Fore! Mini putt takes over uptown Saint John for charity

The putts were rolling all across uptown Saint John Saturday for the 31st annual Germain Street Open.

This year’s tournament featured a record turn out of 170 golfers spread across 38 teams. Each team dressed in a theme, ranging from Ghostbusters to Super Mario Kart characters to minions, and a wide variety of others.

“I would say my favorite part is the costumes for sure,” said Germain Street Open organizing committee chair Derek Chaisson. “It’s always interesting to see what people dress up as and secondly, it would be just the atmosphere. It brings great energy to the uptown.”

There were 19 holes to be played in this year’s event, each offering its own unique challenge. Some holes were rather simple, while others featured obstacles, tubes, and various hazards to up the difficulty.

The holes themselves were spread across uptown businesses, like Area 506 and O’Leary’s Pub, and even a few residents stepped up to host a hole.

“People love this event,” says Chaisson. “It’s always been a hit uptown, hence why it’s been going on for 31 years.”

Each year the tournament raises funds and awareness for a local charity. For the second straight year L’Arche Saint John will be the beneficiary.

L’Arche Saint John is a community of people with and without intellectual disabilities. The non-profit aims to share the gifts of people with intellectual disabilities through mutually transforming relationships.

Executive director Rachel Vander Vennen says the funds raised by the open will support the operations of their Creative Connections program located uptown.

“Every day 16 artists with intellectual disabilities come together to create art and build friendships and get a little creative and fun together,” she says. “We depend on fundraising every year, which is about 50 per cent of our budget. So, this event in particular is a really big way that we help sustain what we can do.”

For artists in the program like Warren Tompkins, the funds raised Saturday will allow him and others to continue to do what they love.

“It lets me express my creativity through art and animation and be with friends and participate in the community a bit,” he says, adding he even has his own YouTube channel Warren Tompkins Entertainment.

“It’s always such a fun day,” says Vander Vennen. “It’s so fun to see everyone’s creativity and in full costume, and it’s just a really fun event.”

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