WOW committee members, along with Merchants Bank, Winona National Bank and the GRSF office, are selling commemorative buttons that will earn one lucky buyer $1,000 in cash in a drawing.
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It used to be that commemorative Great River Shakespeare Festival buttons were for showing a little GRSF pride and support, but now one of those buttons will earn someone a fistful of cash too.
The Will’s Opening Weekend Committee was looking for a way to spice up opening weekend even more than a series of concerts, receptions, a picnic and two fantastic plays could.
The answer? Turn GRSF button sales into a raffle and give one lucky button buyer $1,000 for supporting the GRSF.
The committee amped up the odds for supporters by limiting the number of buttons to be sold to only 1,000. Buttons are $5 each and can be purchased at Merchants Bank, Winona National Bank, the GRSF office and about 15 Will’s Opening Weekend (WOW) committee members.
The drawing for the $1,000 prize will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the GRSF Picnic on a Stick Sunday afternoon after the performance of The Comedy of Errors.
The picnic sponsored by Watlow will be on the Winona State University green outside the Performing Arts Center, the theater building, and will include live music from the Bus Boys. The event is free for playgoers and $5 for all others.
However, button buyers do not need to be present to win the $1,000 raffle prize, organizers say.
All of the proceeds from the button sales and raffle will go to support the Great River Shakespeare Festival, committee member Laura Feller said, particularly the full slate of events scheduled for opening weekend. “We wanted to jazz up that opening weekend and make Will’s Opening Weekend a big wow,” said Feller. Beautiful keepsake buttons seemed like the best way to give people a chance to show their support. This year’s button is different from last year’s, and organizers expect there to be many more limited edition commemorative buttons to come. “It’s a collection in the making,” Feller said.
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