Dozens of hungry ATV riders packed into the Otter Lake RA Saturday evening for a spaghetti supper after touring the Pontiac all day in a poker run organized by the Otter Lake 150 committee.

It was the final fundraiser hosted by the committee, a group of volunteers that have taken on the task of organizing celebrations all year long for the town’s 150th birthday, which falls this year.  

Committee member Donna Cushman said the event was a success thanks to a partnership with the Pontiac Quad Club, who presented them with the idea of hosting a poker run fundraiser. 

After spending all day out on the trails collecting their poker hands, participants packed into the RA hall to warm up and hear who had won the three cash prizes. In the end, Guy Legault won $200, Stéphane Vaive won $300 and Sébastien Dutil came away with the grand prize of $500.

Then, participants tucked into the main course – a spaghetti supper with caesar salad, a bun and dessert. 

“From the sounds of it, everybody had a really good time out there on the trails, and we had lots of good community sponsorships,” Cushman said. 

While the participants were out and about, committee members were set up in the RA hall selling their newly released community cookbooks with community-submitted recipes, as well as other paraphernalia with the Otter Lake 150 logo such as calendars, magnets and pins. 

Cushman said the cookbooks were nearly sold out by the end of Saturday afternoon, and the calendars were also nearly gone. 

“What we’re finding is that the community is very supportive. Everything that we’ve been producing has been selling really fast,” she said, adding that the group will be ordering more cookbooks. 

The poker run was the final fundraiser before the official Otter Lake 150 festivities kick off in a few months’ time with Winterfest, which will begin Friday, Mar. 6 with a talent show.

“We’re hoping for some new talent in town, and we’re hoping some of the past talent contest winners are going to come back,” Cushman said. 

Other events on Saturday, Mar. 7, include dog sledding rides, a mobile arcade, kids’ winter Olympics, “Minute to win it” challenges as well as live music starting at 8 p.m.. 

“We’ve got a food organizing committee that has been working like crazy trying to keep up with everything, so now we’re just about ready to kick it off in March,” Cushman said. 

The committee is organizing other events throughout the year, including an event for Canada Day, a “mystery” event on June 20, as well as an event in September.