrest Fish and Game and the Lundbreck Fire Brigade. For Hillcrest Fish and Game, the funds supported conservation and education programs that keep outdoor recreation safe, sustainable, and rooted in respect for the land. For Lundbreck Fire, the money helped maintain essential equipment and support volunteer firefighters who respond to emergencies across the region. That is how a single evening in January turns into safer communities, stronger programs, and a ripple effect of good that lasts long after the tables are cleared.
This year the beneficiaries are a pair of groups that many people rely on without ever seeing their faces. The Crow Snow Riders are a volunteer based sledding club that maintains about twelve hundred kilometres of winter trails, with two hundred kilometres groomed. They rely on memberships, fundraising, and local help to keep the groomers running and the trails open. If you have ever enjoyed a day on those paths, or watched kids learn to ride on packed snow instead of moguls, you have felt their quiet work.
Then there is SARSAR, the Southwest Alberta Regional Search and Rescue Society. SARSAR is based out of the former Hillcrest Fire Department building, a place that once saved lives with hoses and trucks and now does it with rope kits, radios, stretchers, and maps. The building has saved lives for decades. SARSAR just keeps the legacy going, though in a different venue and with different tools. The team is all volunteers. They are on call to help when a sledder goes missing in the backcountry, when a hiker is stranded on a ridge, or when a driver slips off a forest road and cannot get out. They never send a bill, they do not seek attention, and they train constantly so they all come home at the end of the day.
That kind of service does not fund itself. Gear and training cost money, and both organizations stretch every dollar. When Northback steps in with a matching partner, it turns one donation into two. It shows that big business can amplify small local voices instead of drowning them out.
According to Daina Lazzarotto, Stakeholder Engagement, the event sells roughly 264 tickets each year, which is the maximum capacity of the MDM Community Hall. About 55 local businesses contribute through silent and live auction items, and this year’s event sold out faster than ever before. While Northback covers 100 percent of the event costs and Hancock Prospecting contributes a significant donation, the success belongs to the people of the Crowsnest Pass. Residents, businesses, and Northback contractors and consultants donate prizes, buy tickets, and spend their hard-earned money on auction items in support of local causes. Northback’s staff handles the heavy lifting, but it is the collective generosity of this community that makes the fundraiser a success year after year.
So yes, celebrate that the Australia Day party sold out. Celebrate that the funds will be matched. Most of all, recognize that once again a room full of people having fun will translate into better rescue equipment, better trails, better training, and better outcomes for families who need help in the backcountry. That is what community looks like when companies and volunteers pull in the same direction. It looks like tickets gone in a flash and dollars put back exactly where they are needed most.