It was an evening of camaraderie as the community attended the first-ever Lightning fall fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 15 at the Stettler Community Hall to show their support for the home team.
The food was catered by Brenda's Country Catering, while the entertainment was provided by Hadlen Entertainment, which included a hypnotist and a photo booth.
"One of the reasons why we decided to change up the entertainment a bit was because we thought it would be a great format to get our players involved in," said Doug Smith, president and general manager of Stettler Lightning. "It was a fun evening even for the participants on stage. It was a split fundraiser between us and the Stettler Golf Course."
The funds raised will be shared by both the Stettler Lightning Junior Hockey Club and the Stettler Golf and Country Club.
"Funds raised will be used to cover equipment and repairs for them and to help cover travel costs for us," said Smith. "The event provided a nice return for both groups and we are already working on the event for next season and looking to establish a regular event for the Lightning to help raise funds necessary to operate."
There was a silent auction that was generously supported by local businesses and organization, with either partial or full proceeds being donated to the home team.
The hypnotist, who goes by Hadlen said, "The Stettler audience was incredible. I have found that audiences in smaller communities are more receptive to my style of entertainment."
Rating the evening as one of his top two shows, Hadlen added, "While performing yesterday's show, I learned that I'm definitely getting better with coming up with routines on the fly and have improved on the pacing of my show."
All of Hadlen's official training in hypnosis has come from numerous courses in Las Vegas and he is mostly self-taught in other areas, such as magic.
Lightning No. 3, Tyler Wagner, was one of the participants on stage and speaking of his experience said, "Being hypnotized was one of the craziest experiences I've had."
Wagner added, "It was a lot of fun and opened up another side in all of us. We all got to see a new side of our coach, Gavin, but more importantly it was great to see the support that the community had for us."