People old and young started herding into Plamondon’s Festival Centre for its 27th annual Sportsman's Night on Saturday, January 11. There was a dinner, a silent auction, door prizes, and last but not least an antler competition. The competition had 13 categories, and some categories had up to 50 entries. Only antlers harvested in 2019 were able to be submitted.
The doors opened at 5 pm and there were 210 people in attendance including members and spectators. Real Ulliac, the emcee of the night and an avid hunter himself, had this to say about the event.
“The key about this evening is basically just getting individuals for one night and showcasing their past kills and harvestings. It’s about enjoying seeing the different configurations on the antlers that are out there and getting people together that enjoy the sport.”
Ulliac had one of his mule deer antlers at the event, however, it wasn’t from a 2019 harvest so it was put on the display table for people to admire. Ronald Johnston also had an impressive antler rack on display that he found on his farm about three years ago.
"I couldn't believe it," says Johnston. "When I saw it I knew it must've been killed about 30 to 40 years ago. I had no idea it was on my farm."
As for the winners of the 2019 Sportsman’s Night, they are as follows:
Men’s Whitetail (Non-typical) - Des Johnson
Men’s Whitetail (typical) - Brett Germain
Women’s Whitetail - Janelle Richard
Youth Whitetail - Robert Healey
Moose - Vanessa Arfmann
Bear - Kurtis Bourassa
Mule Deer - Edmund Bourassa
Elk - Robert Healey
Largest Shed - Lyndon Kalinsky
Archery Bear - Ray Menard
Archery Whitetail - Ethan Dupperon
There were no entries this year in the elk or moose archery category.
Some of the proceeds from the silent auction will go towards outdoor education for youth so they can get their certification in hunter training. This amount will be known in about a week after everything is counted.
