Break out your black lights and bingo cards for a party in St. Martins.
The sixth annual St. Martins Knights of Columbus Black Light Cosmic Bingo is set for 7 p.m. March 21, with doors opening at 5 p.m. And anyone looking to attend should be prepared for much more of a party atmosphere than a standard bingo game.
"We have a lot of fun," said event co-chair Vic Lovell, who took on organizational duties over the last couple of years. "We call it bingo, but it's one big party."
The event features 12 games of bingo played over two and a half to three hours, Lovell said. The event is produced by All American Bingo, a St. Louis-based company that provides the lighting and an emcee to keep the audience interested.
"They have an emcee that really keeps the crowd ginned up," Lovell said. "He runs games and nonsense stuff pretty regularly, and that's what makes the thing spread out over three hours."
The event allows participants to bring their own adult beverages, something Lovell said is encouraged.
"This way people can party and have a good time," he said.
Black Light Bingo has typically been well-attended in the past, with just shy of 600 people attending the 2018 event. Lovell said that became a bit of an issue, as it was likely too many people for the event to run as smoothly as intended.
"It was just too crowded," Lovell said. "I think some people came away from 2018 with kind of a sour taste in their mouth, and we're kind of trying to rebuild our reputation."
This year, he said, they hope to have around 450 attend.
What Lovell is mainly looking for now is sponsors. The event offers three levels of sponsorship, from bronze (at $100) to gold (at $1,000), with each offering different benefits from having the sponsor name announced and listed on event handouts to opportunities to speak at the event.
"That's where you get the big money," he said.
And that's important to Lovell, as the event benefits Central Missouri Honor Flight, an all-volunteer organization that enables Mid-Missouri veterans to fly to Washington, D.C., and visit several memorials at no cost. Funds are continuously needed to keep the flights going, and Lovell has been involved since his own flight in August 2017. A month later, he brought up the organization's financial needs at a meeting of the St. Martins Knights of Columbus, where it was decided that if Lovell wanted to take on chairing the annual bingo event, the proceeds could go toward Honor Flight. His work led to the crowded 2018 event, which he said allowed them to donate about $23,000 to the organization. Last year, he said, they were able to donate about $11,000.
"One of the reasons I'm so passionate about it is right there in their statements, they say they'll accept donations from anybody - except veterans," Lovell said as his voice broke with emotion. "Honor Flight flies when they have the money. It takes $93,000 for each Honor Flight."
Lovell has been a volunteer for Honor Flight ever since his 2017 trip, helping both see veterans off to their flight and back when they return. He said he's seen how Honor Flights allow so many veterans to heal from their own experiences, joking they should have named it "Healing Flight."
"It kind of opens veterans up," he said. "A lot of them, after they've come back (from deployment), they just won't talk about it. And this gives them a chance to talk to their family about it. I didn't think my Vietnam experience had bothered me really, until I went on an Honor Flight. I realized what a difference it made."
The event also will benefit the Community Breast Care Project, which is a first. Debbie Beckman said the St. Martins Ladies Auxiliary used to do a standalone event to benefit the local nonprofit, but it became too much. By partnering with the Knights of Columbus, she said, the group is able to continue supporting the project and donate their time to work the bingo event.
The Community Breast Care Project helps people diagnosed with breast cancer in Cole, Callaway, Osage, Miller, Morgan, Moniteau and Camden counties. It provides $500 for each patient who applies to help offset the mounting costs associated with treatment and recovery. The project has donated more than $200,000 to 400 breast cancer patients since 2007.
"So many people use it for either gas money or food to get there, medication if needed, some even use it to buy wigs," Beckman said, noting outside of the sheer medical costs, those diagnosed with breast cancer often have to spend quite a bit on travel costs to treatment centers and doctors, as well as overnight stays, food and so much more.
Beckman, a breast cancer survivor, said she benefited from the project, using the funds for gas money and turbans.
The proceeds will generally be split between the two nonprofits. However, Lovell said, donors can specify where they want their donation to go.
Individual signups are $30 and include bingo sheets, markers and a glow souvenir. A table of eight is $240. Food will be available for purchase.
Donations may be sent to St. Martins K of C, 537 Route T in St. Martins. Lovell said there is no deadline for sponsors, noting they can even become a sponsor after the event.
Doors will open for Black Light Cosmic Bingo at 5 p.m. March 21, with bingo starting at 7 p.m. at the St. Martins Knights of Columbus at 537 Route T in St. Martins. For more information, contact Lovell at 573-690-3544 or Cindy Stegemann at 573-893-2364.