Place your bets for a good cause during an evening of unique fun with The Mouse Races at the Poplar Bluff Elks Club at 6 p.m. Saturday.
This fundraiser is held to fund Supporting Heroes, an organization, according to Elks Club Exalted Ruler Donnie Trout, that supports families of fallen first responders in the states of Indiana, Missouri and Kentucky.
“They get their money totally through donations, or membership organizations,” said Trout, who also is a former Poplar Bluff deputy police chief.
There will be 10 races during the evening event.
“The audience will name the mice for each race and then place bets on that race. When the betting is closed, they’ll pay out the bets,” said Trout. “They also do what’s called mouse roulette. A deck of cards is put around a table and then we sell the decks and once that deck is sold, they’ll drop a mouse in the center of the table and the first card the mouse touches, that person wins. It is as much fun as the races.”
This is one way the Elks help fundraise for this cause, and the second time they’ve held this event.
The evening will also include an auction.
“Several different things have been donated. We’ve got a handmade, king-size quilt and first responder tumblers,” he said. “In the past, we’ve done different events and this is the one we kind of stuck with.”
There will be a shrimp boil and they will also cook frog legs. The price of admission, which is $30 a person or $225 for a table of eight, will include dinner and the evenings’ events.
Advance tickets are available at the Poplar Bluff Elks Lodge, located at 6653 Highway 67 North in Poplar Bluff or by calling 573-785-9907. They can also be purchased at the door the night of the event.