Hundreds of people donned their ugly sweaters to raise a pretty penny Friday night.
The fifth annual Ugly Sweater Bowling Party took place at Orillia Bowl, raising money for The Sharing Place Food Bank.
More than 300 had signed up to take part.
“Everybody’s having a great time in terribly ugly Christmas sweaters,” said event organizer Derick Lehmann.
There were prizes for the best ugly sweaters.
“I’m not sure how to take the person in the Maple Leafs sweater, but if someone shows up in a Montreal Canadiens sweater, they’ll win,” Lehmann said with a laugh, showing his distaste for the Habs.
The person in the Maple Leafs sweater was Laurie Martin, and her choice of apparel was not a dig at the team. She is indeed a fan.
Martin was a member of the Orillia Winter Carnival committee. With it having been recently dissolved and this season’s carnival cancelled, “I wanted to do something to fill that void for me,” she said.
“I thought I could help out the food bank, so I brought some friends, and food to donate,” Martin said. “I like to help out the community.”
Evan Devine usually creates a float for the city’s Santa Claus parade. He didn’t do that this year, so he, too, was looking for another way to celebrate the season. His sweater was wrapped in garland and he had a reindeer draped over his shoulder.
“It seemed fun, and I’ve heard financial support is the preferred option (for the food bank),” he said.
That is true, but some people decided to bring food donations, unsolicited, in addition to money.
“We’re excited to give a big contribution to The Sharing Place,” Lehmann said, noting the event raised more than $3,300.
He thanked all of the participants as well as the business that donated their services and items for the raffle.
