Second annual Battle of the Bags Aug. 24
By Greg Buckner
Staff Writer | reporter@ogemawherald.com
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WEST BRANCH — As part of Fabulous Fridays Downtown Concert Aug. 24, the Ogemaw County Habitat for Humanity will hold its second annual Battle of the Bags fundraiser.
According to Jamie Stout of Habitat for Humanity, the cornhole tournament is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in the vacant lot next to Logger’s Depot.
For those unfamiliar with cornhole, it's a lawn game in which players take turns throwing bean bags at a raised platform with a hole in the far end.
For a cost of $40 per team of two, teams will compete in a bracket-style tournament to see which team is the best, all while raising money for a good cause.
“I like to do unique fundraisers,” Stout said. “I played bags in college and I really liked it. Nobody had really had this kind of tournament around here, so we decided to hold one last year and it went over well.”
Stout said Habitat raised close to $1,800 during last year’s tournament, with those proceeds going toward Habitat’s building fund, which it uses to help construct Habitat homes.
For the boards that will be used in the tournament, Stout said some local businesses are helping to construct the board sets. She said the boards will have paint jobs honoring Michigan sports teams, including the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings, University of Michigan and Michigan State University.
Those board sets will go up for auction following the tournament, along with many other items and prizes.
Among the other prizes and auction items Stout listed were wine baskets, clothes, gift certificates and much more.
Stout said the auction will be held at the tournament location, and since the event will be held in conjunction with Fabulous Fridays, people who are not in the tournament are welcome to participate in the auction.
“We’re going to have it be open to everyone who is downtown that night,” Stout said.
Stout said the deadline to sign up a team was originally Aug. 20, but the deadline has been pushed to Aug. 23.
To register, Stout said teams can turn in their registration and sign up fee by mail or they can stop into the Habitat office.
For more info, call 989-345-3668 or visit the Habitat office in West Branch at 114 S. Fifth St.