Bingo-ing out cancer

MOSES LAKE — The cage spun, the little balls went clack-clack-clack, and a hand reached in to pull one out.

“B-9,” Grant County Sheriff Joe Kriete shouted over the sea of voices, and a room full of people looked up from their beverages and marked their cards.

The sheriff was at Moses Lake Taproom Thursday to host a special edition of the taproom’s regular bingo night, a chance to raise funds – as well as a glass – for the Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation.

“It was a really good night,” said Dylan Stakelin, co-owner of the taproom with his parents Will and Claudine Stakelin and his brother Connor Stakelin. “People were very generous and we were happy to see that.”

Between the $5-per-bingo-card suggested donation and contributions in the donation container, the event brought in about $1,500, Stakelin said. The taproom will match that amount, he added.

The business was filled to capacity for the occasion. Stakelin said at one point he counted 85 bodies, which is a lot in such a small space.

“Every table, every chair was taken,” he said. “We pulled out every extra chair that we had in the back and it still wasn't enough. So it turned into standing-room-only in here.”

“It was fantastic,” Kriete said. “The crowd was unbelievable. It was so much fun.”

The Stakelins have been wanting to do a fundraiser for the cancer foundation for some time, Stakelin said. Volunteers from the taproom help out with Craft Out for Cancer at Ten Pin Brewing every year, but they wanted to go beyond that, he said.

“We talked with Sheriff Kriete, who had been a longtime family friend of ours and a supporter of us here at the taproom since we opened in March, and he asked to host our Bingo Night and knew that we wanted to do kind of a donation fundraiser for it. So that's kind of how it came about. We knew that whatever was raised, we wanted to match and donate to the foundation.”

Kriete grabbed the idea with both hands and ran with it. At the event, he kept the crowd engaged with a steady stream of patter and a near-endless supply of bingo variations. In one, players could win by filling all the spaces down the left side and across the bottom in an L shape, which he demonstrated by having the audience make the “loser” sign on their foreheads.

The Moses Lake Taproom has been hosting bingo nights semi-regularly for about two months, Stakelin said.

“We kind of go every other week,” he said. “You know, one week might be trivia and the other week might be bingo, depending on what else is going on in town.”

The tap room offers about a dozen beers on tap, according to its website, from small breweries around the Northwest, especially Eastern Washington. There’s also some food available, although they also have a deal with Chico’s that allows patrons to pair their brews with some of the best-known pizza in Moses Lake.

Kriete wasn’t sure if there would be more fundraisers like this, but he was open to the idea, he said.

“I'm always willing to help those guys out,” he said. “I've known that family for a long, long time. So anything I can do to help them give back to the community, I'm all in, 100%.”

Joel Martin may be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.

Want to help?

If you were unable to attend the bingo event, it is still possible to support those facing cancer in the area by supporting the Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation.

509-964-4644

www.columbiabasincancerfoundation.org

1031 W. Broadway Ave.

Moses Lake, WA 98837

M-F: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

You may also want to participate in their Craft Out Cancer Event on Aug. 26. See their website for more details.